Kirby Smart downplays role in open-records change

New Georgia football coach Kirby Smart doesn’t want to take credit for a new state measure that could slow open-records requests.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on the subject.

Following Tuesday’s practice, which was the seventh of the spring for the Bulldogs, Smart admitted in a news conference that he was asked about Georgia’s Open Records laws during a visit earlier this year to the state capitol. In a bill introduced last week by Republican Rep. Earl Ehrhart of Powder Springs, athletic departments within the state would now have 90 days to respond to open-records inquiries.

The existing timetable is three days.

“When I went over to the capitol, I was asked what’s the difference in our program and some programs I’ve been at in the past,” Smart said. “One of the things I brought up is that there is a difference. That was the extent of my conversation with those guys about that, so for me to get the credit for that is a little bit misleading.”

The open-records measure has passed through the state legislature but has not been signed by Gov. Nathan Deal. It was attached to Senate Bill 323, which according to The Associated Press allows state agencies to decline records requests relating to ongoing economic development projects to attract new businesses or expand existing Georgia companies until a deal is announced.

As he introduced the amendment, Ehrhart pointed out that universities are overwhelmed by records requests during recruiting periods and occasionally have hired more personnel to combat the workload.

Frank LoMonte, the executive director of the Virginia-based Student Press Law Center that aims to protect rights of journalists, called the change “unprecedented” in an interview with the AP.

“You could construct a scenario where an agency needed three months if it involves digging through archives, but that certainly shouldn’t be the standard for even the most basic request,” said LoMonte, who added that quick responses to requests in the past have enabled journalists to reveal NCAA violations.

Ehrhart, a Georgia graduate, posted a photo of himself standing next to Smart last week.

“I’ll be honest with you — I want to talk about our football program and football practice,” Smart said. “That has nothing to do with our practice today.”

The open-records change would maintain a three-day window for salary information but would delay contract terms of coaches, facility expenditures and letters of inquiry from the NCAA.

State Sen. Bill Cowsert, the chief of staff to one of the bill’s co-sponsors, recently told the Macon Telegraph that it “came to light through Kirby Smart at UGA.”