HB 533: Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act; enact

Georgia currently has no standing statutory process specifically for compensating people who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. This bill, called the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act, would add a new chapter to Georgia's criminal procedure code creating one. Claimants would file with the Office of State Administrative Hearings, which would assign an administrative law judge to hear the case, apply a preponderance-of-evidence standard, and recommend whether the person qualifies and how much compensation they should receive. Compensation would be calculated using a formula: $75,000 per year of incarceration, an extra $25,000 per year spent on death row, attorney's fees and costs from clearing the person's name, reimbursement of fines and restitution, and reintegration and healthcare costs. Awards over $1.5 million would be paid in three annual installments, and compensation would not be subject to state income tax except for the attorney's fee portion. The bill also excludes these claims from the state's normal Claims Advisory Board process and requires courts and the parole board to notify eligible individuals of the new law.

• Creates a new legal process (O.C.G.A. Title 17, Chapter 22) letting wrongfully convicted people file compensation claims with the Office of State Administrative Hearings.
• Requires an administrative law judge to evaluate each claim using a preponderance of evidence standard and recommend eligibility and payment amounts to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
• Sets a compensation formula of $75,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, plus $25,000 per year on death row, attorney's fees, fine reimbursement, and reintegration or healthcare costs.
• Exempts wrongful conviction compensation payments from state income tax (except attorney's fees) and from normal civil damages caps.
• Requires courts and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to notify people whose convictions are overturned or who receive an innocence pardon about their right to file a claim.
• Excludes these claims from the state's existing Claims Advisory Board process by adding a new section to Title 28.

People who were convicted of felonies in Georgia and later had their convictions reversed, were acquitted on retrial, or received an innocence pardon; their heirs if they have died; the Office of State Administrative Hearings and its judges; the Supreme Court of Georgia; the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; and the Judicial Council of Georgia's budget.

People exonerated after wrongful imprisonment in Georgia would gain a defined legal path to seek payment for lost years, legal costs, fines paid, and healthcare needs, rather than relying solely on lawsuits. The state's judicial budget would absorb these compensation payments once recommended and approved.

• Section 17-22-4 sets filing deadlines: generally three years after a required court notice, with extensions if new evidence of innocence surfaces later.
• Section 17-22-5 defines eligibility, requiring proof the claimant did not commit the crime and that the conviction was reversed, the person was acquitted on retrial, entered an Alford or nolo plea after reversal, or received an innocence pardon.
• Section 17-22-7 sets compensation at $75,000 per year incarcerated, $25,000 extra per year on death row, plus attorney's fees, restitution reimbursement, and reintegration and healthcare costs, adjusted annually for inflation.
• Section 17-22-8 requires payments to come from judiciary funds, sets transitional advances of $6,000 or $18,000 depending on timing, and exempts most of the award from state income tax.
• Section 17-22-9 requires offsetting or reimbursing any related civil settlement or award the claimant separately receives from the state.
• Section 17-22-10 requires courts and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to give exonerated individuals written notice of this new compensation law.
• Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 28-5-87, excluding these wrongful conviction claims from the standard Claims Advisory Board review process used for other claims against the state.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-02-21House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-02-20House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-02-19House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)Patrocinador principal
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)

• wrongful conviction
• criminal justice
• state compensation claims
• exoneration
• court procedure