SB199: SB199 State Ethics Commission; shall not accept or reject complaints made against candidates 60 days prior to an election; provide

Georgia's campaign finance and personal financial disclosure rules are spread across county and municipal officials, statewide candidates and lobbyists, with inconsistent filing dates. This bill amends Chapter 5 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to change several of those rules. It bars the State Ethics Commission from accepting, rejecting, or initiating a complaint against a candidate in the 60 days before an election. It standardizes campaign disclosure filing dates across state, county and municipal candidates, and eventually moves filing for local elected officials from county and municipal offices to the commission itself, phased in through 2026 and 2027. The bill also requires certain political action committees to register, open and maintain a bank account, and file quarterly disclosure reports. It requires county and municipal candidates to affirm they will complete legally required training, tightens personal financial disclosure reporting for income sources, requires the commission to redact home addresses from public records, and standardizes lobbyist reporting deadlines. The law would take effect January 1, 2026.

• Prohibits the State Ethics Commission from accepting, rejecting, or opening a complaint against a candidate during the 60 days immediately before an election.
• Shifts filing of campaign and personal financial disclosure reports for local elected officials (county and municipal) from local election officials to the State Ethics Commission, phased in with a transition period through December 31, 2026.
• Requires county and municipal candidates, when qualifying for office, to affirm they understand training requirements for newly elected officials (O.C.G.A. §§ 36-20-4, 20-2-230, 36-45-4).
• Requires certain political action committees to register with the commission, open a dedicated bank account, and maintain it until the committee is dissolved.
• Standardizes campaign disclosure filing dates (January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 20) across most candidates and committees, replacing varied prior schedules.
• Requires the commission to redact identifiable home addresses from any financial disclosure records it discloses, posts, or releases publicly.

The bill affects candidates and officeholders at the state, county, and municipal level in Georgia, county election superintendents and municipal clerks who currently process local filings, political action committees and independent committees, registered lobbyists, and the State Ethics Commission itself, which takes on new filing and enforcement duties.

Georgians would see fewer last-minute ethics complaints filed against candidates right before elections, more uniform deadlines for tracking campaign money, and, once the transition ends, a single statewide point of filing for local officials' financial disclosures instead of scattered county and city offices. Political action committees would face new bank account and registration duties.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 21-5-7 so the commission cannot accept, reject, or initiate a complaint against a candidate in the 60 days before an election in which that candidate is seeking office.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-5-34 to standardize campaign disclosure filing dates and requires political action committees to register, open a bank account, and file quarterly reports until the account is zeroed out and the committee terminates.
• Section 2 also keeps a transitional rule until December 31, 2026 requiring county and municipal candidates to file locally, with local officials forwarding copies to the commission within 30 days, before filing shifts fully to the commission on January 1, 2027.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-5-50 to move most public officers' annual financial disclosure deadline from July 1 to April 1 and adds an affirmation requirement about mandatory training for newly elected county and municipal officials.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-5-51 to require the commission to redact identifiable home addresses from financial disclosure statements before public release.
• Section 5 revises lobbyist reporting deadlines in O.C.G.A. § 21-5-73, consolidating monthly reports for local lobbying into filings due every May, September, and January.
• Section 6 sets the effective date of the Act as January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2026-01-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 293
3. 2025-05-14Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2025-03-10House Second Readers (House)

• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)Primary sponsor
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2025

   29 yea, 17 nay (4 not voting, 6 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Sb 177, Sb 199: Senate Vote #136

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2025

   55 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #140

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   167 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 9 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #366

• campaign finance
• state ethics commission
• financial disclosure
• election rules
• lobbying regulation