Raise Juvenile Court Jurisdiction to 18

HB 272 would have raised the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 to 18, so that 17-year-olds charged with most offenses would be processed through the juvenile justice system rather than the adult criminal system. It passed the House 113-51 on March 8, 2021. A Senate committee reported a substitute that would have replaced it with an implementation study committee, the Senate never voted on it, and it died when the 2021-2022 session ended.

When it was filed, Georgia was one of only a handful of states that automatically prosecuted 17-year-olds as adults. Research overwhelmingly shows that youth processed in juvenile court have better outcomes — lower recidivism, higher education completion, and better employment prospects — than those sent through the adult system.

GPS supports this bill because children do not belong in adult prisons. The juvenile system, while imperfect, is designed for rehabilitation and development. Sending 17-year-olds to adult facilities exposes them to violence, trauma, and conditions that make reoffending more likely, not less.