HB 1436: Georgia Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act; enact

Georgia law currently lets judges set various conditions for releasing someone charged with a crime while their case is pending, including releasing them without cash bail (called an unsecured judicial release). This bill targets local governments, such as cities or counties, that have laws, policies, or standing court orders allowing that kind of release for people charged with certain serious offenses. The bill adds a new section to Georgia's bail law defining a 'covered offense' as any crime listed under an existing bail statute, O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12, which covers offenses seen as posing a clear threat to public safety. Beginning with the state fiscal year that starts July 1, 2027, no state agency could award, renew, or extend grants or funding to a local government that permits unsecured release for people charged with those covered offenses. The bill does not ban local bail policies outright; it withholds state money from local governments that keep them.

• Creates a new Georgia law, cited as the 'Georgia Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act,' inside the state's bail and bond statutes.
• Defines 'covered offense' as any crime listed in an existing bail law (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12) that is considered a threat to public safety and order.
• Bars state agencies from awarding, renewing, or extending grants or funding to any local government that allows judges to release people charged with covered offenses without cash bail.
• Sets the restriction to begin with the state fiscal year starting July 1, 2027, giving local governments time before funding is at risk.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new funding restriction.

City and county governments and their courts, which could lose state grants or funding if their bail policies allow no-cash release for serious offenses; state agencies that distribute grants; and people charged with covered offenses, whose local jurisdiction's release options could be shaped by this funding pressure.

Local governments that currently let judges release people accused of serious crimes without cash bail would face a financial choice: change that practice or risk losing state grants starting in 2027. This could push more local jurisdictions toward requiring cash bail for a defined list of offenses.

• Section 1 adds new Code Section 17-6-19 to Title 17, Chapter 6 of the Official Code of Georgia, Georgia's bail and bond law.
• Subsection (a) names the law the 'Georgia Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act.'
• Subsection (b) defines 'covered offense' by reference to the list of offenses in O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12(a), an existing statute on serious crimes.
• Subsection (c) prohibits state agencies from awarding, renewing, or extending grants or funds to local governments whose laws or policies allow unsecured judicial release for covered offenses, effective for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2027.
• Section 2 repeals any Georgia laws that conflict with the new provision.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-26House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-25House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Primary sponsor
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)
• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)

• cash bail
• criminal justice
• state grants to local governments
• public safety
• bail reform