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Georgia House panel advances bill to allow judges to keep personal info out of public records • Georgia Recorder

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georgiarecorder.com – Stanley Dunlap – 2025-02-04 16:49:00

Georgia House panel advances bill to allow judges to keep personal info out of public records

by Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder
February 4, 2025

A Georgia legislative committee voted Tuesday to establish a new process to protect judges from threats by keeping some of their personal information from appearing in public records.

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced House Bill 199 Tuesday, which will allow judges to fill out a form that will be submitted to local governments, which will be required to remove judges’ names, addresses and phone numbers from public records.

The House bill is an update to last year’s Senate Bill 508, which allowed the Administrative Office of the Courts to collect and maintain personal information about judges.

The sponsor of this year’s legislation, GOP Rep. Trey Kelley of Cedartown, said the bill is intended to address concerns about the security of a single database containing information that is supposed to be confidential.

Under Kelley’s bill judges will access a form provided through the Administrative Office of the Courts and submit it to local governments so that personal information about judges, such as property tax information, will be removed from the local governments’ online systems

This bill will save taxpayers about $150,000 compared to the statewide system, Kelley said.

“Through conversations with different cybersecurity experts, we realized that having one website where everyone’s personally identifiable information was kept together may not be the best idea in case it got hacked,” Kelley said.

During his recent State of the Judiciary address, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs mentioned the need for state leaders to protect judges from rising threats to their safety.

Georgia Supreme Court chief pitches need for better tech, safety across state’s judicial system

Boggs cited U.S. Marshals Service reports showing threats against federal judges tripled from 2019-2023, and anecdotal evidence suggests Georgia judges are increasingly being threatened.

Last year, there was bipartisan support in the Legislature behind increased criminal penalties against the so-called swatting of public figures after several Georgia elected officials’ residences were the target of hoax 911 calls claiming that someone’s life was in danger.

Representative Scott Holcomb, an Atlanta Democrat, asked Kelley if there are other government officials besides judges who are able to restrict the public from viewing certain information.

Kelley said the bill is intended to protect judges who make decisions in cases like child custody, divorces, and criminal sentencing that can cause people to overreact.

“I think there’s a policy decision that we’ll maybe expand at some point to different officials, but the measure last year and this year specifically focuses on our judicial branch because of the unique and sensitive nature of some of the things they do outside of policy decisions, which we make,” Kelley said.

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation, an open records advocacy group, said last year’s bill was an example of legislators balancing the rights of public access versus judge’s safety. However, it warned against future restrictions to public information that could infringe on open records law.

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Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

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Laken Riley murder: Immigration law changes | FOX 5 News

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February 21, 2025

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www.youtube.com – FOX 5 Atlanta – 2025-02-21 19:33:47

SUMMARY: The murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant in Georgia, has intensified calls for tougher immigration laws both locally and nationally. House Speaker John Burns reflects on the impact of her tragic death on Georgia’s legislative efforts. Following Laken’s murder, the General Assembly passed House Bill 1105, which mandates local jails to check inmates’ immigration status and cooperate with federal officials. Governor Kemp highlighted Laken’s legacy in his statement, emphasizing that her tragic loss has spurred crucial legislation aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future, ensuring her memory endures through these reforms.

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Laken Riley’s death sparked calls for immigration reform here in Georgia and nationwide. Georgia lawmakers have been on the front lines in the fight to pass tougher immigration laws.

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Georgia Dem lawmakers try to revive Equal Rights Amendment in era of ‘increased discrimination’

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2 days ago

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February 21, 2025

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georgiarecorder.com – Jill Nolin – 2025-02-21 19:05:00

Georgia Dem lawmakers try to revive Equal Rights Amendment in era of ‘increased discrimination’

by Jill Nolin, Georgia Recorder
February 21, 2025

Democrats in both chambers have filed resolutions that celebrate and affirm former President Joe Biden’s pronouncement made on his way out the door that the Equal Rights Amendment is “the law of the land,” although the now-fired national archivist declined to certify it. 

“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people,” Biden said in a statement last month announcing that he believes the ERA should be added as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

The 1970s-era amendment, which would guarantee men and women equal rights under the law, was ratified by the required number of state legislatures in 2020 when Virginia passed it and became the 38th state to do so. But that was well past the 1982 deadline set by Congress. 

Georgia has not passed the amendment, although there was a bipartisan push in 2019 that ultimately petered out.

Rep. Lisa Campbell, a Kennesaw Democrat, is sponsoring the resolution in the state House that would recognize the amendment as “the law of the land” and encourage Georgia to join other states in ratifying it. 

Campbell acknowledged that the amendment’s future is unclear but argued Georgia’s role in helping make equal rights official shouldn’t be.

“This work and this fight has been going on for 100 years, and in this body and in this chamber, week after week, we are hearing them talk about protecting women and girls,” Campbell said at a press conference Thursday. “The Equal Rights Amendment does exactly that. So, the conversation should be, why aren’t all of our states ratifying this amendment once and for all?”

Both chambers have prioritized measures this year that ban transgender athletes in girls’ sports and target health care access for transgender Georgians, including a proposed ban on puberty blockers for minors and ending gender-affirming care for state workers through the state health benefit plan. 

“Since we are seeing these harmful and divisive conversations on gender, we repeat the phrase we want ERA now in Georgia,” said Rep. Park Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat. “If the majority party is so concerned about binary gender expression, then they should go ahead and write this one into law as well.” 

Sen. Sally Harrell, an Atlanta Democrat who is sponsoring a resolution in the Senate, said part of their goal is to just keep the Equal Rights Amendment alive.

“Particularly in this environment where we have extreme abortion bans that can result in discrimination of women workers,” Harrell said. “And now we’ve got this politicized issue of DEI that includes women. So, we’re living through an environment of increased discrimination.”

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Mayor discusses police chief resignation | FOX 5 News

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3 days ago

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February 20, 2025

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www.youtube.com – FOX 5 Atlanta – 2025-02-20 20:47:44

SUMMARY: Jonesboro faces a significant loss with the unexpected resignations of Police Chief Todd KO and Assistant Chief Audrey Dunlap, leaving the already understaffed department of nine officers, down from a budgeted 24. Mayor Da Sorter expressed disappointment, praising KO’s contributions over his brief tenure and acknowledging the challenges the department faces amid ongoing turnover. Dunlap’s resignation letter hinted at a lack of mutual trust and respect in the environment. Critics are alarmed at the department’s instability, especially following multiple firings in 2023. The city is actively recruiting, offering $7,500 bonuses for new hires to bolster the force.

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The city of Jonesboro is dealing with two law enforcement resignations. In a surprise announcement, both the chief and the assistant chief resigned their post leaving a gaping hole in an already short-staffed department.

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