Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1265: Traffic offenses; fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing vehicle or law enforcement officer performing duties; provisions
Last action February 19, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
A Georgia House bill would create a new crime for fleeing or eluding law enforcement officers from the Department of Public Safety, with fines and jail time that grow based on how many miles a driver ran and how many prior convictions they have.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia already has laws against fleeing police, but this bill adds a new, more specific offense that applies when a driver refuses to stop or tries to elude a pursuing officer working for the Department of Public Safety's Capitol Police Division, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or Uniform Division (which includes the Georgia State Patrol). The officer must be in uniform with a visible badge and driving a marked official vehicle, and must have signaled the driver to stop by hand, voice, light, or siren. Punishment depends on how far the driver traveled while fleeing. A first offense is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature with a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and 30 days in jail per mile fled, capped between 30 days and 12 months. A second offense becomes a felony with steeper fines and longer jail time, and a third or later offense within ten years carries even higher fines and up to ten years in prison. Certain aggravating factors, like speeding 20 mph over the limit, hitting another vehicle, causing an accident, or leaving the state, automatically make the offense a felony with a mandatory sentence that cannot be reduced, suspended, or served concurrently with other charges.
What the bill does
- Creates a new criminal offense, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-395.1, for fleeing or refusing to stop for a marked Department of Public Safety vehicle or uniformed officer after being signaled to stop.
- Sets penalties based on the number of miles a driver actually traveled while fleeing, adding 30 days of jail time for each mile on top of base fines and jail terms.
- Escalates punishment from a high and aggravated misdemeanor on a first offense to a felony on a second offense, and to a more severe felony on a third or later offense within ten years.
- Makes the offense an automatic felony with mandatory, non-reducible sentencing if the driver speeds 20 mph over the limit, causes a collision or accident, endangers the public, commits certain other traffic violations, or leaves Georgia while fleeing.
- Presumes the distance traveled to be zero miles if it cannot be determined, though the distance itself is not a required element of the crime.
- Allows judges to let defendants pay fines in installments if the fine would cause economic hardship, enforceable through contempt or probation revocation.
Who it affects
Drivers who flee or refuse to stop for officers of the Department of Public Safety's Capitol Police Division, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or Uniform Division, including Georgia State Patrol troopers. It also affects prosecutors, judges, and municipal courts that will enforce and sentence under this new offense.
Why it matters
Drivers who flee from these specific state officers would face criminal penalties that scale sharply with distance traveled and prior convictions, including mandatory prison time and unreducible sentences for aggravated cases. This creates a distinct, potentially harsher legal track than existing fleeing-and-eluding laws for this category of officers.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Section 40-6-395.1 making it unlawful to refuse to stop or to flee a marked Department of Public Safety vehicle or uniformed officer after a visual or audible stop signal.
- Subsection (b) directs the trier of fact to determine the distance traveled while fleeing beyond a reasonable doubt, though distance is not an essential element of the offense.
- Subsection (c) sets tiered penalties: first offense fines of $1,000-$5,000 and 30 days per mile fled (30 days to 12 months); second offense within ten years, $2,500-$7,500 and up to 2 years; third or subsequent offense, $5,000-$10,000 and up to 10 years.
- Subsection (d) makes the offense an automatic felony with fines of $5,000-$10,000 and up to 10 years in prison if aggravating factors occur, such as speeding 20 mph over the limit, causing a collision, or leaving the state.
- Subsection (e) bars suspending, probating, deferring, reducing, or merging sentences for the most serious repeat or aggravated violations, and bars serving them concurrently with other offenses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle to willfully fail or refuse to bring his or her vehicle to a stop or to flee or otherwise attempt to elude a pursuing law enforcement vehicle or officer performing official duties on behalf of the Capitol Police Division,”
“If the distance traveled cannot be determined, such distance shall be presumed to be zero miles.”
“the sentence shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld, and the charge shall not be reduced to a lesser offense, merged with any other offense, or served concurrently with any other offense.”
Discussed in meetings (6)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, February 18, 2026
From 0:14:24 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would require 30 days in jail per mile of intentional flight from specified state law enforcement agencies, without probation or plea reductions, plus mandatory felony prison terms for aggravated circumstances. The sponsor argued stronger penalties would deter dangerous pursuits, citing a teacher’s death in Savannah. A Department of Public Safety representative expressed agency support. One member questioned overlap with existing speeding-related fleeing penalties; the sponsor said legal clarification was needed. Another member raised concerns about equal treatment, stacking charges and whether people would know the penalties. A public witness said existing aggravated-fleeing law already carries one to ten years in prison and fines of $5,000 to $10,000, with restrictions on reducing or suspending punishment. The witness warned overlapping laws could allow defendants to seek lesser penalties. Another member questioned whether existing law adequately covered low-speed pursuits without crashes; the witness pointed to reckless-driving and public-risk provisions. Asked when mileage begins in multi-agency pursuits, the sponsor said it starts when a covered state officer reports involvement, without requiring that officer to lead. The agency representative said involvement follows a request for assistance. The chair suggested changing existing law rather than creating a separate offense; no amendment was offered. The committee approved the bill by voice vote with opposition and sent it to Rules.
House Rules Committee, February 23, 2026
From 1:12:43 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1265 would require one month in jail for each mile a person flees state law enforcement, without probation or reduced pleas. The sponsor said the proposal would deter dangerous pursuits and make consequences more consistent across counties, citing a teacher's death during a recent pursuit. One member questioned mandatory punishment for low-speed encounters, the precision of distance measurements and whether criminal-law specialists had reviewed the proposal. Another asked about comparable sentencing laws and crowded jails. The sponsor emphasized deterrence and said jail space would be found. A third member raised concern that drivers seeking a well-lit, safe stopping place could face months in jail and offered to work on protective language. The sponsor agreed to discuss that concern, while saying state officers' training and judgment would distinguish genuine flight from a search for a safe stopping place. No amendment or vote followed.
House Rules Committee, March 6, 2026
From 0:08:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2325
Summary by Georgia Commons: A motion to place HB 1265 on the supplemental calendar received a second. A committee member objected, without giving a reason. The chair called a voice vote, with both ayes and noes heard, and declared that the ayes carried. The bill was added to the calendar; no vote count was stated and no discussion of its contents occurred.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Lauren McDonald III (R, HD-26)
- Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
- Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
- Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
- Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)
- Alan Powell (R, HD-33)
Topics
- traffic offenses
- fleeing police
- Georgia State Patrol
- criminal penalties
- law enforcement