HB 1362: Public officers; persons having certain financial interest shall be ineligible to hold certain public offices; provide

Georgia currently limits certain public officials from doing business with state agencies, but the rules only apply to full-time officials with statewide powers and use a 25 percent ownership threshold to decide whether someone has a disqualifying stake in a business. This bill rewrites those rules. It adds a new Code section making the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, and the Commissioners of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance ineligible to hold office if they, or a family member, have a financial interest in a contract with a state or federal agency, or transact business with one. It also creates a new, broader definition of 'financial interest' covering any ownership stake above 3 percent, replacing the old 25 percent 'substantial interest' test for these purposes. It removes the old distinction between full-time officials with statewide powers and those with limited powers, and it removes several existing exceptions, such as sealed competitive bids and small transactions, from the prohibition in Code Section 45-10-22. The bill also adds a separate annual disclosure requirement for officials with a lesser interest than the new financial interest threshold.

• Creates new O.C.G.A. § 45-2-1.1, making the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, and Commissioners of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance ineligible to hold office if they or a family member have a financial interest in a state or federal contract.
• Adds a new definition of 'financial interest' in O.C.G.A. § 45-10-20 covering any direct or indirect ownership or stock holding above 3 percent, replacing reliance on the old 25 percent 'substantial interest' test for these provisions.
• Broadens the definition of 'agency' to include the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of Georgia state government, not just executive agencies.
• Removes the 'full-time' and 'state-wide powers' limits in O.C.G.A. § 45-10-22, so the ban on transacting business with an agency applies more broadly to public officials.
• Eliminates existing exceptions in O.C.G.A. § 45-10-25, such as small transactions and sealed competitive bids, for the conflict-of-interest ban in § 45-10-22.
• Adds a new disclosure category in O.C.G.A. § 45-10-26 for public officials whose business interest falls below the new financial interest threshold.

The bill directly names the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, and Commissioners of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance. It also affects other state public officials and employees who do business with state agencies, University System of Georgia employees with family businesses, and anyone required to file annual conflict-of-interest disclosures with the State Ethics Commission.

If enacted, some of Georgia's highest elected officials could be removed from office for holding even a modest ownership stake, above 3 percent, in a business that contracts with state or federal agencies. The change also removes some existing exceptions for small transactions, which could affect more officials and employees who occasionally do minor business with the state.

• Section 1 creates O.C.G.A. § 45-2-1.1, listing eight specific statewide offices that become vacant if the office holder has a disqualifying financial interest or transacts business with a state or federal agency.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-10-20 to add a 'financial interest' definition (ownership or stock interest over 3 percent) and broadens 'agency' to cover all three branches of state government.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-10-22 to drop the 'full-time' and 'state-wide powers' qualifiers and replace the 25 percent 'substantial interest' standard with the new financial interest test.
• Section 6 removes O.C.G.A. § 45-10-22 from the list of code sections eligible for exceptions in § 45-10-25, meaning small transactions and sealed-bid exceptions no longer apply to that section.
• Section 7 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-10-26 to add a new subsection (a.1) requiring separate annual disclosure for public officials whose interest is below the financial interest threshold.
• Section 8 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-20House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-19House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-18House Hopper (House)

• Jason Ridley (R, HD-006)Primary sponsor
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)
• Jutt Howard (R, HD-071)

• conflict of interest
• public officials ethics
• state contracts
• government transparency
• election eligibility