10.3.1 Open Records Requests
| Added: | 11/14/2013 |
| Revised: | 07/08/2015 |
| Last Reviewed: | 07/31/2018 |
| Effective: | 08/07/2015 |
Records of Middle Georgia State University are subject to The Open Records Act of the Official Code of Georgia (50-18-70).
The Georgia Open Records Act provides procedures for the disclosure of public records in the custody or under the control of public officials/record custodians. It further creates civil and criminal penalties for records custodians who fail or refuse to follow its procedures. All public records (unless exempt as set forth below) are open to inspection by the general public. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(b). Requests may be written or verbal. A custodian does not have to prepare summaries of documents, nor must it compile records in any requested order not in existence at the time of the request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(d).
Requests must be acknowledged/fulfilled within three business days. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(f). During that time, the custodian must determine whether the records can be inspected (or are legally excluded from inspection), and then, during that same period, must notify the individual who made the request whether (and when) the records will be available. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(f). The custodian must provide a timely schedule even if it will take more than three days to assemble and produce the records. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(f). If records are not subject to disclosure, the custodian must respond within three business days with citation of legal authority exempting such records. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(h). The custodian can amend or supplement a designation one time within five days of the discovery of an error. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(h).
The Open Records Act allows MGA to assess a reasonable fee for the retrieval and assembling of records requested.
University Counsel is the designated Open Records Officer for MGA. All requests must be received in writing via email to openrecords@mga.edu.