Smart, a year later, on 90-day open records law: 'I don’t think it’s had much of an effect'

It was dubbed "Kirby's Law."

But just how much has this restriction on athletics-related open records affected Georgia head coach Kirby Smart professionally? And was it something he was truly concerned with prior to it being voted upon last March?

Over a year ago, the Georgia General Assembly voted to ratify Senate Bill 323, which included an amendment that allows for public universities to withhold athletics-related documents for up to 90 days under the state's Open Records Act.

The reason Smart's name became attached to the bill was because he, along with athletics director Greg McGarity, met with state legislators to discuss this amendment. Legislators were sold on voting for it under the premise that other institutions were seeking recruiting information through open records.

The law was ratified in March of 2016 and went into effect on July 1, 2016. Taking a question from a reporter at the annual SEC spring meetings, Smart was asked what the open records law has done for his program over the past year.

"I don’t think it’s had much of an effect. You’d have to have to ask these guys – they send in (freedom of information) requests all the time," Smart said, pointing to four UGA beat writers seated in front of him. "They might know. But I don't think there has been any major benefit for us."

The lone exception to the 90-day law is when salary information on athletic staff is requested. Those documents are still required to be returned in three-to-five days.

In addition, Smart said the 90-day law wasn't something he was ever personally latched to. But because he was alongside McGarity speaking with lawmakers at the state Capitol, Smart has been assigned the bulk of the credit for getting the law passed.

"I’ll be honest with you. That’s not a major concern for me," Smart said. "It wasn’t a major concern when it was put in. For me, it allows our staff to get the paperwork together, answer questions and do it in a time-wise manner."

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Smart, a year later, on 90-day open records law: 'I don’t think it’s had much of an effect'."