The House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security offers the following
substitute to SB 482:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Titles 35 and 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to law
enforcement officers and agencies and state government, respectively, so as to require
persons requesting booking photographs or law enforcement videos to provide certain
information to obtain such photographs and videos; to require requests for booking
photographs or law enforcement videos to be made in person as separate requests; to provide
a definition; to provide for the public disclosure of certain records of the General Assembly;
to provide for an exemption from disclosing audio and video recordings when such
recordings depict a person's death; to provide for exceptions; to authorize redactions; to
provide for application; to provide for construction; to provide for related matters; to provide
for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to law enforcement officers and
agencies, is amended in Chapter 1, relating to general provisions regarding law enforcement
officers and agencies, by revising subsection (d) of and adding a new subsection to Code
Section 35-1-19, relating to disclosure of arrest booking photographs prohibited, to read as
follows:
"(d) When a person requests a booking photograph, he or she shall <ins>request such
photograph by identifying the first and last name of the individual depicted and</ins> submit a
<ins>notarized</ins> statement affirming that the use of such photograph is in compliance with
subsection (c) of this Code section. Any person who knowingly makes a false statement
in requesting a booking photograph shall be guilty of a violation of Code Section 16-10-20.
<ins>(e) Except for requests by the person or persons depicted or requests by the attorney or
other designated agent of such person or persons depicted, requests for booking
photographs shall be made in person as separate requests for each booking photograph.
Requests for booking photographs by the person or persons depicted or requests by the
attorney or other designated agent of such person or persons depicted shall be made in
writing pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.
(f) This Code section shall not apply to requests for booking photographs made by bona
fide credentialed members of the Georgia Press Association or the Georgia Association of
Broadcasters."
</ins> SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"35-1-19.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'law enforcement video' means any video
recording of an individual taken by a law enforcement agency during the course of an
encounter or interaction with such individual, including, but not limited to, recordings from
body-worn devices or devices located on or inside of law enforcement vehicles.
(b) When a person requests a law enforcement video, he or she shall request such video
by identifying the first and last name of an individual depicted in such video, or the
approximate date, time, and location of the encounter or interaction that is depicted in such
</ins>
<ins>video. Any person who knowingly makes a false statement in requesting a law
enforcement video shall be guilty of a violation of Code Section 16-10-20.
(c) Except for requests by the person or persons depicted or requests by the attorney or
other designated agent of such person or persons depicted, requests for law enforcement
videos shall be made in person as separate requests for each law enforcement video.
Requests for law enforcement videos by the person or persons depicted or requests by the
attorney or other designated agent of such person or persons depicted shall be made in
writing pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.
(d) A law enforcement agency may redact a law enforcement video produced under this
Code section to conceal the identity of the persons depicted in such video; provided,
however, that images of the individual identified in subsection (b) of this Code section and
images of law enforcement personnel shall not be redacted.
(e) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as requiring disclosure of any law
enforcement video that is otherwise exempt from disclosure under Code Section 50-18-72.
(f) Except for subsection (d), this Code section shall not apply to requests for law
enforcement videos made by bona fide credentialed members of the Georgia Press
Association or the Georgia Association of Broadcasters."
</ins> SECTION 3.
Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, is amended
in subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72, relating to when public disclosure not required,
by striking "or" at the end of paragraph (51), by replacing the period at the end of paragraph
(52) with "; or" and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
<ins>"(53)(A) Audio or video recordings from devices used by any state or local government
agency that include audio, video, or images of a deceased person, or otherwise show
a person's death or show a person in distress immediately preceding his or her death;
provided, however, that this subsection shall not prohibit disclosure of such material to
</ins>
<ins>the deceased person's next of kin or to an individual who has secured a written release
from the deceased person's next of kin. It shall be the responsibility of the individual
claiming to be the deceased person's next of kin to show proof of his or her familial
relationship with the deceased person. For purposes of this paragraph, the deceased
person's next of kin shall be:
(i) If living, the spouse of the deceased person;
(ii) If there is no living spouse of the deceased person, an adult child of the deceased
person;
(iii) If there is no living spouse or adult child of the deceased person, a parent, a
sibling, or a legal guardian of the deceased person; or
(iv) A person with a similar familial or legal relationship as demonstrated to a court
of competent jurisdiction.
(B) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, in the case of
closed criminal investigations, a superior court may order the disclosure of audio or
video recordings provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph upon findings in
writing that disclosure is in the public interest and outweighs any privacy interest that
may be asserted by the deceased person's next of kin. In making such determination,
the court shall consider whether such disclosure is necessary for public evaluation of
governmental performance, the seriousness of the intrusion into the family's right to
privacy, and whether such disclosure is the least intrusive means available considering
the availability of similar information in other public records. In any such action, the
court shall review the recordings in question in camera with the custodian of crime
scene materials present, if any, and may condition any disclosure on such conditions
as the court may deem necessary to accommodate the interests of the parties.
(C) Prior to releasing any audio or video recordings provided in subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph, the custodian of such recordings shall give the deceased person's next
of kin at least two weeks' notice. No court shall order a disclosure pursuant to
</ins>
<ins>subparagraph (B) of this paragraph which would disregard or shorten the duration of
such notice requirement.
(D) The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to all undisclosed material which is
in the custody of a state or local government agency on May 13, 2026, and to any such
material which comes into the custody of a state or local government agency after such
date.
(E) This paragraph shall not apply to disclosure of crime scene material to counsel
representing a convicted defendant in a habeas corpus action pursuant to Chapter 14 of
Title 9, on an extraordinary motion for new trial under Code Section 5-5-40 or 5-5-41,
or in a federal habeas corpus action under Section 2254 or 2255 of Title 28 of the
United States Code for the purpose of preparing to file or litigating such proceedings.
Counsel may disclose such materials to his or her client and any expert or investigator
assisting such counsel but shall not otherwise disseminate such materials, except to the
extent they may be necessary exhibits in court proceedings. A request pursuant to this
paragraph shall clearly state that such request is being made for the purpose of
preparing to file and litigate proceedings enumerated in this subparagraph.
(F) This paragraph shall not apply to requests for audio, video, or images made by
bona fide credentialed members of the Georgia Press Association or the Georgia
Association of Broadcasters."
</ins> SECTION 4.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval, and shall apply to any request for a booking photograph or a law
enforcement video made on or after such date.
SECTION 5.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.