---
title: HB 1061. Mandi Ballinger Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1061
cite_as: HB 1061, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1061
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1061.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1061/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72512
date: 2026-03-25
status: engrossed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 612
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1061.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1061
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-20
last_action: Senate Read Second Time
sponsors:
- Beth Camp
- James Burchett
- Matt Reeves
- Stan Gunter
- Mary Ann Santos
- Mary Oliver
- Chuck Payne
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1061/2025
upstream_id: 2100791
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- juvenile justice
- juvenile age reform
- criminal justice policy
- legislative study committee
---
# HB 1061. Mandi Ballinger Act; enact
## Text
The Senate Committee on Judiciary offered the following
substitute to HB 1061:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Juvenile Code, so as to enact the "Mandi Ballinger Act"; to provide for an organizational
committee; to provide for the powers, composition, and appointment of such committee; to
provide for automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Juvenile
Code, is amended in Article 1, relating to general provisions, by adding a new Code section
to read as follows:
"15-11-42.
(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Mandi Ballinger Act.'
(b) There shall be an organizational committee that shall consist of 15 members as follows:
(1) The chairperson of the House Committee on Judiciary Juvenile;
(2) The chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee;
(3) The commissioner of juvenile justice or his or her designee;
(4) The president of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association or his or her designee;
(5) Two sheriffs, one of whom shall be appointed by the chairperson of the House
Committee on Judiciary Juvenile and the other shall be appointed by the chairperson of
the Senate Judiciary Committee;
(6) The executive director of the Administrative Office of the Courts or his or her
designee;
(7) The executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia
or his or her designee;
(8) The director of the Georgia Public Defender Council or his or her designee;
(9) The executive director of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers or
his or her designee;
(10) The executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council or his or her
designee;
(11) The director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget or his or her designee;
(12) The president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges or his or her designee;
(13) The executive director of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia or his
or her designee; and
(14) The president of the Georgia Council of Court Administrators or his or her designee.
The chairperson of the House Committee on Judiciary Juvenile and the chairperson of the
Senate Judiciary Committee shall serve as cochairpersons of the committee. The
committee shall meet upon the call of the cochairpersons.
(c) The committee may confer with any appropriate subject matter experts, state agencies,
and advisory members to the committees as selected by the cochairpersons, including the
president of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the executive director of the
Georgia Public Safety Training Center, attorneys who regularly practice in the juvenile
courts, and advocates for children and youth, on matters relating to implementing raising
the juvenile age, including equipment, security, and technological aspects in connection to
raising the age of juvenile offenders regarding:
(1) Standards and practices of other jurisdictions;
(2) The most recent standards promulgated by national standard-setting bodies; and
(3) The views of interested persons, government officials, and entities.
(d) The committee shall commence no later than September 15, 2026, and shall stand
abolished on December 31, 2027.
(e) The committee shall provide a detailed written report including all the necessary
operational and statutory changes required to include 17 year-old children in the juvenile
justice system, including cost estimates for capital outlay, operating expenses, and staffing
needs, for each part of the implementation plan. The report shall also include the estimated
time required for such proposed implementation as well as any other data, reports,
statistical information, and other facts and figures necessary for the successful
implementation of such policy. Such report shall be provided to the Governor, the
Lieutenant Governor, and the members of the General Assembly not later than
December 1, 2027.
(f) This Code section shall stand repealed in its entirety on January 1, 2028."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
HB 1061, the Mandi Ballinger Act, would create a 15-member state committee to study raising the juvenile justice age to include 17-year-olds and report its findings by the end of 2027.
### Plain-language summary
Currently 17-year-olds who commit crimes in Georgia are generally handled in the adult criminal system rather than juvenile court. This bill does not change that age itself, but it sets up a temporary organizational committee to study what it would take to move 17-year-olds into the juvenile justice system.
The committee would include lawmakers, judicial officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, sheriffs, and other justice system leaders, cochaired by the House and Senate Judiciary committee chairs. It can consult outside experts and look at how other states handle this issue. The committee must start meeting by September 15, 2026, and must deliver a detailed written report to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and General Assembly by December 1, 2027, covering costs, staffing, timelines, and legal changes needed. The law creating the committee automatically repeals itself on January 1, 2028.
### What it does
- Creates a new Code section (O.C.G.A. ยง 15-11-42) called the 'Mandi Ballinger Act' establishing a 15-member organizational committee.
- Names specific officials to sit on the committee, including legislative committee chairs, the juvenile justice commissioner, sheriffs, prosecutors, public defenders, and court administrators.
- Allows the committee to consult outside experts, police chiefs, training officials, juvenile court attorneys, and child advocates on implementation questions.
- Requires the committee to study the costs, staffing, and operational changes needed to include 17-year-olds in the juvenile justice system.
- Sets a deadline of December 1, 2027 for a written report to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and General Assembly.
- Automatically repeals the committee and this Code section on January 1, 2028.
### Who it affects
The bill directly affects state officials named to serve on the committee: legislative judiciary chairs, the juvenile justice commissioner, sheriffs, prosecutors, public defenders, court administrators, and county commissioner representatives. Indirectly, it affects 17-year-olds who might eventually be moved into the juvenile justice system and the agencies that would handle them.
### Why it matters
If Georgia eventually moves 17-year-olds from adult courts into the juvenile system, it could change how those teens are charged, held, and processed statewide. This bill does not make that change itself, but its report will shape whether and how lawmakers pursue it, including cost and staffing implications for courts and detention facilities.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 15-11-42, naming it the 'Mandi Ballinger Act' and establishing the organizational committee.
- Subsection (b) lists the 15 committee members and designates the House and Senate Judiciary chairs as cochairpersons who call meetings.
- Subsection (c) allows the committee to confer with outside subject matter experts, police chiefs, training officials, and child advocates on raising the juvenile age.
- Subsection (d) requires the committee to begin work no later than September 15, 2026, and sets its abolition date at December 31, 2027.
- Subsection (e) requires a detailed report on operational and statutory changes, cost estimates, staffing needs, and implementation timelines, due December 1, 2027.
- Subsection (f) automatically repeals the entire Code section on January 1, 2028.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-02-20)
- Last action: Senate Read Second Time (2026-03-25)
- Sponsors: Beth Camp, James Burchett, Matt Reeves, Stan Gunter, Mary Ann Santos, Mary Oliver, Chuck Payne
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72512
> The history, votes, and amendments (612 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1061.md?full=1