| 1 | 1 | | 24 LC 48 1103 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Bill 1055 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Neal of the 79 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Taylor of the 173 |
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| 6 | 6 | | rd |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Stoner of the 40 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , and Leverett of |
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| 10 | 10 | | the 123 |
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| 11 | 11 | | rd |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 14 | 14 | | AN ACT |
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| 15 | 15 | | To amend Code Section 44-7-50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to |
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| 16 | 16 | | 1 |
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| 17 | 17 | | demand for possession, procedure upon a tenant's refusal, and concurrent issuance of federal2 |
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| 18 | 18 | | lease termination notice, so as to enact the "Georgia Eviction Records Restriction Act"; to3 |
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| 19 | 19 | | provide that certain records of dispossessory actions during the COVID-19 public health4 |
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| 20 | 20 | | emergency may be sealed from the public; to provide for procedure; to provide for related5 |
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| 21 | 21 | | matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 |
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| 22 | 22 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1.8 |
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| 24 | 24 | | This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Eviction Records Restriction Act."9 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2.10 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Code Section 44-7-50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to demand for11 |
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| 27 | 27 | | possession, procedure upon a tenant's refusal, and concurrent issuance of federal lease12 |
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| 28 | 28 | | termination notice, is amended by adding two new subsections to read as follows:13 |
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| 29 | 29 | | "(c) Upon the filing of a petition, a court of competent jurisdiction shall, in its discretion |
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| 30 | 30 | | 14 |
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| 31 | 31 | | and on a case-by-case basis, order the sealing of all public records that are in the custody15 |
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| 32 | 32 | | H. B. 1055 |
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| 33 | 33 | | - 1 - 24 LC 48 1103 |
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| 34 | 34 | | of the clerk of court and shall make civil case records permanently unavailable to the public16 |
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| 35 | 35 | | in dispossessory actions that took place during the period of the COVID-19 public health17 |
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| 36 | 36 | | emergency from March 13, 2020, to May 11, 2023.18 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (d) The petition provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section shall be made no earlier19 |
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| 38 | 38 | | than 30 days after the court's ruling. A person may have his or her dispossessory record20 |
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| 39 | 39 | | sealed after all other conditions of the underlying judgment or settlement are met; provided,21 |
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| 40 | 40 | | however, that the court finds that, during the COVID-19 public health emergency from22 |
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| 41 | 41 | | March 13, 2020, to May 11, 2023, such person experienced any of the following which23 |
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| 42 | 42 | | resulted in the dispossessory action:24 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (1) Extraordinary financial and economic hardships beyond such person's control;25 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) COVID-19 related illness;26 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (3) Loss of employment; or27 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (4) Inability to obtain certain public benefits that were allocated for renters. If public28 |
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| 47 | 47 | | benefits were obtained, such person shall demonstrate that such public benefits were used29 |
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| 48 | 48 | | for their intended purpose."30 |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 3.31 |
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| 50 | 50 | | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.32 |
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| 51 | 51 | | H. B. 1055 |
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| 52 | 52 | | - 2 - |
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