---
title: HB 1436. Georgia Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1436
cite_as: HB 1436, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1436
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1436.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1436/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73555
date: 2026-03-03
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.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 199
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1436.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1436
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-24
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Houston Gaines
- Alan Powell
- Trey Kelley
- Trey Rhodes
- Lauren McDonald
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1436/2025
upstream_id: 2123532
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- cash bail
- criminal justice
- state grants to local governments
- public safety
- bail reform
---
# HB 1436. Georgia Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act; enact
## Text
The House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security offers the following
substitute to HB 1436:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions relative to bonds and recognizances, so as to prohibit the
distribution of funds to local government agencies that substantially limit cash bail conditions
for certain offenses; to provide for a short title; to provide for a definition; 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 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions relative to bonds and recognizances, is amended by adding a new Code
section to read as follows:
"17-6-19.
(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Keep Violent
Criminals Off Our Streets Act.'
(b) As used in this Code section, the term 'covered offense' means a criminal offense that
poses a clear threat to public safety and order and includes all offenses provided in
subsection (a) of Code Section 17-6-12.
(c) The fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2027, and each fiscal year thereafter, no state
agency or office of state government shall award, renew, or extend a grant or funds to any
branch of local government that has in effect any law, policy, or standing order that allows
an unsecured judicial released as defined in Code Section 17-6-12, as a potential condition
of release for an individual charged with a covered offense under the jurisdiction of such
local government."
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 cut off state grants to local governments that allow judges to release people accused of certain serious crimes without requiring cash bail, starting in mid-2027.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-24)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Houston Gaines, Alan Powell, Trey Kelley, Trey Rhodes, Lauren McDonald
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73555
> The history, votes, and amendments (199 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1436.md?full=1