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Committee hears bill to centralize trade‑name filings under clerks’ cooperative authority
Summary
Representative Franklin introduced HB 158 to consolidate county trade‑name (DBA) filings into the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority database to create a one‑stop searchable system; the measure was held for further consideration and placed on next week’s agenda.
Representative Franklin presented House Bill 158, a proposal to centralize business trade‑name (DBA) registration records by assigning county filings to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority so the public can search a single database rather than individual county records.
Franklin said the bill does not change existing county filing fees or the clerks’ administrative processes; instead, it would allow the cooperative authority to include county trade‑name records in a consolidated, searchable system. Supporters said the move would improve transparency and make it easier to locate who is doing business under trade names across the state.
Committee members asked about the stability of local legal organs (newspapers) used for public notices and whether the authority has resources to perform the added task. Franklin said the clerks’ authority indicated it has the capacity and that the bill also provides a mechanism for businesses to remove closed or bankrupt entries from county records, which could help clean up legacy data.
The committee did not advance the bill that day; members agreed to keep HB 158 on the committee agenda for further review next week and to follow up with stakeholders about implementation details and potential fees for public downloads of documents from the cooperative site.
