2021 Georgia Code
Title 50 - State Government
Chapter 18 - State Printing and Documents
Article 4 - Inspection of Public Records
§ 50-18-70. Legislative Intent; Definitions

1. The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions. The General Assembly further finds and declares that there is a strong presumption that public records should be made available for public inspection without delay. This article shall be broadly construed to allow the inspection of governmental records. The exceptions set forth in this article, together with any other exception located elsewhere in the Code, shall be interpreted narrowly to exclude only those portions of records addressed by such exception.
2. As used in this article, the term:
   1. "Agency" shall have the same meaning as in Code Section 50-14-1 and shall additionally include any association, corporation, or other similar organization that has a membership or ownership body composed primarily of counties, municipal corporations, or school districts of this state, their officers, or any combination thereof and derives more than 33 1/3 percent of its general operating budget from payments from such political subdivisions.
   2. "Public record" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer based or generated information, data, data fields, or similar material prepared and maintained or received by an agency or by a private person or entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of an agency or when such documents have been transferred to a private person or entity by an agency for storage or future governmental use.

(Ga. L. 1959, p. 88, § 1; Code 1981, §50-18-70; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1789, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 243, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1061, § 5; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1545, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2829, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1394, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1436, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1994, p. 618, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 128, § 50; Ga. L. 1999, p. 552, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 2012, p. 173, § 1-38/HB 665; Ga. L. 2012, p. 218, § 2/HB 397.)

- Right of shareholders to inspect books and records of corporations, § 14-2-1602.

Confidentiality of records relating to adoption proceedings, § 19-8-18.

Opening of primary and election records of Secretary of State for inspection by public, § 21-2-51.

Opening of primary and election records of election superintendents for inspection by public, § 21-2-72.

Disclosure and publication of vital records, § 31-10-25.

Inspection of motor vehicle records, § 40-3-24.

Confidentiality of reports, files, and other documents, relating to probation, § 42-8-40.

Confidentiality of records of State Board of Pardons and Paroles, § 42-9-53.

Limited disclosure of autopsy photographs, § 45-16-27.

Confidentiality of income tax information, §§ 48-7-60,48-7-61.

- Ga. L. 1992, p. 1061, § 5, added new subsections (d) and (e). Ga. L. 1992, p. 1545, § 1, added new subsection (c) and redesignated former subsection (c) as subsection (d). Ga. L. 1992, p. 2829, § 2, added a new subsection (d). Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1992, former subsection (c) was redesignated as subsection (f), and the new subsection added by Ga. L. 1992, p. 2829, § 2, was redesignated as subsection (g).

Pursuant to Code Section28-9-3, in 2012, the amendment of this Code section by Ga. L. 2012, p. 173, § 1-38/HB 665, was treated as impliedly repealed and superseded by Ga. L. 2012, p. 218, § 2/HB 397, due to irreconcilable conflict. See County of Butts v. Strahan, 151 Ga. 417 (1921); Keener v. McDougall, 232 Ga. 273 (1974).

- For article discussing the right of access to public records of local government, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 97 (1978). For article, "Informational Privacy Under the Open Records Act," see 32 Mercer L. Rev. 393 (1980). For article surveying developments in Georgia local government law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1981). For annual survey of administrative law, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 17 (1986). For annual survey of state and local taxation, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 337 (1986). For annual survey on local government law, see 42 Mercer L. Rev. 359 (1990). For annual survey of local government law, see 44 Mercer L. Rev. 309 (1992). For survey article on administrative law for the period from June 1, 1997 through May 31, 1999, see 51 Mercer L. Rev. 103 (1999). For annual survey article discussing developments in education law, see 52 Mercer L. Rev. 221 (2000). For article, "General Overview of Procurement Process," see 10 Ga. St. B.J. 12 (2005). For annual survey of administrative law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2005). For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005). For annual survey of criminal law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 83 (2006). For annual survey of zoning and land use law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 477 (2006). For survey article on local government law, see 59 Mercer L. Rev. 285 (2007). For survey article on zoning and land use law, see 59 Mercer L. Rev. 493 (2007). For survey article on local government law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 263 (2008). For article on the 2012 amendment of this Code section, see 29 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 139 (2012). For annual survey on administrative law, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 39 (2012). For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 305 (2012). For article, "Prison Accountability and Performance Measures," see 63 Emory L. J. 339 (2013). For annual survey on local government law, see 68 Mercer L. Rev. 199 (2016). For annual survey on local government law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 177 (2018). For note on 1992 amendment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 344 (1992). For note on the 1994 amendment of this Code section, see 11 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 265 (1994). For note on 1999 amendment to this Code section, see 16 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 262 (1999). For note on 1999 amendment to this Code section, see 16 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 268 (1999).

ANALYSIS

• General Consideration
• Public Records
• Balancing of Interests
• Exceptions

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

"Public record" defined.

- Public record is one made by a public officer in pursuance of a duty, the immediate purpose of which is to disseminate information to the public or to serve as a memorial of official transactions for public reference. 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U71-9.

