# Georgia SB 359: Henry County; Board of Commissioners; code of ethics; revise and restate provisions Georgia SB 359, Henry County; Board of Commissioners; code of ethics; revise and restate provisions, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Gail Davenport (Democrat), Emanuel Jones (Democrat), Brian Strickland (Republican) and 1 others; status signed, last action 2026-05-12 (Senate Date Signed by Governor); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB359-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia SB 359 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Henry County; Board of Commissioners; code of ethics; revise and restate provisions - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-03-25 - Last action: 2026-05-12, Senate Date Signed by Governor - Sponsors: Gail Davenport (Democrat), Emanuel Jones (Democrat), Brian Strickland (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (254 yes, 9 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 9 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - County workers must disclose financial conflicts: cost, low. Covered Henry County officials and employees must disclose interests they have reason to believe county action may affect. They must file a sworn statement describing the interest's precise nature and value and request the ethics board's opinion. Known direct or indirect interests in county busines… - Henry County commissioners face conduct limits: cost, low. Henry County commissioners cannot give directives to employees who report to the county manager. They cannot threaten to fire employees or end county contracts to exert undue influence. The law also bars conduct unbecoming a commissioner. - Henry County ethics violations bring penalties: cost, low. Intentional ethics violations, false or misleading information, ignored board opinions, and disobeyed subpoenas can bring administrative penalties. Those penalties include a fine up to $1,000 or a public reprimand. The Solicitor General may prosecute violations in county magistrate court; convictio… - Henry County limits contracts with insiders: cost, low. Henry County cannot make service or property contracts with officials, employees, or businesses in which they hold an interest. Exceptions cover bank depositories, loans at the lowest available interest rate, the only available supplier, and emergencies. Commissioners must record an emergency's rea… - Henry County workers face conflict limits: cost, low. Covered Henry County officials and employees cannot act in ways that suggest improper influence or favoritism, including through family ties. They cannot use confidential county information for private gain or use their positions to get unwarranted privileges. They cannot represent themselves or ad… - Henry County workers face gift limits: cost, low. Covered Henry County officials and employees cannot seek or accept valuables that could influence their duties or benefit affected donors. Exceptions cover occasional non-cash gifts worth less than $100, publicly presented public-service awards, and ordinary, commercially reasonable loans from Geor… - County residents get ethics complaint process: mixed, low. Henry County residents, resident groups, and the ethics officer can file sworn ethics complaints with supporting facts and documents. Anonymous reports go to the ethics administrator; employment matters have a separate human-resources path. The board hears complaints against elected and appointed o… - Henry County adds paid ethics staff: mixed, low. The law creates full-time, salaried ethics officer and administrator jobs; it sets no salary amounts. The Superior Court chief judge appoints the officer for up to six years, with early removal only for cause. The officer must be a Georgia lawyer in good standing with five years of practice experie… - Henry County creates independent ethics board: mixed, low. The law creates a five-member ethics board, selected by December 1, 2026, and taking office January 1, 2027. The Superior Court Clerk, Probate Court Judge, Sheriff, Tax Commissioner, and Solicitor General each appoint one member and may name an alternate. Members and alternates generally serve stag… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Gail Davenport (Democrat), Senate - Sponsor: Emanuel Jones (Democrat), Senate - Sponsor: Brian Strickland (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Rick Williams (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: El-Mahdi Holly (Democrat), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-03 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE | pass | 44 | 6 | 5 | | 2026-03-31 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 161 | 3 | 9 | | 2025-03-31 | Senate | LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR | pass | 49 | 0 | 5 | ## Actions (16) - 2026-05-12: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate) - 2026-05-12: Act 623 - 2026-05-12: Effective Date - 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate) - 2026-04-02: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate) - 2026-03-31: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2026-03-31: House Third Readers (House) - 2026-03-31: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House) - 2026-03-25: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2026-03-25: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House) - 2025-04-02: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-03-31: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate) - 2025-03-31: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-31: House First Readers (House) - 2025-03-27: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Senate Hopper (Senate) ## Bill text - SB 359/AP* (v10): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249190) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [SB 359/AP* (v10) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249190) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB359-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).