What entities are covered by the Open Records and Open Meetings Acts?
Both of these acts apply to:
(A) Every state department, agency, board, bureau, commission, public corporation, and authority;
(B) Every county, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision of this state;
(C) Every department, agency, board, bureau, commission, authority, or similar body of each such county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state;
(D) Every city, county, regional, or other authority established pursuant to the laws of this state; and
(E) Any nonprofit organization to which there is a direct allocation of tax funds made by the governing authority of any agency as defined in this paragraph and which allocation constitutes more than 33 1/3 percent of the funds from all sources of such organization; provided, however, this subparagraph shall not include hospitals, nursing homes, dispensers of pharmaceutical products, or any other type organization, person, or firm furnishing medical or health services to a citizen for which they receive reimbursement from the state whether directly or indirectly; nor shall this term include a subagency or affiliate of such a nonprofit organization from or through which the allocation of tax funds is made.
O.C.G.A. §§ 50-14-1(a)(1), 50-18-70(a).
The Acts also apply to private entities to which public functions have been transferred by an agency or which receives substantial funding or resources from an agency in performance of a task (in such instance, only the records and meetings related to that task are open). An agency may not transfer records to a private entity to avoid disclosure, and, if public records are transferred to private parties, that private person or entity is subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. Central Atlanta Progress, Inc. v. Baker, 278 Ga. App. 733 (2006).
Print this