Georgia CommonsHB 267: Riley Gaines Act; enact
Comm Sub version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action March 31, 2026 · Engrossed
The text as LegiScan holds it, read from the PDF the legislature publishes with its margin line numbers, running heads, and page footers removed. Line breaks are joined into paragraphs here; no word is changed.
Underlined words are what the bill adds to current law and struck-through words are what it removes, as the printed bill shows them.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary offered the following
substitute to HB 267:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, so as to revise the authorized fee for driver improvement clinics; to provide for instruction standards for DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs; to revise the authorized fees relative to such programs; to require restitution for certain convictions of homicide by vehicle in which the offense was caused by the operation of such vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs; to provide for standards for such award amount; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, is amended in Code Section 40-5-83, relating to approval and operation of driver improvement clinics, criteria for defensive driving courses, alcohol and drug courses, and driving under the influence risk reduction programs, by revising subsections (a) and (e) as follows: "(a)(1) The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of driver improvement clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide and operate a defensive driving course. Clinics shall be composed of uniform education and training programs consisting of six hours of instruction designed for the rehabilitation of problem drivers. The commissioner shall establish standards and requirements concerning the contents of defensive driving courses, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, and examinations. Approved clinics shall charge a fee of $95.00 $125.00 for a defensive driving course, except that such clinics may charge different fees of their own choosing if the person is not enrolling in such course pursuant to court order or department requirement. No clinic shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements of such clinic. Clinics may be operated by any individual, partnership, or corporation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect in any way driving programs established for purposes of insurance premium reductions under the provisions of Code Section 33-9-42. (2)(A) No driver improvement clinic shall be permitted to use, adopt, or conduct any business under any name that is like or deceptively similar to any name used by any other driver improvement clinic, Georgia company, or Georgia corporation registered with the Secretary of State. This subparagraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or all of the name of a driver improvement clinic by the owner or the rights thereof to another licensed driver improvement clinic.
(B) This paragraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or all of the name of a clinic by the owner of the rights therein to another licensed driver improvement clinic."
"(e)(1) The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria for the certification of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An applicant shall meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department through its standards and shall provide assessment component services and intervention component services. A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall require that a risk assessment component be conducted prior to administering the intervention component of such program. A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program may include a clinical evaluation component after an individual completes risk assessment and intervention services. Only clinical evaluators licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall be qualified to conduct clinical evaluations. The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing rules and regulations concerning the contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified instructors shall be certified for periods of four years each, which may be renewed, and instruction shall be provided through in-person instruction or remote participation platforms utilizing in-person instruction providers.
(2) Certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge a fee of $100.00 for the assessment component and $235.00 for the intervention component $395.00. An additional fee for required student program materials shall be established by the department in such an amount as is reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such materials.
(3) No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be certified unless such program agrees in writing to submit reports as required in the rules and regulations of the department and to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements of such DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program by the department or its authorized agent.
(4) DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs may be operated by any public, private, or governmental entity; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in any political subdivision in which a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program is operated by a private entity, whether for profit or nonprofit, neither the local county board of health nor any other governmental entity shall fund any new programs in that area. Programs in existence prior to July 1, 1990, which are operated by local county boards of health or any other governmental entities shall be authorized to continue operation. New programs may be started in areas where no private DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs have been made available in the political subdivision.
(5) The Department of Corrections shall be authorized to operate DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs in its facilities where offenders are not authorized to participate in such programs in the community, provided that such programs meet the certification criteria promulgated by the Department of Driver Services. All such programs operated by the Department of Corrections shall be exempt from all fee provisions established in this subsection specifically including the rebate of any fee for the costs of administration.
(6) No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be certified unless such program agrees in writing to pay to the state, for the costs of administration, a fee of $30.00 for each offender assessed, provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed to allow the department to retain any funds required by the Constitution to be paid into the state treasury; and provided, further, that the department shall comply with all provisions of Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45, the 'Budget Act,' except Code Section 45-12-92, prior to expending any such miscellaneous funds."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended in Code Section 40-6-393, relating to homicide by vehicle, by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(e)(1) In addition to the penalties provided for in this Code section, the court shall order any person 18 years of age or older convicted, under subsection (a) or (d) of this Code section, of causing the death of another person through a violation of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391 to make restitution pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 14 of Title 17 when the deceased person was the parent or guardian of a minor child. Such restitution shall be in the form of financial assistance to each minor child of the deceased person until the earlier date of when such child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school. In making a determination of the appropriate amount of financial assistance for a child, the court shall consider:
(A) The financial resources and needs of the child;
(B) The financial resources and needs of the surviving parent or guardian of the child, which may include the state if the child is in the protective custody of the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services;
(C) The standard of living to which the child is accustomed;
(D) The physical and emotional condition of the child and the child's educational needs;
(E) The child's physical and legal custody arrangements; and
(F) The reasonable work related child care expenses of the surviving parent or guardian.
(2) Restitution made pursuant to this subsection shall not preclude any party from obtaining any other civil or criminal remedy available under any other provision of law."
SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and shall apply to offenses committed on or after that date.
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.