HB 916: Judicial Council; funding for civil legal services to low-income individuals; create grant program

Georgia currently has no dedicated statewide grant program specifically funding civil legal aid for low-income people through the Judicial Council, the body that oversees court administration policy in the state. This bill would add a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 15-5-27) directing the Judicial Council to provide grants to counties and municipalities so they can offer civil legal services to low-income individuals. The grants would depend on the General Assembly setting aside money or other funding becoming available; the bill does not itself provide a dollar amount. The Judicial Council would set the rules for who qualifies, consulting with advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts, and would decide how much money to give each recipient case by case. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 15-5-27) letting the Judicial Council give grants to counties and municipalities for civil legal services to low-income individuals.
• Makes the grants contingent on the General Assembly appropriating money or other funding being available, rather than guaranteeing funding.
• Requires the Judicial Council to set eligibility criteria and standards, consulting with advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts.
• Gives the Judicial Council authority to decide the grant amount for each recipient individually rather than using a fixed formula.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new grant program.

Low-income Georgians who need civil legal help (such as with housing, family, or benefits issues), county and municipal governments that could apply for the grants, the Judicial Council, and advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts the council must consult when setting eligibility rules.

If funded, the program could increase the availability of free or low-cost civil legal help in local communities, but the bill does not require or set aside any money itself, so its real-world effect depends entirely on future budget decisions by the General Assembly.

• Section 1 creates new Code section 15-5-27, authorizing the Judicial Council to grant funds to counties and municipalities for civil legal services to low-income individuals.
• The program only operates 'subject to appropriations by the General Assembly or other available funding,' meaning it has no guaranteed budget.
• The Judicial Council sets eligibility criteria and standards and must consult advocacy groups and indigent legal services experts in doing so.
• The council decides grant amounts case by case rather than through a set statewide formula.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause clearing the way for the new provision.

1. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-04-04House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-04-02House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)Patrocinador principal
• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)

• legal aid
• low-income services
• Judicial Council
• state grants
• civil legal services