2020 Georgia Code
Title 50 - State Government
Chapter 18 - State Printing and Documents
Article 5 - State Records Management
§ 50-18-102. Records as Public Property; Disposing of Records Other Than by Approved Retention Schedule as Misdemeanor; Person Acting Under Article Not Liable
- All records created or received in the performance of duty and paid for by public funds are deemed to be public property and shall constitute a record of public acts.
- The destruction of records shall occur only through the operation of an approved retention schedule. The records shall not be placed in the custody of private individuals or institutions or semiprivate organizations unless authorized by retention schedules.
- The alienation, alteration, theft, or destruction of records by any person or persons in a manner not authorized by an applicable retention schedule is a misdemeanor.
- No person acting in compliance with this article shall be held personally liable.
(Ga. L. 1972, p. 1267, § 7; Ga. L. 1975, p. 675, § 7.)
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Applicability of O.C.G.A. § 50-18-102 to courts requires adoption of a retention schedule by the State Records Committee and concurrence in that retention schedule by the Administrative Office of the Courts. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-29.
Authority of agency heads.- Agency head has direct supervisory control over the agency records management officer and, subject to the approval of the State Records Committee, direct control over the agency's records management program. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-84.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 66 Am. Jur. 2d, Records and Recording Laws, § 11 et seq.
C.J.S.- 76 C.J.S., Records, § 41 et seq.
ALR.- What constitutes a public record or document within statute making falsification, forgery, mutilation, removal, or other misuse thereof an offense, 75 A.L.R.4th 1067.
