--- title: SB 353. Open and Public Meetings; county or joint boards of election or boards of election and registration to conduct meetings via teleconference; authorize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb353 cite_as: SB 353, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb353 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb353.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb353/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71559 date: 2025-03-25 status: introduced 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/sb352.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb354.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb353.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 353 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-21 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Sally Harrell - Kim Jackson - Elena Parent text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB353/2025 upstream_id: 2012806 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - election administration - open meetings law - county boards of election - teleconference meetings --- # SB 353. Open and Public Meetings; county or joint boards of election or boards of election and registration to conduct meetings via teleconference; authorize ## Text 25 LC 47 3616 Senate Bill 353 By: Senators Harrell of the 40th, Jackson of the 41st and Parent of the 44th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 50-14-1 of the Official Code of Georgia A nnotated, relating to1 meetings open to the public, limitation on action to contest agency action, recording, notice2 of time and place, access to minutes, and teleconferences, so as to authorize county or joint3 boards of election or boards of election and registration to co nduct meetings via4 teleconference; to provide for related matters; to repeal confl icting laws; and for other5 purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Code Section 50-14-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to meetings open9 to the public, limitation on action to contest agency action, r ecording, notice of time and10 place, access to minutes, and teleconferences, is amended by re vising subsection (h) as11 follows:12 "(h)(1) The following bodies and committees thereof shall be au thorized to conduct13 meetings by teleconference, provided that any such meeting shal l be considered to be14 conducted in compliance with this chapter so long as the notice required by this chapter15 is provided and, if fewer than a quorum of the members of a body or committee thereof16 S. B. 353 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3616 are physically present, means have been afforded for the public to have simultaneous17 access to the teleconference meeting:18 (A) Development authorities created pursuant to or authorized by the provisions of19 Chapter 42 or Chapter 62 of Title 36, by or pursuant to Article I X , S e c t i o n V I ,20 Paragraph III of the Georgia Constitution, or by or pursuant to any amendment to the21 Constitution continued pursuant to the authority of Article XI, Section I, Paragraph IV22 of the Constitution;23 (B) Community improvement districts created pursuant to the provisions of Article IX,24 Section VII of the Georgia Constitution;25 (C) Hospital authorities created pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 31; and26 (D) The board of trustees or other governing body of any large retirement system as27 such term is defined in subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-84; and28 (E) County or joint boards of election or boards of election and registration established29 pursuant to Code Section 21-2-40 or 21-2-40.1.30 (2) The participation by teleconference of members of such bodies or committees thereof31 means full participation in the same manner as if such members were physically present. 32 In the event such teleconference meeting is a public hearing, and if fewer than a quorum33 of the members of a body or committee thereof are physically present, then members of34 the public shall be afforded the means to participate fully in the same manner as if such35 members of the public were physically present."36 SECTION 2.37 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.38 S. B. 353 - 2 - ## 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 let county election boards and boards of registrars hold official meetings by teleconference, joining a short list of public bodies already allowed to do so under the state's open meetings law. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's open meetings law (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1) generally requires public bodies to meet in person, but it lists certain bodies, such as development authorities, community improvement districts, hospital authorities, and large retirement system boards, that may meet by teleconference instead, as long as public notice is given and the public can listen in at the same time. This bill adds county or joint boards of election and boards of election and registration, the local bodies that run elections and voter registration under O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-40 and 21-2-40.1, to that list. If fewer than a quorum of members are physically in one place, the law still requires that members of the public be given a way to access the meeting at the same time it happens. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not set a separate effective date beyond the standard process. ### What it does - Adds county or joint boards of election and boards of election and registration to the list of public bodies allowed to hold meetings by teleconference under Georgia's open meetings law (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1). - Requires that any teleconference meeting still meet the law's normal notice requirements for time and place. - Requires that if fewer than a quorum of board members are physically present, the public must have simultaneous access to the teleconference meeting. - Specifies that members participating by teleconference are treated as if they were physically present for quorum and voting purposes. - Requires that if the teleconference meeting is a public hearing, members of the public be able to participate fully as if they were physically present. - Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects County and joint boards of election and boards of election and registration across Georgia, the local officials who serve on them, and members of the public who attend or want to participate in these boards' meetings, including during elections and voter registration decisions. ### Why it matters Election boards handle time-sensitive tasks like certifying results and resolving registration issues, and this change would let members meet remotely rather than requiring everyone to gather in person, while still requiring the public to be able to watch or participate at the same time. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (h) of O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 to add a new category (E): county or joint boards of election or boards of election and registration established under O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-40 or 21-2-40.1. - Section 1 keeps the existing requirement that public notice be provided for any teleconference meeting to comply with the open meetings law. - Section 1 keeps the requirement that if fewer than a quorum is physically present, the public must have simultaneous access to the meeting. - Section 1 clarifies that teleconference participation counts as full participation, the same as being physically present, including during public hearings. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no substantive effect beyond this bill's own changes. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-21) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-25) - Sponsors: Sally Harrell, Kim Jackson, Elena Parent - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71559 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb353.md?full=1