The Georgia Attorney General’s Office now has a Facebook page and is on Twitter and, in just the past month, has issued more press releases than it did all of last year.
Sam Olens, the former Cobb County Commission chairman, has presented himself repeatedly on the public stage as the state’s new top lawyer. His style is especially noticeable when comparing the Republican to his Democratic predecessor, Thurbert Baker -- not for party but for personality.
Baker, who resigned to run an unsuccessful campaign for governor, rarely took questions from the media and infrequently drew attention to the AG office’s accomplishments.
For example, Baker sent out 11 press releases last year, six fewer than in 2009, according to the office’s website. Since Olens took the oath of office Jan. 10, he has posted 13.
“The difference is, Sam is much more personally involved,” said Rich Golick, the Smyrna Republican who serves as chairman of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee. “Sam understands the need to work well with others, and that’s arguably his greatest strength.”
This week, Olens released his legislative agenda. Two key pieces of legislation – cracking down on foreclosure fraud and increasing penalties against those who engage in sex trafficking – were developed by working with lawmakers and other key players.
The final piece calls for rewriting the state’s sunshine laws to give them more bite and make them easier to understand. It's an issue that Olens routinely touted during his first bid last year for statewide office.
Olens credits his fast start to Baker, who called the day after the Nov. 2 election and invited him to the office to ensure a smooth transition. Almost immediately, Olens began coming to the AG's office three days a week to meet with staff and plow through reams of legal papers.
"We were able to come in here with a lot of confidence and already knowing the significant litigation," Olens said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The only thing that slowed me down was the ice."
He also called legislators to talk about issues and develop his agenda. It was after a lunch with Golick that the chairman put Olens in touch with his long-time friend, Majority Whip Edward Lindsey. The two quickly learned they shared concerns about the forced prostitution of a vulnerable population.
Olens and Lindsey interviewed law enforcement and social workers before jointly drafting House Bill 200. The proposal, which has bipartisan support, is intended to help law enforcement crack down on those who traffic in sexual servitude and prostitution.
“He has come into office having been on the outside, dealing with issues from a different perspective and the need to get things done,” said Lindsey, an Atlanta Republican.
Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, also said she was grateful for the issues that Olens is tackling. “I applaud him for having an affirmative agenda on behalf of the Georgia consumers,” she said.
Olens said a proposed open records bill is expected later this week. Too many government agencies are not taking the law seriously enough, Olens said.
As it stands, the maximum fine for a violation of the Open Records Act is $100, and for a violation of the Open Meetings Act it's $500. Olens said he wants the maximum penalties for both to be $1,000. Any subsequent violations over the following year by the same agency would cost $2,500 apiece.
Olens said the bill also would require Open Records Act requests to be made in writing, not verbally as allowed under current law. It also would require agencies to immediately prepare and turn over an Open Records Act request if it is expected to cost less than $50. If the request is expected to cost more than $1,000, the agency can require the payment be made before the request is processed.
Olens said he is aware that some members of the Legislature may try to relax Georgia’s sunshine laws while the bill makes its way through both chambers. “But I assume the press would immediately pay attention to those issues,” he said. When asked if he would do the same, Olens answered, “Absolutely.”
Another interest Olens said he will work on is creating punishments for foreclose fraud in Georgia. The AG's office is almost powerless to help those victimized by such fraud, Olens said. "We have limited to no jurisdiction on that now."
Olens moved to correct that by reaching out to the banking community for ways to ferret out malfeasance in the lengthy paperwork foreclosure process. Olens and Golick drafted House Bill 237, which would give the attorney general more authority to go after wrongdoers but also works to separate bad intent from mere mistakes.
“The most consistent theme I’ve experienced with Sam is Sam is very collaborative,” Golick said. “He’s very good at communicating and making sure all relevant parties are being heard from. That’s an effective way to get things done.”
Olens noted that his office, for the first time, published on its website the legal fees being paid to private attorneys who represent the state as special assistant attorneys general. In the past, an Open Records Act request was needed to get the information.
“If the attorney general is in charge of making sure the sunshine laws work, then the attorney general’s office should make sure the activities of the office have that same level of transparency," Olens said.
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