--- title: HB 484. General Assembly; digitization and electronic publication of Georgia Laws; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb484 cite_as: HB 484, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb484 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb484.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb484/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70407 date: 2025-04-30 status: passed 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/hb483.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb485.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 946 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb484.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 484 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-30 last_action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 sponsors: - Bill Yearta - Chuck Efstration - Mitchell Scoggins - Victor Anderson - Rob Leverett - Bo Hatchett text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB484/2025 upstream_id: 1974124 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - public records - government transparency - Georgia Code Revision Commission - legislative records - digital archives --- # HB 484. General Assembly; digitization and electronic publication of Georgia Laws; provide ## Text 25 LC 33 9779/AP House Bill 484 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Yearta of the 152 nd, Efstration of the 104 th, Scoggins of the 14 th, Anderson of the 10th, and Leverett of the 123rd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, re lating to the General1 Assembly, so as to provide for the digitization and electronic publication of the Georgia2 Laws; to provide for assistance and oversight by the Georgia Code Revision Commission;3 to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the General Assembly, is7 amended in Code Section 28-4-3, relating to the creation, quali fications, and powers and8 duties of the Office of Legislative Counsel, by revising subsection (e) as follows:9 "(e) The legislative counsel shall provide for the compiling, i ndexing, editing, and10 publication of the Georgia Laws containing the Acts and resolut ions of the General11 Assembly and other appropriate materials. Except as otherwise authorized in Code Section12 50-18-2, such Acts and resolutions shall be published electroni cally or in hardbound13 volumes in a manner which is suitable for retention as permanent records. In the case of14 any special session of the General Assembly, however, the separ ate publication and15 distribution of the Acts and resolutions enacted at that special session may be omitted, and16 H. B. 484 - 1 - 25 LC 33 9779/AP in such case the Acts and resolutions enacted at the special se ssion shall be published17 electronically or in print and distributed together with those enacted at the subsequent18 regular session. Distribution of the Georgia Laws shall be carried out by the Secretary of19 State as provided for in Code Section 45-13-22; and the Secretary of State shall notify the20 legislative counsel of the numbers of volumes required to carry out such distribution."21 SECTION 2.22 Said title is further amended in Code Section 28-9-3, relating to and powers and duties of the23 Code Revision Commission, by adding a new subsection to read as follows:24 "(17.1) To provide assistance and oversight for the digitization and electronic publication25 of the Georgia Laws so as to create a permanent digital repository of the session laws of26 Georgia and to provide single-point public access to the local and general Acts and the27 resolutions of the General Assembly;"28 SECTION 3.29 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.30 H. B. 484 - 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 484 lets Georgia publish its official session laws, the Georgia Laws, electronically instead of only in hardbound books, and gives the Georgia Code Revision Commission a role overseeing that digital archive. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently directs the Office of Legislative Counsel to compile and publish the Georgia Laws, the official collection of Acts and resolutions passed each year, in hardbound volumes suitable for permanent record-keeping. This bill amends that law (O.C.G.A. § 28-4-3) so those Acts and resolutions can instead be published electronically, or still in hardbound or print form, and updates related language about special sessions to match. The bill also adds a new duty for the Georgia Code Revision Commission (O.C.G.A. § 28-9-3), the body that oversees the state's official code. The Commission would now help oversee digitizing the Georgia Laws and creating a permanent digital repository of session laws, with a single point of public access to local and general Acts and resolutions. The Secretary of State keeps responsibility for distributing the Georgia Laws as already required under existing law. ### What it does - Changes the law so the Georgia Laws (the state's official record of Acts and resolutions) can be published electronically instead of requiring hardbound printed volumes. - Updates the rule for special legislative sessions so those Acts and resolutions can be published electronically or in print alongside the next regular session's laws. - Adds a new duty for the Georgia Code Revision Commission to assist with and oversee digitizing the Georgia Laws. - Directs creation of a permanent digital repository of Georgia's session laws with single-point public access to local and general Acts and resolutions. - Keeps the Secretary of State responsible for distributing the Georgia Laws as already set out in current law. ### Who it affects The Office of Legislative Counsel, which compiles and publishes the Georgia Laws; the Georgia Code Revision Commission, which gains new oversight duties; the Secretary of State's office, which distributes the laws; and members of the public, researchers, and lawyers who look up Georgia's official session laws. ### Why it matters If enacted, Georgians and legal researchers could access the state's official session laws through a single digital repository rather than relying only on printed volumes, potentially making the historical and current record of Georgia's Acts and resolutions easier and faster to find. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 28-4-3(e) to allow the Georgia Laws to be published electronically or in hardbound volumes suitable for permanent retention, rather than requiring hardbound publication. - Section 1 also updates the special-session provision so those Acts and resolutions can be published electronically or in print together with the next regular session's laws. - Section 2 adds a new paragraph (17.1) to O.C.G.A. § 28-9-3 giving the Code Revision Commission authority to assist and oversee digitization and electronic publication of the Georgia Laws. - Section 2 directs that this digitization effort create a permanent digital repository of Georgia's session laws with single-point public access. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-30) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 (2025-04-30) - Sponsors: Bill Yearta, Chuck Efstration, Mitchell Scoggins, Victor Anderson, Rob Leverett, Bo Hatchett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70407 > The history, votes, and amendments (946 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb484.md?full=1