Senate committee reviews HB 147, agrees to craft substitute to inventory state AI systems and consider SB 37 elements

A Georgia Senate committee met to discuss House Bill 147, which would require an annual inventory of artificial intelligence systems used by state agencies, and agreed to work with the bill’s author and other senators to draft a substitute before taking action.

The committee chair opened the session saying “we've got before us, House Bill 147 by Representative Thomas,” and framed the meeting as a working discussion to collect questions and items for a substitute version. Representative Thomas, the bill’s author, told the panel the bill’s “posture today” is to have discussion around HB 147 and collect items the committee wants included or removed.

Why it matters: committee members and outside witnesses said the measure would create transparency about where AI is used in state government and establish guardrails for systems that influence official decisions. Several senators also raised whether the bill should be expanded to cover local governments and constitutional officers, and whether a new statewide advisory board or the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) should lead implementation.

Key points from the discussion

- Inventory and scope: HB 147 (LC560266) directs an annual inventory of systems that “employ artificial intelligence” in use by an agency, beginning on a date cited in the draft. Committee members pressed the author on whether the inventory should cover only systems that make or materially support decisions (decision-driving systems) or include lower‑risk tools such as predictive text and Copilot-style…