HR 1893: House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies; create

Georgia prosecutors and defense attorneys currently deal with digital evidence such as body camera footage, cell phone data, and surveillance video that arrives in huge volumes and incompatible formats, often stored on DVDs, USB drives, or various cloud systems. This resolution does not change any law itself. Instead it creates the House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies to look at the problem. The committee would have 15 members, including legislators, district attorneys, state court solicitors, and designees from the Georgia Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the State Bar, and criminal defense lawyer groups. It can meet up to four times, and members receive standard state travel and expense allowances. The committee must file a report with any legislative recommendations before it is abolished on December 1, 2026, and that report must be made public.

• Creates a 15-member House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
• Directs the committee to study how prosecutors receive, store, and release digital evidence and to evaluate technology systems that could reduce inefficiencies.
• Limits the committee to no more than four meetings and sets standard legislative and state expense allowances for members.
• Requires the committee to file a report with any proposed legislation before it is abolished on December 1, 2026.
• Requires the committee's final report to be made publicly available.

The resolution affects the appointed committee members, including state legislators, county district attorneys, state court solicitors, and designees from the Georgia Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, State Bar of Georgia, and the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. It also indirectly touches prosecutors and defense attorneys statewide whose evidence-handling practices are being studied.

No law changes immediately. But the study could lead to future legislation or state purchases of new evidence systems that would change how prosecutors and defense attorneys across Georgia receive, organize, and share digital evidence like body camera footage and cell phone data in criminal cases.

• Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at 15, including House Judiciary and Judiciary Non-Civil committee leaders, two district attorneys, two state court solicitors, and designees from the courts, State Bar, and defense lawyers association.
• Paragraph (3) directs the committee to study the discovery process problems described and recommend action or legislation.
• Paragraph (4) caps meetings at four, held at the chairperson's discretion.
• Paragraph (5) sets allowances: legislative members get standard legislative allowances, state officials/employees get expense reimbursement only, and other members get a daily allowance matching O.C.G.A. § 45-7-21(b).
• Paragraph (6) requires any approved report with legislative recommendations to be filed with the Clerk of the House before abolishment.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.
• The closing resolved clause requires the committee's final report to be made publicly available.

1. 2026-03-31House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-25House Hopper (House)

• Bill Fincher (R, HD-023)Primary sponsor
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)
• El-Mahdi Holly (D, HD-116)

• criminal justice
• digital evidence
• prosecutors
• legislative study committee
• court technology