---
title: HR 428. House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process; create
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr428
cite_as: HR 428, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr428
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr428.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr428/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70946
date: 2025-03-03
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr428.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 428
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-02-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Teddy Reese
  - Carolyn Hugley
  - Debbie Buckner
  - Vance Smith
  - Carmen Rice
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR428/2025
upstream_id: 1987912
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - legitimation process
  - parental rights
  - family law
  - unmarried fathers
  - legislative study committees
---

# HR 428. House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process; create

## Text

House Resolution 428
By: Representatives Reese of the 140th, Hugley of the 141st, Buckner of the 137th, Smith of
the 138th, and Rice of the 139th
A RESOLUTION
Creating the House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's
Legitimation Process; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, in Georgia, a biological father who is not married to the mother of his child at
the time of such child's birth must file a separate legal petition in order to legitimate the child
and obtain legal rights as a parent; and
WHEREAS, the benefit of having two parents responsible for a child is known to have a
positive effect on a child's welfare; and
WHEREAS, in Georgia, biological fathers who wish to obtain parental rights to their
children are discouraged from doing so, often due to a lack of resources or awareness of the
costs associated with legitimation; and
WHEREAS, it is worth considering whether the legitimation process in Georgia may be
improved in a way that yields it more affordable and accessible, particularly for those
biological fathers with limited financial resources.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee
on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process.
(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the
House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate
a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.
(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
may conduct such meetings 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 and funding. 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. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any
member of the committee for more than five 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.
(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, 2025.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia House resolution would create a five-member study committee to examine whether the state's legal process for unmarried fathers to establish parental rights, called legitimation, could be made cheaper and easier to use.

### Plain-language summary

In Georgia, a father who is not married to his child's mother at birth has no automatic legal rights as a parent. He must file a separate court petition, called legitimation, to gain those rights. This resolution notes that cost and lack of awareness often discourage fathers, especially those with limited money, from going through this process.
The resolution creates the House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process, made up of five House members chosen with a chairperson designated by the Speaker. The committee would study the issue and could recommend legislation. Members would receive standard legislative allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five meeting days unless more are approved, funded through the House's existing budget. The committee must file any approved report before it is abolished on December 1, 2025.

### What it does

- Creates a House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process made up of five House members.
- Directs the Speaker of the House to name one committee member as chairperson, who calls and organizes meetings.
- Authorizes the committee to study the legitimation process and recommend legislation it deems necessary.
- Sets legislative pay allowances for committee members under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless more are approved.
- Funds the committee's work from money already appropriated to the House of Representatives.
- Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2025, after requiring any approved report to be filed with the House Clerk.

### Who it affects

The resolution most directly affects the five House members appointed to the study committee. Its subject matter concerns unmarried biological fathers seeking legal parental rights in Georgia, and by extension their children and the family courts that process legitimation petitions.

### Why it matters

If the committee's work leads to future legislation, fathers who cannot easily afford or navigate the legitimation process could face fewer barriers to gaining legal parental rights, which affects custody, visitation, and decision-making authority over their children.

### Key provisions

- Paragraph 1 establishes the House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process.
- Paragraph 2 sets committee membership at five House members with a chairperson designated by the Speaker.
- Paragraph 3 charges the committee with studying legitimation-related issues and recommending action or legislation.
- Paragraph 5 caps paid allowances at five days per member unless additional days are authorized, funded from House appropriations.
- Paragraph 6 requires any adopted report to be approved by majority vote before the abolishment date and filed with the Clerk of the House.
- Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-03)
- Sponsors: Teddy Reese, Carolyn Hugley, Debbie Buckner, Vance Smith, Carmen Rice
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70946

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr428.md?full=1