2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 15 - COURTS (§§ 15-1-1 — 15-25-3) › Chapter 5 - ADMINISTRATION OF COURTS OF RECORD GENERALLY (§§ 15-5-1 — 15-5-112) › Article 2 - JUDICIAL COUNCIL (§§ 15-5-20 — 15-5-26) › Section 15-5-24.1 - Criminal Case Data Exchange Board; membership; role

(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
"Board" means the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board.
(2)
"Predecessor board" means the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board established as a board to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in 2018 by an Act of the General Assembly.
(3)
"Reestablished board" means the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board reestablished as an advisory board to The Council of Superior Court Clerks in 2022 by an Act of the General Assembly.
(b)
The Criminal Case Data Exchange Board is reestablished as an advisory board for the benefit of the judicial and executive branches of this state's government to facilitate the compliance efforts of the various judicial agencies, judicial subdivisions, applicable courts, applicable clerks, and applicable executive branch officers, departments, and agencies with the requirements of Code Section
35-3-36
. The board shall be attached to the Judicial Council of Georgia and its Administrative Office of the Courts for administrative purposes. The Judicial Council of Georgia shall issue uniform standards not inconsistent with the uniform standards promulgated by the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board pursuant to this Code section.
(c)
(1)
The board shall consist of 19 members as follows:
(A)
The executive director of The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia;
(B)
The executive director of The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia;
(C)
The executive director of The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia;
(D)
The executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council;
(E)
The chairperson of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles;
(F)
The commissioner of corrections;
(G)
The commissioner of community supervision;
(H)
The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation;
(I)
The director of the Office of Planning and Budget;
(J)
A designee of the Judicial Council of Georgia;
(K)
The chief information officer of the Georgia Technology Authority;
(L)
The executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association; and
(M)
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 as follows:
(A)
One of whom is a superior court judge;
(B)
One of whom is a state court judge;
(C)
One of whom is a clerk of a superior court;
(D)
One of whom is a district attorney;
(E)
One of whom is a sheriff of a county; and
(F)
One of whom is a police chief of a municipality,
who shall each be appointed by the Governor for a term of four years; provided, however, that any person who, as of July 1, 2023, was serving as a member of either the predecessor board or reestablished board pursuant to an appointment by the Governor or otherwise provided by law 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 position of the board by reason of which he or she was initially eligible for appointment.
(d)
Any vacancy on the board due to death, resignation, disqualification, or removal of any member for any reason, shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment and any successor shall serve for the unexpired term.
(e)
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.
(f)
The board shall elect a chairperson from among its members and may elect such other officers and appoint committees as it considers appropriate.
(g)
Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of his or her duties from funds available to the Judicial Council of Georgia. Such reimbursement shall be limited to all travel and other expenses necessarily incurred through service on the board, in compliance with the travel rules and regulations of this state; 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.
(h)
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, the member of the board designated by the Judicial Council of Georgia, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 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 Judicial Council of Georgia and its Administrative Office of the Courts to enable its members to carry out its statutory duties related to criminal case data exchange under this article;
(5)
Regularly review and update uniform standards for the creation and transmission of criminal history data by and between local and state criminal justice agencies, including, but not limited to, processes and procedures that criminal justice agencies shall adopt in order to provide for the transmission and acceptance of such data by and between the applicable agencies and by the Georgia Crime Information Center. Such data shall include arrests; indictments, accusations, information, and other formal charges; and final dispositions arising therefrom, including, but not limited to, convictions. This paragraph shall not be construed to override, supplant, or preclude any uniform standards promulgated by the reestablished board;
(6)
By October 1 of each year, prepare a report on the board's progress in developing uniform standards pursuant to paragraph (5) of this subsection. Such report shall be transmitted electronically or mailed to the office of the chairs of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Committee on Judiciary, and the House Committee on Judiciary Non-Civil, 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 October 10 of each year;
(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 as 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;
(9)
After conducting a comprehensive review of automated victim notification systems, make recommendations as the board deems necessary on the adoption, development, and use of an automated system that provides for individualized notification to victims of certain occurrences in each case involving the victim, including, but not limited to, occurrences of arrest, pretrial release, court hearings, and sentencing. Such system shall also be able to reconcile individuals' criminal data at all steps of the data exchange process. Any such recommendations and accompanying reports shall be transmitted 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; and
(10)
By December 1, 2024, review, in coordination with experts in the field of criminal justice, the feasibility of a system for tracking and analyzing criminal history data related to recidivism, criminal plea agreements, immunity defenses in criminal proceedings, and post-adjudication proceedings. Such review of criminal plea agreements shall include the feasibility of tracking charges pertaining to human trafficking and whether those charges resulted in convictions or resulted in pleas of lesser or related charges. The board, in determining the feasibility of such system, shall prepare a report detailing its review, findings, and any recommendations and such report shall be transmitted electronically or mailed to the office of the chairs of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Committee on Judiciary, and the House Committee on Judiciary Non-civil, and to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senate President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
(i)
Public access to data 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.
Added by 2023 Ga. Laws 88,§ 2, eff. 5/1/2023.