| 5 | | - | To amend Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, so as1 |
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| 6 | | - | provide for superior court judicial officers in certain judicial circuits; to provide for the2 |
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| 7 | | - | appointment, qualifications, terms, duties, and employment status of such judicial officers;3 |
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| 8 | | - | to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 |
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| 9 | | - | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 |
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| 10 | | - | SECTION 1.6 |
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| 11 | | - | Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by adding7 |
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| 12 | | - | a new Code section to Article 1 of Chapter 6, relating to general provisions regarding8 |
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| 13 | | - | superior courts, to read as follows:9 |
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| 14 | | - | "15-6-37.10 |
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| 15 | | - | (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any judicial circuit of this state with 1511 |
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| 16 | | - | or more judges of the superior court, as provided for in Code Section 15-6-2, the governing12 |
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| 17 | | - | authorities of the counties that make up such circuit are authorized to provide funding for13 |
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| 18 | | - | up to five judicial officers to serve in the superior courts of such circuit.14 |
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| 19 | | - | (b) In the event that a county or counties provide funding for judicial officers as provided15 |
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| 20 | | - | for in subsection (a) of this Code section, the chief judge of the circuit, after consulting16 |
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| 21 | | - | - 1 - LC 48 1626S |
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| 22 | | - | with a majority of the superior court judges in such circuit, may appoint qualified17 |
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| 23 | | - | individuals as judicial officers in the superior courts of such circuit. Judicial officers shall18 |
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| 24 | | - | have all of the qualifications provided for in Code Section 15-6-4 for superior court judges;19 |
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| 25 | | - | provided, however, that such judicial officers shall not be elected.20 |
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| 26 | | - | (c) Judicial officers appointed pursuant to this Code section shall have all powers and21 |
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| 27 | | - | duties of a judge of the superior court; provided, however, that judicial officers shall not22 |
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| 28 | | - | preside over any case or matter related to a serious violent felony as such term is defined23 |
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| 29 | | - | in Code Section 17-10-6.1, and provided, further, that the chief judge of a circuit, after24 |
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| 30 | | - | consulting with a majority of the superior court judges in such circuit, may place such25 |
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| 31 | | - | additional limitations on the use of such judicial officers in the circuit.26 |
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| 32 | | - | (d) Judicial officers appointed pursuant to this Code section shall be appointed to terms27 |
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| 33 | | - | not to exceed two years; provided, however, that a judicial officer may be reappointed to28 |
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| 34 | | - | succeed himself or herself.29 |
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| 35 | | - | (e) Judicial officers appointed pursuant to this Code section shall be employees of the30 |
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| 36 | | - | county or counties that make up the judicial circuit in which they are appointed. Such31 |
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| 37 | | - | judicial officers shall not be considered state employees for any reason, and the counties32 |
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| 38 | | - | that make up such circuit shall be responsible for the compensation, benefits, travel, and33 |
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| 39 | | - | other expenses for such judicial officers."34 |
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| 40 | | - | SECTION 2.35 |
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| 41 | | - | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.36 |
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| 42 | | - | - 2 - |
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| 5 | + | To amend Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, so as to1 |
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| 6 | + | modify provisions related to protection of personally identifiable information of judges and2 |
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| 7 | + | their spouses; to abolish the requirement for the Administrative Office of the Courts to3 |
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| 8 | + | maintain a data base of protected persons and information; to provide for a state-wide form4 |
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| 9 | + | to be used by protected persons seeking to have information restricted from public5 |
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| 10 | + | disclosure; to require state and local governments to restrict from public disclosure6 |
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| 11 | + | personally identifiable information when requested by a protected person; to provide7 |
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| 12 | + | procedures for such requests; to revise definitions; to provide for superior court judicial8 |
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| 13 | + | officers in certain judicial circuits; to provide for the appointment, qualifications, terms,9 |
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| 14 | + | duties, and employment status of such judicial officers; to provide for related matters; to10 |
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| 15 | + | repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.11 |
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| 16 | + | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:12 |
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| 17 | + | SECTION 1.13 |
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| 18 | + | Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising14 |
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| 19 | + | Article 8 of Chapter 5, relating to protection of personally identifiable data of judges and15 |
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| 20 | + | spouses, as follows:16 |
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| 21 | + | S. B. 10 (SUB) |
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| 22 | + | - 1 - 25 LC 48 1605S |
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| 23 | + | "ARTICLE 817 |
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| 24 | + | 15-5-110.18 |
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| 25 | + | As used in this article, the term:19 |
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| 26 | + | (1) 'Personally identifiable information' means any phone number or address20 |
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| 27 | + | affirmatively identified by a protected person for inclusion in the data base established21 |
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| 28 | + | and maintained pursuant to Code Section 15-5-111 personal phone number, home22 |
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| 29 | + | address, or property or tax records of a protected person.23 |
