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Committee debates Senate Bill 12 to clarify where public-record requests must be filed for contracted services
Summary
Sen. Ginn presented a substitute to the Open Records Act that would channel requests to government agencies and clarify the custodian definition after a Georgia Supreme Court decision. Municipal and transparency groups asked for edits to avoid shielding contractor-held records or removing private enforcement remedies.
Sen. Ginn presented Senate Bill 12 (LC473296S) to the Judiciary Committee, saying the bill is intended to clarify where open records requests must be directed after a Georgia Supreme Court decision that, in the sponsor’s view, left a gap in the law.
"I want to make sure that the record request goes to the public agency that that is responsible for those records, and that they can't go hide them," Sen. Ginn said, describing the bill's primary purpose as channeling requests to government custodians rather than to private contractors.
The bill would revise the statutory definition of a custodian and the definition of public record so that records "transferred to a private person or entity by an agency for storage or for future governmental use" remain public but that the custodian responsible for responding to requests is the public agency. Sponsor and municipal witnesses said the change responds to a recent…
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