Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the open records law in Georgia is fairly lengthy and cannot be considered vague at all; yet, like the Constitution, people attempt to parse every word and disagree on the meaning.
Everything from historic property records to documents detailing farm water usage are covered in the 21 page Georgia Open Records Act.
Despite the relatively clear language, some local government entities attempt to find any reason to keep documents under lock and key.
When employment records were requested involving an employee of State Court, the city of Augusta attempted to use a memorandum from Augusta Circuit Chief Judge Danny Craig to claim that any document involving the judiciary was not subject to the open records law.
In the same memo, Craig clarified that he was addressing emails being sent between judges and attorneys during an open law case.
“To allow public access to communiques between judges could endanger witnesses, compromise ongoing investigations, and threaten the work of the courts,” Craig’s memo reads.
According to the law, Craig is correct, and there are other documents such as those related to pending litigation, pending real estate transactions and sensitive personal data such as Social Security Numbers that are protected under the law.
A person’s health history is already covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and must be redacted; however, the requested document can be released with the sensitive information blacked out.
The Georgia Municipal Association has put out a lengthy manual instructing cities how to handle open records requests, and while most of the manual is a complete explanation of the law, there is language in the manual that can be read as instructing cities on how to skirt the law.
The manual lists the steps cities should take when in receipt of a formal request, and the first step is to determine if the city is the custodian of the requested record.
Step two in the manual instructs the city to determine whether it can withhold the requested documents.
“Determine whether the requested documents are subject to an exemption to the open records law. The records custodian should give careful consideration, and is well advised to consult legal counsel, before determining that a record is not subject to disclosure,” the manual reads.
This language has led cities such as Augusta to form strict guidelines and literally pass everything through the city attorney’s office before a document can be released.
Rusi Patel, general counsel for the GMA agreed that the particular language in official manual could be construed as obstructionist.
“I can see where someone might misinterpret that. Perhaps we need to review the manual, which was written many years ago,” Patel said.
Other governments, such as Columbia County, take a somewhat liberal approach to the law. That government does not require a request to pass muster with the county attorney and rarely charges citizens who make requests.
According to County Manager Scott Johnson, it just makes good business sense to comply rather than haggle over the law.
“Generally speaking, if we have the document and there is no material reason not to release it, then we release it. It just makes good sense to keep the public informed,” Johnson said.
Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen says he does not wait for a media or citizen requests before releasing public information when a death an unnatural has occurred. Generally, out of the respect for families, the Coroner’s Office does not send out preemptive press releases on suicides, but will release such information according to the law.
Bowen says, at times, the Coroner’s Office will withhold a victim’s name until the next of kin is notified.
“I sometimes put out a release that omits the name, but that is because the family needs to be told face-to-face and not see it on social media first. But after that, we always release the names and any documents requested as long as it won’t harm an ongoing investigation,” Bowen said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
