BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION: \; \nNORCROSS\, GA (February 7) - \; Assistant State Attorney Stefan Ritter on Tuesday\, Feb. 19\, will lead a seminar on ho w to use Georgia&rsquo\;s sunshine laws\, which help the public monitor how government funds are spent and politicians conduct business.\nRitter will appear at the community workshop &ldquo\;Gwinnett Gets Informed: G eorgia&rsquo\;s Open Meetings &\; Records Act\,&rdquo\; which will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Catholic Church\, 4545 Timmers Way\, Norcross. \;\nThe senior state attorney will dis cuss recent revisions to the Open Meetings &\; Records Act and explai n how Georgia&rsquo\;s sunshine laws empower the public to hold politici ans and public agencies accountable for their actions.\n&ldquo\;Open gov ernment laws are some of the best tools a citizen has to monitor its own government\,&rdquo\; said Hollie Manheimer\, executive director of Geor gia First Amendment Foundation.  \;&ldquo\;The sunshine laws let cit izens see the meetings and records of its own government. \; Therefo re\, the better a citizen knows how to use the open government laws\, th e better informed it will be."\nGeorgia&rsquo\;s Open Meetings &\; Re cords Act gives the public the power to attend most government meetings and inspect most documents that show how schools\, cities\, states and f ederal offices operate and spend money.\nThe law was rewritten last spri ng to increase fines for violators who fail to respond to requests for p ublic documents or are slow to respond to requests. The penalty for viol ations was raised from $500 to $1\,000. Repeat offenders who commit mult iple violations in a year could face fines of up to $2\,500.\nThe revisi on also provided additional exemptions from certain meetings\, such as t raining classes attended by a quorum of elected officials as long as off icial business is not discussed. It also reduced copy costs for document s from 25-cents-per-page to 10-cents-per-page.\nCommunity activists and the media routinely file open records requests. Some document inspection s have led to investigations that expose government corruption\, wastefu l spending\, safety concerns\, loopholes in laws\, and other problems. S ome examples include the following:\n\nAn inspection of public reco rds by a community group revealed that Gwinnett County Schools allo cated more than $1 million in recent years to pay the salaries of t wo employees at the Gwinnett Chamber without clearly informing taxp ayers. Records show that the district paid $150\,000 annually to Pa rtnership Gwinnett to fund positions that recruit new businesses to the county. The money was spent during a time when teachers faced furlo ugh days.\n\n \;\n\nA lawsuit was recently filed against t he Gwinnett Chamber and the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners for all egedly violating open records laws. A community group leader filed the lawsuit after she was refused information explaining how the Ch amber spends public money it receives from county government\, Gwin nett Schools\, local cities\, and the Gwinnett Convention and Visit ors Bureau\, among other public entities.\n\n \;\n\nAn analysis of state standardized test data - public records obtained by the A tlanta Journal-Constitution- prompted a state investigation into cheatin g on the 2009 Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test. \n\n&nb sp\;\n\nThe Georgia Supreme Court ruled last February that the Atla nta City Council violated the Open Meetings law when it did not pro vide an Atlanta Progressive News editor with information about how council members attending a retreat voted to change public comment rules. \n\nThe Gwinnett Gets Informed: Open Meetings &\; Records Act workshop is part of a series of seminars organized by Gwinnett Gets Inf ormed\, a grassroots organization working to educate taxpayers about imp ortant issues in their community.\n"Ordinary citizens can help rectify e xtraordinary injustices and improprieties simply by exercising their rig ht to public information\," said Jen Falk\, founder of Gwinnett Gets Inf ormed\, a community coalition. "Gwinnett residents and public officials are fortunate to have access to Mr. Ritter. I hope the room is jam-packe d and residents leave knowing that they can make a difference in their o wn community."\nFor more information on the seminar or future events\, c all 678-632-3255 or email gwinnettgetsinformed@gmail.com. URL:http://norcross.patch.com/events/senior-state-attorney-to-lead-open-r ecords-act-workshop SUMMARY:Senior State Attorney to lead Open Records Act workshop LOCATION:Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Catholic Church: 4545 Timmers Way # A\, Norcross\, GA END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR