HB 161: Georgia Bureau of Investigation; authority to issue subpoenas of electronic communication records for purposes of investigating certain cyber enabled threats to life and property; provide

Currently, the GBI can subpoena electronic communication providers (like phone or internet companies) for subscriber records only in investigations involving certain child exploitation crimes or gang activity. This bill broadens that subpoena power to cover investigations of several other crimes, including terroristic threats, criminal damage to critical infrastructure, and the new domestic terrorism offense. It also makes it easier to punish someone for refusing to comply with such a subpoena by explicitly authorizing courts to treat noncompliance as contempt of court, and it bars companies from telling a subscriber that a subpoena has been issued while an investigation is pending. Separately, the bill restructures Georgia's domestic terrorism law. Instead of defining 'domestic terrorism' in one code section (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-220) and setting penalties in another (§ 16-11-221), the bill moves the actual definition of the crime into § 16-11-221 itself, adds a definition of 'assassination,' and makes conforming updates to related statutes on sanctuary policies and the Board of Homeland Security so they reference the new crime section.

• Expands the list of crimes for which the GBI director or deputy director can subpoena electronic communication or remote computing service records to include terroristic threats, damage to critical infrastructure, and other specified offenses.
• Allows a court to treat a person's refusal to obey a GBI subpoena for these records as contempt of court, creating a clearer enforcement mechanism.
• Bars phone and internet service providers from notifying a subscriber that GBI issued a subpoena for their records while a criminal investigation is pending.
• Removes the definition of 'domestic terrorism' from O.C.G.A. § 16-11-220 and instead defines the crime directly within the penalty section, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-221.
• Adds a new definition of 'assassination' to Georgia's domestic terrorism statute, meaning the intentional killing of an elected official to prevent or retaliate for official duties.
• Updates references to domestic terrorism in Georgia's sanctuary policy laws, racketeering law, and Board of Homeland Security definitions so they point to the new crime section instead of the old definition section.

This bill affects the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its investigators, phone and internet service providers who must respond to subpoenas, people under criminal investigation whose communication records could be subpoenaed, local governments enforcing sanctuary policy laws, and anyone charged under Georgia's domestic terrorism or racketeering statutes.

Investigators would be able to obtain phone and internet subscriber records more quickly in a wider range of cases, including threats to infrastructure, without tipping off the subject during an active investigation. The domestic terrorism law becomes a clearer, standalone criminal offense rather than a definition paired with a separate penalty section, which could affect how prosecutors bring and courts interpret such charges.

• Section 1-1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 35-3-4.1 to expand GBI subpoena authority to investigations of Code Sections 16-9-93, 16-10-28, 16-11-37, 16-11-39.1, and 16-11-221, in addition to the existing child exploitation and gang-related offenses.
• Section 1-1 adds that failure to obey a subpoena issued under this section may be punished as contempt of court.
• Section 1-1 adds a new rule that the issuance of a subpoena cannot be made public during a pending investigation or prosecution beyond what is necessary to issue and comply with it.
• Section 2-1 removes the definition of 'domestic terrorism' from O.C.G.A. § 16-11-220 and adds a definition of 'assassination' as the intentional killing of an elected public official tied to their official duties or position.
• Section 2-2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 16-11-221 to define the crime of domestic terrorism directly, using language largely identical to the former definition, and keeps the existing tiered penalties based on death, kidnapping, serious bodily harm, or infrastructure damage.
• Sections 2-3 through 2-6 update references to domestic terrorism in the racketeering law, the state sanctuary policy law (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-10), the local sanctuary policy law (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-23), and the Board of Homeland Security definitions (O.C.G.A. § 38-3-40) to point to the new § 16-11-221 crime definition.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-08Act 68
3. 2025-05-08House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-25House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-03-20Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-03-20Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2025-03-18Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)Primary sponsor
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
• Kimberly New (R, HD-40)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
• John Albers (R, SD-56)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   158 yea, 8 nay (7 not voting, 7 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #217

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 20, 2025

   48 yea, 4 nay (1 not voting, 3 excused)

   PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #258

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2025

   150 yea, 18 nay (6 not voting, 6 excused)

   Agree to Senate Substitute: House Vote #308

• domestic terrorism law
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation
• electronic records subpoenas
• criminal law
• homeland security