SPRING 2007 NEWSLETTER

GEORGIA FOI ACCESS

GEORGIA FIRST AMENDMENT FOUNDATION

OPINION

Requiring open records requests in writing

could drag out a routine process for days

Reprinted from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta, Feb. 14, 2007 -- Sometimes it's important to remind legislators that elected and appointed officials don't own public records; instead, they are merely the public's custodian of those documents. And when the public wants access to those records, it should be easy to get them.

But House Bill 283, now before the General Assembly, would make that access harder by allowing officials to demand that all requests for public records be submitted in writing. Citizens could be barred from merely asking for records in person or over the telephone, as often happens today.

Promoters of the bill, including the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, are incredulous that there is any opposition to the measure. Among other supposed benefits, requiring a written and dated record of an open records request will protect officials who might otherwise face prosecution for inadvertently failing to comply with the state law requiring quick access to documents, said state Rep. Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross), the lead sponsor of the bill.

However, that solves a problem that doesn't exist. No one has been able to identify a single case in which a Georgia official has ever been criminally prosecuted for violating the Open Records Act. Some jurisdictions and officials do routinely deny requests until a complaint is lodged against them, but no criminal prosecution has followed.

Every day, in courthouses, city halls and school districts, people make verbal requests for public information, and most of the time the requested documents are turned over immediately.

But if the Legislature allows public officials or unelected administrators to demand all requests in writing, that routine process will grind to a halt with many public agencies. In some particularly balky jurisdictions, a transaction that ought to take a minute or two could be dragged out over several days.

There's no reason for that. In fact, the only reason elected leaders would have to discourage easy access to public records is for the convenience or protection of public officials.

And that's simply not good enough.

— Mike King, for the editorial board (mking@ajc.com)