by K B | Mar 20, 2020 | News
By Sarah Brewerton-Palmer As the world reacts to the coronavirus pandemic, public meetings have suddenly become a threat to public health. In response, governmental entities across the state and the country are transitioning from in-person meetings to virtual...
by K B | Mar 20, 2020 | News
By Richard T. Griffiths Since the beginning of the Georgia Open Records Act, the Legislature has exempted itself from the state’s Sunshine Laws. Two identical bills, submitted by Gov. Brian Kemp’s floor leaders in the House and Senate, would fix that. If passed,...
by K B | Feb 6, 2020 | News
Transparency implications of proposed legislation dominated the discussion at the Georgia First Amendment Foundation’s annual Legislative Breakfast on Jan. 23. State Sen. Jen Jordan, state Rep. Josh McLaurin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist James Salzer and...
by K B | Dec 12, 2019 | News
By Richard T. Griffiths Here’s what happens to communities when local journalism collapses: Taxpayers pay more and know less. When local newspapers shut down, county payrolls swell, jumping $1.4 million within a year of a newspaper closing. Taxpayers pay more in...
by K B | Nov 27, 2019 | News
State Rep. Jay Powell, chairman of the House Rules Committee, died Nov. 25 while attending a Republican legislative leaders retreat in Young Harris. He was 67. Powell, an attorney from Camilla, was instrumental to the 2012 update and expansion of Georgia’s Sunshine...
by K B | Aug 11, 2019 | News, Weltner Award
Chief Justice Harold Melton will be the keynote speaker for the event, which will mark the foundation’s 25th anniversary with an award to GFAF co-founder Hyde Post. Former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Harris Hines, who died last fall, was praised for his...
by K B | Jul 18, 2019 | News
By Richard T. Griffiths Let’s all sing together: “Let the sunshine in!” As a group of us huddled in a conference room preparing a sixth edition of our Red Book, the lyrics of a song from the 1967 musical Hair bubbled up in my consciousness, with its warning about how,...
by K B | May 8, 2019 | News
Next open government training May 15 at Atlanta Press Club A Decatur County lawman laments the time he spends redacting police body-camera video to protect the privacy of children and other bystanders. A newly elected Georgia mayor wonders why personnel records are...
by K B | Apr 3, 2019 | News
Hyde Post, who helped found the Georgia First Amendment Foundation in 1994, was inducted into the National Freedom of Information Coalition’s Open Government Hall of Fame April 13 at the organization’s annual FOI Summit in Dallas. The honor reflects Post’s long and...
by K B | Mar 9, 2019 | News
Newly elected mayors and city council members from across the state talked about the importance of open and transparent government with Georgia First Amendment Association Vice President Jim Zachary at the Georgia Municipal Association Newly Elected...
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