HB 267: Riley Gaines Act; enact

This bill rewrites parts of Georgia's motor vehicle law dealing with driver safety programs and DUI cases. It raises the fee that approved driver improvement clinics can charge for a defensive driving course from $95 to $125, and combines the separate assessment and intervention fees for DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs (the classes offenders take after a DUI) into a single $395 fee. It also allows those DUI programs to be taught through remote participation platforms as long as an in-person instruction provider is involved, not just in a classroom. The bill also adds a new requirement for homicide by vehicle cases. If someone 18 or older is convicted of killing another person while driving under the influence, and the victim was the parent or guardian of a minor child, the court must order restitution paid to that child until age 18 or high school graduation. The bill lists factors, like the child's financial needs and living standard, that courts must weigh in setting the amount. The changes would take effect July 1, 2026, for offenses committed on or after that date.

• Raises the fee approved driver improvement clinics can charge for a defensive driving course from $95 to $125.
• Combines the separate $100 assessment fee and $235 intervention fee for DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs into one $395 fee.
• Allows DUI risk reduction program instruction to be delivered remotely through platforms that use in-person instruction providers, not only in a physical classroom.
• Requires courts to order restitution for minor children when a person is convicted of killing the child's parent or guardian through DUI-related vehicular homicide.
• Lists specific factors, such as the child's financial needs and standard of living, that judges must consider when setting the restitution amount.
• Sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.

People required to attend driver improvement clinics or DUI risk reduction programs after a traffic offense, the private and public entities that operate those programs, judges and courts handling vehicular homicide cases, and the surviving minor children of parents killed in DUI-related crashes.

Drivers ordered into these programs would pay more out of pocket, while programs gain flexibility to offer remote classes. Separately, children who lose a parent to a DUI-related vehicular homicide would gain a legal path to court-ordered financial support from the person convicted, on top of any other civil remedies.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-83(a) to raise the defensive driving course fee from $95 to $125 for court-ordered or department-required enrollees.
• Section 1 also amends § 40-5-83(e) to replace the separate $100 assessment and $235 intervention fees for DUI risk reduction programs with a single $395 fee.
• Section 1 permits DUI program instruction via remote participation platforms as long as in-person instruction providers are used.
• Section 2 adds a new subsection (e) to O.C.G.A. § 40-6-393 requiring restitution for minor children when a parent or guardian is killed by a DUI driver convicted under the homicide by vehicle statute.
• Section 2 directs courts to weigh factors like the child's financial resources, living standard, physical and emotional condition, and custody arrangements when setting restitution.
• Section 2 clarifies that this restitution does not block the child or family from pursuing other civil or criminal remedies.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-23Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2026-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-02-27House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
6. 2025-02-27House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-02-06House Second Readers (House)

• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)Primary sponsor
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Will Wade (R, HD-009)
• Ginny Ehrhart (R, HD-036)
• Sandy Donatucci (R, HD-105)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 27, 2025

   102 yea, 54 nay (10 not voting, 14 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #103

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #912

• DUI laws
• vehicular homicide
• driver improvement programs
• court restitution
• traffic safety fees