On February 11, 2025, the following five Georgia House of Representatives committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Defense and Veterans Affairs voted on HB 53 and HB 108
- Motor Vehicles voted on HB 247 and HB 296
- Judiciary voted on HB 85, HB 86, HB 177, and HB 181
- Public and Community Health voted on HB 173 and heard HB 291
- Judiciary Non-Civil voted on HB 161, HB 162, and heard HB 171
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Defense and Veterans Affairs
HB 53
This legislation makes all members of the Reserve forces and National Guard eligible to be buried in the state cemetery. The state does not pay for the burial; the servicemember’s family will cover the cost, which is the same rate that the VA reimburses.
The bill passed committee.
HB 108
This bill regulates for-profit companies that charge veterans a predatory fee to help them assemble their packets to receive their benefits. This practice is already outlawed under federal law, but that law has no teeth to penalize.
HB 108 also adds the following guardrails to this industry:
- There is no compensation for a referral
- The only way to work with someone who has left active duty is through a written disclosure
- The company cannot have a doctor on the payroll
- The company cannot directly or implicitly promise the veteran a successful outcome
This bill also requires companies that charge a fee to inform the veteran that the Veterans’ Administration field offices and other avenues through which they can have assistance assembling the packet for free. These companies can only charge a fee if they are successful in helping the veteran receive their benefits, but the fee can be up to five times the amount of the monthly award.
These companies are not allowed to request any login information regarding the veteran’s medical, financial, or government benefits. Anyone who assists a veteran with their medical and financial information must pass a VA background check.
The bill passed committee.
Motor Vehicles
HB 247
This bill allows written consent to transfer information about the DUI schools back to the department electronically. Additionally, this bill increases the amount that driver improvement schools and DUI schools can charge. Driver improvement can increase from $95 to $125, and DUI courses can increase from $235 to $350. The assessment component may also increase from $100 to $150. These fees have not changed in decades, putting these schools at risk of going out of business and leaving the state without these schools at all.
The bill passed committee.
HB 296
This bill allows drivers to use a digital driver’s license when being pulled over by a law enforcement officer. As these officers need special equipment to accept this driver’s license, this bill sets a July 1, 2027, date for all officers to have this equipment and begin accepting digital drivers’ licenses.
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary
HB 85
This bill reforms the structure of compensation for state superior judges. It does not raise or change the amount of any salaries and does not appropriate money. Instead, it only changes the structure and allows currently seated judges to opt in. Most judges will not see any change in pay, even if they opt in. This system is simply designed to make the pay more uniform across the state. HB 85 also sets a cap tied to the Northern District and lowers the amount of locality supplements judges can receive as they reach that cap.
The bill passed committee.
HB 86
This bill sets the salaries for various state officials as well as judges. There are no opt-in measures for this structure. Rather than giving a dollar amount for the salary, this bill replaces that with a percentage of the same base pay as the Northern District.
The bill passed committee.
HB 177
This bill is about pets and domestic violence, specifically about how domestic violence victims are often coerced into staying with their abuser due to threats against their pets. This bill aims to protect pets when someone is trying to leave a domestic violence situation, as 48% of victims have delayed leaving due to their pets, and only approximately 30% of domestic violence shelters allow pets. This bill allows judges to add pets to the temporary protective orders so that victims, including children, can keep their family pets with them during this process.
The bill passed committee.
HB 181
This bill aims to assist Georgia families engaging in international adoptions and facilitate the easiest and most streamlined process for these families. Current law states that children adopted by US citizens are automatically given citizenship; however, these families must go through a domestication process of re-adoption to have a certificate of foreign birth on file with the State Department of Vital Records. Without this process, the children only have their original documents from their birth country, and losing those documents could result in a costly trip back for a replacement.
This bill seeks to allow families to take their documentation to the Department of Vital Records under the Department of Human Services rather than having to go through the courts to get a certificate of foreign birth. The required documents will remain the same.
The bill passed committee.
Public and Community Health
HB 173
This is an information bill about immunization and treatment. It aims for the Department of Education to provide parents and guardians of students entering the sixth grade information regarding recommendations for adolescent vaccinations, both electronically and by paper. HB 173 does not require anyone to get vaccinations and is purely informational.
With an amendment to change the age from sixth grade to seventh grade, the bill passed committee.
HB 291
This bill supports a state-recognized certification program to prove career pathways and opportunities for healthcare workers in rural communities. The goal is to increase skilled public healthcare workers and pave the way for better healthcare resources throughout the state. These workers will not provide hands-on care but will be a resource within the community to ensure people can book appointments for issues they need to address, secure transportation to those appointments, and navigate the healthcare system and all of its channels. Individuals seeking this certification will need to pass a test; they are essentially working to get information into the hands of Georgians and help them find the care they need.
The bill is tabled until more information can be gathered.
Judiciary Non-Civil
HB 161
This bill adds a couple of crimes or code sections, giving the director of the GBI the ability to generate an administrative subpoena for production of communications evidence from telephone companies for computer and device crimes. This bill cleans up the language from a previous bill and clarifies definitions. It allows the GBI to issue subpoenas to an electronic service provider for a telecommunication device and related information should there be a threat to life made via phone call or through a computer.
An amendment to allow defense counsel to receive a copy of the subpoena during discovery was suggested.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
HB 162
The First Offender Act, first signed into law in 1964, allows first offenders of certain crimes to have their records sealed after successful completion of their sentence; this means it would be considered a non-conviction. Because most offenses are online now, by the time the offender finishes their sentence, the First Offender Act is ineffective. This bill allows a judge who accepts the First Offender Act plea to seal the records upon sentencing instead of completion of the sentence. The judge could retain the right to revoke that plea. The GBI and other authorities will still be able to access the records.
The bill passed committee.
HB 171
This bill aims to address the distribution of computer-generated obscene material depicting children and enhanced sentencing of crimes using artificial intelligence (AI). The bill also prohibits the use of AI for stalking, exploiting vulnerable individuals, enticing children for indecent purposes, and committing fraudulent election interference.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
