HB325: HB325 Domestic relations; Protective Order Registry; revise certain definitions

Georgia keeps a Protective Order Registry (O.C.G.A. § 19-13-51) that tracks court orders meant to stop contact, family violence, or stalking. This bill updates the definitions used in that registry, including who counts as a judge and a law enforcement officer, and it adds protective orders issued by military judges to the list of orders the registry recognizes. The bill also builds an entirely new legal process inside Georgia's Code of Military Justice (Title 38). A member of the organized militia (the state's National Guard and related forces) who says another member has stalked them can file a petition with a military judge asking for a protective order. The bill spells out how that petition gets filed and served through chains of command, how quickly a hearing must happen, what a protective order can require, and how violations can be punished, including contempt, fines up to $1,000, confinement up to 30 days, or a court-martial. The changes take effect July 1, 2025.

• Adds military judges and military-issued protective orders to the definitions used by Georgia's Protective Order Registry (O.C.G.A. § 19-13-51).
• Creates a new legal process (O.C.G.A. § 38-2-1006.1) letting a militia member who alleges stalking by another militia member petition a military judge for a protective order.
• Sets deadlines for filing, serving, and holding a hearing on these military stalking petitions, generally within 45 days of filing.
• Lets a military judge punish violations of these orders through contempt, with penalties up to a $1,000 fine or 30 days confinement, or through a court-martial.
• Adds failure to obey a military protective order or consent agreement as a punishable offense under the Code of Military Justice (O.C.G.A. § 38-2-1092).
• Sets the effective date for all these changes as July 1, 2025.

Members of Georgia's organized militia (state National Guard and related state military forces), military judges and commanders who process these petitions, courts and law enforcement agencies that enforce protective orders, and anyone whose information is tracked through the state's Protective Order Registry.

Militia members would gain a formal, faster path to seek protection from stalking by fellow members, handled through their own chain of command and military courts rather than only civilian courts. Violations could bring fines, jail time, or court-martial, and these orders would be enforceable statewide alongside existing civilian protective orders.

• Section 1 revises the Protective Order Registry definitions (O.C.G.A. § 19-13-51) to include military judges and orders issued under the new Code Section 38-2-1006.1.
• Section 2 updates the definition of 'military judge' in the Code of Military Justice (O.C.G.A. § 38-2-1001).
• Section 3 creates new Code Section 38-2-1006.1, letting a militia member file a verified petition alleging stalking and letting a military judge issue temporary or permanent protective orders or approve consent agreements.
• Section 3 requires a hearing within 45 days of the petition and lets military judges punish violations by contempt under Code Section 38-2-1048.
• Section 3 specifies these orders expire when the respondent leaves the militia, except during active federal military service, and allows appeals like domestic relations cases (O.C.G.A. § 5-6-35).
• Section 4 revises contempt rules under Code Section 38-2-1048, setting penalties of up to 30 days confinement or a $1,000 fine, or both, for militia members, and allowing court-martial in addition to contempt punishment.
• Section 5 adds disobeying a Section 38-2-1006.1 protective order as a punishable offense under Code Section 38-2-1092, enforced through court-martial.
• Section 6 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-05-12Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-12Act 130
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-08House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-21Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Reynaldo Martinez (R, HD-111)Primary sponsor
• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• David Clark (R, HD-100)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   168 yea, 0 nay (8 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #158

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #393

• domestic violence protections
• military justice
• protective orders
• stalking law
• state militia