Gov. Kemp tells FOX 5 why he signed GBI elections bill

ATLANTA - Gov. Brian Kemp's office announced Wednesday that he signed a bill into law that will give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the authority to look into election law violations.

"We just felt like, you know, this was a good policy decision," Gov. Kemp said in an exclusive interview.

Senate Bill 441 mainly deals with how the state shares criminal case data, but late in the legislative session, lawmakers added a section pertaining to the GBI.

"It shall be the duty of the bureau to [...] identify and investigate violations [...] involving elections which if established are sufficient to change or place in doubt the results of an election," the bill reads.

Gov. Kemp said even after the passage of last year's "Election Integrity Act," he felt this bill was a needed step.

"I think it's going to continue to bring integrity to the elections process," Gov. Kemp explained.

Currently, elections investigations fall under the Secretary of State's office, but Kemp, who served as Secretary of State from 2010 to 2018, said those investigators are responsible for more than just elections, including investigating cases of professional license fraud. 

"They got a lot on their plate and this will have really dedicated people at GBI that'll be able to do this with a lot more resources," said Gov. Kemp. "One of the things that we saw during the signature audit process was having the forensic folks that were the best GBI had being able to come in and do that, so I think there's a lot of advantages to that going forward into the future."

The governor appoints the GBI Director, but Gov. Kemp said he is not worried about a governor pressuring the GBI to investigate an election for political purposes.

"The GBI, I mean, they're high integrity. All I've ever told Director [Vic] Reynolds and the men and women at GBI and all state law enforcement is to follow the facts and the truth and just let it take you where it may and that's what we've done," said Gov. Kemp. 

Along with the new law, the state's 2023 budget allocates more than $500,000 to the GBI to fund the investigative positions. The law and the funding go into effect July 1.