Georgia House passes CHIPS commission, banking housekeeping, new judgeship, privacy and procurement changes

The Georgia House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2025, approved a set of bills on the rules calendar that included creating a state CHIPS and Advanced Technology Commission, updating banking statutes, adding a superior court judgeship in the Alapaha Judicial Circuit, raising public-works bid thresholds and changing how judges’ personally identifiable information is handled.

Lawmakers moved each measure through the rules calendar with recorded roll-call votes. Supporters said the bills address workforce and economic development, court workload and safety, and technical updates to existing law; opponents were few and recorded votes are listed below.

The most consequential measure approved was House Bill 216, which creates a Georgia CHIPS and Advanced Technology Commission in the Department of Economic Development to coordinate research, workforce and business recruitment connected to semiconductor and advanced-technology manufacturing. Representative Vance Smith, who presented the bill, said the commission would centralize state efforts to attract investment: “It does create a commission… It deals with research and technology. So we need to bring that home because over 90% of the chips right now that go in your phone, your appliances, your cars, all that's made in Taiwan… So we need to bring it back to Georgia.” The House approved HB 216 on a recorded vote, yeas 163, nays 2.

House Bill 15, described by proponents as the Department of Banking and Finance’s annual housekeeping measure, passed overwhelmingly. Representative Bruce Williamson described the package as part of a multi-year effort to modernize state banking law: “this is about the tenth year we've been modernizing and simplifying our banking code.” The bill passed on a recorded vote, yeas 163, nays 1.

House Bill 55 adds a third superior court judge to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit, which covers Atkinson, Berrien, Clinch, Cook and Lanier counties. Representative Ford presented the bill, saying the district’s caseload and population growth supported the request: “House Bill 55, which adds a third judge to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit… Funding for this position is in the governor's 2026 proposed budget.” The House passed HB 55 on a recorded vote, yeas 166, nays 1.

House Bill 137 raises the dollar threshold for certain public-works procurement exemptions from $100,000 to $250,000. Representative Anderson framed the bill as an update for inflation and procurement practice: “House Bill 137 increases the bid limits for public works purchasing projects from a hundred thousand dollars to $250,000.” The measure passed, yeas 152, nays 0.

House Bill 199 changes how personally identifiable information for judges and their spouses is handled on public websites. Representative Trey Kelly said the change responds to safety concerns and implementation challenges with a centralized database: “we have seen instances of judges being targeted and swatted at their homes, harassed at their homes and through their cell phones.” The bill was amended in committee to reduce estimated implementation cost and passed the House, yeas 165, nays 0.

Votes at a glance

- HB 216 (Richard H. Smith Georgia CHIPS Advancement and Research and Economic Development Act): creates Georgia CHIPS and Advanced Technology Commission (Dept. of Economic Development). Vote: yeas 163, nays 2. Outcome: passed. - HB 15 (Banking and Finance housekeeping): modernizes terminology and other bank/finance provisions. Vote: yeas 163, nays 1. Outcome: passed. - HB 55 (Alapaha Judicial Circuit judgeship): adds third superior court judge for Alapaha Judicial Circuit (Atkinson, Berrien, Clinch, Cook, Lanier counties); funding included in governor’s proposed 2026 budget. Vote: yeas 166, nays 1. Outcome: passed. - HB 137 (Public-works procurement threshold): raises certain procurement threshold from $100,000 to $250,000. Vote: yeas 152, nays 0. Outcome: passed. - HB 199 (Protection of judges’ personally identifiable information): changes implementation approach to redaction of judges’ PII; fiscal impact reduced during amendment from $177,000 to $27,000. Vote: yeas 165, nays 0. Outcome: passed.

What members asked and what changed

Lawmakers asked procedural and implementation questions during each presentation. HB 199’s implementation approach was altered after committee review and a budget amendment reduced the projected cost of a centralized database; proponents said the administrative office of the courts will instead provide a form for local governments to use, which they said lowers risk and cost.

For HB 55, presenters noted local population and caseload changes — the sponsor cited a 33% population increase in the five-county circuit since 1979, a roughly 26% poverty rate in the area, and that I‑75 brings heavy traffic through Cook County — to explain why an additional judgeship is needed.

A note on process and next steps

All five bills passed the House on recorded votes; the transcript does not record subsequent action in the Senate. Where the transcript included committee reports or fiscal notes, those are reflected above. The House also conducted first and second readings of many bills earlier in the session; those readings are not covered here unless the measure received a final House vote during the recorded proceedings.

Ending

The House adjourned and set its next session for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. The transcript does not record Senate action or final enactment dates for the bills summarized above.