HB 1301: Commerce and trade; clarify requirements for certain data reported by consumer reporting agencies

Georgia law already requires consumer reporting agencies (background check companies) that report public record information for job screening to keep that information accurate and up to date. This bill rewrites part of that law (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.14) to spell out exactly what counts as up to date. Under the change, when a report includes arrests, indictments, convictions, record restrictions, vacated offenses, offenses discharged under Georgia's first offender or drug court laws, or pardons, the report must reflect the person's present legal status as of the date the report is given to an employer, not just the status at some earlier point. The bill also adds a new rule that criminal history information which has been restricted and sealed by court order or by law cannot be reported at all. The rest of the existing law, including definitions and the option to notify consumers directly, stays in place.

• Requires background check companies to report the current legal status of a person's arrest, conviction, or other criminal record as of the date the report is given to an employer, not an outdated status.
• Adds record restrictions, vacated offenses, offenses discharged under Georgia's first offender law (O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60) or drug statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-2), and pardons to the list of items that must be kept current.
• Bans reporting sealed criminal history information if it has been restricted and sealed by court order or by law as of the report date.
• Keeps the existing definitions of 'adverse effect,' 'consumer report,' 'consumer reporting agency,' and 'employment purposes' unchanged.

Consumer reporting agencies that run employment background checks, employers who use those reports to make hiring, promotion, or licensing decisions, and job applicants or employees whose criminal or public records show up in those checks.

People whose arrests were later dismissed, whose records were sealed, or who completed programs like first offender treatment could see fewer outdated or sealed entries showing up on background checks used for jobs, potentially affecting hiring decisions made about them.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.14(b)(2) to require that public record information reported for employment purposes be complete and up to date.
• The revised subsection lists specific record types covered: arrests, indictments, convictions, record restrictions, vacated offenses, offenses discharged under O.C.G.A. §§ 16-13-2 or 42-8-60, and pardons.
• A new standard defines 'up to date' as accurately reflecting a person's present legal status as of the date the report is furnished, rather than the status at an earlier time.
• A new sentence bars reporting of sealed criminal history record information if it is restricted and sealed by court order or as a matter of law as of the report date.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.

1. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-18House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-17House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-12House Hopper (House)

• Don Parsons (R, HD-044)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• William Werkheiser (R, HD-157)

• background checks
• employment law
• criminal records
• consumer protection