HB 1397: Criminal procedure; implied consent to a drug facilitated sexual assault examination for unconscious victims of alleged sexual assault; provide

Georgia law already gives sexual assault victims the right to a free forensic medical examination through the Georgia Crime Victims Emergency Fund. This bill adds a new category of test, the drug facilitated sexual assault examination, a toxicology screen of blood and urine that checks for drugs that could have affected a victim's ability to consent to sexual activity. The bill also adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 17-5-75) allowing a licensed hospital or health care practitioner to perform a forensic medical exam on a suspected sexual assault victim who appears incapacitated, when a reasonable practitioner believes exigent circumstances justify it, even though the victim cannot give consent in the moment. Any evidence collected must then be tested with a drug facilitated sexual assault exam. The bill also shields the victim from being arrested, charged, or prosecuted for any crime if the only evidence against them came from receiving that exam.

• Creates a legal definition for 'drug facilitated sexual assault examination,' a toxicology test that checks blood and urine for substances that could affect a victim's ability to consent.
• Extends the existing right to a free forensic medical examination to also cover this new drug facilitated sexual assault examination.
• Allows hospitals or licensed health care practitioners to perform a forensic exam on an unconscious or incapacitated suspected sexual assault victim without their consent when exigent circumstances exist.
• Requires that any evidence collected from such an exam be tested using the drug facilitated sexual assault examination.
• Protects a person who receives this exam from arrest, charge, or prosecution if the only evidence supporting the charge came from that exam.

This bill affects victims of sexual assault who are unconscious or incapacitated at the time medical care is needed, licensed hospitals and health care practitioners who perform forensic exams, law enforcement agencies investigating sexual assault cases, and the Georgia Crime Victims Emergency Fund that pays for these exams.

Unconscious victims currently cannot consent to a forensic exam, which can delay evidence collection in time-sensitive sexual assault cases. This bill would let medical staff act quickly to preserve evidence and test for incapacitating drugs, while also giving victims legal protection from prosecution based only on what that exam reveals.

• Section 1 rewrites the definitions in O.C.G.A. § 17-5-70 to add 'drug facilitated sexual assault examination' as a specialized toxicology screen for substances affecting consent.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-5-72 so the existing right to a free forensic medical examination also covers the new drug facilitated sexual assault examination.
• Section 3 creates new Code Section 17-5-75, allowing exams without consent for incapacitated suspected victims when a licensed practitioner reasonably believes exigent circumstances justify it.
• Section 3 also requires that any evidence from such an exam be tested with a drug facilitated sexual assault examination.
• Section 3 bars arrest, charge, or prosecution of the examined person if the only evidence supporting it came solely from receiving the exam.
• Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-24House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-20House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-19House Hopper (House)

• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)Primary sponsor
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)

• sexual assault law
• criminal procedure
• victims' rights
• medical consent
• forensic evidence