SB358: SB358 DeKalb County; verification of ethics complaints; revise administrative procedures

DeKalb County has its own local ethics law, set up by a 1956 act and amended several times since, that governs how residents can file complaints with the county's Board of Ethics against officials or candidates. This bill amends two parts of that local law dealing with how those complaints are verified. It revises the list of required elements in a written ethics complaint, adding a requirement that the complainant's signature be validated by the ethics officer. It also revises the rules for sworn complaints filed under penalty of perjury, requiring that the complaint identify the specific ethics provisions allegedly violated, be based on facts that would be admissible in court, and have all referenced documents and supporting affidavits attached. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a separate effective date beyond standard enactment.

• Adds a requirement that a complainant's signature on a written ethics complaint be validated by the ethics officer before it can be considered.
• Keeps the existing list of required complaint contents, such as the names and addresses of the parties and a statement of the alleged violation.
• Requires sworn complaints filed under penalty of perjury or false swearing to specifically identify which DeKalb County ethics code provisions were allegedly violated.
• Requires sworn complaints to be based on facts admissible in a court proceeding and to show the complainant is competent to testify to those facts.
• Requires all documents referenced in a sworn complaint and any supporting affidavits to be attached to the complaint itself.

DeKalb County residents who want to file ethics complaints, candidates and officials who might be the subject of such complaints, the DeKalb County Board of Ethics, and the county's ethics administrator and ethics officer who process and validate complaints.

The changes add a verification step (signature validation) and tighten documentation standards for sworn complaints, which could affect how easily residents can file complaints and how the Board of Ethics screens them before taking action against county officials or candidates.

• Section 1 revises subparagraph (f)(1)(B) of Section 22A to require that a complainant's signature be validated by the ethics officer.
• Section 1 also restates the existing required contents of a written complaint, including names, addresses, statement of facts, and supporting evidence.
• Section 2 revises paragraph (3) of subsection (j) of Section 22A to require sworn complaints to specifically identify the ethics code provisions allegedly violated.
• Section 2 requires sworn complaints to set forth facts admissible in court and to attach all referenced documents and supporting affidavits.
• Section 3 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-04-02House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-31House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
4. 2025-03-31Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
5. 2025-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
6. 2025-03-25Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)Primary sponsor
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2025

   49 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #339

• DeKalb County government
• ethics complaints
• local legislation
• county administrative procedures