Olens Back In Spotlight Over Open Records | Fulton Daily Report

A lawsuit filed this week in Fulton County Superior Court by a former journalism student against the University System of Georgia Board of Regents over public records requests will thrust the state attorney general back into the open government spotlight.

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens spearheaded an overhaul of the state’s Open Records and Open Meetings Acts, which passed the General Assembly in spring 2012. Olens touted the overhaul, which established new exemptions but also increased penalties for violations, as clearer and fairer statutes for both records-holding government bodies and the public.

Olens’ office is constitutionally obligated to defend the Board of Regents and Georgia Perimeter College against accusations that they violated the Open Records Act by overcharging for open records and withholding them.

In his complaint filed Monday, David Schick said he filed records requests with the university system and Georgia Perimeter College in July 2012 seeking communications between top officials and documents related to the college’s decision to lay off employees.

Schick was editor-in-chief of Georgia Perimeter College’s student newspaper, The Collegian, at the time and was investigating the college’s reported $25 million budget shortfall.

via Olens Back In Spotlight Over Open Records.