---
title: HB 460. Evidence; exclude certain communications made between attorney and client when client is in a penal institution
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb460
cite_as: HB 460, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb460
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb460.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb460/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70347
date: 2026-03-31
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1004
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb460.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 460
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-06
last_action: Senate Tabled
sponsors:
- Esther Panitch
- Tyler Smith
- Stacey Evans
- Scott Holcomb
- Yasmin Neal
- Terry Cummings
- Bill Cowsert
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB460/2025
upstream_id: 1970333
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- attorney-client privilege
- criminal justice
- jails and prisons
- evidence law
- wiretapping
---
# HB 460. Evidence; exclude certain communications made between attorney and client when client is in a penal institution
## Text
House Bill 460 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Panitch of the 51st, Smith of the 18th, Evans of the 57th, Holcomb of the
101st, Neal of the 79th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 24-5-501 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
certain communications privileged, so as to exclude from evidence certain communications
made between attorney and client when the client is in a penal institution; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 24-5-501 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certain
communications privileged, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (a) as
follows:
"(2) Communications between attorney and client, including any telephonic or electronic
communications made with such client when he or she is held in a penal institution as
defined in Code Section 16-10-56, subject to the following:
(A) Each penal institution shall provide access to a nonrecording telephonic or
electronic device for a client held in custody to communicate with his or her attorney;
(B) The contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepted pursuant
to this chapter, or any evidence derived therefrom, shall not be received in evidence or
otherwise disclosed in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in state court unless each
party, not less than ten days before the trial, hearing, or proceeding, has been furnished
with a copy of the court order, and accompanying application, under which the
interception was authorized or approved;
(C) Any aggrieved person in any trial, hearing, or proceeding in or before any court,
department, officer, agency, regulatory body, or the state, or a political subdivision
thereof may move to suppress the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic
communication intercepted pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 16, or any
evidence derived therefrom, on the grounds that:
(i) The communication was unlawfully intercepted;
(ii) The order of authorization or approval under which it was intercepted is
insufficient on its face; or
(iii) The interception was not made in conformity with the order of authorization or
approval; and
(D) Such motion shall be made before the trial, hearing, or proceeding commences
unless there was no opportunity to make such motion or the person was not aware of
the grounds of the motion. If the motion is granted, the contents of the intercepted wire,
oral, or electronic communication, or any evidence derived therefrom, shall be treated
as having been obtained in violation of this Code section. The judge, upon the filing
of such motion by the aggrieved person, may in his or her discretion make available to
such person's counsel for inspection such portions of the intercepted communication or
evidence derived therefrom as the judge determines to be in the interests of justice;"
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.
House Bill 460 would make attorney-client phone and electronic communications privileged and generally inadmissible in Georgia court when the client is held in jail or prison, and would require penal institutions to provide a nonrecording line for those calls.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already protects attorney-client conversations from being used as evidence. This bill amends that law (O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501) to specifically cover telephonic or electronic communications between an attorney and a client who is held in a penal institution, using the definition of that term found in Georgia's wiretapping law (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56).
The bill requires every penal institution to give an incarcerated client access to a nonrecording phone or electronic device to talk with their attorney. It also sets rules for when an intercepted attorney-client communication could still be used in court: parties must get a copy of the court order authorizing the interception at least ten days before any hearing, and a person can move to suppress an intercepted communication if it was unlawfully intercepted, the authorizing order was defective, or the interception did not follow the order's terms. If a suppression motion is granted, the communication is treated as obtained illegally, though a judge may let defense counsel inspect portions of it if that serves the interests of justice.
### What it does
- Extends attorney-client privilege under Georgia evidence law to phone and electronic communications made while a client is held in a penal institution.
- Requires penal institutions to provide a nonrecording phone or electronic device so clients can privately communicate with their attorney.
- Bars intercepted attorney-client communications from being used as evidence unless all parties received the authorizing court order at least ten days beforehand.
- Creates a process for an aggrieved person to move to suppress an unlawfully intercepted attorney-client communication before trial.
- Allows a judge discretion to let defense counsel inspect portions of a suppressed or intercepted communication if it serves the interests of justice.
### Who it affects
People held in Georgia penal institutions such as jails and prisons, their defense attorneys, penal institution staff who must provide communication equipment, prosecutors, and judges who handle motions over intercepted attorney-client communications.
### Why it matters
Incarcerated defendants would gain a guaranteed, non-recorded way to speak privately with their lawyers, and prosecutors would face new limits on using any intercepted attorney-client conversation in court, affecting how criminal cases involving jailed defendants are investigated and tried.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501(a)(2) to include telephonic and electronic communications with clients held in a penal institution, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56, within attorney-client privilege.
- Requires each penal institution to provide a nonrecording telephonic or electronic device for attorney-client communication (new subparagraph (A)).
- Bars use of intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communications as evidence unless parties receive the authorizing court order and application at least ten days before the proceeding (new subparagraph (B)).
- Allows an aggrieved person to move to suppress intercepted communications on grounds of unlawful interception, a facially insufficient order, or noncompliance with the order (new subparagraph (C)).
- Requires suppression motions to be filed before the proceeding starts, with exceptions, and lets a judge grant defense counsel limited access to suppressed material if in the interests of justice (new subparagraph (D)).
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Tabled (2026-03-31)
- Sponsors: Esther Panitch, Tyler Smith, Stacey Evans, Scott Holcomb, Yasmin Neal, Terry Cummings, Bill Cowsert
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70347
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,004 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb460.md?full=1