HB384: HB384 Crimes and offenses; uniform oaths to be sworn by all peace officers; provide

Under current Georgia law, the crime of violating a public officer's oath (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1) applies broadly to any oath a public officer swears. This bill narrows that law specifically for peace officers, defined by reference to O.C.G.A. § 35-8-2. It says peace officers can only be prosecuted for violating the specific oaths written into O.C.G.A. §§ 15-16-4 and 45-3-7, and only when the violation involves an underlying felony or a high and aggravated misdemeanor. The bill also rewrites O.C.G.A. § 45-3-7 to create one standard oath text that all peace officers must swear starting July 1, 2025, covering officers generally and sheriffs and their deputies. Agencies may add extra oath language, but the bill declares any such additional wording purely aspirational, meaning it carries no legal weight in civil or criminal cases. All conflicting laws are repealed.

• Creates a single, standardized oath of office text that all Georgia peace officers must swear beginning July 1, 2025.
• Limits prosecution for oath violations by peace officers to only the specific oaths set out in O.C.G.A. §§ 15-16-4 and 45-3-7, rather than any oath language.
• Requires that a violation of oath by any public officer be tied to an underlying felony or a high and aggravated misdemeanor before prosecution can occur.
• Declares that any additional oath language agencies choose to add beyond the standard text is aspirational only and has no legal effect in court.
• Allows peace officers to take their oath before their agency's chief executive or an authorized judicial official.

Peace officers statewide, including sheriffs and their sworn deputies, who must take the new standardized oath after July 1, 2025. Prosecutors and courts are affected because the law narrows when an officer can be criminally charged for violating an oath of office.

The bill changes how easily a peace officer can be prosecuted for breaking their oath, limiting charges to violations tied to serious crimes rather than any perceived breach. It also standardizes the oath language officers swear, reducing legal weight given to any extra promises agencies might add.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1 so peace officers can only be prosecuted for oath violations under the specific oaths in O.C.G.A. §§ 15-16-4 and 45-3-7.
• Section 1 also requires that any oath violation prosecution be based on conduct amounting to a felony or a high and aggravated misdemeanor.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-3-7 to set a standard oath text for all peace officers taking office on or after July 1, 2025.
• Section 2 states that any additional agency-created oath language is 'aspirational only and of no legal effect in any civil or criminal proceeding.'
• Section 2 applies the same rule to sheriffs and deputies, who must take the oath in O.C.G.A. § 15-16-4 with any extra wording treated as aspirational.
• Section 3 repeals all conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
2. 2025-03-21Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2025-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
4. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
6. 2025-03-06House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)

• Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-034)Primary sponsor
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• John Carson (R, HD-046)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)
• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   171 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #242

• law enforcement oaths
• police accountability
• peace officer prosecution
• sheriffs and deputies
• Georgia criminal law