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

House Resolution 1893

By: Representatives Fincher of the 23rd, Smith of the 18th, Leverett of the 123rd, Crowe of the 118th, Silcox of the 53rd, and others

A RESOLUTION

Creating the House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the criminal justice ecosystem is large and complex, especially when it comes to digital evidence; and

WHEREAS, requesting and receiving digital evidence for a single case can generate multiple hard drives' worth of data, which must be shared between partnering organizations and attorneys' offices, all of which may use incompatible storage systems; and

WHEREAS, digital evidence has experienced exponential growth in recent years; and

WHEREAS, in addition to police reports and crime scene photos that used to make up the majority of the discovery process, today's discovery includes digital photos, body-worn camera footage, closed-circuit television footage, cell phone data, interview recordings, drone footage, in-car fleet videos, and other sources of evidence; and

WHEREAS, once prosecutors receive all of the digital evidence from law enforcement agencies, the public, relevant businesses, and others, they have to organize and store it; and

WHEREAS, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other attorneys generally store their data by burning it onto DVDs, using USB sticks, or uploading information to a digital cloud or on-premises digital evidence solution; and

WHEREAS, with such a variety of storage methods, prosecutors must often comb through evidence from different sources and formats, much of which may have no bearing on a case; and

WHEREAS, transferring significant amounts of information across compatible systems is challenging and requires agencies to perform time-consuming inefficiencies; and

WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to undertake a study to evaluate whether there are evidence receipt, storage, and release systems that could be provided to prosecutors that would reduce inefficiencies and alleviate the problems described herein; and

WHEREAS, it would be advantageous for such study to accomplish on a state-wide basis the following:

(1) Examine the most common methods that prosecutors use to receive, store, and release information during discovery;

(2) Identify and evaluate different systems that the state could purchase for use in prosecutors' offices which would reduce inefficiencies in the discovery process; and

(3) Develop ideas for legislation which would address the concerns described herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies.

(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows:

(A) The chairperson and a second member of the House Committee on Judiciary;

(B) The chairperson and vice chairperson of the House Committee on Judiciary Non-Civil;

(C) Two additional members of the House of Representatives;

(D) Two county district attorneys or their designees;

(E) Two state court solicitors or their designees;

(F) A designee of the Supreme Court of Georgia;

(G) A designee of the Georgia Court of Appeals;

(H) A designee of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers;

(I) A designee of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia; and

(J) A designee of the State Bar of Georgia.

(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.

(4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee shall hold no more than four such meetings and at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.

(5) Allowances, expenses, and funding.

(A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

(B) Members of the committee who are state officials, other than legislative members, or who are state employees shall receive no compensation for their services on the committee, but they may be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members of the committee in the same manner as they are reimbursed for expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees.

(C) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state officials, or state employees shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same as that specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state employees.

(D) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than four days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives; except that funds for the reimbursement of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative members, and for the reimbursement of the expenses of state employees shall come from funds appropriated to or otherwise available to their respective agencies.

(6) Report.

(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.

(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the final report from the House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies shall be made publicly available to promote transparency and inform future legislative and regulatory action.