History of sunshine laws in georgia courtesy of the Georgia Press Office

The following materials were prepared by the Georgia Press Office. They tell the story of how our press, standing for our First Amendment freedoms has advanced the cause of openness in government.

1966 President Johnson signed federal Freedom of Information Act.

1972 Governor Carter signed Georgia's first sunshine law.

1973 McLarty v. Board of Regents. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the purpose of the Open Meetings Act is to eliminate "closed door meetings which engender in the people a distrust of its officials who are clothed with the power to act in their name."

1974 Congress strengthened federal FOIA, requiring answers to requests within 10 days.

1975 Goggin v. Davey. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the Open Meetings Act does not apply to the General Assembly.

1976 Federal "Government in the Sunshine Law" required most meetings of federal agencies to be open to the public.

1976 Houston v. Rutledge. The Georgia Supreme Court defined "public record" to be "all documents, papers, and records prepared and maintained in the course of the operation of a public office" and held that First Amendment principles favoring open communication apply to the Act.

1980 Athens Observer, Inc. v. Anderson. The Georgia Supreme Court held that a report commissioned by the University of Georgia that evaluated the school's math department was a public record even though prepared by a private, outside consultant.

1984 Richmond County Hospital Authority v. Southeastern Newspapers Corp. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the Open Records Act requires disclosure of records identifying the names, salaries and job titles of public hospital employees despite arguments that release of the information might decrease morale and cause the hospital competitive harm; the Court found such speculation clearly insufficient to overcome "the strong public policy of this state in favor of open government."

1984 Florida Publishing Co. v. Morgan. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the press and public have a right of access to juvenile proceedings unless there is an overriding or compelling reason for closure.

1985 Colquitt County Commission Chairman Bill Kennedy was fined $300 in Moultrie State Court after pleading no contest to three counts of violating the sunshine law.

1986 Harris v. Cox Enterprises. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a decision requiring disclosure of a GBI investigative report into ticket-fixing allegations in the Georgia State Patrol and reiterated that "information reflecting upon an individual's performance or official duties would not be exempt" from the Act.

1987 Napper v. Georgia Television Co. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a decision requiring disclosure of investigative files on the Atlanta missing and murdered children cases; on remand, attorney's fees were awarded to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV and ABC News.

1988 Atlanta Journal v. Long. The Georgia Supreme Court held that there is a strong presumption that the public will have access to all court records unless clear necessity is shown for closure.

1989 Board of Regents v. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Georgia Supreme Court held that records relating to the names, resumes and vitae of candidates for a public position, such a president of Georgia State University, must be disclosed under the Act.

1989 Parker v. Lee. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the Open Records Act exemption for law enforcement records compiled in a pending investigation applied only when there is an "imminent adjudicatory proceeding of finite duration."

1989 Atlanta Journal-Constitution v. ACVB. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a decision requiring disclosure of financial and salary records of the private non-profit Atlanta Convention Bureau that receives more than one-third of its budget from tax revenues.

1990-91 Dooley v. Davidson and Cremins v. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that records relating to the outside income of public university athletic coaches are public records.

1991 Dortch v. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Georgia Supreme Court held that unredacted copies of City of Atlanta car telephone records must be disclosed under the Act even if public officials reimbursed the city for some personal calls made on their own cellular telephones.

1991 Trammel v. Martin. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a requester of information under the Act cannot be charged for time spent by an agency attorney reviewing the requested documents.

1991 Steele v. Honea. The Georgia Supreme Court held that participation by a public official in a meeting required to be open under the Act can be a ground for recall and pointed out that whenever doubt exists, a meeting should be open.

1991 City of St. Marys v. Camden Newspapers, Inc. The Georgia Supreme Court held that a sexual harassment complaint filed by a city employee against a councilman must be disclosed, even though the complaint was in the employee's personnel file because the employee waived the right of privilege by filing and the complaint was not the type of individual profile found in a personnel file.

1992 McFrugal Rental v. Garr. The Georgia Supreme Court held the custodian of city records could not charge citizens a fee to cover the costs of a temporary employee to supervise inspection of the records unless he could show supervision was necessary and the fee was reasonable.

1992 Haraway Company v. Rives. The Georgia Supreme Court held that Engineer Cost Estimates for the Department of Transportation were not protected by a "state secret" exception, but public interest supports an exemption until the projects are complete or abandoned.

