ATLANTA -- Some Georgia Lawmakers are trying to make it more difficult for citizens to gain access to government records.

House Bill 283, introduced this week, would mandate that requests for public records be made in writing.

Georgia's Current Open Records Act allows oral requests for such records.

Authors of the House Bill 283 are quoted as saying "it would protect government officials who should face prosecution for inadvertently failing to comply with the law".

But House Bill 283 sounds more like a smoke screen to make government information harder to get.

Keeping government records as open as possible is essential to good government.

Gaining access to government records have uncovered fraud, waste and abuse of government at all levels.

And the public's right to know should not depend upon the whims of officials, elected or non-elected.

Government makes many decisions affecting our lives.

Not having ready access to the reasons behind those decisions breeds mistrust and contempt.

And we have enough of that going on now.

Previous efforts to change Georgia's Open Records Act have failed.

But unless you once again let your state representatives know how you feel, House Bill 283 could begin to close the door on open government.

I'm Bill Hoffman