--- title: HB 916. Judicial Council; funding for civil legal services to low-income individuals; create grant program collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb916 cite_as: HB 916, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb916 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb916.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb916/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72007 date: 2026-01-12 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/hb915.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb917.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb916.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 916 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-02 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Karen Lupton - Marvin Lim text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB916/2025 upstream_id: 2019428 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - legal aid - low-income services - Judicial Council - state grants - civil legal services --- # HB 916. Judicial Council; funding for civil legal services to low-income individuals; create grant program ## Text House Bill 916 By: Representatives Lupton of the 83rd and Lim of the 98th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Judicial Council, so as to create a grant program for the purpose of providing funding for civil legal services to low-income individuals; to provide for eligibility criteria and standards; to provide for the council to establish the grant amounts; 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 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Judicial Council, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "15-5-27. Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly or other available funding, the Judicial Council shall provide grants to counties and municipalities for the purpose of providing civil legal services to low-income individuals. The council shall be authorized to establish eligibility criteria and shall consult with advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts in establishing such criteria and standards. The council shall be authorized to establish the grant amount awarded to each recipient on a case-by-case basis." 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 create a state grant program run by the Judicial Council to help counties and cities pay for civil legal services for low-income residents. ### Plain-language summary Georgia currently has no dedicated statewide grant program specifically funding civil legal aid for low-income people through the Judicial Council, the body that oversees court administration policy in the state. This bill would add a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 15-5-27) directing the Judicial Council to provide grants to counties and municipalities so they can offer civil legal services to low-income individuals. The grants would depend on the General Assembly setting aside money or other funding becoming available; the bill does not itself provide a dollar amount. The Judicial Council would set the rules for who qualifies, consulting with advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts, and would decide how much money to give each recipient case by case. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 15-5-27) letting the Judicial Council give grants to counties and municipalities for civil legal services to low-income individuals. - Makes the grants contingent on the General Assembly appropriating money or other funding being available, rather than guaranteeing funding. - Requires the Judicial Council to set eligibility criteria and standards, consulting with advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts. - Gives the Judicial Council authority to decide the grant amount for each recipient individually rather than using a fixed formula. - Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new grant program. ### Who it affects Low-income Georgians who need civil legal help (such as with housing, family, or benefits issues), county and municipal governments that could apply for the grants, the Judicial Council, and advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts the council must consult when setting eligibility rules. ### Why it matters If funded, the program could increase the availability of free or low-cost civil legal help in local communities, but the bill does not require or set aside any money itself, so its real-world effect depends entirely on future budget decisions by the General Assembly. ### Key provisions - Section 1 creates new Code section 15-5-27, authorizing the Judicial Council to grant funds to counties and municipalities for civil legal services to low-income individuals. - The program only operates 'subject to appropriations by the General Assembly or other available funding,' meaning it has no guaranteed budget. - The Judicial Council sets eligibility criteria and standards and must consult advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts in doing so. - The council decides grant amounts case by case rather than through a set statewide formula. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause clearing the way for the new provision. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-04-02) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: Karen Lupton, Marvin Lim - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72007 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb916.md?full=1