--- title: HB 433. Human Services, Department of; authorized to access restricted and sealed information to conduct employee oversight in certain circumstances; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb433 cite_as: HB 433, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb433 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb433.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb433/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70292 date: 2025-05-14 status: vetoed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb432.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb434.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 935 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb433.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 433 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Veto V3 sponsors: - Mandi Ballinger - Beth Camp - Carmen Rice - Angie O'Steen - Karen Mathiak - Kimberly New - Kay Kirkpatrick text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB433/2025 upstream_id: 1968113 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - foster care - criminal background checks - state employee screening - Department of Human Services - Georgia Crime Information Center --- # HB 433. Human Services, Department of; authorized to access restricted and sealed information to conduct employee oversight in certain circumstances; provide ## Text 25 LC 48 1526S/AP House Bill 433 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Ballinger of the 23rd, Camp of the 135th, Rice of the 139th, O’Steen of the 169th, Mathiak of the 82nd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to Georgia Crime Information Center, so as to provide that the Department of2 Human Services shall be authorized to access restricted and sealed information to determine3 eligibility for employment, verify eligibility for foster paren ts, or conduct regulatory4 oversight in certain instances; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and5 for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to9 Georgia Crime Information Center, is amended by revising paragraph (6) of subsection (a),10 by revising subparagraphs (v)(1)(E) and (v)(1)(F), and by addin g a new subparagraph to11 paragraph (1) of subsection (v) of Code Section 35-3-37, relating to criminal history record12 information, review, corrections, and restriction of access for certain dispositions, to read as13 follows:14 "(6) 'Restrict,' 'restricted,' or 'restriction' means that the criminal history record15 information of an individual relating to a particular offense s hall be available only to16 H. B. 433 - 1 - 25 LC 48 1526S/AP judicial officials and criminal justice agencies for law enforc ement or criminal17 investigative purposes or to criminal justice agencies for purp oses of employment in18 accordance with procedures established by the center or to the Department of Human19 Services in accordance with subparagraph (v)(1)(G) of this Code section and shall not be20 disclosed or otherwise made available to any private persons or businesses pursuant to21 Code Section 35-3-34 or to governmental agencies or licensing and regulating agencies22 pursuant to Code Section 35-3-35."23 "(E) Pursuant to a court order; and24 (F) By an individual who is the subject of restricted criminal history record information25 or sealed court files.; and26 (G) By the Department of Human Services to conduct regulatory oversight, as27 authorized by Articles 1 and 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 49, Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title28 49, and any promulgated rules, regulations, or policies; to ver ify eligibility for29 prospective or existing foster parents or adults in the home of such foster parents, as30 authorized by Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 49 and any promulgated rules, regulations,31 or policies; or to verify eligibility for prospective and exist ing employees and32 contractors, as authorized by Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 4 9 and any promulgated33 rules, regulations, or policies."34 SECTION 2.35 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.36 H. B. 433 - 2 - ## 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 433 would let the Georgia Department of Human Services access restricted and sealed criminal history records to check job applicants, verify foster parents, and conduct oversight of licensed programs. The bill passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by the Governor. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law normally limits access to 'restricted' criminal history records, information the Georgia Crime Information Center keeps available only to courts and criminal justice agencies, not to most government or licensing agencies. This bill would carve out a new exception for the Department of Human Services. It amends O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 so the department can view restricted and sealed records in three specific situations: to conduct regulatory oversight of programs it licenses under Titles 49, to verify whether a prospective or current foster parent (or another adult living in that home) is eligible, and to check the eligibility of prospective or current employees and contractors. The bill does not change any other rules on who can see restricted records. Although it passed both the House and Senate, the Governor vetoed it on May 14, 2025, so it has not become law. ### What it does - Adds the Department of Human Services to the short list of entities that can see restricted criminal history records under Georgia's Crime Information Center law (O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37). - Allows the department to use restricted or sealed records to conduct regulatory oversight of programs it licenses under Title 49. - Allows the department to use these records to verify eligibility of prospective or existing foster parents and other adults living in a foster home. - Allows the department to use these records to verify eligibility of prospective or existing employees and contractors. - Updates the definition of 'restricted' criminal history information to reflect this new access for the department. ### Who it affects The Department of Human Services, its current and prospective employees and contractors, people applying to become foster parents or already serving as foster parents, other adults living in foster homes, and organizations or programs the department licenses or regulates under Title 49. ### Why it matters If enacted, the department could see criminal history details that are normally hidden from most agencies, potentially affecting hiring decisions, foster parent approvals, and oversight of licensed programs. Because the Governor vetoed the bill, these expanded access rules do not currently apply in Georgia. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 to add the Department of Human Services as a permitted recipient of restricted criminal history information under new subparagraph (v)(1)(G). - New subparagraph (v)(1)(G) authorizes the department to access restricted or sealed records for regulatory oversight under Articles 1 and 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 49 and Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 49. - The same subparagraph authorizes access to verify eligibility of prospective or existing foster parents and other adults in the foster home, under Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 49. - It also authorizes access to verify eligibility of prospective and existing employees and contractors under Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 49. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. - The bill passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by the Governor as of May 14, 2025, so it has not taken effect. ## Status - Status: Vetoed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Veto V3 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Mandi Ballinger, Beth Camp, Carmen Rice, Angie O'Steen, Karen Mathiak, Kimberly New, Kay Kirkpatrick - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70292 > The history, votes, and amendments (935 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb433.md?full=1