--- title: HB 45. Courts; special grand jury impaneling procedures; revise provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb45 cite_as: HB 45, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb45 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb45.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb45/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69342 date: 2025-01-16 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb44.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb46.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb45.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 45 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-14 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Viola Davis - Kim Schofield - Sandra Scott text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB45/2025 upstream_id: 1919201 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - grand juries - courts - state officials - criminal investigations --- # HB 45. Courts; special grand jury impaneling procedures; revise provisions ## Text House Bill 45 By: Representatives Davis of the 87th, Schofield of the 63rd, and Scott of the 76th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to grand juries, so as to revise provisions regarding special grand jury impaneling procedures; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to grand juries, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 15-12-100, relating to procedure for impaneling special grand jury, number of jurors, foreperson, and powers of jury, as follows: "(a) The chief judge of the superior court of any county to which this part applies, on his or her own motion, on motion or petition of the district attorney, or on petition of any state elected official or elected public official of the county or of a municipality lying wholly or partially within the county, may request the judges of the superior court of the county to impanel a special grand jury for the purpose of investigating any alleged violation of the laws of this state or any other matter subject to investigation by grand juries as provided by law." SECTION 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 House bill would let state elected officials, not just county or municipal elected officials, petition a superior court to impanel a special grand jury. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, a special grand jury investigating alleged violations of state law or other matters can be impaneled by a superior court's chief judge on his or her own motion, at the request of the district attorney, or on petition of an elected public official of the county or a municipality within that county. This bill adds a new category of person who can petition for a special grand jury: a state elected official. That means officials elected to statewide or state legislative office, not just local county or city officials, could ask a superior court's chief judge to request that judges impanel a special grand jury to investigate an alleged violation of state law or other matter grand juries can look into. The bill does not change any other part of the special grand jury impaneling process described in O.C.G.A. § 15-12-100. ### What it does - Adds state elected officials to the list of people who can petition a superior court's chief judge to impanel a special grand jury. - Keeps in place the existing ability of the chief judge, the district attorney, and county or municipal elected officials to request a special grand jury. - Leaves unchanged the scope of what a special grand jury can investigate: alleged violations of Georgia law or other matters subject to grand jury investigation. - Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects State elected officials, such as statewide officeholders and members of the General Assembly, who would gain a new way to trigger a special grand jury investigation. Superior court chief judges, district attorneys, and county or municipal officials who already have this power are also affected, since they would now share it with a new group. ### Why it matters By widening who can ask for a special grand jury, the bill could make it easier for state-level officials to push for investigations into alleged state law violations or other matters, potentially increasing the number of requests superior court judges must consider. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 15-12-100 to add 'state elected official' to the list of petitioners who can seek a special grand jury. - Section 1 leaves unchanged the roles of the chief judge, district attorney, and county or municipal elected officials in requesting a special grand jury. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no specific new substantive effect. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-14) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-16) - Sponsors: Viola Davis, Kim Schofield, Sandra Scott - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69342 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb45.md?full=1