State officials say they plan to keep the Georgia State Archives open with regular hours after an uproar over plans to limit access to appointments only for six days a month.

Gov. Nathan Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp said Thursday that $125,000 in funding will be restored and allow the archives to stay open two days a week. A spokesman for Kemp says it's unclear whether planned layoffs would still happen.

Last month, Kemp announced plans to lay off state workers and give limited, appointment-only access to the archives in Morrow, where Georgia keeps important records dating to its founding in 1733. The changes were to have taken effect Nov. 1.

Scholars, amateur historians and genealogists had protested the move, which Kemp had blamed on budget cuts.

Tags: University System of Georgia, Brian Kemp, governor deal, state archives