Committee adopts amendments to bill tightening background-check reporting on vacated and sealed records

Chairman Parsons presented House Bill 1301 to clarify what consumer-reporting companies may include in criminal-history background checks provided to prospective employers. Parsons said the bill clarifies existing code to ensure employers receive the most current information and to add certain categories—vacated offenses and conditional discharges—to the list of restricted items.

Chairman Gunter offered a friendly amendment to add language specifying that vacated offenses and discharges vacated pursuant to OCGA 42-8-60 or OCGA 16-13-2 be treated as restricted. Gunter argued the change ensures reporting agencies update records to reflect vacated or discharged matters.

A second amendment added that sealed criminal-history information shall not be reported if it is restricted and sealed by court order or by operation of law as of the date the report is furnished.

Both amendments passed on voice votes and the committee then voted to pass HB 1301 as amended to rules. Wade Askew of Gold Dome Partners, representing Georgia Justice Project, spoke in support of the amendment and the bill’s goals to remove employment barriers for people with old or vacated records.