Georgia homeowners trying to understand their association's spending would get a more specific timetable for obtaining records under proposed state rules being considered this week.
The Georgia Secretary of State's Office has scheduled a records hearing for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, with additional hearings Thursday. Its current hearing page provides Webex and telephone access, allowing Augusta-area residents to follow the proceedings without traveling to Atlanta.
The proposal would require an association to acknowledge a written records request within five business days and make the records available within ten days of that acknowledgment, subject to an extension process. It also addresses what associations could withhold and what they could charge.
These are proposed regulations, not newly enforceable deadlines. The records notice lists Jan. 1, 2027, as the proposed adoption date. The distinction matters for an owner waiting for documents now: this week's proceedings are an opportunity to examine the proposed system, not proof that the system is already operating.
Two clocks, with an extension process
Under the proposed records-request rule, a request would have to be in writing, identify the documents with enough detail for the association to determine what is being sought, and go to the contact information in the association's state registration.
The association would then have two obligations: acknowledge the request in writing within five business days, and make the records available within ten days of acknowledgment. A separate proposed definitions rule defines an unqualified day as a calendar day. The production period therefore should not be described as ten business days.
An association facing unusual circumstances could extend production, but it would have to explain the reason in writing, identify the affected records, say what could be produced sooner and give a definite completion date. Delay by the association's agent would not, by itself, excuse an extension; the draft requires providential cause or excusable neglect.
For owners and volunteer boards alike, those details would make the paper trail important: when the request arrived, when it was acknowledged, which records were produced and why anything remained outstanding.
Access would have limits, and so would charges
The companion proposal would open records the association is required to create and maintain under its governing documents, the act or the rules, while preserving legal exemptions.
It expressly excludes documents connected with an active procurement until that procurement is complete, records that are not final, and secret-ballot selections. When only part of a document is exempt, the association would have to provide the reasonably separable remainder. Account numbers, personal information and legally privileged communications could be redacted.
The request rule also restricts access to specific assessments or collection actions involving people who do not reside in the requesting owner's residence. It does not create a general public-records system for anyone seeking an association's files.
Charges would be limited to actual, reasonable and documented costs. Electronic delivery would be free when it requires no material staff time or media cost. Before charges exceed $25, the association would have to provide an itemized estimate. The draft also says an association could not withhold undisputed records because an owner disputes a charge.
The $25 figure is an advance-estimate threshold, not a cap on the total bill.
How to follow the hearings
The Secretary of State's updated schedule moves all hearings to room 307 of the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building, 18 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta. Older PDF notices still name the Floyd Conference Room; the current location-change notice supersedes that address.
The remaining scheduled sessions, all Eastern time, are:
- Wednesday, Nov. 4, 1:30 p.m.: Association records and records requests.
- Thursday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m.: Notices and meetings.
- Thursday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.: Good faith of association boards.
- Thursday, Nov. 5, 1 p.m.: Challenges to orders issued by the Secretary of State.
- Thursday, Nov. 5, 3 p.m.: Challenges to an association's actions or failures to act.
The written-comment deadline was Nov. 2. The records notice allows two minutes per verbal speaker and says a sign-up sheet will be available 15 minutes before the hearing. Although the current page supplies remote access, the posted records notice does not explain how remote speakers join that sign-up process. Check the official page for access details and any further changes.
The hearings are part of implementing the Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act. The agency's implementation FAQ says association registration begins on or after Jan. 1, 2027, and that it will not act on association complaints before that date.
For Augusta-area owners, the immediate question is whether the proposed deadlines, exceptions and charges would make association records meaningfully easier to obtain. The final rules and the state's implementation will determine how that promise works in practice.
Hearing schedule checked Nov. 4, 2026, at 12:11 p.m. Eastern.