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House agrees to Senate substitute expanding GBI authority to subpoena some electronic records
Summary
The House agreed to the Senate'substitute for House Bill 161, giving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation administrative-subpoena authority for additional crimes including swatting and domestic terrorism; the House agreed 150'18.
The House on Wednesday agreed to the Senate substitute for House Bill 161, a measure that expands the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's authority to issue administrative subpoenas for certain electronic-communications records in additional crime categories. Chairman Crow explained the substitute added language to improve prosecutorial utility, specifically clarifying the domestic terrorism language at a prosecutor's request. The legislation includes swatting and domestic terrorism among the crimes for which the GBI may seek electronic records via subpoena under the authority described in the bill.
On the floor the chair said the only substantive change in the Senate substitute was a revision in the domestic terrorism provision "at the suggestion of the prosecuting attorney's counsel" to make prosecution more workable. The House voted on the motion to agree to the Senate substitute; the clerk recorded 150 yeas and 18 nays, and the House agreed to the Senate substitute.
The agreed substitute gives GBI expanded administrative tools to access electronic records for investigations of the listed crimes; supporters said the change will aid prosecutions of high-tech and violent incidents, while some members raised questions during committee and on the floor about civil-liberties protections and oversight.
