---
title: HB 319. Crimes and offenses; illegal aliens; penalties for state and local officials and employees for noncompliance; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb319
cite_as: HB 319, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb319
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb319.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb319/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70030
date: 2025-02-11
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb319.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 319
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-06
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- David Clark
- Houston Gaines
- Steven Sainz
- Rick Jasperse
- Jesse Petrea
- Clint Crowe
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB319/2025
upstream_id: 1961038
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- immigration enforcement
- illegal aliens
- public official penalties
- criminal law
- state and local government
---
# HB 319. Crimes and offenses; illegal aliens; penalties for state and local officials and employees for noncompliance; provide
## Text
House Bill 319
By: Representatives Clark of the 100th, Gaines of the 120th, Sainz of the 180th, Jasperse of the
11th, Petrea of the 166th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 5 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia, relating to
offenses involving illegal aliens, so as to provide for penalties for state and local officials and
employees for noncompliance; 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 5 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia, relating to offenses
involving illegal aliens, is amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 16-11-201,
relating to definitions, offense of concealing, harboring, or shielding an illegal alien,
penalties, and exceptions, as follows:
"(d) It shall be unlawful for any state or local official or employee to knowingly and
willfully violate any state law related to deterring the concealing, harboring, or shielding
of an illegal alien guilty of a criminal offense in violation of this Code section. In addition
to the penalties provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, any state or local official
or employee found to have violated this Code section shall be subject to prosecution by the
Attorney General, and may be subject to removal and replacement by the Governor. This
Code section shall not apply to a government employee or any person acting at the express
direction of a government employee who conceals, harbors, or shelters an illegal alien
when such illegal alien is or has been the victim of a criminal offense or is a witness in any
civil or criminal proceeding or who holds an illegal alien in a jail, prison, or other detention
facility."
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 make it a crime for state and local officials or employees to knowingly violate laws against harboring illegal aliens, and would remove a current exception protecting employees who help crime victims or witnesses.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already makes it a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield someone in the country illegally who has committed a crime (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-201). That law currently exempts government employees who shelter an illegal alien if that person is a crime victim, a witness in a legal case, or is being held in a jail or detention facility.
This bill deletes that exemption entirely. In its place, it adds a new rule making it illegal for any state or local official or employee to knowingly and willfully violate state laws meant to stop the harboring of illegal aliens. Officials found to violate this could be prosecuted by the Attorney General and could be removed from office and replaced by the Governor, in addition to whatever criminal penalties already apply under the existing law.
### What it does
- Removes the current legal exception that protects government employees who shelter illegal aliens who are crime victims, witnesses, or held in detention facilities.
- Creates a new offense making it illegal for a state or local official or employee to knowingly and willfully violate state laws against harboring illegal aliens.
- Gives the Attorney General authority to prosecute state or local officials or employees for this new offense.
- Allows the Governor to remove and replace any state or local official or employee found to have violated the law.
- Adds these new penalties on top of the existing criminal penalties already in the harboring law.
### Who it affects
State and local government officials and employees across Georgia, including those who work with immigrants, crime victims, or witnesses, are affected. The change also touches immigrants who are crime victims or witnesses, since the protection that shielded officials who assisted them is being removed.
### Why it matters
Government employees who currently help an illegal alien who is a crime victim, a witness, or in custody would lose the legal protection they now have under this specific exception. Officials who fail to enforce anti-harboring laws could face prosecution by the Attorney General or removal from office by the Governor.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (d) of O.C.G.A. § 16-11-201, which currently exempts government employees from the harboring offense when helping victims, witnesses, or detainees.
- The revision deletes that exemption and replaces it with a new rule making it illegal for officials or employees to knowingly and willfully violate state anti-harboring laws.
- Violators are subject to prosecution by the Attorney General and possible removal and replacement by the Governor, in addition to existing penalties under subsection (c).
- Section 2 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-06)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-11)
- Sponsors: David Clark, Houston Gaines, Steven Sainz, Rick Jasperse, Jesse Petrea, Clint Crowe
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70030
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb319.md?full=1