Making a whirlwind visit through South Georgia, State Attorney General Sam Olens said Saturday that he remains confident House Bill 397, which clarifies and strengthens the state’s open meetings and open records law, will pass the House this week.

“The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill and it will be voted on possibly Monday or maybe Wednesday,” he said.

The bill has to pass out of one chamber on the 30th day of the session, which is Wednesday, in order to pass in this legislative session.

The bill has been through several revisions, but the final version is “excellent as it stands and needs to be passed as is,” Olens said.

Although some media outlets in the state have reported that the bill will weaken the Sunshine Laws, Olens disagrees and says this gives the media, and more importantly the public, much stronger recourse if the laws are violated.

“The legislature has given the Attorney General’s office the jurisdiction to enforce the Open Records law and this bill will give us the tools to do so.”

Olens said the AG’s office receives an average of 400 complaints each year of Open Records violations by governmental entities in the state. The bill strengthens penalties

and gives the AG more tools to use to prosecute violators.

Subsection 50-14-6 changes the fine for knowingly violating the law from $100 to $1,000 and allows the court to impose a civil penalty as well.

The bill also strengthens the guidelines for posting notices on websites and clarifies the rules for social events that may attract a quorum of officials. Also, destroying public records can be prosecuted as a felony.

“This bill is balanced and fair, stronger than previously written and gives more authority to enforce the law,” Olens said.

Among the changes in the bill:

• A clearer definition of executive session and of what constitutes a meeting;

• Enacts exemptions for social occasions but if it is used as an excuse to hold an illegal meeting, it is prosecutable;

• Reinforces that all votes have to occur in an open session;

• Meeting minutes from executive sessions must be recorded and if a violation is though to have occurred during the session, a Superior Court judge can examine the minutes and determine if they can be released;

• Mediations remain closed, but the final settlement must be made public;

• Defines public entities which are subjected to the Sunshine Laws;

• States that bids can be closed but when they are publicly opened, the documents are subject to open records requests;

• A clearer definition of “attorney-client privilege” is included.

The entire document can be accessed at http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb397.htm.

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