| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 57 0252 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 428 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Reese of the 140 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Hugley of the 141 |
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| 6 | 6 | | st |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Buckner of the 137 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Smith of |
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| 10 | 10 | | the 138 |
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| 11 | 11 | | th |
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| 12 | 12 | | , and Rice of the 139 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | |
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| 15 | 15 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Creating the House Study Committee on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Legitimation Process; and for other purposes.2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, in Georgia, a biological father who is not married to the mother of his child at3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | the time of such child's birth must file a separate legal petition in order to legitimate the child4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | and obtain legal rights as a parent; and5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, the benefit of having two parents responsible for a child is known to have a6 |
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| 23 | 23 | | positive effect on a child's welfare; and7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, in Georgia, biological fathers who wish to obtain parental rights to their8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | children are discouraged from doing so, often due to a lack of resources or awareness of the9 |
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| 26 | 26 | | costs associated with legitimation; and10 |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, it is worth considering whether the legitimation process in Georgia may be11 |
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| 28 | 28 | | improved in a way that yields it more affordable and accessible, particularly for those12 |
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| 29 | 29 | | biological fathers with limited financial resources.13 |
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| 30 | 30 | | H. R. 428 |
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| 31 | 31 | | - 1 - 25 LC 57 0252 |
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| 32 | 32 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 14 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee15 |
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| 35 | 35 | | on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process.16 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (5) Allowances and funding. The legislative members of the committee shall receive27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. 30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | appropriated to the House of Representatives.32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (6) Report.33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that34 |
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| 54 | 54 | | include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the35 |
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| 55 | 55 | | same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to36 |
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| 56 | 56 | | subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.37 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for38 |
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| 58 | 58 | | proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)39 |
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| 59 | 59 | | of this paragraph.40 |
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| 60 | 60 | | H. R. 428 |
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| 61 | 61 | | - 2 - 25 LC 57 0252 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of |
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| 63 | 63 | | 41 |
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| 64 | 64 | | abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.42 |
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| 65 | 65 | | A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with43 |
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| 66 | 66 | | the Clerk of the House of Representatives.44 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the45 |
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| 68 | 68 | | House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu46 |
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| 69 | 69 | | thereof.47 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.48 |
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| 71 | 71 | | H. R. 428 |
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| 72 | 72 | | - 3 - |
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