HB 199: Courts; protection of personally identifiable information of judges and their spouses; modify provisions

Current Georgia law set up a system where the Administrative Office of the Courts kept a database of judges' and spouses' phone numbers and addresses and notified government agencies to restrict that information from public records. This bill scraps that database requirement and replaces it with a more direct system: state and local government entities must restrict personally identifiable information (personal phone numbers, home addresses, and property or tax records) about judges and their spouses from public disclosure, either automatically when the record identifies someone as a judge or spouse, or upon a written request using a new state-wide form. The bill also broadens the definition of 'protected person' to cover any current or former judge (elected or appointed) rather than just certain categories, and clarifies which government offices, including county and municipal court clerks, boards of elections, boards of tax assessors, and boards of ethics, must comply. Agencies have 30 days to act on a valid request. Protected persons can sue individual government officers or employees for failing to comply, but only for injunctive relief (a court order requiring compliance), not money damages.

• Eliminates the Administrative Office of the Courts' requirement to maintain a central database of judges' and spouses' phone numbers and addresses.
• Requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to create a standard state-wide form for protected persons to request that their personal information be kept out of public records.
• Requires state and local government entities to automatically restrict personally identifiable information that specifically identifies someone as a judge, justice, or spouse from public disclosure.
• Requires government entities to restrict such information within 30 days when a protected person submits a written request using the new form, even if the record does not explicitly identify them as a judge.
• Broadens the definition of personally identifiable information to include personal phone numbers, home addresses, and property or tax records.
• Allows a protected person to sue a government officer or employee individually for failing to comply, but limits any court relief to an injunction rather than damages.

Current and former judges and justices of Georgia state, county, and municipal courts and their spouses; state and local government agencies including county and municipal court clerks, boards of elections, boards of tax assessors, and boards of ethics; and the Administrative Office of the Courts, which loses its database duty and gains a form-creation duty.

Judges and their spouses would gain a more direct, request-based way to keep their home addresses and phone numbers out of public records held by many different government offices, without relying on a single centralized database that had to be updated and monitored by a state office.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 15-5-110 to redefine 'personally identifiable information' as personal phone numbers, home addresses, or property or tax records, and broadens 'protected person' to any current or former judge or justice and spouse.
• Section 1 removes the Administrative Office of the Courts' duty under O.C.G.A. § 15-5-111 to maintain a database and instead requires it to develop and publish a standard request form.
• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-5-112(a) to require automatic restriction of information that specifically identifies someone as a judge or spouse, overriding Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.) for that purpose.
• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 15-5-112(b), requiring agencies to restrict information within 30 days of receiving a written request on the state form, even for records that do not explicitly name someone as a judge.
• Section 1 preserves a right for protected persons to sue individual government officers or employees for noncompliance, limited to injunctive relief.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 308
3. 2025-05-14House Date Signed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2025-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senado)
7. 2025-03-31Senate Third Read (Senado)
8. 2025-03-13Senate Read Second Time (Senado)

• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)Patrocinador principal
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes12 de febrero de 2025

   165 a favor, 0 en contra (7 sin votar, 8 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #29

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado31 de marzo de 2025

   54 a favor, 0 en contra (0 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #346

3. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes31 de marzo de 2025

   164 a favor, 0 en contra (6 sin votar, 10 ausentes)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #358

• judicial safety
• public records
• personal privacy
• courts administration