Georgia attorney general not getting involved in proposed change to open records law

In the waning hours of Georgia's legislative session, lawmakers approved an amendment to the state's Open Records Act that, if signed into law, would give college athletic programs 90 days to process requests for information.

Now, they have up to three days to respond to such requests.

While he was in Macon on Wednesday, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens told The Telegraph that his office hasn't weighed in on the bill and doesn't plan to become involved in whether Gov. Nathan Deal signs it into law.

"I play a bigger role in potential bills that I think strongly need to be vetoed," said Olens, the state's chief law enforcement officer. "There's enough bills that they pass each year that I have legal concerns about -- equal protection, etcetera -- that I need to use the political capital where it's strictly in our lane."

If the bill had created an exemption in the law, as opposed to extending the number of days allowed for a response, he said he'd be more concerned.

In 2012, Olens championed an overhaul of the state's sunshine law and made it a top legislative priority, meeting with media representatives, governmental associations and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, among others.

Supporters of the amendment have claimed that other athletic programs have had an advantage in recruiting athletes due to Georgia's current open records law.

Olens said plans are in motion to request changes to the Open Records Act during next year's legislative session to strengthen enforcement efforts.

He said he's also not taken a stand on the religious liberty bill, which Deal has said he would veto, or a proposed law that would allow guns on college campuses. Deal has not announced his intentions on that legislation.

The attorney general was in Macon to speak to Mercer University law students about the Fifth Annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, a statewide food drive competition for lawyers and law students.

He's traveling to cities throughout the state in support of the program, which begins April 18.

Olens said about one in four Georgia children are "food insecure."

The program's aim to provide food for school children during their summer break.

Speaking to a group of students, Olens said he hopes to raise the equivalent of 1.3 million pounds of food through both food and monetary donations.

Competing against other Georgia law schools, Mercer University's students gathered the most donations for the drive in its first two years. Georgia State University has won the past two years.

Lawyer Veronica Brinson is Macon's representative for the drive.

Olens told the students, "We are blessed to be lawyers. We are blessed to have a great education and make a difference in people's lives. We have an obligation to improve the lives of our fellow citizens."

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Georgia attorney general not getting involved in proposed change to open records law ."