On February 3, 2025, three Georgia State Senate committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance.
The Public Safety committee voted on SB 7. The Health and Human Services committee voted on SB 6. The Judiciary committee voted on SB 9 and SB 12. Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Public Safety
SB 7
At taxpayer cost, the Atlanta jail was built when the city needed it, but the city has since gotten out of the jail business. This increases the volume of people in the Fulton County Jail, which was already compounded by failures of justice as well as the global pandemic. Almost 97% of Atlanta’s total tax revenue comes from people who live and work in Fulton County.
The Atlanta mayor wants to separate non-violent offenders from violent offenders, and there is also a concern for individuals who are mentally and medically fragile. This bill will allow the Atlanta Detention Center to be used to house these detainees.
Separating these populations would also allow Fulton County jails to decrease to single-bunk cells, which reduces violence. Using the detention facility will be much cheaper than making taxpayers pay $1.7 billion to build a new facility.
This bill will force Atlanta to lease the facility to Fulton County at a reasonable rate. It was tailored specifically only for the Fulton County Jail and the Atlanta Detention Center and will be used to create a long-term opportunity for the county to lease the center. The sponsor hopes the bill will not be passed and the city and the county will instead come to another agreement. The bill is there as a safety net.
The bill was not voted on due to time constraints.
Health and Human Services
SB 6
Drug overdose and death is a common problem in Georgia. In 2022, 67% of drug overdose deaths involved fentanyl; that same year, the Georgia legislature passed a bill authorizing fentanyl test strips, legalizing tools to check for the presence of opioids such as fentanyl. A new non-opioid drug called xylazine is now harming Georgians. Since 2022, the xylazine overdose deaths have increased from .8% to 9%. Xylazine is not an opioid but a horse tranquilizer used by veterinarians. Other harmful drugs and adulterants are becoming available to Georgians.
This bill broadens HB 1175, passed in 2022, to include test strips for any adulterants that are contaminating drugs. Rather than having to pass bills each year for new substances, this bill broadens the language enough to cover substances in the future that are currently unknown. Any drug-analysis equipment used to determine whether a controlled substance or its packaging has been adulterated will no longer be considered a drug-related object.
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary
SB 9
This bill aims to ensure accountability for illegal activity committed via artificial intelligence (AI). The bill includes definitions for the standard of obscenity and provides some additional sentencing to those who commit crimes via AI, particularly exploitation and fraud. This bill define obscene material; amends previous legislation to define artificial intelligence; and states that anyone who knowingly distributes, possesses with the intent to distribute, or solicits sexually explicit and obscene images of a child made through AI should be imprisoned for no less than one year and no more than 15 years, even if the child does not exist.
Using AI to conduct a misdemeanor will result in confinement for no less than six months and no more than 12 months with a fine not to exceed $5,000. For felonies, the actor may be imprisoned for no less than two years with a fine no more than $5,000.
The bill and its implications will be studied further before there is a vote.
SB 12
This bill aims to ensure that open records requests are made to the public agency responsible for those records and that those agencies cannot hide those records. The public agency cannot store their records with a contractor or private enterprise as a way to prevent those records from being made public upon request, and these contractors and private enterprises cannot respond to records requests. Regardless of what private entity holds the records, the requests must come to government agencies because government officials have training on which records are public and which are private.
The sponsor will work on the language with concerned parties to ensure enforceability, legality, and transparency.
