---
title: HB 1606. Crimes; offense of disruption of a worship service; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1606
cite_as: HB 1606, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1606
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1606.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1606/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74517
date: 2026-04-02
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/hb1605.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1607.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1606.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1606
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - David Clark
  - Houston Gaines
  - Tim Fleming
  - Mitchell Horner
  - Josh Bonner
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1606/2025
upstream_id: 2139157
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - religious freedom
  - criminal law
  - church security
  - protest rights
  - public safety
---

# HB 1606. Crimes; offense of disruption of a worship service; provide

## Text

House Bill 1606
By: Representatives Clark of the 100th, Gaines of the 120th, Fleming of the 114th, Horner of
the 3rd, and Bonner of the 73rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to offenses against public order, so as to provide for the offense of disruption of a
worship service; to provide for legislative findings, to provide for definitions; to provide for
penalties; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) The right of the people to meet and assemble for religious worship is imperative for
the people of this state;
(2) The Georgia Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and prohibits the
government from burdening that free exercise by state or local law;
(3) The prohibition in the Georgia Constitution against laws burdening the free exercise
of religion naturally contemplates laws protecting the exercise of religion;
(4) The right to engage in a peaceful protest is essential to a free society of people, and
the right unambiguously extends to public forums traditionally open to political speech
and debate, including public streets, sidewalks, and parks; provided, however, that such
right has never been interpreted to authorize the trespass and disruption of private
property used for legitimate, constitutionally protected purposes;
(5) The exercise of the right of an individual to protest at places of worship must be
balanced against the right of another individual to meet and assemble for religious
worship in an unobstructed manner;
(6) Prevention of the willful disruption of religious worship services is a matter of
state-wide concern; and
(7) It is a compelling public interest of this state to protect the ability of its people to
meet and assemble for religious worship without willful disruption.
SECTION 2.
Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
offenses against public order, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"16-11-34.3.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Church' means a bona fide duly constituted religious society or ecclesiastical body
of any sect, order, or denomination, or any congregation thereof. The term includes any
church building, mosque, synagogue, or other religious real property.
(2) 'Disorderly conduct' means the offense as provided for in Code Section 16-11-39.
(3) 'Harassment' means the offense as provided for in Code Section 16-11-39.1.
(4) 'Riot' means the offense as provided for in Code Section 16-11-30.
(5) 'Unlawful protest' means the gathering of three or more individuals with the common
purpose to create an intentional disturbance, interruption, or breach of the peace.
(6) 'Worship service' means the assemblage for religious worship.
(b) An individual commits the crime of disruption of a worship service when, during a
scheduled worship service, the individual intentionally:
</ins>
<ins>(1) Enters into a church to disrupt the worship service;
(2) Enters upon church property contiguous to such church with the intent to obstruct the
ingress or egress to such church or church property;
(3) Engages in an unlawful protest, riot, or disorderly conduct inside the church;
(4) Engages in the harassment of any participant in a worship service; or
(5) Obstructs the ingress or egress to the church or church property contiguous to such
church.
(c) An individual convicted of the offense of disruption of a worship service shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $5,000.00, imprisonment for not less than one nor
more than five years, or both."
</ins> SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026.
SECTION 4.
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 called disruption of a worship service, making it illegal to intentionally interrupt or block access to a church during a scheduled religious service.

### Plain-language summary

Currently Georgia law does not have a specific crime targeting interference with religious services, though related offenses like riot, disorderly conduct, and harassment already exist. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's criminal code (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-34.3) that makes it a specific crime to disrupt a scheduled worship service.

The bill defines terms like church, worship service, and unlawful protest, and lists five specific actions that would count as the crime: entering a church to disrupt a service, blocking entry or exit to church property, rioting or engaging in disorderly conduct inside a church, harassing a worship participant, or obstructing access to the church. A conviction could bring a fine of up to $5,000, one to five years in prison, or both. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Creates a new criminal offense of disruption of a worship service under Georgia law, punishable by up to $5,000 in fines and one to five years in prison, or both.
- Defines a church broadly to include church buildings, mosques, synagogues, and other religious real property.
- Lists five specific intentional acts that qualify as disruption, including entering a church to disrupt a service and blocking entry or exit to church property.
- Incorporates existing definitions of riot, disorderly conduct, and harassment from other Georgia code sections to define what counts as disruptive conduct.
- Sets an effective date of July 1, 2026 for the new offense.

### Who it affects

People attending or protesting near religious services, church congregations and religious organizations, law enforcement who would enforce the new crime, and individuals charged under the new statute who could face fines and prison time.

### Why it matters

Georgians who protest, demonstrate, or otherwise gather near churches during services could face criminal charges and prison time if their conduct is found to obstruct access or disrupt worship, while churches would gain a specific legal tool to address interference with their services.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 states legislative findings that protecting worship services from willful disruption is a matter of statewide concern, framed alongside free exercise and free speech rights.
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 16-11-34.3, defining terms including church, harassment, riot, unlawful protest, and worship service.
- Subsection (b) defines the crime as intentionally entering a church to disrupt a service, blocking ingress or egress, engaging in unlawful protest or disorderly conduct inside the church, harassing a participant, or obstructing access.
- Subsection (c) sets the penalty at a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of one to five years, or both.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-03-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-04-02)
- Sponsors: David Clark, Houston Gaines, Tim Fleming, Mitchell Horner, Josh Bonner
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74517

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1606.md?full=1