---
title: SB 189. Department of Community Affairs; to develop and maintain a publicly accessible data base of legal notices; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb189
cite_as: SB 189, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb189
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb189.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb189/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70396
date: 2025-02-19
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: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb189.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 189
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-18
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Ricky Williams
- Lee Anderson
- Gail Davenport
- Michael Rhett
- Jason Esteves
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB189/2025
upstream_id: 1974205
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- legal notices
- open government
- newspapers
- local government transparency
- public records
---
# SB 189. Department of Community Affairs; to develop and maintain a publicly accessible data base of legal notices; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 189
By: Senators Williams of the 25th, Anderson of the 24th, Davenport of the 17th, Rhett of the
33rd and Esteves of the 35th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 8 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions related to the Department of Community Affairs, so as to provide for the
department to develop and maintain a publicly accessible data base of legal notices that are
otherwise required by law to be published in a newspaper; to provide that such data base
shall be an additional, mandatory, manner of posting legal notices; to make such data base
contingent upon appropriation; to provide requirements for such data base; to authorize fees;
to provide that posting on such data base shall serve as an alternative to other publication
requirements in certain circumstances; to provide a definition; to authorize rules and
regulations; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 8 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions related to the Department of Community Affairs, is amended by adding a new
Code section to read as follows:
"50-8-19.
(a) Subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, the department shall develop and
operate a publicly accessible online data base of legal notices required by law to be
published in either a legal organ or other newspaper of general circulation.
(b) Posting legal notices on such data base shall be mandatory and in addition to any other
required public notice. Except as provided for in this subsection, posting of such legal
notices on such data base shall not be in lieu of publication requirements otherwise
provided by law. No posting on the data base provided for in this subsection shall operate
to serve as any form of notice required by Code Section 28-1-14.
(c) The data base provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall:
(1) Be designed to allow for legal notices to be uploaded using commonly accessible
electronic file formats;
(2) Allow for the online payment of reasonable publication fees that shall not exceed
$25.00 per legal notice;
(3) Post in a secure and unalterable format an uploaded legal notice within 24 hours of
the uploading of such notice;
(4) Allow the public to search for and view posted legal notices in an internet based
format that is also easily accessible and readable from mobile devices;
(5) Allow for the establishment of accounts that can receive notifications of the posting
of certain legal notices designated by the account holder; provided, however, that the
department may charge additional fees for such service; and
(6) Provide a mechanism for users to obtain certified copies of posted legal notices.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in the event that the legal organ of a
county does not maintain an office within such county to administer the publication of legal
notices, when a person is otherwise required by law to publish a legal notice in such
county's legal organ, posting such public notice on the data base provided for in this
subsection shall serve as lawful publication of such notice and may serve in lieu of
publication in the legal organ and shall satisfy any and all legal requirements of adequate
notice to the public; provided, however, that such posting on the data base occurs no later
than the publication date otherwise provided by law.
(e) In the event that an error is made in the text or publication date of a legal notice
required to be published in a legal organ or other newspaper of general circulation, and a
correct version of such notice is posted on the data base provided for in this subsection
within the time provided by law, posting on such data base shall satisfy any and all legal
requirements of adequate notice to the public.
(f)(1) For the purpose of this paragraph, the term 'archival notice' means any notice
posted on the data base provided for in this subsection for a period of over one year.
(2) The department is authorized to establish and collect reasonable fees related the
search and retrieval of archival notices.
(g) The department is authorized to adopt rules and regulations related to this Code section
and the data base required herein."
SECTION 2.
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 Georgia Senate bill would direct the Department of Community Affairs to build a public online database of legal notices, adding a new posting requirement alongside existing newspaper publication rules.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently requires many legal notices, such as government or court announcements, to be published in a newspaper called a legal organ. This bill would require the Department of Community Affairs, if the General Assembly provides funding, to build and run a public website where those same legal notices are also posted. Posting on the database would be mandatory in addition to newspaper publication in most cases, not a replacement for it.
The bill sets technical requirements for the database, including posting uploaded notices within 24 hours, letting the public search and read notices on mobile devices, and offering account notifications and certified copies for a fee capped at $25 per notice. In a narrow exception, if a county's legal organ has no local office to handle publication, or if a published notice contains an error, posting the corrected or original notice on the database can substitute for newspaper publication. The department may also charge fees for retrieving older, archived notices and can adopt rules to run the system.
### What it does
- Requires the Department of Community Affairs to build and operate a public online database of legal notices, but only if the legislature funds it.
- Makes posting on the database mandatory in addition to existing newspaper publication requirements for legal notices.
- Caps the standard publication fee for posting a notice on the database at $25.00.
- Allows database posting to substitute for newspaper publication when a county's legal organ has no local office, or when correcting an error in a published notice.
- Lets the department charge extra fees for notification accounts and for retrieving notices older than one year, called archival notices.
- Authorizes the department to adopt rules and regulations to administer the new database.
### Who it affects
The Department of Community Affairs, which would build and run the database; county legal organs and other newspapers that currently publish legal notices; local governments and individuals required to publish legal notices; and members of the public who search for notices such as foreclosure, probate, or zoning announcements.
### Why it matters
Georgians who rely on legal notices, such as those tracking foreclosures, estate proceedings, or local government actions, would gain a searchable online source alongside newspaper listings. Newspapers would keep their publication role in most cases, but counties without an active legal organ office could shift entirely to the online database.
### Key provisions
- New Code Section 50-8-19(a) makes the database contingent on the General Assembly appropriating funding for it.
- Subsection (b) makes database posting mandatory and additional to other notice requirements, except as specified, and clarifies it does not satisfy notice required under O.C.G.A. ยง 28-1-14.
- Subsection (c) lists required features: electronic uploads, online fee payment capped at $25 per notice, posting within 24 hours, mobile-friendly search, notification accounts, and certified copies.
- Subsection (d) allows database posting to serve as lawful publication in place of a county's legal organ if that legal organ has no office in the county, as long as it is posted by the legal deadline.
- Subsection (e) allows a corrected notice posted on the database to satisfy legal notice requirements if an error occurred in the newspaper version.
- Subsection (f) defines 'archival notice' as one posted for over one year and lets the department charge fees to search and retrieve it.
- Subsection (g) authorizes the department to adopt rules and regulations to implement the database.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-18)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-19)
- Sponsors: Ricky Williams, Lee Anderson, Gail Davenport, Michael Rhett, Jason Esteves
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70396
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb189.md?full=1