HB 1061 Georgia House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Mandi Ballinger Act; enact

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Juvenile Code, so as to enact the "Mandi Ballinger Act"; to provide for an implementation committee; to provide for the powers, composition, and appointment of such committee; to change the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to include certain children who are 17 years of age; to amend Titles 15, 16, 17, 27, 37, 42, and 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, crimes and offenses, criminal procedure, game and fish, mental health, penal institutions, and social services, respectively, so as to make conforming cross-references; to provide for effective dates and automatic repeal under certain circumstances; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

LC 48 1742S/hs → LC 48 1742S/hcs · 3 edits

MINOR

This document is a committee substitute version of HB 1061, which amends Georgia's Juvenile Code to enact the Mandi Ballinger Act. The changes primarily reflect formatting and markup updates from the House Judiciary Committee's review process, including adjustments to bill headers, section numbering, and committee attribution. No substantive policy changes to the Mandi Ballinger Act's provisions, eligibility criteria, or operational requirements are evident in this diff.

TECHNICAL

Bill header formatting changed from committee substitute language to standard committee substitute format with sponsor representatives listed.

Section numbering and spacing adjusted for consistency with committee markup standards.

Committee attribution text updated to reflect House Committee on Judiciary, Juvenile's substitute designation.

Floor votes · House Feb 20, 2026

How they voted

136–0

Passed · 20 other

Total votes 156

Feb 20, 2026

D Democratic65

55 Yea 10

84% Yea

R Republican91

81 Yea 10

89% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Senate Read and Referred

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Passed/Adopted By Substitute

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

House Hopper

lower

6 primary · 0 co-sponsors