---
title: HB 934. Banking and finance; transfer regulation of securities and commodities from Secretary of State to Department of Banking and Finance
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb934
cite_as: HB 934, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb934
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb934.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb934/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72132
date: 2026-02-05
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 199
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb934.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 934
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-12
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
  - Noel Williams
  - Chuck Efstration
  - Bruce Williamson
  - Jan Jones
  - James Burchett
  - Carter Barrett
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB934/2025
upstream_id: 2071985
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - securities regulation
  - commodities regulation
  - Department of Banking and Finance
  - Secretary of State
  - state government reorganization
---

# HB 934. Banking and finance; transfer regulation of securities and commodities from Secretary of State to Department of Banking and Finance

## Text

The House Committee on Banks and Banking offers the following substitute to HB 934:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Titles 7, 10, and 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to banking
and finance, commerce and trade, and public officers and employees, respectively, so as to
transfer the regulation of securities and commodities from the Secretary of State to the
Department of Banking and Finance; to provide for an advisory board; to provide for
conformity; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to banking and finance, is
amended in Chapter 1, relating to financial institutions, by adding a new article to read as
follows:
<ins>"ARTICLE 15
7-1-1140.
(a) The powers, functions, duties, and obligations of the Secretary of State as they exist
on June 30, 2026, with regard to securities regulation pursuant to Chapter 5 and
commodities regulation pursuant to Chapter 5A of Title 10, are transferred to the
department effective July 1, 2026.
(b) On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall regulate securities and commodities in
Georgia and may coordinate with the Secretary of State for access to and maintenance of
records related to securities and commodities regulation for the department to fulfill its
duties.
(c) On and after July 1, 2026, any ongoing securities and commodities investigations with
the office of the Secretary of State shall immediately transfer to the department.
7-1-1141.
(a) The commissioner shall appoint an advisory board, consisting of up to 12 members.
Of such members, at least one member shall have securities regulation experience and at
least one member shall have commodities regulation experience. The remaining members
shall have such qualifications as the commissioner may determine. The members of the
advisory board shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner.
(b) The role of the advisory board shall be to provide ongoing advisement and consultation
to the commissioner with respect to the duties required pursuant to this article and
Chapters 5 and 5A of Title 10. The function of the board shall be advisory only.
7-1-1142.
The commissioner is authorized and directed to promulgate such rules and regulations as
necessary to implement the provisions of this article.
</ins>
<ins>7-1-1143.
(a) The department shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, and administrative
orders of the Secretary of State that are in effect on June 30, 2026, or are set to go into
effect on or after July 1, 2026, and which relate to the functions transferred to the
department pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 7-1-1140 and shall further succeed
to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Secretary of State that
are in effect on June 30, 2026, and which relate to the functions transferred to the
department pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 7-1-1140. Such rules, regulations,
policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended,
repealed, superseded, or nullified by the department by proper authority or otherwise
provided by law.
(b) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases,
agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2026, by the Secretary of
State which relate to the functions transferred to the department pursuant to subsection (a)
of Code Section 7-1-1140 shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges,
entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the
functions to the department. In all such instances, the department shall be substituted for
the Secretary of State and the department shall succeed to the rights and duties under such
contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions.
(c) All persons employed by the Secretary of State in capacities which relate to the
functions transferred to the department pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 7-1-1140
on June 30, 2026, shall, on July 1, 2026, become employees of the department in similar
capacities, as determined by the commissioner. Such employees shall be subject to the
employment practices and policies of the department on and after July 1, 2026, but the
compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result
of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and
who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules.
</ins>
<ins>Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2026,
shall be retained by such employees as employees of the department.
(d) On July 1, 2026, the department shall receive custody of the state owned real property
in the custody of the Secretary of State on June 30, 2026, and which pertains to the
functions transferred to the department pursuant to subsection (a) of Code
Section 7-1-1140."
</ins> SECTION 2.
Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to commerce and trade, is
amended in Chapter 5, relating to Georgia uniform securities, by revising paragraph (6) of
Code Section 10-5-2, relating to definitions, as follows:
"(6) 'Commissioner' means the <del>Secretary of State of Georgia</del> <ins>commissioner of banking
and finance."
</ins> SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended in said chapter by revising subsection (a) of Code
Section 10-5-70, relating to administration of chapter, commissioner of securities, and
authority, as follows:
"(a) The administration of this chapter shall be vested in the <del>Secretary of State
</del> <ins>commissioner of banking and finance,</ins> who is designated as the Commissioner of
Securities."
SECTION 4.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 5A, relating to commodities and commodity
contracts and options, by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 10-5A-24, relating to
Commissioner of Securities, employees, compensation and expenses, assistant commissioner,
prohibited use of information, and confidential information, as follows:
"(a) This chapter shall be administered by the <del>office of the Secretary of State</del> <ins>commissioner
of banking and finance,</ins> who is designated <ins>as the</ins> Commissioner of Securities."
SECTION 5.
Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public officers and employees,
is amended in Chapter 13, relating to Secretary of State, by revising subsection (a) of Code
Section 45-13-26, relating to designation of employees as agents to accept service of process,
powers of designees, and fees for acceptance of process, as follows:
"(a) The Secretary of State is authorized to designate one or more of his <ins>or her</ins> employees
as an agent for accepting service of summons or other process under any statute providing
for service of summons or other process upon the Secretary of State <del>or the Commissioner
of Securities.</del> Such designation shall be in writing, and all acts relative to such service by
any such designee shall be as valid and binding as though performed in person by the
Secretary of State <del>or the Commissioner of Securities, as the case may be.</del> The power and
authority of any such designee shall cease immediately upon such designee's ceasing to be
an employee of the Secretary of State."
SECTION 6.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026.
SECTION 7.
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 House substitute bill would move regulation of securities and commodities in Georgia from the Secretary of State to the Department of Banking and Finance, effective July 1, 2026, along with the staff, records, and legal duties that come with it.

