TOPIC: Open Records Act Procedures

This memo covers what is expected of any Georgia Tech faculty or staff person who receives a request for records under the Open Records Act.   The request does not have to be in writing.   Anyone who receives such a request should respond promptly as described below.   It is illegal not to respond to an Open Records Act request.


I. Purpose of the Procedures

As a public institution, Georgia Tech is subject to the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. (the “ORA”). The law requires that Georgia Tech make available for public inspection public documents within three business days of receiving a request. The purpose of these procedures is to ensure compliance with the law, while minimizing unnecessary costs to Georgia Tech.

All documents prepared or maintained by Georgia Tech, as well as documents prepared or maintained by its employees as part of their job responsibilities, are subject to the ORA. For example, employee notes of official University business (e.g., notes of meetings) are public, not personal, documents. The ORA includes “computer based or generated information” within the definition of a “public record.” This includes, for example, logs kept on the server. There are certain exemptions under the law for personal or confidential information, such as Social Security numbers and proprietary information.

Georgia Tech is not required to prepare reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence at the time of the request. However, Georgia Tech keeps enormous amounts of information in electronic databases; where the information is available in electronic form, Georgia Tech must produce the information. Sometimes the easiest way to do this is to run a query and retrieve only the information requested. Documents maintained electronically must be made available by electronic means upon request where the transmission can be made reasonably secure.

The Office of Legal Affairs (“OLA”) has been designated by the President of the Institute as the office to respond to ORA requests. However, because OLA is not the custodian of records for the Institute, departments and schools must work in cooperation with OLA to ensure the Institute’s compliance with the ORA. The custodian of the records remains responsible for compliance with the ORA.

 

II. What to Do When You Receive an ORA Request

  1. Upon receipt of an ORA request, promptly notify your department/school chair, who will then immediately call Randy Nordin in OLA.

    2. There is no legal requirement that an ORA request be in writing; oral requests are acceptable. If you do receive an oral request, you should make a note of the request and review your notes with the requester to ensure that the request is clear. An attorney will be assigned to assist you with preparing a response to the request. You and the attorney can then work together to determine the scope of the request and an appropriate response.

    Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to respond to an Open Records Act request may be found guilty of a misdemeanor criminal act, and fined up to $100 per violation. If you receive a request you must respond within three business days.

  2. If the ORA request originates from OLA, you must respond promptly to requests for information from OLA.

    3. OLA frequently receives ORA requests directly. If you receive an inquiry from OLA, respond promptly.

  3. Georgia Tech must provide a good-faith estimate of the costs before fulfilling the request.

    4. Georgia Tech is permitted to recover its costs in responding to ORA requests. Estimate how long it will take you to search for, retrieve, redact and re-file the records. If you believe it will take less than one hour, notify OLA and proceed to fulfill the request. If you believe it will take longer than one hour, notify OLA for further direction.

    Most requests are straightforward requests for specific documents, such as a particular personnel file. Others are more complicated, or do not give enough information to enable us to form a response. In those instances, OLA will help you to narrow the scope of the request or to determine whether we need additional information from the requester.

    The hourly rate charged for search and retrieval time may not exceed the rate of the lowest-paid full-time employee capable of performing the search. If you expect the search and retrieval time will exceed one hour, you should inform OLA, who will respond as appropriate. Many requesters do not realize that their requests for documents can be expensive. Upon the agreement of the requester to pay the costs, you will be informed by OLA to begin retrieval, redaction, copying, and replacing records.

  4. When you finish searching for the requested documents, notify OLA that the documents are ready for review or mailing.

    5. Georgia Tech’s obligation is to make the documents available for inspection within three business days after receipt of the request. Many requesters, however, simply ask for copies of the documents. If mailing copies to the requester is more efficient and convenient for Georgia Tech, OLA will ordinarily instruct you to do so.

    Do not simply send documents to OLA with a copy of the request. It is your responsibility to ensure that only documents responsive to the request are sent and that any confidential information is redacted. Any questions you have about whether certain information can or should be produced should be discussed with the attorney assigned to handle your request.

  5. Prepare an invoice to the requester, showing all administrative time and copying costs.

    6. Georgia Tech charges twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page for any copies in addition to the costs of search, retrieval, redaction and re-filing. We ordinarily waive this fee for requests that result in fewer than 20 copies. If the information requested is available on the computer, Georgia Tech may charge the public the actual cost of a computer disk or tape onto which the information is transferred and may charge for the administrative time involved.

Home | About OLA | Recent Legal Developments | FAQ | Topics