---
title: O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. Legislative intent; definitions.
collection: code
id: 50-18-70
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/50-18-70
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/50-18-70.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/50-18-70/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t50-ch13-40-(v38a)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=e98b81c_0#page=43
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: STATE GOVERNMENT / STATE PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS / INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. Legislative intent; definitions.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions. The General Assembly further finds and declares that there is a strong presumption that public records should be made available for public inspection without delay. This article shall be broadly construed to allow the inspection of governmental records. The exceptions set forth in this article, together with any other exception located elsewhere in the Code, shall be interpreted narrowly to exclude only those portions of records addressed by such exception.

(b) As used in this article, the term:

(1) “Agency” shall have the same meaning as in Code Section 50-14-1 and shall additionally include any association, corporation, or other similar organization that has a membership or ownership body composed primarily of counties, municipal corporations, or school districts of this state, their officers, or any combination thereof and derives more than 33 1/3 percent of its general operating budget from payments from such political subdivisions.

(1.1) “Custodian” or “lawful custodian” means the agency that has charge, custody, care, and control over a public record or an employee of such agency who is designated as the custodian of such agency’s records.

(2) “Public record” means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer based or generated information, data, data fields, or similar material prepared and maintained or received by an agency or by a private person or entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of an agency or when such documents have been transferred to a private person or entity by an agency for storage or future governmental use.

## History

Ga. L. 1959, p. 88, § 1; Code 1981, § 50-18-70; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1789, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 243, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1061, § 5; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1545, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2829, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1394, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1436, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1994, p. 618, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 128, § 50; Ga. L. 1999, p. 552, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 2012, p. 173, § 1-38/HB 665; Ga. L. 2012, p. 218, § 2/HB 397; Ga. L. 2025, p. 689, § 1/SB 12, effective May 14, 2025.

## Law Reviews

For article, “Problems, Old and New: A History of Public Records Laws in Georgia,” see 60 Ga. L. Rev. 1 (2025).

For article, “Executive Secrecy: Con-gress, the People, and the Courts,” see 72 Emory L.J. 1301 (2023).

## Amendments

The 2025 amendment, effective May 14, 2025, added paragraph (b)(1.1).