The Georgia General Assembly has passed laws requiring government transparency. 

In fact, state lawmakers have said open government is the strong public policy of Georgia. 

However, that public policy only applies to local government.

The General Assembly inexplicably and inexcusably exempts itself from the state’s Sunshine Law. 

Each session, state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle draft legislation, sponsor bills, make their case in committee, engage in meaningful exchanges with their peers, tweak and revise their bills, garner support in their own party and, occasionally, by reaching across the aisle. The lion’s share of all that work is done at the committee level. 

While not required by law, those committee deliberations generally happen out in the open. 

Most of the heavy lifting at the Statehouse happens at the committee level.

It is not uncommon, in less COVID times, when bills are heard in committee for the rooms to be packed. But then again, some of the rooms are so small it doesn’t take many people to pack them out, so though not closed, not everyone has ready access.

For the most part, journalists and the general public, along with the special guests of the lawmakers themselves and people who might be impacted by a particular measure, are in attendance. Sometimes they even speak.

Most committee meetings are live streamed and that is a great public service. Still, some subcommittee meetings are not streamed online and easily could be.

So, why do state lawmakers exempt themselves from the Georgia Open Meetings Act?

The General Assembly ratified a rewrite of the state’s Sunshine Laws in 2012. At that time they said that openness in government is the strong public policy of the state of Georgia but did they really mean it? 

That was the perfect time for the House and Senate to apply the same principles of open government to themselves that they require of local governments across the state.

The fact that state lawmakers exempt themselves from what they require of counties, cities and boards of education sometimes breeds contempt from local officials, and it should.

Unfortunately, it leads some local officials to the conclusion that they should not be required to be any more open than state lawmakers require themselves to be.

The exact opposite is true.

State lawmakers should expect at least as much of themselves as they expect of city council members, county commissioners, school board members and all elected and appointed local officials who serve on committees, boards and authorities.

Perhaps the Open Meetings Act itself is too specific to apply to the General Assembly. But legislation that codifies requirements for all the deliberations of state lawmakers to be open, public meetings is simply the right thing to do. All the business they are doing under the Gold Dome is the people’s business.

The General Assembly should not only practice what it preaches, it should make it the law.

Jim Zachary is the editor of The Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.