HB535: HB535 Penal institutions; credit for time served regarding probation revocation sentencing; provide

This bill makes two separate changes to Georgia law. First, it revises the trafficking in fentanyl statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31), clarifying the four-gram threshold that triggers a trafficking charge and raising several of the sentencing ranges judges may use when they depart from the mandatory minimum, including higher fines and longer maximum prison terms for the largest quantities. It also sets a separate overall sentencing cap of 40 years in prison for fentanyl trafficking, compared to the general 30 year cap that applies to other drug trafficking offenses. Second, the bill rewrites part of Georgia's probation law (O.C.G.A. § 42-8-38) so that when a judge revokes someone's probation and orders them to serve part or all of their original sentence, the person must get full credit for every day they spent in confinement starting from the date of the alleged violation, not just from the date of the revocation hearing. Most of the bill takes effect when the Governor signs it and applies to offenses committed after that date, but the probation credit provision does not take effect until July 1, 2026.

• Raises several mandatory minimum departure sentencing ranges and fines for people convicted of trafficking in fentanyl based on the quantity involved, under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31.
• Sets a separate maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for fentanyl trafficking convictions, higher than the general 30 year cap that applies to other drug trafficking offenses.
• Clarifies the definition of trafficking in fentanyl to cover four grams or more of fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, or related salts and isomers.
• Requires courts to give people whose probation is revoked full credit for every day spent in confinement since the date of the alleged violation, not just since the revocation hearing, under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-38.
• Sets different effective dates: most of the bill applies to offenses committed after the Governor signs it, while the probation credit change takes effect July 1, 2026.

People charged with or convicted of trafficking in fentanyl, defense attorneys and prosecutors handling those cases, judges who impose sentences, and anyone placed on probation whose probation is later revoked and who is ordered to serve time in confinement.

People convicted of larger fentanyl trafficking offenses could face higher fines and longer prison terms, up to a new 40-year cap, while people whose probation is revoked would automatically get credit for time already spent in jail while their violation was being resolved, potentially reducing the time they actually serve.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(b.1) to clarify that trafficking in fentanyl applies to four grams or more of fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, or related salts and isomers.
• Section 1 revises the sentencing departure ranges in subsection (g)(2)(B)(vii)-(x), increasing several maximum prison terms and fine amounts for fentanyl trafficking tiers.
• Section 1 revises subsection (h) to create a separate 40-year maximum sentence for fentanyl trafficking under subsection (b.1), compared with the general 30-year cap in subsection (h)(1) for other trafficking offenses.
• Subsection (i) continues to bar suspending, staying, probating, deferring, or reducing the mandatory minimum sentence for fentanyl trafficking, except through the substantial assistance or plea agreement provisions in subsection (g).
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 42-8-38(c) to require full credit for time served in confinement since the date of the probation violation when a court revokes probation and orders execution of the original sentence.
• Section 3 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature for offenses committed on or after that date, except Section 2 (the probation credit provision), which takes effect July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-05-05
2. 2026-05-05Act 384
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-16Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-16Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-03-10Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)

• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)Primary sponsor
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   178 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #230

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 16, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #723

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

   160 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 10 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #830

• fentanyl trafficking
• drug sentencing
• probation revocation
• criminal justice
• Georgia sentencing law