- Mere fact that a document is deposited or filed in a public office, or with a public officer, or is in the custody of a public officer, does not make the document a public record; the crucial aspect which makes applications and related materials subject to public scrutiny is the necessity for a board to keep these documents in the discharge of a board's proper duty. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-126.

Georgia courts have adopted a balancing test in construing O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U81-47.

Use of term "law" in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 likely encompasses agency rules and regulations. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-50.

- Citizen requesting to inspect and copy public records subject to the Open Records Act cannot be required to first obtain a subpoena. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-105.

- Information does not fall outside the scope of the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., because the information is stored by means of magnetic tape or diskette rather than in a more traditional form. When the requested information can be retrieved by a minimal computer search, an agency must comply. The parameters of the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., cannot be altered by contract and any such provisions are unenforceable. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. 89-32.

- Under former Code 1933, § 89-601 (see O.C.G.A. § 45-6-6), grand jury lists are public records and as such are matters which are open to inspection by citizens at a reasonable time and place; any citizen, even a newspaper publisher, may copy grand jury lists and also publish the lists in a newspaper, if the citizen so desires. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-371.

Suits on account, notes, mortgage foreclosures, and garnishments were "public records" since they were required by law to be kept, as well as within former Code 1933, § 89-601 (see O.C.G.A. § 45-6-6), since they were contained in books kept by a public officer under the laws of Georgia. Therefore, as public records these matters should be open to inspection by citizens at a reasonable time and place. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-340.

- Documents pertaining to inspection of Section 8 housing are subject to open records requests. 1991 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 91-33.

- Police officer's investigative report prepared for submission to the officer's superiors is not a record which must be available for inspection or copying. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U75-92.

- This section does not require personnel records of a local board of education to be made available to the general public for inspection or copying, and should the board so desire, local school boards may lawfully maintain a policy of confidentiality concerning such files. 1977 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 77-56.

Personnel records of employees of university system are state records within meaning of this section. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-88.

- As for those employees who might not desire to have salary information disclosed, in accepting employment by the state, the employees necessarily accepted the conditions imposed by law upon that employment. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-88.

- Trade secrets and other confidential business information received by the state energy office from the federal government and businesses in the private sector are not within the purview of this section, and may be treated as confidential by that state agency. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U74-113.

- Open Records Law provides for inspection and copying of public records by citizens, but does not require the Department of Education to itself prepare and furnish copies of public records to interested persons. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U76-43.

- This section is generally interpreted to intend that records kept on behalf of the public shall be open and that those kept for the benefit of an individual shall not. Common sense and good judgment should prevail, but there is no absolute legal right on the part of a parent to inspect a minor child's school records. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U72-74.

- Records should be made available for inspection upon request by any nonresident of Georgia unless disclosure is prohibited by court order or otherwise exempted by law. 1993 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 93-27.

- Records in the office of the justice of the peace are public records of a court and are open for inspection by the general public, including a notary public, ex officio justice of the peace. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 101.

- Licensure applications submitted to the State Board of Registration of Used Car Dealers and their necessary parts are public records and, therefore, applications and related material become state records open to public scrutiny when the records are received by the board; financial statements submitted are a necessary part of this application and are, therefore, open for public inspection, and it would not be permissible for the board to return the financial statements to the applicant without subjecting the applicant to public scrutiny. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-126.

Licensure of nursing home programs is subject to the Open Records Law. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 65-93.

- Records may be made available for inspection by members of the public who might come in and make a request, but no such information is to be given by telephone. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-88.

- Names, addresses, and zip codes of electors must be furnished upon request for the fees set forth in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-234. Any additional identifying information as may be collected and maintained must also be made available for inspection and copying and a reasonable fee may be charged for expenses incurred for copies furnished. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-39.

- O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 does not mandate that inmate records are to be open for public inspection since Department of Offender Rehabilitation (now Department of Corrections) rules and regulations, which have the force and effect of law, require that inmate records not be open for public inspection. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-50.

Department of Offender Rehabilitation (now Department of Corrections) may properly release to Social Security Administration (SSA) inmate records necessary to enable SSA to perform SSA's statutory duties; so long as information released is necessary for SSA to carry out SSA's statutorily prescribed duties, the department will not be liable for invasion of an inmate's privacy. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-50.

- Department of Medical Assistance (now Department of Community Health) must disclose maximum payments available to providers under the various reimbursement schedules. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-50.

- Information obtained pursuant to criminal history background check under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129 is confidential. Information obtained pursuant to criminal history background check, required by O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129, from taking of fingerprints and checking of these fingerprints with those presently on file with the Georgia Crime Information Center is of a confidential nature and prohibited from public disclosure. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U81-47.

- Only names of persons issued permits to carry revolvers and date of issuance are matters of public record. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U81-47.

Utility accounts of a municipality are not exempt from disclosure under the Open Records Law, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U82-36.

- Billing and payment records of public employees and officials to a municipally owned and operated public utility system are subject to disclosure, barring the proper application of any exception. 2000 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2000-4.

