GPS-Tracked Bills
104 bills tracked across 6 legislative sessions
2026 Session
Criminal procedure; motions and discovery; modify provisions
Modernizes motions and discovery in criminal cases, including reciprocal discovery in certain misdemeanor cases and expert-witness disclosures. Favorably reported by substitute in the House; no floor vote.
Georgia Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act; enact
Restricts bail (OCGA Title 17 Ch 6)
Georgia Administrative Procedure Act shall apply to all executive branch agencies; provide
Applies the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act to all executive branch agencies, striking the Board of Corrections and its penal institutions from the exemption list. Passed the House 168-3 on February 11, 2026; a Senate Judiciary substitute replaced its text with a coin-operated amusement machine bill, and it died.
Penal institutions; limit time that Department of Community Supervision can hold certain inmates in a county facility
Limits how long Community Supervision can hold certain inmates
Family Restoration and Re-Entry Program; recognize and support
Recognises and supports the Family Restoration and Re-Entry Program
Right to register and vote; moral turpitude felony conviction exception; provisions - CA
Restores voting rights after a moral turpitude felony conviction
House Study Committee on Criminal Post-Conviction Litigation; create
Creates the House Study Committee on Criminal Post-Conviction Litigation
DNA Collection from Detained Immigrants
Requires DNA collection from immigrants detained by state law enforcement, expanding surveillance of vulnerable populations.
"One Strike Act"; enact
One Strike Act - harsher sentencing exposure
Senate Higher Education in Prison Study Committee; create
Creates the Senate Higher Education in Prison Study Committee
2025 Session
Criminal procedure; pretrial proceedings in capital offense cases where the death penalty is sought when the accused has an intellectual disability; provide
Moves the intellectual-disability decision in death-penalty cases to a pretrial hearing before a judge, where the defendant must show intellectual disability by a preponderance of the evidence. Lead sponsor Rep. Bill Werkheiser. Signed May 13, 2025 (Act 191).
Georgia Bureau of Investigation; restriction and seal of First Offender Act sentences until such status is revoked; provide
First Offender Act sentences restricted and sealed
Appeal and error; judgments deemed directly appealable; change a provision
Restored the out-of-time appeal that Cook v. State abolished, enacting O.C.G.A. 5-6-39.1 - a 100-day route to file an out-of-time motion for new trial or notice of appeal, with an indigent right to counsel.
The Time Served Act of 2025; enact
Time Served Act of 2025
Evidence; exclude certain communications made between attorney and client when client is in a penal institution
Protects attorney-client communication for people held in penal institutions
Penal institutions; inmate be allowed to dress in plain clothes during trial proceedings; provide
Lets an inmate wear plain clothes during trial proceedings
Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act; enact
Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act
Terry Act; enact
Terry Act - appellate transcript preparation and filing (OCGA 5-6-42)
Georgia Survivor Justice Act; enact
Georgia Survivor Justice Act - a resentencing pathway for domestic violence survivors. Passed with only three dissenting votes across both chambers.
Education; denial of state funds for loans, grants, and scholarships for any student convicted of a criminal offense; provisions
Denies state student aid to people with certain convictions
Criminal procedure; limitations on bars to first offender treatment for certain minor offenders adjudicated as adults; provide
Limits bars to first offender treatment for minor offenders
Crimes and offenses; codify proclamation that would grant a pardon regarding offense of simple possession of marijuana
Codifies a pardon for simple possession of marijuana
Georgia Second Look Act; enact
Georgia Second Look Act - sentence review. Introduced by a member of the Blue-Ribbon post-conviction committee; did not receive a floor vote.
Penal institutions; credit for time served regarding probation revocation sentencing; provide
Probation-revocation credit: ENACTED Act 384
Correctional Institutions of State and Counties; consent for the release of certain criminal history, vocational, and educational information for inmates upon release; provide
Consent for release of certain criminal history information
"Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act"; establish
Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act
Inmate Gender Treatment Ban — Transgender Prisoner Healthcare
Prohibits use of state funds for gender-affirming medical treatments for state inmates including hormone therapy and surgery. Currently partially blocked by court order. GPS opposes restricting healthcare for incarcerated people.
Criminal Proceedings; the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs in a criminal case to the defendant upon such defendant making a successful motion to disqualify the prosecuting attorney for m
Provides for the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a defendant who successfully moves to disqualify a prosecuting attorney for misconduct in the case.
Pardons and Paroles; procedures when a person is denied parole after completing certain prerequisites; provide
Parole Transparency Act - procedures when a person is denied parole after completing certain prerequisites. GPS ran an advocacy campaign for this bill in English and Spanish.
Courts and Penal Institutions; substance abuse programs and mental health treatment programs in county and municipal jails for inmates; provide
Substance abuse and mental health treatment programs in penal institutions
Mental Health and Penal Institutions; grant program to create peer support programs in hospitals; establish
Peer support programs in hospitals and penal institutions
Gender Care State Funding Ban
Prevents taxpayer dollars from covering gender-affirming care under the state health benefit plan, Medicaid, and in prisons. Authored by Lt. Gov. candidate Blake Tillery. Withdrawn in House; SB 185 passed instead. GPS opposes.
Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act — Fentanyl Mandatory Minimums
Lowers trafficking thresholds and creates mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl crimes: 5-year minimum for smallest amounts, 15-year minimum plus $150,000 fine for 8-14 grams. GPS opposes mandatory minimums for drug offenses.
Right to Register and Vote; conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude as an exception; remove - CA
Restores voting rights after a moral turpitude felony conviction
2024 Session
Criminal procedure; pretrial proceedings when the accused has an intellectual disability in capital offense cases where the death penalty is sought; provide
Earlier version of HB 123 (2025): a pretrial hearing on intellectual disability in death-penalty cases. Lead sponsor Rep. Bill Werkheiser. Died in House committee.
Criminal procedure; considerations in sentencing and paroling a defendant who was less than 18 years of age at the time he or she committed a crime; provide
Sentencing and parole considerations for defendants under 18
The Terry Act; enact
Terry Act - appellate transcript preparation and filing
Penal institutions; fair market wages for inmate labor; provide
Fair market wages for inmate labour
Penal institutions; provide jailers with arrest powers
Provides jailers with arrest powers
Criminal procedure; vacating of sentences of victims of trafficking; provisions
Trafficking-victim sentence vacatur: ENACTED Act 490
Georgia Bureau of Investigation; restriction and seal of First Offenders Act; provide
First Offender seal: passed House, died Sine Die
Proceedings; jail-based competency restoration programs; provide
Jail-based competency restoration programs
Sentencing and Imposition of Punishment; making determinations with respect to probation and suspension of sentences; provide
Would have required courts to weigh a person's immigration status and the chance of deportation in deciding whether to grant probation, and required the Board of Pardons and Paroles to weigh it and deny parole in certain cases. Died in Senate committee.
Grants of Pardons, Paroles, and Other Relief; procedures when a person is denied parole after completing certain prerequisites; provide
Procedures when a person is denied parole - predecessor of SB 25
Bail Reform — Expanded Cash Bail Requirements
Expands cash bail requirements to 30 additional crimes including 18 misdemeanor-eligible offenses. Limits unsecured judicial releases. GPS opposes cash bail expansion.
Senate Higher Education in Prison Study Committee; create
Creates the Senate Higher Education in Prison Study Committee
2023 Session
Penal institutions; commissioner of corrections to report certain information; require
Would have required the Department of Corrections to publish, every 90 days, aggregate data on the immigration status, offenses and home countries of non-citizen prisoners. Died in House committee.
Solitary Confinement Limitation Act; enact
Solitary Confinement Limitation Act
Appeal and error; evidence has been lost or destroyed by the state; provide for remedies
Remedies where evidence has been lost or destroyed by the state
Penal institutions; require public disclosure of certain data pertaining to health, safety, or other conditions of detention of inmates
Public disclosure of prison health and safety data
Penal institutions; require certain mental illness evaluations of persons detained in a penal institution
Mental illness evaluations for people detained in penal institutions
Penal institutions; policies for breast milk storage and breast feeding of a delivered child; provide
Breast milk storage and breastfeeding policies
Georgia Crime Information Center; criminal history record information restrictions for certain persons cited with or convicted of certain criminal offenses; provide
Criminal history record restrictions
Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act; enact
Would have created a Wrongful Conviction Compensation Review Panel under the state Claims Advisory Board to evaluate claims from people who were wrongfully convicted and recommend compensation. Passed the House 157-17 on March 6, 2023; died in the Senate.
Penal institutions; no private corporation shall operate a detention facility; provide
Bars private corporations from operating detention facilities
Raise the Age Act; enact
Raise the Age Act - juvenile jurisdiction
Health; use of certified medication aides in penal institutions; authorize
Certified medication aides in penal institutions
Riot Felony Penalty Enhancement
Creates enhanced felony penalties for rioting, broadly defined to include prison protests and disturbances.
Courts; use of solitary confinement for punitive purposes in juvenile detention facilities; prohibit
Prohibits punitive solitary confinement in juvenile detention
Georgia Crime Information Center; criminal history record information restrictions for certain persons convicted of certain criminal offenses; provide
Provides criminal history record restriction for certain people cited with or convicted of certain offenses, and for people pardoned for certain offenses. Died in House committee.
State government; remove exemption of administrative review from Board of Corrections and its penal institutions
Ends the Board of Corrections exemption from administrative review
Unsecured Judicial Release; limitation of unsecured judicial release in certain circumstances where the accused has a prior conviction for the offense of bail jumping or failure to appear; provide
Limits unsecured judicial release
Cell Phone Ban in Prisons
Criminalizes cell phone possession in prisons with felony penalties, cutting off communication lifelines for incarcerated people.
Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act — Gang Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Increases mandatory minimum penalties for gang offenses: 5-year minimum for gang crimes, 10-year minimum for recruiting minors. GPS opposes expanding mandatory minimums.
