This is a big deal. 

Every elected and appointed official, along with every public records custodian, should pay very close attention. 

A former city official in Atlanta has been cited for violating the Georgia Open Records Act in the first-ever criminal investigation for Sunshine Law violations by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. 

Violating open government laws in Georgia is no laughing matter. 

Jenna Garland, the press secretary during former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration, is accused of telling another city employee in March 2017 to intentionally delay handing over public records that had been requested by the media. 

If there is a conviction, this can prove to be costly.

Criminal violations of the open government laws in Georgia are misdemeanors punishable by up to $1,000 for just the first violation. A penalty of up to $2,500 may be imposed for each additional violation within a 12-month period. Similar fines can be imposed for violations of the Open Meetings Act. 

A person can violate the law not only by withholding records or meeting secretly but by frustrating or attempting to frustrate the public’s access to records and meetings. 

This criminal citation is a watershed moment as it relates to the enforcement of the Sunshine Law in Georgia. 

Obstructing the public’s right to know is not only wrong, it is criminal. 

This case did not even involve an out-and-out records denial. It was all about stalling, or delaying, an open records request. 

This should be a wake-up call to every member of city council, county commission, city and county office staff, board of education, school system central office staff, every appointed authority, commission and committee of local government and every records custodian in every jurisdiction in the state of Georgia. 

“Openness and transparency in government are vital to upholding the public trust,” state Attorney General Chris Carr said, in a statement this week announcing the findings by the GBI. “I am confident that this action sends a clear message that the Georgia Open Records Act will be enforced.”

We would hate to see the need for this kind of investigation in our area. 

So again, we encourage all elected and appointed officials, along with all records custodians to pay very close attention and to show the utmost respect for and compliance with the Georgia Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act. 

Let’s be clear, one of Garland’s charges claims she was simply telling another person in her office to delay responding to an open records request and to make it as difficult as possible for the media to get the information it was looking for.

That alone is enough to constitute a criminal violation of the Open Records Act.

It’s the law.