Georgia Open Records Act
From Sunshine Review
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The Georgia Open Records Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Georgia.
The Georgia Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
Georgia's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Georgia #27 in the nation with an overall percentage of 51.60%. [1]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Georgia 41 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 31 out of the 50 states.[2]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Georgia's law as the 11th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C".[3]
Public Records
Public records are those documents generated by those in public office in the course of public service. Public records are also defined as "items received or maintained by a private person or entity on behalf of a public office or agency". [4]
Open Meetings
All meetings shall be open to the public. A meeting is defined as "the gathering of a quorum of the members of the governing body of an agency". [5]
Who May Request Georgia Records?
Any citizen of Georgia may inspect public documents. "All public records... shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state". [6]
For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.
See Also
External Links
References
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ Georgia Code search for Title 50, Chapter 18, Article 4
- ↑ Georgia Code search for Title 50, Chapter 14, Section 1
- ↑ Georgia Code, search for 50-18-70 (b).