2022 Session
Solitary Confinement and Restraints Limitation Act; enact
Solitary Confinement and Restraints Limitation Act
Penal institutions; equitable payment to inmates for labor performed and goods produced while incarcerated; provide
Equitable payment to inmates for labour performed
Penal institutions; tracking of inmate labor; provide
Tracking of inmate labour
State government; remove exemption of administrative review from the Board of Corrections and its penal institutions
Ends the Board of Corrections exemption from administrative review
Enhanced Fleeing Police Penalties
Increases criminal penalties for fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement.
Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act; enact
Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act
Criminal procedure; accused's claim of intellectual disability involving a capital offense in which the death penalty is sought; provide for pretrial proceedings
Intellectual disability claims in capital cases
Criminal procedure; evidence has been lost or destroyed by the state; provide remedies
Remedies where evidence has been lost or destroyed by the state
Criminal procedure; considerations in sentencing and paroling a defendant less than 18 years of age at the time he or she committed a crime; provide
Sentencing and parole considerations for defendants under 18
Penal institutions; certain mental illness evaluations of persons; require
Mental illness evaluations for detained people
Penal institutions; public disclosure of certain data pertaining to the health, safety, or other conditions of detention of inmates; require
Public disclosure of prison health and safety data
Health; increase access to disposable menstrual products in public schools, penal institutions, certain social service shelters, and housing facilities
Access to disposable menstrual products in penal institutions
State government; remove exemption of administrative review from the Board of Corrections and its penal institutions
Ends the Board of Corrections exemption from administrative review
Superior and State Court Appellate Practice Act; enact
Superior and State Court Appellate Practice Act
Solitary Confinement Limitation Act; enact
Solitary Confinement Limitation Act
Criminal procedure; alternative sentence of military service for certain defendants; provide
Alternative sentence of military service
Georgia Crime Information Center; criminal history record restrictions for certain persons cited with or convicted of certain criminal offenses; provide
Criminal history record restrictions
Courts; reestablishment of the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board as an advisory board to The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia; provide
Reestablishes the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board as an advisory board to the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia and provides for transmitting criminal case data to the Georgia Crime Information Center. The House substitute added original jurisdiction and subpoena power for the GBI to investigate election fraud and election crimes. Signed April 27, 2022 (Act 717).
Expanded Bail Restrictions
Expands pretrial detention by restricting bail eligibility for additional offenses.
Sentence and Punishment Relative to Criminal Procedure; a conviction integrity unit; provide
Creates a conviction integrity unit
Sentence and Punishment; any time after conviction; defendant convicted of an offense and sentenced as a direct result of being a victim of trafficking for labor or sexual servitude may petition the s
Sentence modification any time after conviction
2021 Session
Georgia Crime Information Center; fees associated with filing for record restrictions or the inspection and correction of criminal records; reduce
Fees for filing record restrictions
Penal institutions; certain information within inmate files of the Department of Corrections shall not be classified as confidential state secrets when requested by the district attorney; provide
Confidentiality of certain information in Department of Corrections inmate files
Penal institutions; no private corporation shall operate a detention facility; provide
Bars private corporations from operating detention facilities
Criminal procedure; term of probation shall follow mandatory term of imprisonment for persons convicted of a sexual offense; clarify
As passed by the House, sets life in prison, or prison followed by probation for life with electronic monitoring, for people with a prior sexual felony who are convicted of certain sexual offenses. Passed the House 110-59 on March 8, 2021; died in the Senate.
Raise Juvenile Court Jurisdiction to 18
Would have raised the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 to 18, keeping more youth out of the adult criminal system. Passed the House 113-51 on March 8, 2021; died in the Senate.
Penal institutions; certain minimum periods of incarceration before parole consideration; require
Requires minimum incarceration periods before parole consideration
Criminal procedure; no court shall impose a period of probation that exceeds 24 months; provide
Caps probation at 24 months
Criminal procedure; conditions and procedures under which probation may be terminated early; revise
Early termination of probation
Georgia Back to Life, Back to Work Act; enact
Back to Life, Back to Work Act - sentencing
Penal institutions; policies for breast milk storage and breast feeding; provide
Breast milk storage and breastfeeding policies
Inmate Mental Health Act; enact
Inmate Mental Health Act
Penal institutions; no private corporation shall operate a detention facility; provide
Bars private corporations from operating detention facilities
Right to register and vote; remove conviction of felony involving moral turpitude as an exception - CA
Restores voting rights after a moral turpitude felony conviction
State-Wide Probation System; conditions and procedures under which probation may be terminated early; revise
State-wide probation system - conditions and procedures under which probation may be terminated.
Penal Institutions; no private corporation shall operate a detention facility; provide
Bars private corporations from operating detention facilities
Inmate Policies; inmates receive an identification card upon release; require
Identification card on release
Bail-Restricted Offenses Expanded; Appointed Judges' Release Authority
Adds burglary, entering an automobile with intent to commit theft or a felony, felony stalking and misdemeanor family-violence offenses to the bail-restricted offenses, for which a judge may not grant an unsecured judicial release. It also lets appointed judges filling an elected judge's vacancy issue unsecured releases for other charges. Signed May 4, 2021 (Act 216).
"Community Rebound Act"; enact
Community Rebound Act - probation management
Sentence and Punishment; no court shall impose a period of probation that exceeds 60 months; provide
Caps probation at 60 months