# Parole Board rulemaking records for the 2005 and 2007 Parole Decision Guidelines amendments

- Agency: State Board of Pardons and Paroles
- Requested by: Georgia Prisoners' Speak
- Request: PAP-20260906
- Filed: 2026-09-06
- Status: Fulfilled (The Board released records for items 1, 2 and 4 on September 28, 2026, in ten files, all posted here as released. On October 5 it said it has no other responsive records, including for item 3: staff found no records of the three-year study, which predates current staff.)
- Cost: $100.10 (Estimated $89.59; invoiced $100.10 (administrative fee only, no copying fee))
- Page: https://gps.press/records/pap-20260906/

GPS asked the State Board of Pardons and Paroles for the rulemaking records of its 2005 and 2007 amendments to Rule 475-3-.05 (Parole Consideration), for the three-year study behind the 2008 Parole Decision Guidelines described in its FY2008 annual report, and for its copy of a Fulton County Superior Court order on its "90% policy." The Board released ten files on September 28, 2026 and said it found no records of the study. The 2005 notice of intent says the 90% policy "is subject to legal challenge that requires the Board to cease using it" and proposes a new Crime Severity Level VIII, with guidelines recommendations of 90%, 75% or 65% of the prison sentence depending on the offender's Parole Success Score. The 2007 notice says the new guidelines "represent a three-year study and analysis of risk factors utilized in granting clemency," and a December 7, 2007 page of clemency projections estimates 16,850 additional releases from 2008 to 2012 under a simulation model that assumes 70% compliance with the guidelines.

## Documents

| Document | Kind | Received | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| [2005 rule amendment file (part 2 of 2): briefing notes, legislative notices and the notice of intent](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/Rule-Amendment-Records-part-2-of-2.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 16 p., 4.3 MB |
| [2007 rule amendment file (part 1 of 2): notice of intent, filing record and clemency projections](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/Rule-Amendment-Records1-part-1-of-2.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 15 p., 5.1 MB |
| [2007 rule amendment file (part 2 of 2): transmittal letters, certification and the rule as filed](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/Rule-Amendment-Records1-part-2-of-2.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 11 p., 3.1 MB |
| [November 18, 2005 Board meeting records (part 1 of 3)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/November-18-2005-Baord-Meeting-Records-part-1-of-3.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 16.3 MB |
| [November 18, 2005 Board meeting records (part 2 of 3)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/November-18-2005-Board-Meeting-Records-part-2-of-3.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 17.1 MB |
| [November 18, 2005 Board meeting records (part 3 of 3)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/November-18-2005-Board-Meeting-Records-part-3-of-3.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 21.3 MB |
| [December 10, 2007 Board meeting records (part 1 of 2)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/December-10-2007-Board-Meeting-Records-part-1-of-2.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 16.2 MB |
| [December 10, 2007 Board meeting records (part 2 of 2)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/December-10-2007-Board-Meeting-Records-part-2-of-2.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 17 MB |
| [2005 rule amendment file (part 1 of 2): filing with the Secretary of State](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/Rule-Amendment-Records-part-1-of-2.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 3.7 MB |
| [Fulton County Superior Court order on the Board's 90% policy (Civil Action No. 2004-CV-92152)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/pap-20260906/90-percent-policy-order.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-09-28 | 2.7 MB |

## What we asked for

> To the Open Records Officer:
> 
> Georgia Prisoners' Speak is the public name of The GDC Accountability Project, Inc., a Georgia nonprofit investigative newsroom that documents the state's corrections and parole systems. Under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., we request copies of four sets of records. All four are agency records about how the Board's own guidelines were made. None of them asks for information about any individual offender, so nothing here should touch the confidentiality of case files under O.C.G.A. § 42-9-53.
> 
> 1. The rulemaking record for the amendment to Board Rule 475-3-.05 filed with the Secretary of State on December 9, 2005 and effective January 1, 2006. We're asking for the notice of intended action, the portion of the minutes of the November 18, 2005 Board meeting covering the adoption of that rule, any staff memoranda or analysis prepared for the Board on it, and any written comments the Board received.
> 
> 2. The rulemaking record for the amendment to Board Rule 475-3-.05 filed on December 10, 2007 and effective January 1, 2008, in the same components as item 1.
> 
> 3. The study described on page 18 of the Board's FY2008 annual report, which states that the amendments to the Parole Decision Guidelines "were preceded by a three-year study and analysis of risk factors utilized in granting clemency to offenders, past clemency practices, and the effects of the new guidelines on prison capacity." We're asking for that study and any report, memorandum, presentation or contractor deliverable produced by it, including the analysis of the effects on prison capacity.
> 
> 4. Any copy in the Board's possession of the order of the Superior Court of Fulton County referenced on page 10 of the Board's FY2005 annual report, which states that a Fulton County judge ruled that "the Board's 90% policy in 1997 was implemented improperly and as a result is ineffective and has no force or effect." We understand the court is not itself subject to the Open Records Act. We're asking only for the Board's own copy of the order if one is in its files, along with the case caption or docket number if that is easier to provide than the document.
> 
> Electronic delivery is best for us. PDFs sent by reply to this email are ideal, and we're happy to receive the records in batches as they become available rather than waiting for everything at once.
> 
> On fees, we agree to pay reasonable charges up to $50.00. If the cost would exceed that, please let us know first, with the itemization by position, hourly rate and time that O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d) provides for, and we'll respond promptly.
> 
> If any part of a record is exempt, we understand that and ask only for the non-exempt portions with the exempt material redacted. If the scope of any item is broader than is convenient, tell us and we'll narrow it. If our description of a record doesn't match how the Board files it, we'd welcome a correction, since you know the records and we're working from the Board's own published documents.
> 
> Thank you for your time on this.
> 
> The GDC Accountability Project, Inc. (Georgia Prisoners' Speak)
> 285 W Wieuca Rd NE, PMB #4153, Atlanta, GA 30342
> accountability@gps.press · https://gps.press

## What happened

- 2026-09-06: Request filed by email with the Board's Open Records Officer.
- 2026-09-11: The Board estimated a fee of $89.59: $84.59 for two hours of search and retrieval (no charge for the first 15 minutes) and $5.00 to copy about 50 pages. GPS agreed the same day.
- 2026-09-28: The Board released records for items 4, 2 and 1 in ten emails and invoiced $100.10 ($50.05 an hour for two hours and 15 minutes, with no charge for the first 15 minutes; no copying fee). It said a response on item 3 would follow.
- 2026-10-03: GPS accepted the $100.10 fee.
- 2026-10-05: The Board said it has no additional responsive records, including for item 3. Asked whether the study existed elsewhere, it said staff found no such records, that the study predates current staff, and that the Board has no other data on it.

Records requested under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), by Georgia Prisoners' Speak or, where a page says so, by another person or group who shared them with GPS. Documents marked "as released" are posted exactly as the agency released them. Files marked "prepared by GPS" are GPS's own compilations of those documents, made for convenience; where they differ, the released document governs. A request is published here when GPS cites it or when its records are useful to readers; records about individual deaths are published on GPS's mortality pages, not here.