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| 30 | + | (2) 'Protected person' means any current or former:24 |
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| 31 | + | (A) Judge Elected or appointed judge or justice of this state and his or her spouse;25 |
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| 32 | + | (B) Judge Elected or appointed judge of any county or municipality of this state and26 |
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| 33 | + | his or her spouse; and27 |
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| 34 | + | (C) Judge Appointed judge or justice of the United States and his or her spouse.28 |
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| 35 | + | (3) 'Public posting or display' means to communicate information or otherwise make29 |
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| 36 | + | information available to the general public.30 |
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| 37 | + | (4)(3) 'Publicly available content' means any written or electronic document or record31 |
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| 38 | + | that provides information or that serves as a document or record maintained, controlled,32 |
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| 39 | + | or in the possession of a state or local government entity that may be obtained by any33 |
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| 40 | + | person from the internet state or local government entity's public website or from such34 |
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| 41 | + | state or local government agency upon request whether free of charge or for a fee.35 |
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| 42 | + | (5)(4) 'State or local government entity' means any:36 |
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| 43 | + | (A) Agency of the executive branch of this state; or37 |
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| 44 | + | (B) Any local governing authority of a county or municipality of this state, including,38 |
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| 45 | + | but not limited to, any county or municipal court clerk's office, board of elections, board39 |
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| 46 | + | of tax assessors, or board of ethics.40 |
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| 47 | + | S. B. 10 (SUB) |
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| 48 | + | - 2 - 25 LC 48 1605S |
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| 49 | + | 15-5-111.41 |
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| 50 | + | The Administrative Office of the Courts shall:42 |
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| 51 | + | (1) Establish a method for obtaining information from the Administrative Office of the43 |
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| 52 | + | United States Courts as necessary for purposes of this article;44 |
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| 53 | + | (2) Develop a form for a protected person to use when requesting the restriction from45 |
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| 54 | + | public disclosure of personally identifiable information pursuant to this article. Such46 |
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| 55 | + | form may include a process for verification of the election or appointment of such person47 |
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| 56 | + | as a judge or justice of this state or the United States or verification of such person's48 |
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| 57 | + | status as the spouse of a person serving as a judge or justice of this state or the United49 |
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| 58 | + | States Establish and maintain a data base of protected persons and personally identifiable50 |
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| 59 | + | information;51 |
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| 60 | + | (3) Make the form provided for in paragraph (2) of this Code section available to52 |
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| 61 | + | protected persons on its public website Develop and manage a process to regularly53 |
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| 62 | + | identify each state or local government entity that possesses personally identifiable54 |
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| 63 | + | information; and55 |
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| 64 | + | (4) Establish a procedure for protected persons to submit phone numbers and addresses56 |
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| 65 | + | for inclusion in a data base as personally identifiable information to be restricted from57 |
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| 66 | + | publicly available content and public posting or display; and58 |
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| 67 | + | (5)(4) Coordinate statewide state-wide training and information sharing related to59 |
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| 68 | + | security procedure and practices relative to the judicial branch of government.60 |
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| 69 | + | 15-5-112.61 |
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| 70 | + | (a) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 to the contrary,62 |
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| 71 | + | a state or local government entity shall restrict from public disclosure any personally63 |
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| 72 | + | identifiable information that specifically identifies a protected person as a judge, justice,64 |
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| 73 | + | or spouse thereof. The provisions of this subsection shall include, but shall not be limited65 |
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| 74 | + | to, records or filings in the office of the Secretary of State and the State Ethics66 |
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| 75 | + | S. B. 10 (SUB) |
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| 76 | + | - 3 - 25 LC 48 1605S |
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| 77 | + | Commission. Within 30 days of receipt of written notice that a judge or justice of the67 |
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| 78 | + | United States, this state, or any county or municipality of this state has been elected or68 |
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| 79 | + | appointed, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide written notice to each state69 |
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| 80 | + | or local government entity determined by the Administrative Office of the Courts to70 |
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| 81 | + | possess personally identifiable information that directs such entity to restrict access to such71 |
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| 82 | + | personally identifiable information pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section.72 |
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| 83 | + | (b) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 to the contrary,73 |
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| 84 | + | a state or local government entity that possesses records, filings, or other publicly available74 |
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| 85 | + | content that does not specifically identify a person as a judge, justice, or spouse thereof but75 |
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| 86 | + | that includes personally identifiable information of such a protected person shall, upon76 |
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| 87 | + | request of the protected person, restrict from public disclosure any personally identifiable77 |
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| 88 | + | information. A protected person may request that his or her personally identifiable78 |
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| 89 | + | information be restricted from public disclosure pursuant to this subsection by submitting79 |
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| 90 | + | a request in writing to the state or local government entity on the form provided for in Code80 |
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| 91 | + | Section 15-5-111. A state or local government entity receiving such request shall restrict81 |
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| 92 | + | from public disclosure the personally identifiable information within 30 days of receiving82 |
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| 93 | + | a valid request. Within 30 days of receipt of written notice that a judge or justice of the83 |
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| 94 | + | United States, this state, or any county or municipality of this state has resigned, retired,84 |
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| 95 | + | or been removed, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide written notice to85 |
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| 96 | + | each state or local government entity determined by the Administrative Office of the Courts86 |
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| 97 | + | to possess personally identifiable information that informs such entity that the restriction87 |
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| 98 | + | required pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section is no longer applicable.88 |
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| 99 | + | (c) Notwithstanding Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 to the contrary, within 30 days of89 |
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| 100 | + | receipt of written notice from the Administrative Office of the Courts pursuant to90 |
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| 101 | + | subsection (a) of this Code section, a state or local government entity that has received such91 |
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| 102 | + | notice shall restrict personally identifiable information from publicly available content and92 |
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| 103 | + | public posting or display unless such entity has:93 |
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| 104 | + | S. B. 10 (SUB) |
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| 105 | + | - 4 - 25 LC 48 1605S |
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| 106 | + | (1) Obtained written consent from the protected person that his or her phone number and94 |
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| 107 | + | address may be made available to the general public; or95 |
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| 108 | + | (2) Received notice pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section that a judge or justice96 |
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| 109 | + | of the United States, this state, or any county or municipality thereof has resigned, retired,97 |
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| 110 | + | or been removed.98 |
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| 111 | + | (d)(c) Any protected person may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction99 |
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| 112 | + | against any officer or employee of the state or local government entity in his or her100 |
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| 113 | + | individual capacity for failure to comply with subsection (c) (a) or (b) of this Code section. 101 |
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| 114 | + | Any relief granted by such action shall be limited to injunctive relief."102 |
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| 115 | + | SECTION 2.103 |
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| 116 | + | Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to Article 1 of Chapter 6, relating104 |
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| 117 | + | to general provisions regarding superior courts, to read as follows:105 |
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| 118 | + | "15-6-37.106 |
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| 119 | + | (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any judicial circuit of this state with 15107 |
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| 120 | + | or more judges of the superior court, as provided for in Code Section 15-6-2, the governing108 |
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| 121 | + | authorities of the counties that make up such circuit are authorized to provide funding for109 |
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| 122 | + | up to five judicial officers to serve in the superior courts of such circuit.110 |
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| 123 | + | (b) In the event that a county or counties provide funding for judicial officers as provided111 |
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| 124 | + | for in subsection (a) of this Code section, the chief judge of the circuit, after consulting112 |
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| 125 | + | with a majority of the superior court judges in such circuit, may appoint qualified113 |
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| 126 | + | individuals as judicial officers in the superior courts of such circuit. Judicial officers shall114 |
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| 127 | + | have all of the qualifications provided for in Code Section 15-6-4 for superior court judges;115 |
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| 128 | + | provided, however, that such judicial officers shall not be elected.116 |
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| 129 | + | (c) Judicial officers appointed pursuant to this Code section shall have all powers and117 |
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| 130 | + | duties of a judge of the superior court; provided, however, that judicial officers shall not118 |
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| 131 | + | preside over any case or matter related to a serious violent felony as such term is defined119 |
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| 132 | + | S. B. 10 (SUB) |
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| 133 | + | - 5 - 25 LC 48 1605S |
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| 134 | + | in Code Section 17-10-6.1, and provided, further, that the chief judge of a circuit, after120 |
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| 135 | + | consulting with a majority of the superior court judges in such circuit, may place such121 |
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| 136 | + | additional limitations on the use of such judicial officers in the circuit.122 |
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| 137 | + | (d) Judicial officers appointed pursuant to this Code section shall be appointed to terms123 |
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| 138 | + | not to exceed two years; provided, however, that a judicial officer may be reappointed to124 |
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| 139 | + | succeed himself or herself.125 |
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| 140 | + | (e) Judicial officers appointed pursuant to this Code section shall be employees of the126 |
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| 141 | + | county or counties that make up the judicial circuit in which they are appointed. Such127 |
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| 142 | + | judicial officers shall not be considered state employees for any reason, and the counties128 |
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| 143 | + | that make up such circuit shall be responsible for the compensation, benefits, travel, and129 |
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| 144 | + | other expenses for such judicial officers."130 |
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| 145 | + | SECTION 3.131 |
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| 146 | + | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.132 |
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| 147 | + | S. B. 10 (SUB) |
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| 148 | + | - 6 - |
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