HB 650: Presidential Felon Freedom Act; enact

Right now, Georgia law automatically bars anyone convicted of a felony whose civil rights have not been restored from serving on a trial jury or a grand jury, and licensing boards can deny or revoke professional licenses based on felony convictions generally. This bill, titled the 'Presidential Felon Freedom Act,' removes those automatic bans on jury service and narrows when a felony conviction can block a professional license, allowing denial only when the crime directly relates to the licensed occupation and after the board weighs factors like the person's age at the time, how long ago it happened, and evidence of rehabilitation. The bill also adds a new section to Georgia's property law barring landlords from refusing to lease a home to someone solely because of their criminal history, except for people required to register as sex offenders. It removes the requirement that notary applicants disclose past criminal convictions and drops criminal history as grounds for denying a notary commission. It also eliminates several data-sharing requirements tied to felony records used to build state jury lists. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Repeals the automatic disqualification of people with felony convictions from serving on trial juries and grand juries in Georgia courts.
• Removes felony conviction, standing alone, as a basis for challenging a juror for cause during jury selection.
• Limits professional licensing boards to denying or revoking a license over a felony only when the crime directly relates to the licensed occupation, after weighing rehabilitation and other factors.
• Removes felony convictions and moral turpitude crimes as automatic grounds for revoking or suspending auctioneer, electrical, plumbing, and utility contractor licenses.
• Adds a new law making it illegal for landlords to refuse to lease a home to someone based solely on criminal history, except for registered sex offenders.
• Removes the requirement that notary public applicants disclose past criminal convictions and eliminates criminal history as a ground for denying a notary commission.

People with felony convictions seeking jury duty, professional licenses (accountants, barbers, cosmetologists, massage therapists, electricians, plumbers, auctioneers), notary commissions, or rental housing; licensing boards; the Department of Driver Services and Department of Corrections, which lose certain data-sharing duties; and landlords renting residential dwellings.

People previously barred from jury service, certain professions, notary commissions, or housing because of a felony record would face fewer automatic barriers. Licensing boards would have to justify license denials by connecting the crime to the job, and landlords could no longer reject tenants based solely on a criminal record, aside from registered sex offenders.

• Section 2-1 through 2-4 remove felony-conviction bans on serving as trial jurors and grand jurors and on challenging jurors for cause based on felony history.
• Section 2-2 eliminates requirements that the Department of Driver Services exclude felons with suspended licenses from jury lists and that Corrections and the Board of Pardons and Paroles supply felony conviction data for jury lists.
• Section 3-1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 43-1-19 so licensing boards can only deny or revoke a license over a felony or crime of moral turpitude that directly relates to the profession, considering rehabilitation, age at offense, and time elapsed.
• Section 3-4 removes felony or moral turpitude convictions as automatic grounds for revoking or suspending an auctioneer's license.
• Section 3-6 similarly narrows grounds for suspending electrical, plumbing, low-voltage, and utility contractor licenses tied to dishonorable conduct.
• Section 4-1 adds new Code Section 44-7-3.1 barring landlords from refusing to lease based solely on criminal history, with an exception for registered sex offenders, enforceable under the Fair Business Practices Act.
• Section 5-1 and 5-2 remove the requirement that notary applicants disclose criminal convictions and eliminate criminal history as a ground for denying a notary commission.
• Section 6-1 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

1. 2025-02-27House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-26House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-26House Hopper (House)

• Eric Bell (D, HD-75)Primary sponsor
• Carl Gilliard (D, HD-162)
• Miriam Paris (D, HD-142)
• Sheila Jones (D, HD-60)
• Anne Allen Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Angela Moore (D, HD-91)

• criminal justice reform
• jury eligibility
• professional licensing
• fair housing
• notary public rules