HB390: HB390 HALO Act; enact

Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12) lists certain criminal charges that judges must specifically consider before releasing a person from jail without requiring a cash bond, a practice known as unsecured judicial release. This bill adds three new categories of felony charges to that list: obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers, obstructing or hindering firefighters, and obstructing or hindering emergency medical technicians or other EMS professionals. The bill does not create any new crimes. Instead, it amends the existing list in the bail statute so that someone charged with a felony version of these obstruction offenses is treated the same way as people charged with the other serious offenses already named in that Code section when a judge considers releasing them without bond. The bill also gives itself the short title "HALO Act" and repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds felony obstruction of law enforcement officers (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24) to the list of charges judges must weigh under the unsecured judicial release statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12).
• Adds felony obstruction of firefighters (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.1) to that same list.
• Adds felony obstruction of emergency medical technicians or EMS professionals (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.2) to that same list.
• Makes technical edits to the existing subparagraph list, changing punctuation so the new categories fit into the statute.
• Gives the Act the short title "HALO Act."
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with the changes.

People charged with felony obstruction of police officers, firefighters, or EMS personnel; judges who decide whether to grant unsecured judicial release; and law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics whose on-duty interactions could lead to these charges.

By adding these felony obstruction offenses to the bail statute's list, judges would specifically have to account for these charges when deciding whether to release a defendant without requiring cash bail, potentially making it harder to secure unsecured release in these cases.

• Section 1 names the Act the "HALO Act."
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12(a) by striking "or" after subparagraph (DDD) and changing punctuation after subparagraph (EEE) to add new entries.
• New subparagraph (FFF) adds felony obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.
• New subparagraph (GGG) adds felony obstructing or hindering firefighters under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.1.
• New subparagraph (HHH) adds felony obstructing or hindering emergency medical technicians or EMS professionals under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.2.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-12House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)Primary sponsor
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-014)
• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)
• Lehman Franklin (R, HD-160)

• first responders
• criminal bail law
• law enforcement
• public safety
• judicial release