---
title: HB 1243. Criminal Justice Researcher Access to Data Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1243
cite_as: HB 1243, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1243
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1243.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1243/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72972
date: 2026-02-10
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1243.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1243
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-06
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Scott Holcomb
- Todd Jones
- Carter Barrett
- Tanya Miller
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1243/2025
upstream_id: 2111505
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- criminal justice data
- open records law
- criminal justice research
- government transparency
- law enforcement records
---
# HB 1243. Criminal Justice Researcher Access to Data Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 1243
By: Representatives Holcomb of the 101st, Jones of the 25th, Barrett of the 24th, and Miller
of the 62nd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state
printing and documents, so as to provide bona fide researchers with legal means to access
criminal justice data and records; to provide for legislative findings and declarations; to
provide for definitions; to require that the Attorney General provide guidance to criminal
justice agencies in the sharing of criminal justice data, records, and information with bona
fide researchers; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Criminal Justice Researcher Access to Data
Act."
SECTION 2.
Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state printing
and documents, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:
"ARTICLE 10
50-18-170.
The General Assembly finds and declares that criminal justice policies and programs that
are evidence based and supported by relevant research result in superior outcomes. State
and local agencies record and retain a wide variety of criminal justice data and records,
including, but not limited to, sensitive information otherwise shielded from public
disclosure. If provided access to such data and records:
(1) Bona fide researchers could conduct valuable research into criminal justice programs,
practices, and outcomes, which would benefit public safety and serve the public interest;
(2) Bona fide researchers could institute security protocols to protect and safeguard
sensitive information, allowing them to safely access relevant criminal justice data and
records that may not be suitable for broader public disclosure; and
(3) Providing bona fide researchers with access to relevant criminal justice data and
records will facilitate and promote criminal justice research, frequently at little to no cost
to taxpayers.
50-18-171.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Bona fide researcher' means any individual or organization that:
(A) Utilizes gathered personally identifiable information for research and statistical
activities; does not transfer, reveal, or use such information for purposes other than for
such research and activities; and does not identify specific individuals in reports or
publications derived from such information and activities;
(B) Certifies that such individual or organization has secured approval from the
relevant institutional review board for the research or statistical activity forming the
basis for the criminal justice data access request; and
(C) If requesting access to any confidential, personally identifiable information,
certifies that they have security protocols in place to prevent unauthorized access to
such information, and that such protocols meet the standards promulgated by the
relevant institutional review board.
(2) 'Criminal justice agency' means any court of competent jurisdiction and any local,
county, or state agency that performs any activity directly relating to the detection or
investigation of crime; the apprehension, pretrial release, posttrial release, prosecution,
correctional supervision, rehabilitation, evaluation, or treatment of accused individual or
criminal offenders; or criminal identification activities or the collection, storage, or
dissemination of arrest and criminal records information.
(3) 'Criminal justice data' shall mean all data collected, created, received, maintained, or
disseminated by any criminal justice agency regardless of its physical form, storage
media, or conditions of use.
(4) 'Institutional review board' means any board, committee, or other group that reviews,
approves initiation of, and conducts periodic review of research, and which has received
accreditation for this purpose or is part of an accredited institution of higher learning.
(5) 'Records' means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with,
or for a criminal justice agency, in any physical or digital form including, but not limited
to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books,
manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms,
computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations, or codes.
50-8-172.
(a) All requests to inspect or copy criminal justice data, records, and information under this
article shall be made upon a custodian, as such term is set forth in Code Section 50-18-70.
(b) Upon receiving a request from a bona fide researcher to inspect or copy criminal
justice data, records, and information under this article, a custodian shall share such data,
records, and information, including relevant personally identifying information and
demographic information, held by such custodian relating to any:
(1) Law enforcement stop, search, or seizure;
(2) Warrant, arrest, or citation;
(3) Participation in a pre-arrest or post-arrest diversion, specialty court, or other
alternative resolution program;
(4) Criminal charge, disposition, or sentence;
(5) Pretrial or posttrial release from custody, or any terms or conditions of release;
(6) Grant, order, change in the terms of, or termination of pretrial supervised release,
probation, parole, or participation in correctional or rehabilitative programs; or
(7) Formal discipline, reclassification, or relocation of any person under criminal
sentence or correctional control.
