HB1409: HB1409 Domestic relations; revise mandated reporting of child abuse

Georgia law already requires certain professionals, like doctors, teachers, and police, to report suspected child abuse to the Division of Family and Children Services. This bill would expand that list to include firefighters and animal service workers such as animal control officers and humane society employees. It would also require the Division of Family and Children Services to build a secure website and model form for reports, let agencies approve their own secure web based reporting platforms if they meet federal security standards, and require training for anyone using such a platform. The agency would have to update its Child Welfare Policy Manual by January 1, 2027, and the new reporting rules would take effect July 1, 2027. A separate, unrelated part of the bill would require that settlement agreements resolving harassment or discrimination claims against members of the Georgia General Assembly be made public, with the accuser's identity redacted, going back to claims filed since January 1, 2019. It sets up court enforcement, attorney's fee awards, and misdemeanor or civil penalties for legislative leaders who refuse to release the records. That part would take effect as soon as the Governor signed it, but the Governor vetoed the bill.

• Adds firefighters and animal service workers (animal control officers, humane society employees, shelter staff) to the list of professionals legally required to report suspected child abuse.
• Requires the Division of Family and Children Services to create a website and model form so anyone can securely submit a child abuse report.
• Allows agencies employing mandated reporters to adopt one secure web based platform for submitting reports, if it meets federal security and state technology standards.
• Requires mandatory training for anyone who uses a secure web based reporting platform.
• Requires the Department of Human Services to review and update its Child Welfare Policy Manual by January 1, 2027.
• Creates a new law (O.C.G.A. Section 28-1-18) requiring public disclosure, with the claimant's name redacted, of settlement agreements resolving harassment or discrimination claims against General Assembly members.

Firefighters, animal control officers, humane society and shelter staff, and other existing mandated reporters like teachers and doctors; the Division of Family and Children Services and the Department of Human Services; agencies that employ mandated reporters; and members and staff of the Georgia General Assembly involved in harassment or discrimination settlement disputes.

Widening the list of mandated reporters and building a standard online reporting system could change how quickly and consistently suspected child abuse gets reported to state authorities. The public disclosure requirement for legislative harassment settlements could make previously confidential agreements involving lawmakers available to the public, subject to court enforcement and penalties.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. Section 19-7-5, adding firefighters and animal service workers to the list of mandated reporters in subsection (c)(1).
• Section 1 requires the Division of Family and Children Services to maintain a website and model form for reports and to let mandated reporters submit reports directly online or through a secure web based platform.
• Section 1 sets conditions an agency's chosen secure web based platform must meet, including compliance with HIPAA, FBI security policy, or federal education privacy law, and requires ten days' notice to the division before using one.
• Section 1 requires mandatory reporting training for anyone using a secure web based platform, delivered by the division or a qualified outside organization.
• Section 1 requires the department to update its Child Welfare Policy Manual by January 1, 2027, and takes effect July 1, 2027.
• Section 3 creates O.C.G.A. Section 28-1-18, requiring public release, with claimant identity redacted, of settlement agreements resolving harassment, discrimination, or retaliation claims against General Assembly members filed since January 1, 2019.
• Section 3 gives superior courts jurisdiction to enforce disclosure, allows attorney's fee awards, and sets misdemeanor and civil penalties up to $2,500 per violation for officials who withhold records, effective upon the Governor's signature.

1. 2026-05-12Veto V7
2. 2026-05-12House Date Vetoed by Governor (House)
3. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
5. 2026-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
6. 2026-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)Primary sponsor
• Holt Persinger (R, HD-119)
• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)
• James Hatchett (R, HD-155)
• Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   166 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 10 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #685

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #912

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   52 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #932

4. PassedHouse voteApril 3, 2026

   155 yea, 12 nay (7 not voting, 2 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #880

• child abuse reporting
• mandated reporters
• government transparency
• legislative harassment claims
• open records