--- title: HB 621. Georgia Bureau of Investigation; provide for members of the General Assembly to request assistance collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb621 cite_as: HB 621, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb621 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb621.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb621/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70796 date: 2025-02-28 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12 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/hb620.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb622.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb621.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 621 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-26 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Sylvia Baker - Sharon Henderson - Terry Cummings - Lydia Glaize - Dewey McClain - L.C. Myles text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB621/2025 upstream_id: 1986078 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - law enforcement - Georgia Bureau of Investigation - criminal justice - state legislature powers --- # HB 621. Georgia Bureau of Investigation; provide for members of the General Assembly to request assistance ## Text House Bill 621 By: Representatives Baker of the 64th, Henderson of the 113th, Cummings of the 39th, Glaize of the 67th, McClain of the 109th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, so as to provide for members of the General Assembly to request assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; 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 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is amended by revising Code Section 35-3-8.1, relating to power of bureau to assist other law enforcement agencies and jurisdiction in terrorism cases, as follows: "35-3-8.1. (a) Upon request of a member of the General Assembly, the governing authority or chief law enforcement officer of any municipality, the sheriff of any county, the chief of the county police force of any county having a population of more than 100,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1970 or any future such census, a judge of the superior court of any county of this state, or the Governor, the director, in unusual circumstances, may, and in the case of a request by the Governor, shall, direct the bureau to render assistance in any criminal case, in the prevention or detection of violations of law, or in the detection or apprehension of persons violating the criminal laws of this state, any other state, or the United States. (b) The bureau shall be authorized to work independently, work concurrently with other law enforcement agencies, and request the assistance of other law enforcement agencies when, in the sole discretion of the director, such independent work, concurrent work, or request for assistance would not compromise the successful completion of cases involving the identification, investigation, arrest, and prosecution of an individual or groups of individuals for violation of laws concerning domestic, cyber, biological, chemical, and nuclear terrorism." 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 621 would let any Georgia state legislator formally request help from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, adding lawmakers to the list of officials who can already ask the GBI to step in on a case. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-3-8.1), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can be asked to assist local law enforcement by a narrow list of officials: municipal governing authorities or police chiefs, county sheriffs, certain county police chiefs, superior court judges, or the Governor. The GBI's director generally has discretion over whether to grant these requests, except that a request from the Governor must be honored. House Bill 621 rewrites this section to add "a member of the General Assembly" to that list of people who can ask the GBI to render assistance in a criminal case, in preventing or detecting violations of law, or in detecting or catching people who violate criminal laws of Georgia, another state, or the United States. The director's discretion over whether to act on the request stays the same as for other officials on the list, meaning the director is not required to comply just because a legislator asked. The bill does not change the separate provisions about GBI jurisdiction over terrorism-related cases. ### What it does - Adds state senators and representatives to the list of officials who can formally request Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) assistance under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-8.1. - Leaves the GBI director's discretion over whether to grant such requests unchanged, except that requests from the Governor remain mandatory. - Keeps the existing list of requesters intact, including sheriffs, certain municipal officials, some county police chiefs, and superior court judges. - Leaves unchanged the bureau's separate authority to work independently or with other agencies on terrorism-related investigations. ### Who it affects Members of the Georgia General Assembly, who would gain a new formal channel to ask for GBI help; the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its director, who would field these new requests; and local law enforcement agencies and courts already named in the statute. ### Why it matters If enacted, individual state lawmakers could formally ask the GBI to get involved in a criminal matter, something currently limited to certain local officials, judges, and the Governor. The GBI director would still decide whether to act, so the change expands who can ask rather than guaranteeing a response. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 35-3-8.1 by adding 'a member of the General Assembly' to the officials who may request GBI assistance in criminal cases or law enforcement matters. - Subsection (a) retains the director's discretion to grant such requests in 'unusual circumstances,' except that a request from the Governor must be honored. - Subsection (b), covering the bureau's authority to work independently or with other agencies on terrorism cases, is carried over unchanged. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-26) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-28) - Sponsors: Sylvia Baker, Sharon Henderson, Terry Cummings, Lydia Glaize, Dewey McClain, L.C. Myles - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70796 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb621.md?full=1