Open Government Mediation Program

In 1997, the Department of Law pressed for legislation to amend Georgia's Open Meetings and Open Records acts to give the Department the ability to help citizens and government agencies resolve their disputes without resorting to litigation. After the legislation was passed, our office moved to create an informal mediation program to help Georgia’s citizens with questions or concerns about local government’s decisions to close meetings to the public or governmental responses to Open Records requests. 

Upon receiving a complaint from a Georgia citizen, attorneys at the Department of Law work to ensure that local governments provide access to meetings and records that Georgia citizens are entitled to under the law.