1992 Fathers are Parents Too, Inc. v. Hunstein. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that the Legislature did not intend for the Open Meetings Law to apply to the judicial branch of government.

1993 Red and Black Pub. v. Board of Regents. The Georgia Supreme Court held in favor of a student newspaper that the records and proceedings of the UGA Organization Court are subject to the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts because the court is the vehicle for carrying out the responsibilities of the Board of Regents in regulating collegiate social organizations.

1993 Clayton County Hospital Authority v. Webb. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a non-profit organization that "leased" public hospital assets was subject to the Open Records Act.

1994 Doe v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Ga. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a report of a rape incident could be obtained, but the victim's name must be withheld, as required under the rape victim confidentiality statute.

1994 Jersawitz v. Fortson. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that under the Open Meetings Act, a "committee" did not need to consist solely of members of the governing body of an agency to be a meeting, and a videotape after the meeting was over was not adequate compliance with the law.

1994 Hackworth v. Bd of Education. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that personnel records of city school bus drivers must be open even if the drivers are employed by a private company under contract with the school board.

1995 Times-Journal, Inc. v. Northwest Georgia Health System, Inc. and Promina Health Systems, Inc. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that entities, including non-profit organizations that act as a "vehicle" of any agency by carrying out the responsibilities of such agency, are subject to the Georgia Sunshine Laws.

1995 Atlanta Journal-Constitution v. City of Brunswick. The Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed that because a document contains exempted material does not allow the entire document to be withheld. Police department incident reports are public records except for portions that would reveal confidential information or endanger the lives of individuals.

1995 Mullins v. City of Griffin. The U.S. District Court reasoned that because public funds were used to settle a sexual harassment suit filed against the local government, an order of confidentiality concerning the terms of the settlement could not be upheld.

1996 Rockdale Citizen v. State. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed a trial court order closing pretrial hearings in a capital murder case. The Court reaffirmed that open court proceedings are guaranteed by the state and federal constitutions.

1998 WALB-TV, Inc. v. Gibson. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a trail court decision to deny video cameras in the trail of one defendant because it might adversely impact the subsequent trial of a co-defendant. However, the Supreme Court reversed the trial judge's decision to deny camera access to the second trail. The Court rejected vague notions that "due process rights" are infringed by photographing a trial.

1999 Savannah College of Art and Design v. School of Visual Arts, Inc. By a 4-3 vote, the Georgia Supreme Court allowed parties in litigation to keep secret a settlement agreement that was filed under seal as a part of the record in subsequent litigation. The majority of the justices found a general right of private parties to settle their dispute confidentially that outweighed the public interest in access to all court records.

1999 Under the leadership of Governor Roy Barnes, the General Assembly enacted major revisions to strengthen the Sunshine Laws along the lines suggested for several years by GPA.

2000 Howard v. Sumter Free Press. The Georgia Supreme Court held that verbal Open Records request are just as effective as written request.

2001 The Claxton Enterprise v. Evans County. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a meeting could not closed to meet with an attorney for "potential litigation" unless there has been actual threat of a suit.

2001 Maxwell v. Carney. The Georgia Supreme Court held the Brooks County Commission had to conduct its meeting in a larger room if there was one available if public attendance was such that the regular room was too small to accommodate those present.

2001 Moon v. Terrell County. A meeting discussing personnel matters may not be disclosed simply because the public employee wishes it closed. Also, consideration of documents in a closed personnel meeting is not permissible as the documents constitute evidence which must be disclosed in public.

2001 Bryan County Board of Equalization v. Bryan County Board of Tax Assessors. The County Board of Equalization is an agency subject to the Open Meetings Act when it deliberates and votes on tax appeals.

2002 Evans County Board of Commissioners v. The Claxton Enterprise. The Court of Appeals held that one who is entitled to attorney’s fees in litigation enforcing the Open Meetings Act is entitled to fees both at the trial level and for the appeal if one becomes necessary.

2004 Slaughter v. Brown. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that the Stewart County Board of Education violated the open meetings law by giving notice that it would be meeting at one location, and then changing the meeting without proper notice to another location.

2005 Morris Communications v. Griffin. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed the denial of camera access to a murder trial in Effingham County. The Court reiterated that public policy favors such access and that access can only be denied based on facts sufficient to justify a trial court's discretion in denying access.

