SR216: SR216 Senate Study Committee on Vulnerable Roadway Users; create

Pedestrian and cyclist deaths have risen sharply in Georgia over the past 15 years, and the resolution notes Georgia was ranked the sixth most dangerous state for pedestrians in 2022 federal data. It also points out that striking a pedestrian is often treated as a minor offense unless injuries are classified as serious, that injuries are frequently underreported, and that some traffic violations bureau laws have not been updated in decades. To address these concerns, the resolution creates a five-member Senate study committee appointed by the President of the Senate, with one member serving as chairperson. The committee will study these issues and can recommend legislation. It may hold meetings as needed, members receive standard legislative allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five days unless more are authorized, and funding comes from the Senate's budget. The committee must file a report or meeting minutes before it is abolished on December 1, 2025.

• Creates the Senate Study Committee on Vulnerable Roadway Users, made up of five senators appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Directs the committee to study roadway safety issues affecting pedestrians and cyclists and recommend legislation if appropriate.
• Authorizes the committee to hold meetings and provides legislative allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8 for up to five days of work.
• Funds the committee's work using money already appropriated to the Senate rather than new state funding.
• Sets an abolishment date of December 1, 2025, by which the committee must file a report or meeting minutes.

Members of the Georgia Senate appointed to the new committee, pedestrians and cyclists whose safety and legal treatment as crash victims would be studied, and state agencies whose crash and infrastructure data the committee may review, including the Department of Public Health.

If enacted, the study could lead to future legislation changing penalties for drivers who hit pedestrians or cyclists, updating decades-old traffic violations bureau rules, and shaping infrastructure spending aimed at reducing roadway deaths and injuries in Georgia.

• Paragraph (1) creates the Senate Study Committee on Vulnerable Roadway Users.
• Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at five senators appointed by the President of the Senate, who also names the chairperson.
• Paragraph (3) directs the committee to study roadway safety conditions and recommend action or legislation it deems necessary.
• Paragraph (5) sets member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless additional days are authorized, funded from Senate appropriations.
• Paragraph (6) requires a report or, absent one, committee meeting minutes to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate before abolishment.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.

1. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
2. 2025-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2025-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2025-02-20Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-02-19Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)

1. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Consent Calendar For Senate Study Committees: Senate Vote #380

• pedestrian safety
• cyclist safety
• traffic law
• road safety study
• Georgia Senate committees