We agree with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, an electronic court records filing bill being pushed through the General Assembly is bad legislation for the people of Georgia. 

The First Amendment Foundation has rightly assessed the measure, warning that accessing court records could take longer and cost more if the electronic-filing proposal passes in its current form. 

House Bill 15 would be an erosion of the state’s Open Records Act if it becomes law. 

While the bill requires electronic filing of most civil court records, it contains no provisions to protect public access to such filings in a timely way — either at the courthouse or electronically.

Most concerning is the fact that the legislation states that the public records are not subject to disclosure until physically accepted by a clerk – that provision alone compromises the public’s access to public records.

The General Assembly itself has plainly said, “the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government.”

This proposed law flies in the face of that public policy statement. 

GFAF has explained that in addition, the bill does not include a requirement that the electronically filed records be available for public inspection at the courthouse, something judicial rules now require as a minimum standard for electronic filing. 

The absence of such a requirement could result in clerks charging for simply inspecting, viewing, electronic records, something that would be unprecedented in Georgia.

As GFAF has explained, it is not too late to fix House Bill 15 as it is being considered by the upper chamber. At the very least, as the First Amendment Foundation has urged, the proposal should be amended to include the minimum standards for electronic filing adopted by the Judicial Council of Georgia in 2014 and embraced by the Georgia Supreme Court. Those rules state that electronic documents must be publicly accessible upon filing for review at no charge on a public access terminal available at the courthouse during regular business hours.

If those changes are not made to the bill, we encourage our legislative delegation to reject the measure this legislative session.