- Invoices reflecting sales of alcohol beverages by wholesalers to local retailers furnished to a local governing authority for the purpose of computing local alcohol excise tax are public records under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 and should be disclosed. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U85-44.

- Copying of copyrighted manuals, rates, and rules which must be filed with the insurance commissioner would not constitute an unfair use and hence would not amount to an infringement but, to the contrary, would constitute a fair use within the purpose for which the filing was made with the commissioner. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-178.

Notices of plant closings received from private employers by the Georgia Department of Labor pursuant to the "Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act" are subject to public disclosure under the Georgia Open Records Law, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. 89-38.

- It is not proper for county tax commissioner to store tax records in the commissioner's home. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U75-75.

Members of the General Assembly have no greater right than any other citizen to inspect records deemed confidential under the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U88-33.

- Decisions of the Office of State Administrative Hearings are public records subject to distribution unless the decisions contain information subject to a confidentiality provision. 1999 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 99-13.

- All records of the State Board of Workers' Compensation pertaining to accidents, injuries, and settlements are confidential, unless a party can meet the statutory requirements for access or has authority pursuant to the Child Support Recovery Act, O.C.G.A. § 19-11-1 et seq. 1991 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 91-5.

Records of the State Board of Workers' Compensation Fraud and Compliance Division are subject to disclosure under the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., except when such disclosure is exempted by the Act, prohibited by law, or prohibited by court order. 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 97-20.

- Documents used in the competitive bidding process under the federal Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 are subject to the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. 1991 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 91-11.

Salary and expense information of nonprofit contractors receiving "arts grants" funds through the Office of Planning and Budget based upon the recommendation of the Georgia Council for the Arts must be made available for public inspection. 1995 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 95-31.

- Agencies covered by the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 et seq., may not by contract with a federal agency create an exception to the Act and make otherwise public documents in the hands of the agency confidential unless the contract provision is mandated by federal law or regulation. 2005 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U2005-1.

- Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320d) does not prevent the release of information on copies of death certificates about the cause of death of an individual, as well as conditions leading to the person's death and information regarding surgical proceedings conducted on the deceased, if any, that are released under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 et seq. 2007 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2007-4.

- The Department of Revenue is authorized to provide access to the information contained in the Georgia Registration and Title Information System only for the purposes mandated by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721 - 2725, or to those state agencies designated in O.C.G.A. §§ 33-34-9,40-2-130(c), and40-3-23(d). 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2008-2.

- Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority is required to produce images and index data in response to Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., requests for information contained on the online information system for deeds, liens, and plats, but may do so in accordance with a fee schedule adopted pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 15-6-94. 2012 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 12-5.

12B Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, Freedom of Information Act, § 46.

- 66 Am. Jur. 2d, Records and Recording Laws, §§ 17, 22, 26 et seq.

Litigation Under the Freedom of Information Act, 50 Am. Jur. Trials 407.

- 76 C.J.S., Records, § 43 et seq.

- Right to examine records or documents of municipality relating to public utility conducted by it, 102 A.L.R. 756.

Enforceability by mandamus of right to inspect public records, 169 A.L.R. 653.

Validity, construction, and application of statutory provisions relating to public access to police records, 82 A.L.R.3d 19.

Restricting access to records of disciplinary proceedings against attorneys, 83 A.L.R.3d 749.

Discovery or inspection of state bar records of complaints against or investigations of attorneys, 83 A.L.R.3d 777.

Restricting access to judicial records of concluded adoption proceedings, 83 A.L.R.3d 800.

Accused's right to discovery or inspection of "rap sheets" or similar police records about prosecution witnesses, 95 A.L.R.3d 832.

What constitutes preliminary drafts or notes provided by or for state or local governmental agency, or intra-agency memorandums, exempt from disclosure or inspection under state freedom of information acts, 26 A.L.R.4th 639.

Patient's right to disclosure of his or her own medical records under state freedom of information act, 26 A.L.R.4th 701.

What are "records" of agency which must be made available under state freedom of information act, 27 A.L.R.4th 680.

What constitutes an agency subject to application of state freedom of information act, 27 A.L.R.4th 742.

What constitutes "trade secrets" exempt from disclosure under state freedom of information act, 27 A.L.R.4th 773.

State freedom of information act requests: right to receive information in particular medium or format, 86 A.L.R.4th 786.

Propriety of publishing identity of sexual assault victim, 40 A.L.R.5th 787.

Disclosure of electronic data under state public records and freedom of information acts, 54 A.L.R.6th 653.

Disclosure, under State Freedom of Information or Records Act, of video obtained by police or other law enforcement authorities from dash camera, mobile video recorder, or security or surveillance camera, 48 A.L.R.7th Art. 2.

What are "records" of agency which must be made available under Freedom of Information Act (5 USCA § 552(a)(3)), 153 A.L.R. Fed. 571.

What constitutes "agency" for purposes of Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.A § 552), 165 A.L.R. Fed. 591.

Actions brought under Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C.A. § 522 et seq. - Supreme Court cases, 167 A.L.R. Fed. 545.