House committee advances bill to centralize trade-name filings in statewide clerk database

Representative Lehman Franklin told the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee that House Bill 158 would permit the Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Corporate Authority to maintain a statewide database of trade names and doing-business-as records that currently are recorded separately in county clerks’ offices. "So it makes it a lot easier, more transparent for someone that wants to go look up that information on that business," Franklin said.

The bill would not change how clerks record filings or how counties collect administrative fees, Franklin said; counties would continue to receive the existing fees, and the corporate authority would accept electronic transfers of the trade-name data into its system. He also said the proposal would allow businesses that close or dissolve to request removal of entries that today remain in disparate county records.

Representative Carter asked where the database would be housed and who would pay for the technology. Franklin said the Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Corporate Authority—established in 1993—already operates online services and would host the trade-name data. He said the bill delays implementation for one year to give the authority time to prepare.

The committee moved HB 158 to the rules committee by voice vote. Chair (unidentified) said the motion passed after members in the committee answered questions about hosting and fee flows.

The next step for HB 158 is that it will be considered by the chamber’s rules process, where scheduling and any further changes will be determined.