Committee backs bill to centralize county trade-name filings in statewide clerk database

The Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee voted to report a bill that would require county trade-name ("doing business as") filings to be uploaded to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority database, allowing a single statewide lookup of trade names rather than searching each county separately.

The measure, presented as LC442992S (HB158), was described by Representative Franklin as a transparency and efficiency change that would not alter the underlying filing process or administrative fees. "The clerk's authority… will have a database. All the clerks will send the trade name registrations to the authority," said Greg Allen, "Clerk of Superior Court in Forsyth County." Allen told the committee that the clerk's authority already maintains online search tools and this would add trade-name registrations to that existing capability.

Representative Franklin told the committee the proposal originally routed filings through the Secretary of State but had been revised to use the clerks’ authority. Later in the meeting Franklin explained the supplement change: "We didn't wanna kick the Apple Card over and create a whole new process…with this supplement, it basically doesn't change anything that's already established…they take that information and send it to the clerk's corporate authority so that outside people…can go in there and find it."

Committee members asked whether clerks currently have the technology and whether the change would add cost. Allen responded it would not: the clerks already transmit other records electronically and the authority already hosts searchable records. Representative Levert asked about requiring a preprinted form prepared by the clerk’s authority; the author said the form would standardize electronic submission and a committee member indicated willingness to accept that standardization after review.

The committee adopted a motion to "do pass." The transcript records members saying "Aye" and "Motion passes," but does not provide a numerical vote tally in the record.

Clarifying details discussed included that the clerk of superior court remains the office that receives filings at the county level, clerks will transmit records electronically to the clerks' cooperative authority, and the bill does not change clerk fees. The committee paused earlier in the meeting to ensure members had the correct supplemental language before proceeding.

The bill will advance to the next stage in the legislative process with the committee recommendation to report the measure.