--- title: HB 1432. Georgia Public Defender Council; provide for vacancies on the legislative oversight committee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1432 cite_as: HB 1432, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1432 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1432.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1432/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73544 date: 2026-03-25 status: engrossed 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1431.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1433.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 611 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1432.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1432 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-03-04 last_action: Senate Read Second Time sponsors: - Joseph Gullett - Samuel Park - James Burchett - Stacey Evans - Stan Gunter - Blake Tillery text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1432/2025 upstream_id: 2123610 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - sexual assault evidence - criminal justice - public defenders - legislative oversight - victims rights --- # HB 1432. Georgia Public Defender Council; provide for vacancies on the legislative oversight committee ## Text The Senate Committee on Judiciary offered the following substitute to HB 1432: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, so as to extend the retention period of evidence of sexual assault when the victim chooses not to immediately report the assault; to provide for a short title; to provide for vacancies on the legislative oversight committee; to provide for a penalty for failure by the council to cooperate with the committee; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: PART I SECTION 1-1. This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Stephanie Colquitt-Shurman Act of 2026." SECTION 1-2. Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, is amended in Code Section 17-5-71, relating to preservation of evidence, by revising subsection (b) as follows: "(b) If the victim chooses not to report the alleged sexual assault to law enforcement at the time of evidence collection, the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction shall maintain any physical evidence collected as a result of such alleged sexual assault that contains biological material, including, but not limited to, stains, fluids, or hair samples that relate to the identity of the perpetrator of the alleged sexual assault, for not less than 12 months 30 years from the date any such physical evidence is collected." PART II SECTION 2-1. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 17-12-10.1, relating to legislative oversight committee created, membership, and audits, as follows: "17-12-10.1. (a)(1) There is created the Legislative Oversight Committee for the Georgia Public Defender Council which shall be composed of eight persons: three members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, three members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Assignments or such person or entity as established by Senate rule, and one member of the House of Representatives and one member of the Senate appointed by the Governor. The members of such committee shall be selected within ten days after the convening of the General Assembly in each odd-numbered year and shall serve until their successors are appointed. (2) Any vacancy in such committee due to death, resignation, ineligibility, recall, or other reason shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. A member's termination of the chairmanship of any standing committee or ceasing to qualify for membership on the Legislative Services Committee shall also constitute a vacancy. (b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint a member of such committee to serve as chairperson, and the Senate Committee on Assignments or such person or entity as established by Senate rule shall appoint one member of the committee to serve as vice chairperson during each even-numbered year. The Senate Committee on Assignments or such person or entity as established by Senate rule shall appoint a member of such committee to serve as chairperson, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member to serve as vice chairperson during each odd-numbered year. Such committee shall meet at least once each year and, upon the call of the chairperson, at such additional times as deemed necessary by the chairperson. (c) It shall be the duty of such committee to review and evaluate: (1) Information on new programs submitted by the council; (2) Information on policies proposed by the council; (3) The strategic plans for the council; (4) Program evaluation reports and budget recommendations of the council; (5) The fiscal impact of fees and fines on counties; (6) The reports submitted pursuant to Code Section 15-21A-7 in order to identify, among other things, opportunities to reduce or consolidate fees, fines, and surcharges; and (7) Such other information or reports as deemed necessary by such committee. (d) It shall be unlawful for the The council and or director shall to fail to cooperate with such committee and provide such information or reports as requested by the committee for the performance of its functions. (e) The council shall submit its budget estimate to the director of the Office of Planning and Budget in accordance with subsection (a) of Code Section 45-12-78. (f) The members of such committee shall receive the allowances authorized for legislative members of legislative committees. The funds necessary to pay such allowances shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives and the Senate. (g) The legislative oversight committee shall be authorized to request that a performance audit of the council be conducted." PART III SECTION 3-1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. (b) Part I of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026. SECTION 3-2. 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. A Georgia Senate substitute for HB 1432 would extend how long police must keep sexual assault evidence when a victim delays reporting, from 12 months to 30 years, and add rules for filling vacancies on the legislative committee that oversees the Georgia Public Defender Council. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, when a sexual assault victim chooses not to immediately report the crime, law enforcement must preserve biological evidence such as fluids, stains, or hair samples for at least 12 months. This bill, named the Stephanie Colquitt-Shurman Act of 2026, extends that retention period to 30 years, giving victims much more time to decide whether to pursue a case before evidence could be destroyed. The bill also rewrites the law governing the Legislative Oversight Committee for the Georgia Public Defender Council (O.C.G.A. § 17-12-10.1). It adds a process for filling vacancies on the eight-member committee, including when a member loses a chairmanship or committee membership that qualified them for the seat. It also makes it unlawful for the council or its director to refuse to cooperate with the committee's information requests. The evidence-retention change takes effect July 1, 2026, while the committee changes take effect once the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without signature. ### What it does - Extends the required retention period for unreported sexual assault evidence from 12 months to 30 years, giving victims more time before evidence could be discarded. - Names this evidence-retention change the 'Stephanie Colquitt-Shurman Act of 2026.' - Adds a formal process for filling vacancies on the Legislative Oversight Committee for the Georgia Public Defender Council, including vacancies caused by death, resignation, or loss of qualifying committee status. - Makes it unlawful for the Georgia Public Defender Council or its director to fail to cooperate with the legislative oversight committee's requests for information. - Sets different effective dates: the evidence retention change starts July 1, 2026, while the committee changes start once the Governor signs the bill. ### Who it affects Sexual assault victims and survivors, local law enforcement agencies that store forensic evidence, the Georgia Public Defender Council and its director, and the House and Senate members who serve on the council's legislative oversight committee. ### Why it matters Victims who are not ready to report an assault right away would have decades, rather than one year, to change their minds before evidence is destroyed, potentially preserving cases that would otherwise be lost. Separately, the public defender council would face a clearer legal duty to share information with legislative overseers. ### Key provisions - Section 1-1 gives Part I the short title 'Stephanie Colquitt-Shurman Act of 2026.' - Section 1-2 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-5-71(b) to change the required evidence retention period from not less than 12 months to 30 years from the date of collection. - Section 2-1 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-12-10.1 to add subsection (a)(2), specifying that committee vacancies are filled the same way as the original appointment and that losing a qualifying committee role counts as a vacancy. - Section 2-1 also revises subsection (d) to make it unlawful for the council or director to fail to cooperate with the oversight committee's information requests. - Section 3-1 sets the evidence-retention change (Part I) to take effect July 1, 2026, while the rest of the Act takes effect upon the Governor's approval or becoming law without signature. - Section 3-2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Engrossed (2026-03-04) - Last action: Senate Read Second Time (2026-03-25) - Sponsors: Joseph Gullett, Samuel Park, James Burchett, Stacey Evans, Stan Gunter, Blake Tillery - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73544 > The history, votes, and amendments (611 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1432.md?full=1