State Bar Legislative Agenda

Summary: The Bar supported this proposal as part of its 2024 legislative package, but the bill did not pass due to end of session time constraints. The goal of the proposed legislation is to improve the provision of legal services relating to wills, trusts, and the administration of estates and trusts in the courts, especially probate courts. It proposes changes to Title 53 and related code sections, including the banking code, the Uniform Power of Attorney Act and the Uniform Statutory Rule against Perpetuities Act. A large focus was placed on amending Title 53 and harmonizing provisions across the probate code and trust code as well as a comprehensive revision and modernization of heirship provisions in various code sections, including Title 53 and Title 19. One of the amendments replaces notice provisions added by HB 91 with a duty by the executor to notify beneficiaries of a testate estate of the probate of the will within six months after qualification as executor.

Status: Not yet filed.

Summary: This is the Judicial Council’s annual funding request for grants to legal services providers for representation of victims of domestic violence. The funding for these grants is appropriated by the General Assembly and administered to civil legal service organizations by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The AOC distributes the funds to each organization based on poverty population throughout the state. The Judicial Council has officially made its request for renewed funding of $3 million, and the Committee to Promote Inclusion in the Profession has asked that the Bar support an increase of $100,000, for a total of $3.1 million.

Summary: The proposal requests the continuation of the long-standing baseline budget of $900,000 to fund the Georgia Appellate Practice and Educational Resource Center. The Georgia Resource Center was initially started by Bar members, law schools and other stakeholders. Georgia is presently the only state that does not provide a statutory procedure or constitutional right to the appointment and compensation of counsel in state habeas corpus proceedings; the Resource Center seeks to provide free representation to indigent death row prisoners. The State Bar has supported the Resource Center’s appropriations request for 34 years.  

Status: Not yet filed.