### Plain-language summary

Currently, the Georgia Secretary of State regulates securities (investments like stocks and bonds) and commodities (contracts tied to goods like crops or oil) under Georgia's Uniform Securities law (O.C.G.A. Title 10). This bill shifts that entire regulatory function to the Department of Banking and Finance starting July 1, 2026.
The bill creates new Code sections giving the department's commissioner the power to regulate securities and commodities, handle ongoing investigations, and set rules. It also creates a 12-member advisory board with at least one member experienced in securities and one in commodities to advise the commissioner. Existing rules, contracts, and legal obligations of the Secretary of State related to these functions transfer to the department, and Secretary of State employees who worked on these duties become department employees with their pay, benefits, and leave preserved. The bill also updates the legal definition of 'Commissioner' in the securities and commodities statutes and removes references to the Secretary of State's authority to designate agents for the Commissioner of Securities.

### What it does

- Transfers all regulatory powers, functions, and duties over securities and commodities from the Secretary of State to the Department of Banking and Finance effective July 1, 2026.
- Creates a 12-member advisory board appointed by the commissioner to advise on securities and commodities regulation, serving at the commissioner's pleasure.
- Moves any pending securities and commodities investigations from the Secretary of State's office directly to the department.
- Transfers Secretary of State employees who worked on these functions to the department, preserving their pay, benefits, and accrued leave.
- Changes the legal definition of 'Commissioner' in Georgia's Uniform Securities Code (O.C.G.A. § 10-5-2) from the Secretary of State to the commissioner of banking and finance.
- Removes the Secretary of State's authority to designate agents to accept legal service on behalf of the Commissioner of Securities.

### Who it affects

The Secretary of State's office and its employees who currently handle securities and commodities regulation, the Department of Banking and Finance and its commissioner, investors and companies subject to securities and commodities law, and any parties with active investigations, contracts, or leases tied to the current regulatory functions.

### Why it matters

Georgians and businesses who deal with investment securities or commodity contracts would now interact with the Department of Banking and Finance instead of the Secretary of State's office for licensing, enforcement, and investigations, changing which state agency oversees compliance and complaints in this area.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 adds new Code sections (7-1-1140 through 7-1-1143) to Title 7 transferring securities and commodities regulation duties, investigations, records, rules, contracts, real property, and employees to the Department of Banking and Finance.
- Section 1 creates a 12-member advisory board with required expertise in securities and commodities regulation, serving in an advisory-only role.
- Section 2 revises the definition of 'Commissioner' in O.C.G.A. § 10-5-2 to mean the commissioner of banking and finance instead of the Secretary of State.
- Section 3 shifts administration of Georgia's securities law (O.C.G.A. § 10-5-70) from the Secretary of State to the commissioner of banking and finance.
- Section 4 shifts administration of Georgia's commodities law (O.C.G.A. § 10-5A-24) from the Secretary of State's office to the commissioner of banking and finance.
- Section 5 removes the Secretary of State's power to designate agents for service of process on behalf of the Commissioner of Securities (O.C.G.A. § 45-13-26).
- Section 6 sets the effective date of the entire Act as July 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-01-12)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-02-05)
- Sponsors: Noel Williams, Chuck Efstration, Bruce Williamson, Jan Jones, James Burchett, Carter Barrett
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72132

> The history, votes, and amendments (199 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb934.md?full=1