HR1893: HR1893 House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies; create

26 LC 46 1549 House Resolution 1893 By: Representatives Fincher of the 23rd, Smith of the 18th, Leverett of the 123rd, Crowe of the 118th, Silcox of the 53rd, and others A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use1 of New Technologies; and for other purposes.2 WHEREAS, the criminal justice ecosystem is large and complex, especially when it comes3 to digital evidence; and4 WHEREAS, requesting and receiving digital evidence for a single case can generate multiple5 hard drives' worth of data, which must be shared between partne ring organizations and6 attorneys' offices, all of which may use incompatible storage systems; and7 WHEREAS, digital evidence has experienced exponential growth in recent years; and8 WHEREAS, in addition to police reports and crime scene photos that used to make up the9 majority of the discovery process, today's discovery includes d igital photos, body-worn10 camera footage, closed-circuit television footage, cell phone d ata, interview recordings,11 drone footage, in-car fleet videos, and other sources of evidence; and12 WHEREAS, once prosecutors receive all of the digital evidence f rom law enforcement13 agencies, the public, relevant businesses, and others, they have to organize and store it; and14 H. R. 1893 - 1 - 26 LC 46 1549 WHEREAS, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other attorneys generally store their data by15 burning it onto DVDs, using USB sticks, or uploading informatio n to a digital cloud or16 on-premises digital evidence solution; and17 WHEREAS, with such a variety of storage methods, prosecutors must often comb through18 evidence from different sources and formats, much of which may have no bearing on a case;19 and20 WHEREAS, transferring significant amounts of information across compatible systems is21 challenging and requires agencies to perform time-consuming inefficiencies; and22 WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to undertake a study to evaluat e whether there are23 evidence receipt, storage, and release systems that could be pr ovided to prosecutors that24 would reduce inefficiencies and alleviate the problems described herein; and25 WHEREAS, it would be advantageous for such study to accomplish on a state-wide basis the26 following:27 (1) Examine the most common methods that prosecutors use to receive, store, and release28 information during discovery;29 (2) Identify and evaluate different systems that the state cou ld purchase for use in30 prosecutors' offices which would reduce inefficiencies in the discovery process; and31 (3) Develop ideas for legislation which would address the concerns described herein.32 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:33 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee34 on Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Technologies.35 H. R. 1893 - 2 - 26 LC 46 1549 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed36 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows:37 (A) The chairperson and a second member of the House Committee on Judiciary;38 (B) The chairperson and vice chairperson of the House Committe e on Judiciary39 Non-Civil;40 (C) Two additional members of the House of Representatives;41 (D) Two county district attorneys or their designees;42 (E) Two state court solicitors or their designees;43 (F) A designee of the Supreme Court of Georgia;44 (G) A designee of the Georgia Court of Appeals;45 (H) A designee of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers;46 (I) A designee of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia; and47 (J) A designee of the State Bar of Georgia.48 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,49 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and rec ommend any action or50 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.51 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee52 shall hold no more than four such meetings and at such places and at such times as it may53 deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers,54 perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.55 (5) Allowances, expenses, and funding.56 (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for57 in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.58 (B) Members of the committee who are state officials, other than legislative members,59 or who are state employees shall receive no compensation for th eir services on the60 committee, but they may be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the performance61 H. R. 1893 - 3 - 26 LC 46 1549 of their duties as members of the committee in the same manner as they are reimbursed62 for expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees.63 (C) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state officials, or state employees64 shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same a s that specified in65 subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as66 well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state employees.67 (D) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member68 of the committee for more than four days unless additional days are authorized. Funds69 necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds70 appropriated to the House of Representatives; except that funds for the reimbursement71 of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative memb ers, and for the72 reimbursement of the expenses of state employees shall come from funds appropriated73 to or otherwise available to their respective agencies.74 (6) Report.75 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that76 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson s hall file a report of the77 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to78 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.79 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for80 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C) of81 this paragraph.82 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of83 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. 84 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with85 the Clerk of the House of Representatives.86 H. R. 1893 - 4 - 26 LC 46 1549 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the87 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu88 thereof.89 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.90 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the final report from the House Stu dy Committee on91 Modernizing the Discovery Process through the Use of New Techno logies shall be made92 publicly available to promote transparency and inform future le gislative and regulatory93 action.94 H. R. 1893 - 5 -