2005 Mercer University v. Barrett & Farahany. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that law enforcement records of a private university were not subject to the open records laws even though the police officers were sworn public safety officers under state law.

2006 Berryhill v. Georgia Community Support and Solutions, Inc. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the Georgia anti-SLAPP statute applies only to statements made in connection with an official proceeding or investigation.

2006 Central Atlanta Progress v. Baker. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Georgia Attorney General and others who sought documents from the City of Atlanta committee trying to woo the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Super Bowl to Atlanta. While the committees were ostensibly private entities, their membership included several important public officials who pledged political and financial support to their activities. Thus, the Court held that these documents pertain to the performance of public functions and had to be disclosed to the public.

2006 Earth Resources, LLC v. Morgan County. The Georgia Supreme Court held that a technical violation in the notice of a proposed meeting did not make the meeting illegal under the Georgia open meetings law.

2006 Decatur County v. Bainbridge Post-Searchlight. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the County Commissioners could not keep secret a letter sent to them from a grand jury investigating government operations, and that it was illegal for the commissioners to meet in a closed session to consider their response to the grand jury. Attorneys' fees were also awarded to the newspaper.

2007 Athens Newspapers v. Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County. The Court of Appeals held that law enforcement records of a 1992 rape and murder must be open to the public because no "pending" investigative activity was ongoing other periodic transmittal of DNA evidence to a national DNA databank. The case has since been appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court and as of 4/08, a decision has not been issued.

2007 Smith v. Dekalb County. Georgia Court of Appeals held that a CD-ROM created by the county or municipal superintendent of elections, containing ballot images, ballot styles, and vote totals, are statutorily designated to be kept under seal, and is not an open record subject to disclosure.

2008 In Re: Gwinett County Grand Jury. Georgia Supreme Court ruled that documents and recorded testimony presented to and considered by a grand jury engaged in its civil duty of inspecting or investigating a county office are not court records subject to USCR 21, and therefore are not available for public inspection.

2008 Jaraysi v. City of Marietta. Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that a city is barred from asserting an exemption to the Open Records Act if it fails to cite said exemption in a timely written response to an open records request, as required by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(h).

2008 United Healthcare of Georgia, Inc, v. Georgia Department of Cmty. Health. Georgia Court of Appeals concluded that all documents relating to a health care providers contract with the Georgia Department of Community Health for the administration of the State Health Benefit Plan are public records as a matter of law, but may be exempt form disclosure under the Open Records Act’s trade secrets exemption. Case remanded to trial court for consideration of whether the documents constitute trade secrets.

2008 Fulton Dekalb Hosp. Auth. v. Miller & Billips. Georgia Court of Appeals held that records generated by in-house counsel during an internal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by authority employees did not fall under the work product doctrine exception to the Open Records Act since there was no threat of pending litigation.

2008 Athens Newspapers v. Unified Govt. of Athens-Clarke County. Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that records pertaining to a 1992 rape and murder investigation are exempt from public disclosure until the investigation is no longer pending. The Court stated that a case would remain pending until the file is closed, and refused to set time limits on how long an investigation can be kept open. It also held that an agency must respond to an Open Records request within three business days after the agency received the request. Failure, barring special circumstances, will result in the award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

2009 Goddard v. City of Albany. Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a city manager did not violate a municipal employee’s right to privacy when he released her personnel documents pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act.

2009 Gumz et. Al. v. Irvin et. al. Georgia Court of Appeals held that discussions after a court hearing adjourned by a quorum of members of a county’s board of commissioners, that were not held pursuant to a call or notice and where no official action was taken, did not violate the Open Meetings Act.

2010 Johnson v. Board of Commissioners of Bibb County. Georgia Court of Appeals held that a governmental body’s closed session to discuss the acquisition of land falls within an exception to the Open Meetings Act requirement under O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(4).

2010 City of Carrollton v. Information Age, Inc. Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that a request to the city for records of non-health related insurance payments and claims over the past year was not overly broad, and it would not constitute a burden for the city to produce these records.

2010 State Road and Tolling Authority v. Elec. Transaction Consultants Corp. Georgia Court of Appeals held that the submission of a price proposal to the State Road and Tollway Authority, as part of a winning bid to supply part of a highway toll system project, is not exempt from production under the Open Records Act pursuant to the business trade secret exemption.