Lawmaker adds last-minute proposal to exiting bill that could limit access to some public records
Eatonton Republican Rob Leverett added the proposal to an existing bill with no notice late Wednesday night that would allow lawmakers to keep their communications with state agencies secret and not subject to open records requests as they are now.
The bill would also make it harder for the public to get certain police records.
'Republicans are always trying to snake bad provisions in the dead of night without transparency and without public debate,' Democratic House Minority Whip Sam Park of Lawrenceville told the Associated Press. 'They do this every time.'
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Lawmakers are mostly exempt from the state's Open Records Act, but the bill further limits records available to the public. People wouldn't be able to access records of any communications involving members of the legislature or related staff, including with state agencies and officials and private companies.
The bill would also protect information about people's entrance into and out of government buildings and data created for legislative activities. Agencies often prepare data such as how they spend money and present it to lawmakers.
'The First Amendment Foundation has always found it problematic that the legislature is protecting its own business, with a complete exemption from the law,' said Sarah Brewerton-Palmer, president of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. 'But now they're now trying to extend that even into records that currently are public and held by the executive branch.'
That bill is now in a committee but could come out for a vote by the House on Friday, which is the final day of the session.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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