HB 483 Georgia House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Crimes and offenses; protections for inspectors of code enforcement; provide

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to assault and battery, so as to provide for protections for inspectors of code enforcement; to provide for definitions; to provide for enhanced penalties for simple assault, aggravated assault, simple battery, battery, and aggravated battery committed upon inspectors of code enforcement in certain circumstances; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Jan 2026

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Feb 18, 2025 Signed May 5, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

LC 48 1558S/hcs → HB 483/AP* · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect its final passage by both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly. The most significant substantive change is the replacement of the term 'inspector of code enforcement' with the broader term 'code enforcement official' throughout the text. This change expands the legal protections and enhanced penalties to cover a wider range of personnel, including those who may not hold the specific job title of 'inspector' but perform safety inspections.

Scope change

The scope of protection was expanded from a narrow definition of 'inspectors of code enforcement' to a broader category of 'code enforcement officials', ensuring more workers in the field are covered under the new assault and battery penalties.

DEFINITION

The term 'inspector of code enforcement' was changed to 'code enforcement official' to broaden the scope of protected individuals.

The definition of 'code enforcement official' was updated to include requirements for a high school diploma or equivalent and completion of Level 1 code enforcement training.

Additional definitions for other protected groups (e.g., correctional officers, firefighters) were added to the article, though these appear to be new additions rather than changes to the original bill text provided in the diff.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and header were updated from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed House and Senate' to indicate the legislative status.

The bill number and page references were updated to reflect the final version (HB 483/AP) from the committee substitute version (LC 48 1558S).

Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026 · House Mar 6, 2025

How they voted

35–7

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 48

Mar 12, 2026

D Democratic19

15 Yea 4

78% Yea

R Republican29

20 Yea 7 Nay 2

68% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 5, 2026

Signed into law

Act 380

upper

May 5, 2026

Signed into law

House Date Signed by Governor

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Introduced

House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Senate Recommitted

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

upper

Mar 28, 2025

Committee

Senate Recommitted

upper

Mar 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Senate Committee Favorably Reported

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Committee

Senate Read and Referred

upper

Mar 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

House Passed/Adopted By Substitute

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

lower

Feb 18, 2025

Introduced

House Hopper

lower

6 primary · 0 co-sponsors