--- title: HR 885. House Study Committee on Election Procedures; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr885 cite_as: HR 885, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr885 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr885.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr885/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71943 date: 2025-04-04 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hr884.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr886.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 453 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr885.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 885 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-04-04 last_action: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute sponsors: - Victor Anderson - Brad Thomas - Tim Fleming - Rob Leverett text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR885/2025 upstream_id: 2017654 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - election procedures - voting laws - legislative study committee - Georgia election code --- # HR 885. House Study Committee on Election Procedures; create ## Text LC 57 0290S The House Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to HR 885: A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on Election Procedures; and for other purposes.1 WHEREAS, the elective franchise is the cornerstone of our representative government; and2 WHEREAS, Article II, Section I, Paragraph I of the Constitution provides that elections in3 Georgia shall be conducted in accordance with procedures provided by law; and4 WHEREAS, over the years Georgia election laws have divided resp onsibility for5 administering and overseeing elections to a variety of state-wi de and local officials and6 boards, including but not limited to the Secretary of State, the State Election Board, and local7 election superintendents and registrars; and8 WHEREAS, while certain provisions of the Georgia Election Code, Chapter 2 of Title 21 of9 the O.C.G.A., have been updated and modernized in recent years, other provisions have10 remained unchanged since the original adoption of the state-wide Election Code in 1964; and11 WHEREAS, further study and evaluation of the laws, policies, an d procedures utilized in12 administering Georgia elections is warranted; and13 - 1 - LC 57 0290S WHEREAS, the state has a compelling governmental interest in ensuring that Georgia has14 the most secure and effective electoral system in the nation.15 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:16 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee17 on Election Procedures.18 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of a number of members19 of the House of Representatives as determined and appointed by the Speaker of the House20 of Representatives. The Speaker shall designate the chairperson of the House Committee21 on Governmental Affairs as chairperson of the committee.22 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,23 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or24 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.25 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee; pro vided,26 however, that the Speaker of the House of Representatives may set a maximum number27 of meetings that the committee may conduct. The committee may conduct such meetings28 at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to29 exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives30 and purposes of this resolution.31 (5) Allowances and funding. The legislative members of the committee shall receive32 the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Offic ial Code of Georgia33 Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any34 member of the committee for more than three days unless additional days are authorized. 35 Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds36 appropriated to the House of Representatives.37 - 2 - LC 57 0290S (6) Report.38 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that39 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the40 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to41 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.42 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for43 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)44 of this paragraph.45 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of46 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.47 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with48 the Clerk of the House of Representatives.49 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the50 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu51 thereof.52 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.53 - 3 - ## 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 House resolution creates the House Study Committee on Election Procedures to review Georgia's election laws and recommend possible legislation before it disbands on December 1, 2025. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's election laws are spread across the Secretary of State, the State Election Board, and local election superintendents and registrars, with some parts of the Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) unchanged since 1964. This resolution sets up a temporary House committee to study those laws, policies, and procedures. The Speaker of the House appoints the committee's members and names the chairperson of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs to lead it. The committee can meet as needed, subject to any meeting limit the Speaker sets, and legislative members get standard daily allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8 for up to three meeting days unless more are approved. If the committee approves findings or recommendations, including proposed legislation, the chairperson must file a report with the Clerk of the House before the committee is abolished on December 1, 2025. ### What it does - Creates the House Study Committee on Election Procedures to examine Georgia's election laws, policies, and procedures. - Lets the Speaker of the House decide how many members serve and appoint the chairperson of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs to lead the group. - Directs the committee to study election administration issues and recommend any legislation it finds necessary or appropriate. - Pays legislative members the standard allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at three days unless additional days are authorized. - Funds the committee's work from money already appropriated to the House of Representatives. - Sets December 1, 2025 as the date the committee stands abolished, after which any approved report or meeting minutes must be filed with the Clerk of the House. ### Who it affects This resolution mainly affects members of the Georgia House of Representatives appointed to the study committee, the chairperson of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs, and indirectly the state and local officials who administer elections, such as the Secretary of State, the State Election Board, and county election superintendents and registrars. ### Why it matters The committee itself changes no election law, but its recommendations could shape future legislation affecting how Georgia elections are run, including rules that have been in place since the state's original 1964 Election Code. ### Key provisions - Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on Election Procedures. - Paragraph (2) gives the Speaker of the House authority to set membership and requires the Governmental Affairs Committee chairperson to lead the study committee. - Paragraph (3) charges the committee with studying election administration issues and recommending action or legislation. - Paragraph (4) lets the chairperson call meetings, subject to any cap on meeting numbers set by the Speaker. - Paragraph (5) provides legislative member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, limited to three days unless more are authorized, funded from House appropriations. - Paragraph (6) requires any approved findings, recommendations, or reports to be filed with the Clerk of the House, or meeting minutes filed if no report is approved. - Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-04) - Last action: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Victor Anderson, Brad Thomas, Tim Fleming, Rob Leverett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71943 > The history, votes, and amendments (453 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr885.md?full=1