The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Georgia House Bill 45 revises special grand jury impaneling procedures for superior court judges
Last action · January 16, 2025: House Second ReadersSponsors: Viola Davis and 2 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Georgia House Bill 45 authorizes state elected officials and municipal elected officials to petition superior court judges to a to investigate alleged state law violations or other matters. The measure amends Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
Expands the categories of public officials who can initiate the formation of an investigative in county superior courts.
- Special grand juries in Georgia are investigative bodies separate from regular grand juries, typically called to examine complex criminal or public corruption matters. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
State and Municipal Elected Officials
State and local municipal officials gain explicit statutory authority to petition superior court judges to impanel a special grand jury.
District Attorneys
District attorneys share the existing power of initiating special grand jury petitions with a newly expanded group of state and local elected officials.
Superior Court Judges
Superior court judges receive petitions from a wider class of state and municipal officials regarding the impaneling of special grand juries.
Key Facts
- Expands who may request a special grand jury to include state elected officials and elected public officials of a county or municipality.
- Allows the chief judge of the superior court of any applicable county to request the judges of the superior court to impanel a special grand jury upon petition by newly authorized officials.
- Maintains existing authority for the chief judge to act on their own motion or upon motion or petition of the district attorney.
- Applies to investigations of any alleged violation of Georgia state laws or any other matter subject to investigation by grand juries as provided by law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can now request a special grand jury under House Bill 45?
What is the purpose of a special grand jury under this provision?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
3 actions- Jan 16, 2025HouseHouse Second Readers
- Jan 15, 2025HouseIntroducedHouse First Readers
- Jan 14, 2025HouseIntroducedHouse Hopper
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Grand Jury Petitioners
House Bill 45 shifts the initiation of special grand juries from being restricted primarily to judges and district attorneys to including broader state and local municipal elected officials.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.ga.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 45)
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools