ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has beaten the deadline for signing legislation the General Assembly passed this year with a flurry of bill signing.
Kemp signed 120 bills on Wednesday, including Senate Bill 244, combining provisions from two measures related to the criminal justice system that had failed to gain passage earlier in the session.
The original bill will allow criminal defendants to recover legal costs when their prosecutor is disqualified and the case against them is dismissed.
Majority Republicans crafted the legislation with President Donald Trump in mind. It could pave the way for Trump to recoup his legal costs in the election case brought against him by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Willis because of a romantic involvement with a special prosecutor she had hired to help her with that case, a ruling she is currently appealing.
The bill was introduced by then-state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, a staunch Trump supporter who left the General Assembly this month after the president appointed him U.S. treasurer.
While that portion of Senate Bill 244 drew opposition from legislative Democrats, Republican legislative leaders added a second bill to the mix more appealing to Democrats. The second portion of the measure overhauls the system of compensating the wrongly convicted in Georgia.
Originally contained in House Bill 533, it will give innocent people who have been convicted and sent to prison money for the time they spent behind bars. It replaces the current system requiring lawmakers to consider separate compensation resolutions for each wrongly convicted inmate with a hearing before an administrative law judge, who will make a recommendation on compensation to the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
“This is a landmark moment for justice in Georgia,” said Kristin Verrill, executive director at the Georgia Innocence Project. “Our state has taken a meaningful step toward acknowledging the harm done to innocent people and helping them rebuild their lives.”
Kemp also signed legislation Wednesday that requires police agencies to accept a digital version of Georgia drivers’ licenses.
On Tuesday, the next-to-last day for bill signing, the governor inked a measure expanding the state’s child care tax credit.
“This legislation being signed into law ensures that Georgia’s families have access to affordable and quality childcare, while encouraging more businesses to offer child care,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who made the issue a priority of his for this year’s General Assembly session.