Sb 441: Criminal Records Responsibility Act

• Jurisdiction: Georgia,United States
• Citation: Vol. 39 No. 1
• Publication year: 2022
• topic: Criminal Law

SB 441: Criminal Records Responsibility Act

Jacob Kanter

jkanter3@student.gsu.edu

Greg Mercer

gmercer1@student.gsu.edu

[Page 105]

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES

Georgia Bureau of Investigation: Amend Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Courts in General, so as to Provide for the Reestablishment of the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board as an Advisory Board to the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia; Provide for Membership, Selection of Officers, Meetings, and Duties of such Board; Provide for Continuation in Office of Current Members; Provide for Duties of the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia; Provide for Transmission of Data to the Georgia Crime Information Center; Provide for Definitions; Provide for Implementation; Provide that a Superior Court Shall Ensure that its Operations do not Conflict with the Uniform Standards Issued by the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia; Provide for Annual Reports by the Council Detailing Activities and Progress of Groups within the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board; Amend Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Law Enforcement Officers and Agencies, so as to Provide the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with Original Jurisdiction to Investigate Election Fraud and Election Crimes; Provide the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with Subpoena Power to Further such Investigations; Provide for Penalty; Provide for Compliance with Data Transmission Requirements; Repeal Provisions Concerning the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board; Provide for Required Reports; Amend Chapter 25 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to the Georgia Technology Authority, so as to Provide for Release of Funds from the Technology Empowerment Fund, Subject to Certain Conditions; Provide for Legislative Findings and Intent; Provide for a Short Title; Provide for Related Matters; to Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes

Code Sections: O.C.G.A. §§ 15-6-11, -50.2 (amended); 15-6-50.3 (new); 15-6-61 (amended); 15-7-5 (amended); 15-18-6, -66 (amended); 35-3-4 (amended); 35-3-4.5

[Page 106]

(new); 35-3-32, -33, -36 (amended); 35-6A-2, (amended), 35-6A-13, -14 (repealed); 50-25-7.1 (amended)

Bill Number: SB 441

Act Number: 717

Georgia Laws: 2022 Ga. Laws 121

Effective Date: July 1, 2022

Summary: The Act contains two distinct components. First, the Act reforms Georgia's criminal records reporting system. Second, the Act grants the Georgia Bureau of Investigation authority to initiate investigations into election fraud.

History

On February 3, 2022, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R) appeared on Georgia Public Broadcasting's Lawmakers telecast to discuss the new slate of bills introduced in the Senate.¹ Capitol correspondent Donna Lowry commented that one bill in particular seemed long overdue.² Initially, Senate Bill (SB) 441 was offered as a fix for the "alarming gaps" plaguing the state's judicial system.³ On April 26, 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported on one such "gap."⁴ Approximately 7 million entries in the Georgia Crime information Center (GCiC) computer system are lacking a final disposition.⁵ This gap can lead to troubling results.⁶ For example, a

[Page 107]

Fulton County Magistrate Court Judge granted bond to a man with an extensive criminal history after he was arrested for allegedly shooting a police officer.⁷ When Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis publicly criticized the decision, the judge acknowledged that she had been unaware of the suspect's lengthy criminal history and subsequently raised the bond amount from $400,000 to $2 million.⁸

According to the AJC, the 7 million entries account for more than 25% of all criminal charges statewide.⁹ Fulton County alone is responsible for more than 1.5 million pending criminal charges.¹⁰ Only 40% of Fulton County's charges entered into the state's database have final outcomes listed.¹¹ Still, it was not until the AJC began reporting on the failure of the "status quo" that politicians moved to fix it.¹²

Fifty-five Senators sponsored SB 441, the Criminal Records Responsibility Act.¹³ The bill's hallmark was the creation of a Criminal Case Data Exchange Board tasked with "oversee[ing] a statewide electronic reporting process for criminal justice agencies, clerks of court, probation and parole supervision offices."¹⁴ However, SB 441 lost Democratic support when House Republicans added a provision to the bill granting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) "original jurisdiction to investigate election fraud and election crimes."¹⁵ Prior to the amendment, the GBI could only respond to requests for investigations into elections from the attorney general or the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State, not initiate its own investigations.¹⁶

[Page 108]

The AJC characterized the amendment, which Republicans lifted from failed House Bill (HB) 1464, as "the latest Republican-led effort to change election rules after Democratic victories."¹⁷ One year earlier, Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed SB 202, the Election Integrity Act of 2021, into law.¹⁸ Passed amidst former President Donald Trump's (R) ongoing claims that "the Georgia election was stolen," the omnibus bill changed absentee voting and early voting by limiting the use of ballot drop-boxes and implementing new voter ID requirements.¹⁹ A provision making it illegal to distribute food and water to people waiting in line to vote proved even more controversial.²⁰ Prominent Georgia-based corporations such as Delta and Coca-Cola openly criticized SB 202.²¹ The voting law gained national attention when Major League Baseball (MLB) moved its All-Star Game from Georgia to Colorado.²² MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred defended the league's decision stating that "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box."²³ Undeterred by public pressure, Governor Kemp continued to claim that SB 202 would promote free, fair, and secure elections.²⁴

The debate over SB 441 played out in a similar fashion. Republicans claimed that new election rules will increase voters' confidence in the electoral system.²⁵ Democrats, on the other hand, fear that the GBI's

[Page 109]

"sweeping new powers" will further suppress voter turnout by intimidating voters with the threat of law enforcement.²⁶ In an impassioned floor speech, Representative Derek Mallow (D-163rd) argued that empowering the GBI to conduct voter fraud investigations "has nothing to do with election integrity or security" and more to do with Donald Trump's "big lie."²⁷ Nevertheless, Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-7th) insisted that SB 441 "[was] not about 'sour grapes' from the 2020 election."²⁸

Bill Tracking of SB 441

Consideration and Passage by the Senate

Senator Bo Hatchett (R-50th) sponsored SB 441, with Senators Steve Gooch (R-51st), Butch Miller (R-49th), Russ Goodman (R-8th), Gloria Butler (D-55th), and many others on both sides of the aisle cosponsoring.²⁹ The Senate read the bill for the first time on February 3, 2022, and Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R) referred it to the Senate Judiciary Committee the same day.³⁰ The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported the bill by substitute on March 3, 2022.³¹ The substitute added the name of the bill, the Criminal Records Responsibility Act, and provided for uniform rules of transmission and quarterly reports to be generated by clerks and sent annually to the Governor and other high-ranking officials in the Georgia government.³² The Senate read the bill for the second time on March 4, 2022, and for the third and final time on March 8, 2022.³³ That same day, the Senate passed SB 441 unanimously by a vote of 53 to 0, with one senator abstaining.³⁴ As he announced the bill's passage,

[Page 110]

Lieutenant Governor Duncan thanked Senator Hatchett for his hard work "getting it across the finish line."³⁵

Consideration and Passage by the House of Representatives

Representative James Burchett (R-176th) sponsored SB 441 in the House.³⁶ The House first read the bill on March 9, 2022, and Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-7th) referred it to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee on the same day.³⁷ On March 11, 2022, the House read SB 441 for the second time.³⁸ On April 4, 2022, during a House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee meeting, Representative Chuck Efstration (R-104th) proposed amending SB 441 to include a provision granting the GBI original jurisdiction to investigate Georgia elections.³⁹ Representative Josh McLaurin (D-51st) moved to strike the new GBI provision from the bill.⁴⁰ Representative McLaurin's attempt failed, however, and the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee favorably reported the bill by substitute.⁴¹ Later that day, the House read the bill for the third time and adopted the House Rules Committee substitute with no objections.⁴² The House Rules Committee substitute changed the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board's deadline for "promulgat[ing] uniform standards for the creation and transmission of electronic criminal history data by and between local and state criminal justice agencies" from September 1, 2022, to January 1, 2023.⁴³ The substitute, however, required the board to "prepare a report on the board's progress in developing uniform

[Page 111]

standards" by September 1, 2022.⁴⁴ On April 4, 2022, the House passed SB 441, as amended, by a vote of 98 to 69, with three House members abstaining.⁴⁵

Final Passage by the Senate

The Senate agreed to the House substitute and passed SB 441 by a vote of 33 to 22 on April 4, 2022, with a split along party lines.⁴⁶ The Senate sent the bill to Governor Brian Kemp (R) on April 7, 2022, and Governor Kemp signed it into law on April 27, 2022, as Act 717.⁴⁷ The Act became effective on July 1, 2022.⁴⁸

Bill Tracking of HB 1464

Consideration and Passage by the House

Representative James Burchett (R-176th) sponsored HB 1464—the bill which attempted to...