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HR 885

House Study Committee on Election Procedures; create

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Victor Anderson and 3 co-sponsors

Establishes a temporary House Study Committee on Election Procedures to review Georgia election laws and administration and recommend changes before December 1, 2025.

House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
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Bill Summary · HR 885

Summary — H.R. 885 (Georgia House Resolution, 2025)

Title: House Study Committee on Election Procedures
Introduced: January 31, 2025
Status: Passed by House (adopted by substitute); reported enrolled; abolished date set for December 1, 2025
Primary sponsors (per text): Representatives Victor Anderson (10th), Brad Thomas (21st), Tim Fleming (114th), Rob Leverett (123rd)

This resolution creates a temporary House Study Committee on Election Procedures to review Georgia’s election laws, administration, and procedures and to recommend any actions or legislation the committee deems appropriate.

Purpose and intent

  • To evaluate the current statutory framework and administrative arrangements used to run Georgia elections (including state and local roles such as the Secretary of State, State Election Board, local superintendents and registrars).
  • To identify outdated provisions (some of which date to the statewide Election Code adoption in 1964) and recommend modernization or other legislative or administrative changes with the goal of ensuring a secure and effective electoral system.

Key provisions

  • Establishes the “House Study Committee on Election Procedures.”
  • Membership: a number of House members appointed by the Speaker; the Speaker designates the chairperson of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs as chair of this study committee.
  • Charge: undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems related to Georgia election laws and procedures and recommend actions or legislation as appropriate.
  • Meetings: convened by the committee chair; the Speaker may set a maximum number of meetings. Meetings may be held at times and places the committee finds convenient.
  • Allowances & funding:
    • Legislative members receive the allowances provided in O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8.
    • Substitute version caps those allowances at three days per member unless additional days are authorized (original draft allowed up to five days).
    • Funds must come from amounts appropriated to the House of Representatives.
  • Reporting:
    • If the committee adopts findings or legislative recommendations, the chair must file a report prior to the committee’s abolishment.
    • Any report must be approved by majority vote of a quorum and signed by the chair before filing with the Clerk of the House.
    • If no approved report exists, the chair may file the committee minutes in lieu of a report.
  • Sunset: the committee automatically stands abolished on December 1, 2025.

Who is affected

  • State and local election administrators (Secretary of State, State Election Board, county election superintendents and registrars).
  • Members of the Georgia House of Representatives (committee membership, meeting time/allowances).
  • Voters indirectly—through potential legislative or administrative changes that may result from committee recommendations.

Timeline & procedural notes

  • Created upon adoption of the resolution; final abolishment date: December 1, 2025.
  • The chair must file any approved report before abolishment.
  • Substitute reduced the maximum allowance days for committee members from five to three (unless additional days are authorized).

Potential impact

  • The committee itself has no regulatory or legislative force beyond making recommendations. Its primary impact will be to identify problems, produce findings, and propose statutory or administrative changes that could be introduced later as legislation.
  • Recommendations could lead to changes in election administration, allocation of responsibilities across state and local bodies, or modernization of rules in the Georgia Election Code.

Legislative history (selected)

  • 2025-01-31: Introduced; referred to House Judiciary Committee
  • 2025-04-02 to 2025-04-04: House readings; favorably reported; passed/adopted by substitute
  • 2025-04-21: Filed; referred to Local & Consent Calendars
  • 2025-05-15: Rules suspended; adopted; reported enrolled

If you’d like, I can produce a short list of potential topics the committee might study (e.g., voter registration processes, absentee/mail ballot rules, chain-of-custody/security for ballots, allocation of responsibilities between state and counties) or draft questions the committee could use in hearings.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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