(c) Upon request from a bona fide researcher, a custodian shall share all criminal justice
data, records, and information, including relevant personally identifying information and
demographic information, held by such custodian that is subject to mandatory or
discretionary disclosure to any member of the public under Code Section 50-18-71.
(d) In addition to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Code section, a custodian may
share with a bona fide researcher any other criminal justice data, records, or information,
including relevant personally identifying information and demographic information, held
by such custodian that is responsive to a bona fide researcher's request.
(e) A release of criminal justice data, records, or information under this Code section is not
considered a release of data, records, or information to the public for the purposes of Code
Section 50-18-71 and does not waive the right to assert in the future that such data, records,
or information are exempted from disclosure under Code Section 50-18-71.
50-18-173.
(a) No later than January 1, 2027, the Attorney General shall issue guidance to assist
criminal justice agencies in complying with this article, including a process for identifying
bona fide researchers and for sharing criminal justice data, records, and information with
such researchers.
(b) A criminal justice agency may assess reasonable fees, not to exceed actual costs, for
the search, retrieval, and copying of criminal justice data, records, or information requested
pursuant to this article and may waive fees at its discretion."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1243 would create a new legal pathway for vetted academic researchers to access Georgia criminal justice data, including some records normally shielded from public disclosure, while requiring the Attorney General to issue guidance for agencies by 2027.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70) already lets the public request many government records, but some criminal justice data, like details on arrests, probation, or prison discipline, is not required to be released publicly. This bill adds a new article to that law letting 'bona fide researchers,' meaning people or organizations with institutional review board approval and security protocols to protect sensitive data, request broader access to criminal justice data held by courts, police, prosecutors, and corrections agencies.
Custodians of these records would have to share data on stops, arrests, charges, sentences, releases, probation and parole changes, and prison discipline with qualifying researchers, even if that data is not otherwise public. Agencies could charge reasonable fees to cover costs. The Attorney General must issue guidance to agencies on how to identify researchers and share data by January 1, 2027. Sharing data this way would not count as a public release, so agencies could still argue later that the same records are exempt from public disclosure.
### What it does
- Creates a new article in Georgia's records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-170 et seq.) giving 'bona fide researchers' a legal path to request criminal justice data and records.
- Defines 'bona fide researcher' as someone who uses personal data only for research, gets institutional review board approval, and has security protocols to protect sensitive information.
- Requires custodians of criminal justice records to share data on arrests, charges, sentences, releases, probation, parole, and prison discipline with qualifying researchers, even data not normally public.
- Allows agencies to charge reasonable fees, not exceeding actual costs, for searching, retrieving, and copying the requested data, with discretion to waive fees.
- Specifies that sharing data with a researcher under this law is not a public release and does not waive an agency's ability to later claim the same records are exempt from public disclosure.
- Requires the Attorney General to issue guidance to criminal justice agencies by January 1, 2027, on identifying researchers and sharing data with them.
### Who it affects
The bill affects criminal justice agencies such as courts, police departments, prosecutors, jails, and probation and parole offices, which would have to respond to researcher data requests. It also affects academic and other researchers seeking criminal justice data, and indirectly the people whose arrest, court, or corrections records could be shared with those researchers.
### Why it matters
Researchers currently face legal barriers to accessing sensitive criminal justice records not covered by public disclosure rules. This bill would let vetted researchers obtain that data, potentially expanding studies on policing and corrections outcomes, while agencies gain new administrative duties and can charge fees to cover the work involved.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 gives the bill its short title, the 'Criminal Justice Researcher Access to Data Act.'
- New Code Section 50-18-170 states legislative findings that researcher access to criminal justice data benefits public safety and research at low cost to taxpayers.
- New Code Section 50-18-171 defines key terms including 'bona fide researcher,' 'criminal justice agency,' 'criminal justice data,' 'institutional review board,' and 'records.'
- New Code Section 50-18-172 requires custodians to share specified categories of criminal justice data, including arrests, charges, sentences, and supervision changes, with bona fide researchers, and clarifies this sharing is not a public release.
- New Code Section 50-18-173 requires the Attorney General to issue implementation guidance to agencies by January 1, 2027, and allows agencies to charge reasonable fees for fulfilling requests.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-06)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-10)
- Sponsors: Scott Holcomb, Todd Jones, Carter Barrett, Tanya Miller
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72972
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1243.md?full=1