A proposed last-minute attempt to limit the public’s access to police reports and communications with state lawmakers was abandoned Friday as quickly as it emerged.

The proposed changes to the state’s open records law had popped up unexpectedly Wednesday in the gatekeeping House Rules Committee, bypassing the usual legislative committee process.

Rep. Rob Leverett, an Elberton Republican, said he had seen the proposed changes as just “extensions of existing law and were not really reflecting any new policy.” 

But the proposal, Senate Bill 12, was immediately met with opposition from First Amendment advocates who warned the changes would weaken transparency laws.

Under the proposal, police departments would be able to shield almost all information about officers’ stops, arrests and incident responses. And it would have created broad new exemptions to prevent public disclosure of the General Assembly’s activities, including communication with other parts of state government

The change narrowing what police records are available for public inspection appeared to be in response to a lawsuit filed by the Appen Media Group against Sandy Springs that accused the city of withholding public police reports. The state Court of Appeals had recently ruled in Appen’s favor.

Gov. Brian Kemp also seemed cool to the proposal Friday.

“I haven’t seen what the Legislature has done other than just reading a blip in the paper about it,” Kemp told reporters. “But we’ll look at the legislation today. We’ll see what ends up passing or not passing. But I think the General Assembly knows that I’m a pretty transparent person, as you can see being out here answering your questions today.” 

The House ultimately retreated from the changes Friday and passed a version that was more in line with the original proposal – to the relief of the bill’s sponsor, Danielsville Republican Sen. Frank Ginn.

“You don’t want to get into an argument with people that buy ink by the train car load,” Ginn said, referring to concerns from newspapers and others.

Ginn said he was trying to pass a “pro-business bill.” His proposal came in response to a Georgia Supreme Court ruling last year that unanimously found that a private contractor working for a public entity is still subject to the law and can be sent requests for public records they may possess. 

Senate Bill 12 said that requests for those public records should go through the local governmental agencies that contracted with those third parties. This version is what now sits on the governor’s desk. 

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Georgia Recorder.

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