Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1130: Safeguarding Election Candidates Using Reasonable Expenditures (SECURE) Act; enact
Last action February 12, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
A Georgia House bill would let political candidates and officeholders use campaign contributions to pay for personal security equipment and monitoring services, with new limits and reporting rules, while also setting a 30-day deadline for campaigns to comply with financial inspection requests.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Currently, Georgia's campaign finance law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 5 of Title 21) lets candidates and officeholders spend campaign contributions only on ordinary and necessary campaign or officeholding expenses. This bill, called the SECURE Act, adds a new category: security expenditures, defined as reasonable costs for security equipment and monitoring services, including installation by licensed security providers. Candidates and officeholders could use campaign funds for personal security during a campaign or term in office, but not for general property improvements unrelated to security installation, not for firearms or ammunition, and not to pay family members or campaign staff for installing equipment or monitoring it. Security equipment bought this way must be returned when the campaign or term ends unless the candidate personally reimburses the full cost. The bill also requires itemized reporting of these expenditures, including invoices and provider licensing information, to the State Election Board. Separately, it gives candidates and treasurers 30 days to comply with requests to inspect campaign accounts, with civil or criminal penalties for failing to do so.
What the bill does
- Adds a legal definition of 'security expenditures' covering reasonable costs for security equipment and monitoring services, including licensed installation costs (Code Section 21-5-3).
- Allows candidates and officeholders to spend campaign contributions on personal security equipment and services during a campaign or term of office (Code Section 21-5-33).
- Bars using these campaign funds for unrelated property improvements, firearms, ammunition, or weapons, or for paying family or staff to install or monitor the equipment.
- Requires that security equipment bought with campaign funds be returned when the campaign ends or the term expires unless the candidate personally reimburses its full cost.
- Requires itemized reporting of security expenditures to the state, including invoices and the licensing information of any security provider used.
- Gives candidates or campaign treasurers up to 30 days to comply with requests to inspect campaign accounts and creates civil or criminal penalties for failing to comply (Code Section 21-5-32).
Who it affects
Candidates for elected office in Georgia, sitting public officers, campaign committee treasurers and chairpersons, licensed security service providers, and the state agency that reviews campaign finance reports and account inspection requests.
Why it matters
Candidates and officeholders facing safety concerns could pay for security systems with campaign money instead of personal funds, but the bill blocks using that money for weapons or unrelated home upgrades and requires public disclosure of the spending, adding transparency around a new use of campaign contributions.
Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'Safeguarding Election Candidates Using Reasonable Expenditures (SECURE) Act.'
- Section 2 defines 'security expenditures' as reasonable costs for security equipment and monitoring services, including licensed installation costs.
- Section 3 sets a 30-day window for candidates or treasurers to comply with account inspection requests and ties noncompliance to civil penalties (Code Section 21-5-6) or criminal penalties (Code Section 21-5-9).
- Section 4 allows campaign funds to cover personal security expenses but excludes unrelated property improvements, firearms, ammunition, and payments to family or staff for installation or monitoring.
- Section 4 also requires security equipment to be returned after a campaign or term ends unless the officeholder reimburses its full cost from personal funds.
- Section 4 requires itemized reporting to the commission of each security expenditure, including invoices and provider licensing details.
- Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“'Security expenditures' means reasonable costs for security equipment and monitoring services, including but not limited to installation costs by licensed providers of security services.”
“Any request to inspect accounts issued under this article shall allow the candidate or treasurer of a campaign committee up to 30 days to comply with such request.”
“Be used for the purchase of any firearms, ammunition, or other weapons”
Discussed in meetings (6)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Governmental Affairs Committee, February 11, 2026
From 0:49:18 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1130 would put existing State Ethics Commission guidance into law, allowing campaign funds to pay legitimate security costs in response to threats against candidates, officials and families. The sponsor said it would permit professionally installed equipment and monitoring, prohibit structural home improvements, weapons and certain payments to family members, establish deadlines and penalties for providing campaign records, and require equipment to be returned to the campaign or reimbursed at fair market value when the campaign or term ends. Asked about bank-record requests, the state ethics director said no dollar threshold triggers them, requests depend on concerns or complaints, and required record retention generally covers the term of office plus one year. Members also asked about paying relatives for physical security. The sponsor said professional event security was a legitimate expense but did not think the proposal directly addressed physical security. The director clarified that the family-payment restriction uses a narrow existing definition and would not prohibit hiring an unmarried partner or that partner’s company. The director distinguished payment restrictions from household members benefiting from security. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition recorded.
House Rules Committee, February 17, 2026
From 0:32:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would put State Ethics Commission guidance into law allowing campaign funds to pay for personal security services. The sponsor cited recent swatting incidents involving public officials and said the bill would also set a timeline for responding to commission inquiries. No questions or decision followed.
House Rules Committee, March 6, 2026
From 1:23:17 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2178
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 1130 on the supplemental floor calendar under modified structured rules. No substantive discussion occurred.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-34)
- Matthew Gambill (R, HD-15)
- Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
- Buddy DeLoach (R, HD-167)
- James Burchett (R, HD-176)
- Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
Topics
- campaign finance
- candidate security
- election law
- government transparency