A ruling by the Court of Appeals of Georgia regarding two lawsuits involving the Georgia Open Records Act means any state citizen can seek civil penalties against the government officials who don't release public records in a timely manner under the law.

In Tuesday's ruling, the panel of Presiding Judge M. Yvette Miller and Judges Kenneth B. Hodges III and Trea Pipkin overturned Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe's decision that only the attorney general can seek civil penalties against officials in open records cases.