HB 390 Georgia House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HALO Act; enact

Summary
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 and Code Section 17-6-12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to offenses against public order and unsecured judicial release, requirement, effect of failure of person charged to appear for trial, and consideration of criminal record, respectively, so as to provide for the crime of interference with a first responder; to provide for penalties; to include such offense in the list of bail restricted offenses; to provide for definitions; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 11, 2025 Last action Apr 4, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC 39 4592/a LC 48 1573S/hs · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to remove a new crime of interference with first responders and instead expand existing obstruction laws to include first responders as protected individuals. The original version created a specific misdemeanor offense for interfering with first responders, while the revised version incorporates them into broader felony obstruction statutes.
Scope change
The bill's scope shifted from creating a standalone crime for interfering with first responders to treating such interference as part of existing felony obstruction offenses.
DEFINITION

Removed the new definition of 'first responder' and the new crime of interference with a first responder that would have been a misdemeanor of high and aggravated nature.

ENFORCEMENT

Added new provisions that classify violations of obstructing or hindering firefighters and emergency medical technicians as felony offenses under existing obstruction statutes.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the legal consequences for interfering with first responders from a specific misdemeanor offense to being covered under broader felony obstruction laws.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Apr 4, 2025
Committee
House Withdrawn, Recommitted
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
lower
Feb 11, 2025
Introduced
House Hopper
lower
6 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors