---
title: HB 1265. Traffic offenses; fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing vehicle or law enforcement officer performing duties; provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1265
cite_as: HB 1265, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1265
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1265.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1265/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73058
date: 2026-02-19
status: introduced
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1264.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1266.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1265.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1265
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-10
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
  - Lauren McDonald
  - Tyler Smith
  - Clint Crowe
  - Bill Hitchens
  - Trey Kelley
  - Alan Powell
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1265/2025
upstream_id: 2113640
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - traffic offenses
  - fleeing police
  - Georgia State Patrol
  - criminal penalties
  - law enforcement
---

# HB 1265. Traffic offenses; fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing vehicle or law enforcement officer performing duties; provisions

## Text

House Bill 1265
By: Representatives McDonald III of the 26th, Smith of the 18th, Crowe of the 118th, Hitchens
of the 161st, Kelley of the 16th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to serious traffic offenses, so as to create an offense for fleeing or attempting to elude
a pursuing vehicle or law enforcement officer performing duties on behalf of the Capitol
Police Division, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or Uniform Division of the
Department of Public Safety; to provide for penalties based on the distance a person fled or
otherwise attempted to elude a pursuing vehicle or law enforcement officer performing duties
on behalf of the Department of Public Safety; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
serious traffic offenses, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"40-6-395.1.
(a) 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,
</ins>
<ins>Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or Uniform Division of the Department of
Public Safety when given a visual or an audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop. The
signal given by such officer may be by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren. The officer
giving such signal shall be in uniform prominently displaying his or her badge of office,
and his or her vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be an official vehicle of
the Department of Public Safety, including, but not limited to, vehicles specifically marked
as Capitol Police Division, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, and Georgia State
Patrol.
(b) The trier of fact shall determine beyond a reasonable doubt the distance the person
actually traveled while fleeing or otherwise attempting to elude a pursuing Department of
Public Safety vehicle or officer after such officer notified the Department of Public Safety
dispatcher that such person was fleeing or otherwise eluding the officer. The determination
of the distance traveled shall not be an essential element of such offense. If the distance
traveled cannot be determined, such distance shall be presumed to be zero miles.
(c)(1) Any person convicted of violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code
section, upon a first conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a high and aggravated
misdemeanor and, upon a second or subsequent conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a
felony and shall be punished as follows:
(A) Upon the first conviction, a fine not subject to suspension, stay, or probation of not
less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00 and confinement for 30 days for each mile
the person actually traveled while fleeing or otherwise attempting to elude a pursuing
Department of Public Safety vehicle or officer but in no case for a period of less than
30 days or more than 12 months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 30
days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated;
(B) Upon the second conviction within a ten-year period of time, as measured from the
date of previous arrest for which a conviction was obtained to the date of the current
arrest for which a conviction is obtained, a fine not subject to suspension, stay, or
</ins>
<ins>probation of not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $7,500.00 and imprisonment for the
greater of 30 days for each mile the person actually traveled while fleeing or otherwise
attempting to elude a pursuing Department of Public Safety vehicle or officer or 90
days but in no case for a period of more than 2 years; and
(C) Upon the third or subsequent conviction within a ten-year period of time, as
measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the
date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, a fine not subject to
suspension, stay, or probation of not less than $5,000.00 nor more than $10,000.00 and
imprisonment for the greater of 30 days for each mile the person actually traveled while
fleeing or otherwise attempting to elude a pursuing Department of Public Safety vehicle
or officer or two years but in no case for a period of more than ten years.
(2) For the purpose of imposing a sentence under this subsection, a plea of nolo
contendere shall constitute a conviction.
(3) Upon a finding by the sentencing judge that payment of the fine required under
subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) of this subsection would impose an
economic hardship on the defendant, such judge may order the defendant to pay such fine
in installments which may be enforced through a contempt proceeding or a revocation of
any probation otherwise authorized by this subsection.
(4) Notwithstanding the limits set forth in any municipal charter, any municipal court of
any municipality shall be authorized to impose the punishments provided for in
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of this subsection upon a conviction of violating such
subparagraph or upon conviction of violating any ordinance adopting the provisions of
such subparagraph.
(d) Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section who, while
fleeing or otherwise attempting to elude a pursuing Department of Public Safety vehicle
or officer:
</ins>
<ins>(1) Operates his or her vehicle in excess of 20 miles an hour above the posted speed
limit;
(2) Strikes or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian;
(3) Is the proximate cause of an accident;
(4) Flees in traffic conditions which place the general public at risk of receiving serious
injuries;
(5) Commits a violation of:
(A) Code Section 40-6-144;
(B) Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-163;
(C) Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-251;
(D) Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-390;
(E) Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-390.1; or
(F) Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391; or
(6) Leaves this state
shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000.00 nor more
than $10,000.00 and imprisonment for the greater of 30 days for each mile the person
actually traveled while fleeing or otherwise attempting to elude a pursuing Department of
Public Safety vehicle or officer or one year but in no case for a period of more than ten
years.
(e) Following adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence for a violation of
subparagraph (c)(1)(B) or (c)(1)(C) or subsection (d) of this Code section, 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."
</ins> 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.

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.

### Plain-language summary

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 it 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.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-02-10)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-19)
- Sponsors: Lauren McDonald, Tyler Smith, Clint Crowe, Bill Hitchens, Trey Kelley, Alan Powell
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73058

> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1265.md?full=1