2025 Code of Georgia
Title 50 - State Government (Chs. 1 — 40)
Chapter 18 - State Printing and Documents (Arts. 1 — 9)
Article 4 - Inspection of Public Records (§§ 50-18-70 — 50-18-78)

Annotations

Notes

Editor’s notes.

This article is commonly referred to as the “Open Records Law” or “Open Records Act,” although those names are not official.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Denial of defendant’s motion to inspect files. —

When the defendant filed a post-trial motion to inspect the state’s files on the cases of two codefendants, who, by the time this motion was made, had been acquitted, and the state responded that, assuming the state’s files were “public records” within the meaning of the law, these cases were still under investigation for possible federal prosecutions, the trial court did not err when the court denied the defendant’s motion. Castell v. State, 250 Ga. 776, 301 S. E.2d 234, 1983 Ga. LEXIS 1026 (1983).

Applicability of article. —

O. C. G. A. Art. 4, Ch. 18, T. 50 does not provide for open and affirmative disclosure of county official’s communications with the official’s attorney or for disclosure by county sheriff of sheriff’s policies with respect to training deputies. Dodson v. Floyd, 529 F. Supp. 1056, 1981 U. S. Dist. LEXIS 16909 (N. D. Ga. 1981).

Opinion Notes

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Information concerning degrees and awards by University of Georgia. —

Unless and until the University of Georgia designates information concerning degrees and awards to be directory information, as defined by 20 U. S. C. § 1232g(b)(1), gives public notice and allows reasonable time for response, or until a student consents to release of such information, 20 U. S. C. § 1232g, the Family Educational and Private Rights Act, requires the information to remain confidential. Thus, the Open Records Act, O. C. G. A. Art. 4, Ch. 18, T. 50, does not require disclosure of such information. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-48.

Salary information of county employee accessible to public. —

When salary information of county employee is contained solely within the employee’s personnel file, it is not accessible to the public; however, when such information is included as part of another public record, the information is accessible to the public. 1981 Op. Att’y Gen. No. U81-40.

Research References & Practice Aids

Cross references.

Inspection of files and records relating to juvenile court proceedings, § 15-11-58.

Registry for uniform environmental covenants, § 44-16-12.

Furnishing information to out-of-state coroners, § 45-16-10.

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

Law reviews.

For article surveying recent developments in administrative law, see 39 Mercer L. Rev. 33 (1987).

For article, “State Administrative Agency Contested Case Hearings,” see 24 Ga. St. B. J. 193 (1988).

For article, “Georgia’s Open Records and Open Meetings Laws: A Continued March Toward Government in the Sunshine,” see 40 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (1988).

For article, “Education Law,” see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (2001).

For article, “Local Government Law,” see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 389 (2001).

For article, “General Overview of Procurement Process,” see 10 Ga. St. B. J. 12 (2005).

For article, “Must Government Contractors ‘Submit’ to Their Own Destruction?: Georgia’s Trade Secret Disclosure Exemption and United HealthCare of Georgia, Inc. v. Georgia Department of Community Health,” see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 825 (2009).

For article, “SB 202: Revisions to Georgia’s Election and Voting Procedures,” see 38 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 105 (2021).

Hierarchy Notes:

O. C. G. A. Title 50

O. C. G. A. Title 50, Ch. 18