--- title: SB 358. DeKalb County; verification of ethics complaints; revise administrative procedures collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb358 cite_as: SB 358, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb358 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb358.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb358/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71629 date: 2025-04-02 status: engrossed 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/sb357.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb359.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 444 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb358.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 358 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-31 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Emanuel Jones - Sally Harrell - Randal Mangham - Tonya Anderson - Elena Parent - Kim Jackson text_version: Engrossed has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB358/2025 upstream_id: 2014672 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - DeKalb County government - ethics complaints - local legislation - county administrative procedures --- # SB 358. DeKalb County; verification of ethics complaints; revise administrative procedures ## Text 25 LC 47 3571 Senate Bill 358 By: Senators Jones of the 10th, Harrell of the 40th, Mangham of the 55th, Anderson of the 43rd, Parent of the 44th and others AS PASSED SENATE A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act revising, superseding, and consolidating the laws relating to the governing1 authority of DeKalb County and creating a chairman and board of commissioners of said2 county, approved March 8, 1956 (Ga. L. 1956, p. 3237), as amended, particularly by an Act3 approved April 9, 1981 (Ga. L. 1981, p. 4304), an Act approved March 20, 19904 (Ga. L. 1990, p. 3900), an Act approved April 13, 1992 (Ga. L. 1992, p. 6137), an Act5 approved May 12, 2015 (Ga. L. 2015, p. 3811), and an Act approv ed July 29, 20206 (Ga. L. 2020, p. 4069), so as to revise administrative procedur es related to verification of7 ethics complaints; to provide for related matters; to repeal co nflicting laws; and for other8 purposes.9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:10 SECTION 1.11 An Act revising, superseding, and consolidating the laws relating to the governing authority12 of DeKalb County and creating a chairman and board of commissio ners of said county,13 approved March 8, 1956 (Ga. L. 1956, p. 3237), as amended, particularly by an Act approved14 April 9, 1981 (Ga. L. 1981, p. 4304), an Act approved March 20, 1990 (Ga. L. 1990,15 p. 3900), an Act approved April 13, 1992 (Ga. L. 1992, p. 6137) , an Act approved16 S. B. 358 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3571 May 12, 2015 (Ga. L. 2015, p. 3811), and an Act approved July 2 9, 2020 (Ga. L. 2020,17 p. 4069), is amended by revising subparagraph (f)(1)(B) of Section 22A as follows:18 "(B) A sworn written complaint may be filed with the ethics administrator of the Board19 of Ethics, as described in this paragraph. All written complai nts to be considered by20 the Board of Ethics and the ethics administrator shall contain the following, if21 applicable:22 (i) The name and address of the person or persons filing the complaint;23 (ii) The signature of the complainant which shall be validated by the ethics officer;24 (iii) The name and address of the party or parties against whom the complaint is filed25 and, if such party is a candidate, the office being sought;26 (iv) A clear and concise statement of acts upon which the complaint is based along27 with an allegation that such facts constitute one or more violations of law under the28 jurisdiction of the Board of Ethics;29 (v) A general reference to the allegedly violated statutory provision(s) of the code of30 ethics within the jurisdiction of the Board of Ethics; and31 (vi) Any further information which might support the allegatio ns in the complaint32 including, but not limited to, the following:33 (I) The names and addresses of all other persons who have firsthand knowledge of34 the facts alleged in the complaint; and35 (II) Any documentary evidence that supports the facts alleged in the complaint;"36 SECTION 2.37 Said Act is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of subsec tion (j) of Section 22A as38 follows:39 "(3) A complaint may be filed by any resident or group of residents of DeKalb County40 by submitting to the office of the ethics administrator a writt en, and sworn complaint41 under the penalty of perjury or false swearing. The complaint shall specifically identify42 S. B. 358 - 2 - 25 LC 47 3571 all provisions of the DeKalb County code of ethics which the subject of the complaint is43 alleged to have violated, set forth facts as would be admissibl e in evidence in a court44 proceeding, and show affirmatively that the complainant or affi ant (if in addition to or45 different from the complainant) is competent to testify to the matter set forth therein. All46 documents referenced in the complaint as well as supporting affidavits shall be attached47 to the complaint;"48 SECTION 3.49 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.50 S. B. 358 - 3 - ## 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 Senate bill would change how ethics complaints against DeKalb County officials and candidates must be verified, adding a signature validation requirement and clarifying what evidence must be attached. ### Plain-language summary DeKalb County has its own local ethics law, set up by a 1956 act and amended several times since, that governs how residents can file complaints with the county's Board of Ethics against officials or candidates. This bill amends two parts of that local law dealing with how those complaints are verified. It revises the list of required elements in a written ethics complaint, adding a requirement that the complainant's signature be validated by the ethics officer. It also revises the rules for sworn complaints filed under penalty of perjury, requiring that the complaint identify the specific ethics provisions allegedly violated, be based on facts that would be admissible in court, and have all referenced documents and supporting affidavits attached. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a separate effective date beyond standard enactment. ### What it does - Adds a requirement that a complainant's signature on a written ethics complaint be validated by the ethics officer before it can be considered. - Keeps the existing list of required complaint contents, such as the names and addresses of the parties and a statement of the alleged violation. - Requires sworn complaints filed under penalty of perjury or false swearing to specifically identify which DeKalb County ethics code provisions were allegedly violated. - Requires sworn complaints to be based on facts admissible in a court proceeding and to show the complainant is competent to testify to those facts. - Requires all documents referenced in a sworn complaint and any supporting affidavits to be attached to the complaint itself. ### Who it affects DeKalb County residents who want to file ethics complaints, candidates and officials who might be the subject of such complaints, the DeKalb County Board of Ethics, and the county's ethics administrator and ethics officer who process and validate complaints. ### Why it matters The changes add a verification step (signature validation) and tighten documentation standards for sworn complaints, which could affect how easily residents can file complaints and how the Board of Ethics screens them before taking action against county officials or candidates. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subparagraph (f)(1)(B) of Section 22A to require that a complainant's signature be validated by the ethics officer. - Section 1 also restates the existing required contents of a written complaint, including names, addresses, statement of facts, and supporting evidence. - Section 2 revises paragraph (3) of subsection (j) of Section 22A to require sworn complaints to specifically identify the ethics code provisions allegedly violated. - Section 2 requires sworn complaints to set forth facts admissible in court and to attach all referenced documents and supporting affidavits. - Section 3 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act. ## Status - Status: Engrossed (2025-03-31) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-04-02) - Sponsors: Emanuel Jones, Sally Harrell, Randal Mangham, Tonya Anderson, Elena Parent, Kim Jackson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71629 > The history, votes, and amendments (444 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb358.md?full=1