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Executive director outlines bill to centralize filings, other legislation and federal inquiries; AG reports progress on litigation
Summary
The commission’s executive director told the March 24 meeting that SB199 would centralize filings at the state level, standardize reporting dates and redact home addresses from public view; staff also reported federal inquiries and related legislation under consideration.
The State Ethics Commission received an extended report on legislation, investigations and litigation at its March 24, 2025 meeting.
Executive Director Amaya (identified in the meeting as the commission’s executive director) described SB199, the commission’s agency-priority bill. Amaya said SB199 would centralize filing of campaign and disclosure reports at the state level effective Jan. 1, 2027, unify reporting schedules so filers provide consistent quarterly reports each year (with special accommodation for municipal offices), and move financial disclosure filings to an annual April 1 date with a September 1 date for municipal officeholders in election years. Amaya said the proposal has support from local-government associations (ACCG, GMA) and the association Gabriel (described as a Georgia elections association during remarks).
Amaya also described additional changes included in SB199 and related legislative work: collapsing multiple lobbyist registrations into a single, monthly report (fifth day of each month) to improve public access; redacting home addresses of public officials and candidates from public-facing records to reduce risks such as swatting while retaining addresses in the commission’s records; and extending the pre-election complaint window from 30 to 60 days before an election to limit last-minute complaint filings that may be weaponized.
Amaya reported the bill had passed the state Senate and was reported favorably out of the House Governmental Affairs Committee and was then in House Rules; he expected a House floor vote within days. He also noted related measures tracked by the commission:
- HB414: A bill aimed at obtaining information from out-of-state vendors used to place communications or dark-money activity in Georgia, giving the commission stronger tools to obtain records when vendors are outside state jurisdiction; Amaya said the bill would allow the commission to seek a Fulton County Superior Court order if an out-of-state entity refuses to comply.
- SB177 (referred to as a foreign-agent–style registration measure): a proposal to require registration for lobbying or political activity on behalf of foreign entities similar to federal FARA provisions; Amaya said it had been refined after stakeholder feedback and was in House Rules.
Amaya updated the commission on an ongoing enforcement and referral matter: the New Georgia Project matter (previously closed by the commission) had been referred to the Department of Justice’s tax/IRS division for review over potential federal tax issues; Amaya said Justice had received an overview and evidence and the commission had complied with statutory referral requirements. Amaya said the commission had also received an inquiry from the U.S. House Committee on Administration’s Subcommittee on Elections seeking the full case file related to dark-money inquiries; he expected the commission to be called to provide records and potentially to testify.
Budget and staffing: Amaya said the agency was in budget negotiations with the legislature and expected the Senate to release its proposed budget soon; he said the commission hoped for favorable news in June. He also reported that staff are tracking additional Title 21-related proposals that could be added before sine die and noted an AI-related measure that had reappeared in a different bill this session.
The attorney general’s office attorney (identified as Miss Yoo in the meeting) reported a decline in active campaign-related litigation and an active federal case in the Northern District of Georgia concerning leadership committee fundraising statutes; the office planned a renewed motion to dismiss in that case. Yoo said her office had reallocated attorneys to advance administrative enforcement matters while litigation levels are lower and had seven administrative cases ready to set for hearings.
Staff also said they expect to respond to state senate resolution requests for the New Georgia Project-related materials and to Congress’s request for case files. The executive director concluded the report by reiterating that the commission would continue to track Title 21 bills and other items of interest for possible late-session amendments.
