---
title: HB 1596. No Evidence Ignored Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1596
cite_as: HB 1596, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1596
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1596.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1596/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74372
date: 2026-03-27
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: 132
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1596.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1596
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-23
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Scott Holcomb
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1596/2025
upstream_id: 2137384
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- criminal justice
- DNA evidence
- wrongful convictions
- prosecutors
- victims rights
---
# HB 1596. No Evidence Ignored Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 1596
By: Representative Holcomb of the 101st
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation, so as to provide for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to
provide local prosecutorial agencies with certain information regarding forensic database
evidence; to provide for local prosecutorial agency determinations; to require certain actions
by prosecutorial agencies; to provide for reports; to provide for certain exceptions; to provide
for definitions; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings and purposes;
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 "No Evidence Ignored Act."
SECTION 2.
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Forensic database evidence plays an increasingly important role in solving violent
crime;
(2) Such evidence can identify perpetrators in unsolved and cold cases, and can even
expose wrongful convictions; and
(3) It is crucial that this evidence is used to its full potential.
(b) The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Advance public safety and promote accuracy in the criminal justice system by ensuring
that evidence generated by police forensic databases is properly reviewed, disclosed, and
acted on; and
(2) Ensure that victims will never go without justice and innocent people will never remain
in prison when forensic evidence that could identify the true perpetrator is available to
police and prosecutors.
SECTION 3.
Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:
"ARTICLE 10
35-3-210.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Conviction confirmatory' means the crime scene profile involved in the forensic
database hit matched the profile of a person already convicted of a crime in relation to a
case.
(2) 'Crime scene profile' means a profile contained in a forensic database that was
collected from a crime scene, as opposed to being collected from a suspect or a criminal
offender.
(3) 'Forensic database' means any government maintained digitized repository that
includes profiles collected from crime scenes for the purpose of identification,
investigation, or prosecution, and that periodically indexes such profiles to identify
potential matches, including, but not limited, the Combined DNA Index System and the
Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
(4) 'Hit' means a match between two or more profiles in a forensic database, including
a match between two crime scene profiles.
(5) 'Innocence organization' means an organization that operates in this state and
provides pro bono legal services to people challenging their criminal convictions on the
grounds of actual innocence. Such organization does not need to be based in this state.
(6) 'Potentially exculpatory' means a crime scene profile involved in a forensic database
hit matched a profile other than the profile of a person convicted of a crime related to a
case, including, but not limited to, a profile of a different person or a different crime
scene profile.
(7) 'Profile' means a unique identifier of an individual or object, including, but not
limited to, a DNA sequence or fingerprint.
(8) 'Prosecutorial agency' means the office of the Attorney General or district attorney
of this state.
35-3-211.
(a) Upon receiving a forensic database hit involving a crime scene profile submitted by a
state or local law enforcement agency of this state, the bureau shall transmit a report of
such hit to:
(1) The law enforcement agency that submitted the hit; and
(2) The prosecutorial agency with jurisdiction over the case.
(b) Each month, the bureau shall transmit to prosecutorial agencies a list of all forensic
database hits transmitted to such agency in the preceding calendar month.
35-3-212.
(a) Within 30 days of receiving a copy of a forensic database hit, a prosecutorial agency
shall determine whether such hit relates to a criminal case for which at least one person has
been convicted.
(b) If a hit relates to a criminal case for which no person has been convicted, the
prosecutorial agency shall:
(1) Locate and notify any victims in such case that the prosecutorial agency has received
a forensic database hit and ask such victims whether they would like to receive further
updates on such hit and, if available, connect the victims with a trained victim advocate;
and
(2) Determine whether such hit can help identify and prosecute any perpetrators in the
case and in any other related cases.
(c) If a hit relates to a criminal case for which at least one person has been convicted, the
prosecutorial agency shall review such hit to determine whether it is conviction
confirmatory or potentially exculpatory for each convicted person in the case.
(d) If a hit is potentially exculpatory, within 30 days of determining such hit was
potentially exculpatory the prosecutorial agency shall:
(1) Determine whether such hit calls the integrity of the conviction into question;
(2) Notify the convicted person of such hit by providing him or her with a copy of the
report and giving notice that the person may wish to obtain counsel to determine the
exculpatory value of the hit;
(3) Locate and notify any victims that the prosecutorial agency has received a forensic
database hit that does not match at least one of the people convicted in their case and ask
such victims whether they would like to receive further updates on such hit and, if
available, connect the victims with a trained victim advocate; and
(4) Notify an innocence organization or the convicted person's last known defense
counsel of record, if no such organization exists, of the hit.
(e) If a hit was conviction confirmatory, the prosecutorial agency shall notify the bureau
that the hit was conviction confirmatory.
(f) A prosecutorial agency shall not be required to notify a victim pursuant to
subsection (b) or (d) of this Code section if such victim had previously expressed a
preference to not receive case updates.
35-3-213.
(a) On or before February 28 of each year, the bureau shall compile the number of forensic
database hits transmitted to each prosecutorial agency during the preceding year. Such
compilation shall list the number of hits for each forensic database.
(b) On or before February 28 of each year, each prosecutorial agency shall provide the
bureau with a report of the hits received and actions taken on such hits. Such report shall
be organized by forensic database. The report shall include the number of:
(1) Hits received;
(2) Determinations made in the preceding year;
(3) Pending determinations;
(4) Determinations that involved:
(A) A case in which no person had been convicted of a crime;
(B) A potentially exculpatory hit; and
(C) A conviction confirmatory hit;
(5) Hits determined to be potentially exculpatory; and
(6) Cases in which charges were brought involving a hit.
(c) The bureau shall make all reports compiled or received pursuant to this Code section
publicly available.
35-3-214.
No provisions of this article shall apply if any provisions:
(1) Violate any federal law or regulation; or
(2) Inhibit or substantially interfere with a prosecutorial or law enforcement agency's
ability to access a forensic database system."
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.
A Georgia House bill would require the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to notify prosecutors of forensic database matches like DNA and fingerprint hits, and require prosecutors to review and disclose hits that could clear a convicted person.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law does not currently set clear rules for how forensic database matches, such as DNA or fingerprint hits from systems like CODIS, must be shared with prosecutors or acted on once a case has already led to a conviction. This bill, called the No Evidence Ignored Act, adds a new article to the law governing the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (O.C.G.A. Title 35, Chapter 3) to close that gap.
The bureau would have to send hit reports to the law enforcement agency and prosecutor's office tied to a case, plus a monthly summary list. Prosecutors would then have 30 days to determine whether a hit involves an already-convicted person, and if so, whether it confirms the conviction or is potentially exculpatory (meaning it points away from the convicted person). Potentially exculpatory hits trigger notice to the convicted person, victims, and innocence organizations within another 30 days. The bureau and prosecutors must also file annual public reports on hits and outcomes by February 28 each year. The rules do not apply if they would violate federal law or block access to a forensic database.
### What it does
- Requires the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to send forensic database hit reports (DNA, fingerprint, and similar matches) to the law enforcement agency and prosecutor's office tied to each case.
- Requires the bureau to send prosecutors a monthly list of all forensic hits reported to them the prior month.
- Requires prosecutors to decide within 30 days whether a hit involves a case with an existing conviction, and if so, whether the hit confirms or undermines that conviction.
- Requires prosecutors to notify convicted people, victims, and innocence organizations within 30 days when a hit is potentially exculpatory, meaning it points to someone other than the convicted person.
- Requires the bureau and each prosecutor's office to publish annual reports on the number of hits received and actions taken on them, due by February 28 each year.
- Exempts the new requirements if they would violate federal law or interfere with an agency's access to a forensic database system.
### Who it affects
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney General's office, and local district attorneys would all take on new duties. Crime victims, people already convicted of crimes, defense attorneys, and innocence organizations operating in Georgia would receive new notifications and updates under the bill.
### Why it matters
People convicted of crimes could learn sooner if new forensic evidence points to someone else, which could help identify wrongful convictions. Crime victims would get more consistent updates when new DNA or fingerprint matches surface, and prosecutors would face firm deadlines and public reporting requirements for how they handle such evidence.
### Key provisions
- New Code Section 35-3-210 defines key terms including 'forensic database,' 'hit,' 'conviction confirmatory,' 'potentially exculpatory,' and 'innocence organization.'
- New Code Section 35-3-211 requires the bureau to report each forensic hit to the submitting law enforcement agency and the prosecutor with jurisdiction, plus a monthly hit list.
- New Code Section 35-3-212 gives prosecutors 30 days to classify a hit and, for cases with a conviction, sets a further 30-day window to notify the convicted person, victims, and innocence organizations if the hit is potentially exculpatory.
- New Code Section 35-3-212 also requires prosecutors to notify the bureau when a hit is conviction confirmatory and allows agencies to skip victim notice if the victim previously opted out of updates.
- New Code Section 35-3-213 requires both the bureau and prosecutorial agencies to file detailed annual reports on hits and case outcomes by February 28, which the bureau must make public.
- New Code Section 35-3-214 exempts the article's requirements where they would violate federal law or substantially interfere with access to a forensic database system.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-03-23)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-27)
- Sponsors: Scott Holcomb
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74372
> The history, votes, and amendments (132 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1596.md?full=1