March 6th was Crossover Day in Georgia! Crossover day is a critical day as it is the final day to get a bill passed out of its originating legislative chamber to be considered by the other chamber before the end of Georgia’s Legislative Session. The end of session, known as Sine Die, is scheduled for April 4th.
We are keeping an out on bills that will help or further criminalize Georgians with criminal records and those who are children, poor, disabled, LGBTQ+, people of color, are women, elders survivors or domestic violence, sex workers or are living with a mental illness or are in recovery. Click the button below to see a list of the bills we are watching that will push children into adult prisons, will help domestic violence survivors, will get you arrested for ignoring a cop's verbal warning to not approach and more!
Despite showing momentum, a bill that would've overhauled how Georgia compensates those who are wrongfully convicted, HB533 (the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act) did not get a vote. However, House lawmakers did overwhelmingly pass a measure that included individual compensation resolutions for five people who served time in prison after being wrongfully convicted. That measure, House Resolution 128, passed with a 151-12 vote and now moves to the Senate. (Dozens of bills make the cut as Georgia lawmakers hit home stretch, DEI ban dies (Georgia Recorder).
HONORABLE MENTIONS WE ARE SURELY WATCHING:
- HB 600 - "Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act of 2025" removes farmers from the list of employers exempt from minimum wage, raises minimum wage for agricultural workers to $15 per hour, continues increasing minimum wage for agricultural workers until it reaches $27 per hour in 2028, and creates a grant program for employers who hire formerly incarcerated people.
- HB 650 - "Presidential
FelonFreedom Act" repeals the prohibition on people with felonies serving on juries, repeals provisions related to denying professional licenses to people on the basis of having a felony with exceptions to those directly related to the profession, and prohibits landlords from refusing to lease to an individual solely based on their criminal history with exceptions for people on the sex registry.
What (Good & Bad) Bills Crossed Over On March 6th in Georgia?
Crossover day was on March 6th. Crossover day is where after a bill passes the chamber where it originates, it must then go to the other chamber for another vote. The other chamber typically makes changes to the bill and adds their own amendments. If a bill is approved by the second chamber but with changes, then the original chamber has to accept those changes. Once both chambers agree on the same version of a bill, it’s sent to the governor to be signed into law.
If you missed JRP's March 11th event that gave an overview of what bills crossed over on cross over day and you want to hear what good and bad bills that may become law and how you can advocate to support or oppose them, see below the good and bad bills that were highlighted on the zoom call and watch the recording here.
Highlights of Bills Crossed Over on March 6, 2025 and Beyond
(mentioned in the JRP's March 11th Post Cross Review)
Good Bills
HB 123- Death Penalty- Currently Georgia is the only state that asks juries to decide a person's guilt AND their status of intellectual disability at the same time. HB123 will separate the determination of intellectual disability from guilt.
HB 79- Gun Ownership Tax Incentive- This bill aims to incentivize responsible firearm ownership by offering a one time $300 tax credit to gun owners for safety related expenses or firearms secure storage.
HB162- Sealing of Criminal Record for 1st Offenders - This bill would ensure that people sentenced under the 1st offenders act would have their record sealed at sentencing and have it remain sealed until they are off paper in which it will then be discharged.
HB582- Survivor Justice Act- This bill would prevent criminal charges against victims of domestic violence, child abuse and family violence who harmed their abuser/attacker as a result of protecting themselves AND in the event that they are charged, would take their circumstances into consideration and not sentence them to the max but cut that sentence in half. This bill would be RETROACTIVE, meaning victims currently serving time could petition the court to have their sentence reduced. UPDATE: On 3/27/25, HB 582, “Georgia Survivor Justice Act." passed unanimously without any opposition! However, it still needs to be added to the rules calendar. (The daily legislative agenda prepared from bills and resolutions on the general calendar by the rules committee in each house. The rules calendar is in effect in the House and Senate for the last 25 days of a regular session.) 11 Alive News: Georgia's Survivor Justice Act aims to give domestic violence victims a second chance
SB107- Occupational Licenses- SB207- would allow more transparency in the process of applying for occupational licenses AND would prevent people from felonies from being denied an occupational license solely because of a felony, especially for a license that doesn't relate to their crime and one that takes the age of the crime into consideration. Currently, people pay expenses to apply for occupational licenses only to be asked about a felony conviction and are denied based solely on that so this bill would require requirements be stated up front AND will it ensure that boards and agencies only consider charges that are recent and not deny applications solely based on a felony conviction, especially if the license being applied for doesn't relate to the crime in which they received the felony.
HB535- Corrects the court of appeals' decision that has created issues with people's probation being revoked resulting in them serving more time than they were actually sentenced to and fixes how time served is counted.
HB176- Gives the ability for people charged to appeal their cases
HB225- School Zone Cameras. Although good that it addresses harsher penalties for speeding which puts our children at risk, fails to address the issue of poor road design and bad roads .
Bad Bills (that still need your support to keep from being passed and becoming law)
SB9 & HB171 this bill will enhance penalties for crimes committed through AI, such as the use of AI to generate child porn. Although this is a serious issue, these bills impact 13-17 year olds who often share inappropriate consensual pictures with each other.
SB79- this bill will harshen penalties for traffickers AND the people addicted to fentanyl who don't need prison but treatment.
HB651- this bill lead to will lead to adding more speeding cameras in school zones and harsher fines and fees which will further target poor people without addressing the issue of the dangerous road designs and takes the authority away from the schools but to law enforcement which solely uses the cameras to generate revenue, not to maintain safety. This bill would give half the revenue to law enforcement and camera companies and the other half to school districts, which is bad because the places where the cameras will be put will be those with bad roads and less investment in...poor areas, further making money off poor people.
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