2022 Georgia Code
Title 15 - Courts
Chapter 6 - Superior Courts
Article 2 - Clerks of Superior Courts
§ 15-6-50.3. Criminal Case Data Exchange Board Created; Membership; Operation; Role; Public Access

1. As used in this Code section, the term:
   1. “Board” shall mean the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board.
   2. “Predecessor board” shall mean the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board, which was established as a board to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in 2018 by an Act of the General Assembly.
2. The Criminal Case Data Exchange Board is reestablished as an advisory board to The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia.
3. The board shall consist of 19 members as follows:
   1. The executive director of The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia, the executive director of The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia, the executive director of The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, the chairperson of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, the commissioner of corrections, the commissioner of community supervision, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, the chief information officer of the Georgia Technology Authority, the executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, and the executive director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, provided that any such member may allow a designee to represent him or her at a board meeting and vote in his or her stead; and
   2. Six members, one of whom is a superior court judge, one of whom is a state court judge, one of whom is a clerk of a superior court, one of whom is a district attorney, one of whom is a sheriff of a county, and one of whom is a police chief of a municipality, shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of four years; provided, however, that any person who, as of June 30, 2022, was serving as a member of the predecessor board pursuant to an appointment by the Governor shall continue to serve as a member of the board for the remainder of the term of such appointment; and provided, further, that no person shall serve beyond the time he or she holds the office by reason of which he or she was initially eligible for appointment.
4. In the event of death, resignation, disqualification, or removal of any member of the board for any reason, vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment and successors shall serve for the unexpired term.
5. Membership on the board shall not constitute public office, and no member shall be disqualified from holding public office by reason of his or her membership on the board.
6. The board shall elect a chairperson from among its membership and may elect such other officers and committees as it considers appropriate.
7. Members of the board shall serve without compensation, although each member of the board shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of his or her duties from funds available to The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia. Such reimbursement shall be limited to all travel and other expenses necessarily incurred through service on the board, in compliance with this state’s travel rules and regulations; provided, however, that in no case shall a member of the board be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the member’s capacity as the representative of another state agency.
8. The board shall:
   1. Meet no less than quarterly at such times and places as it shall determine necessary or convenient to perform its duties and also upon the call of the chairperson of the board, a designee of The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia, or the Governor;
   2. Maintain minutes of its meetings;
   3. Participate in the review and improvement of this state’s criminal case data exchange and management system;
   4. Using the combined expertise and experience of its members, provide regular advice and counsel to The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia to enable such council and its members to carry out its statutory duties under this article;
   5. By January 1, 2023, promulgate uniform standards for the creation and transmission of electronic criminal history data by and between local and state criminal justice agencies. Such data shall include arrests; indictments, accusations, information, and other formal charges; and final dispositions arising therefrom, including, but not limited to, convictions;
   6. By September 1, 2022, prepare a report on the board’s progress in developing uniform standards pursuant to paragraph (5) of this subsection and an initial draft of such uniform standards. Such report shall be transmitted electronically or mailed to the office of the chairs of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Judiciary; the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Committee on Appropriations; and to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia no later than September 1, 2022;
   7. Make recommendations for the improvement of criminal history data sharing for the benefit of the public, employers, and law enforcement;
   8. Carry out such duties that may be required by federal law or regulation so as to enable this state to receive and disburse federal funds for criminal case data exchange and management; and
   9. By November 1, 2022, after having conducted a comprehensive review of automated victim notification systems, make a recommendation for adoption of an automated system in Georgia that provides for individualized notification to victims of certain occurrences in each case involving the victim, including, but not limited to, occurrences of arrest, pre-trial release, court hearings, and sentencing. Such system shall also be able to reconcile individuals’ criminal data at all steps of the data exchange process. Such recommendation and any accompanying report shall be transmitted to the director of the Georgia Crime Information Center, the executive director of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association, and the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council and be available to all members of the board. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit or otherwise prevent criminal justice agencies from improving the organization of their respective data or developing and implementing, individually or collectively, an automated victim notification system for crime victims in this state during or after the time the comprehensive review of automated victim notification systems is being conducted.
9. Public access to data that are collected or transmitted via the criminal case information exchange shall remain the responsibility of the Georgia Crime Information Center. No release of collected data shall be made by or through the Georgia Technology Authority.

History. Code 1981, § 15-6-50.3 , enacted by Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 5/SB 441.

Effective date.

This Code section became effective July 1, 2022.

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 1/SB 441, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “(a) The General Assembly finds that:

“(1) The state’s current system for sharing criminal case data is not adequate to provide to all appropriately interested parties, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies and officers, courts, crime victims and other impacted individuals, housing providers, and employers, complete criminal case data;

“(2) One recent report indicates there may be as many as 7 million criminal charges without a final disposition indicated, and, of those, as many as 5.4 million criminal charges have languished for years;

“(3) Georgia’s citizens and businesses are harmed by incomplete criminal case data. For example, in thousands of cases, as a result of incomplete criminal case data, citizens’ employability and housing opportunities have been negatively impacted; and

“(4) A more uniform, modern system and framework for handling criminal case data will support the state in meeting its obligations to victims to keep them informed as their perpetrators make their way through the criminal justice system.

“(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that criminal case data be complete and accurately reported to the appropriate state data base and be accessible to state and local criminal justice agencies, employers, housing providers, victims, and all citizens.”

Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 2/SB 441, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Criminal Records Responsibility Act.’”