HB 350: Domestic relations; safe places for newborns; revise provisions

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From the bill

Discussed in meetings (11)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

1. House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, January 28, 2026

   From 0:21:15 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 350 would allow communities and participating facilities to install infant safety devices for anonymous newborn surrender without state purchases. The sponsor described alarms, a backup notification system, twice-daily checks and monthly testing intended to protect surrendered infants. Asked who would check the devices, the sponsor said the host facility would be responsible. One supporting witness said Georgia's face-to-face surrender requirement can deter parents in crisis and reported more than 400 devices operating in 25 states, with over 75 surrenders since 2017. A second witness described adopting a child surrendered under existing law. Witnesses for Frontline Policy and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board also supported passage. Members asked about information displayed on devices, the 30-day age limit and consequences for surrendering an older infant. The sponsor said devices would resemble those used elsewhere; a supporting witness said 30 days matches current Georgia law. No definite answer was given about an older infant. A member proposed extending eligibility to one year, then withdrew the amendment after the sponsor and chair raised concerns about timing and scope. The committee approved the bill by voice vote and sent it to Rules.

2. House Rules Committee, February 2, 2026

   From 0:50:38 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 213

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 350 would allow newborn safety devices at locations such as police and fire departments, with alarms to alert staff and inspections twice daily. The sponsor said a newborn placed in a device would travel by ambulance to a medical facility, and the hospital would be required to surrender the child to Human Services for placement within six hours after the medical check. No substantive questions followed. The committee later placed the bill on Tuesday’s floor calendar without objection.

3. House floor session, February 3, 2026 (legislative day 11)

   From 1:09:43 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 214

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 350 would allow infant safety devices at fire stations, police stations, ambulance services and medical facilities so parents could safely surrender newborns. The sponsor described an enclosed, incubator-like device with an alarm, followed by medical evaluation and placement through the Department of Human Services. Addressing rural stations whose crews might be away, the sponsor said alarms must also reach another responder, such as EMS or a 911 center. The sponsor described continuous monitoring, twice-daily checks and monthly testing of both alarms. One member asked whether fathers could also surrender children, and the sponsor said they believed so. Other members supported the proposal as an alternative for families facing crisis, substance abuse or abuse at home. Another member asked whether security cameras could compromise anonymity. The sponsor said the law permits anonymous surrender but did not directly address camera recordings. Asked about prior passage, the sponsor said the proposal had been included in another bill the previous year. The House passed the bill 168 to 0.

4. Senate Health and Human Services Committee, March 18, 2026

   From 0:49:50 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 350 would add ambulance services as infant surrender locations and allow infant safety devices for babies under 30 days old. The sponsor described temperature controls, alarms, twice-daily checks, 911 backup and shutdown during power failures. Frontline Policy Council, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and two individual witnesses supported anonymous surrender options to prevent unsafe abandonment. A witness reported 76 surrenders through devices across 25 states since 2017. Members questioned low usage, maintenance, oversight, fathers’ rights, emergency response and civil immunity for private ambulance providers. A witness said vendor contracts required weekly alarm tests and annual recertification, and installations required a response within five minutes. The sponsor said devices cost about $20,000, without state responsibility. A witness said existing parental notification procedures would remain unchanged and argued face-to-face surrender was confidential, not fully anonymous. One member favored expanding direct handoffs, authorized third-party surrender and the age limit instead. Members requested stronger data on existing surrender options. No amendment was adopted. The committee voted 8 to 4 to table the bill until the following week. The chair promised more statistics and follow-up on handoffs and ambulance providers.

5. Senate Health and Human Services Committee, March 25, 2026

   From 1:01:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee returned the bill to consideration. A grandmother whose newborn grandchild died after abandonment urged approval of safe-haven baby boxes. The witness said similar laws elsewhere had saved more than 75 babies, while acknowledging uncertainty about whether a box would have saved the grandchild. Members adopted six written amendments without objection. Their presenters described provisions barring state spending on boxes and limiting financial responsibility before custody; requiring an exterior security camera; extending protected surrender from 30 to 45 days after birth; adding ambulatory surgery centers and urgent care facilities as surrender locations; allowing handoffs to law enforcement officers and firefighters away from stations; and extending protection from prosecution to someone conveying a baby at the mother's direction. The camera amendment's presenter cited possible criminal or terrorist misuse of unsecured boxes. The sponsor indicated agreement with the changes. Members also adopted, without objection, an amendment naming the existing safe-surrender law after the deceased child, after clarifying that the name would appear in state law rather than only in the bill's title. Members voted by raised hands on recommending passage as amended. The chair did not announce a tally or explicitly state the result.

6. Senate Rules Committee, March 30, 2026

   From 0:31:05 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 350 as allowing infant safety devices to be placed at various locations in Georgia. After lunch, the chair added it to the calendar selections as a measure missed earlier. The committee unanimously approved the calendar containing it.

7. Senate floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, part 2)

   From 5:07:29 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Taken from Table)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate removed HB 350 from the table. The clerk read provisions allowing ambulance services to accept surrendered newborns and authorizing newborn safety devices, with standards, transport requirements and limited liability. The sponsor said the measure expanded safe surrender locations and renamed the existing law in memory of a newborn found dead in a cooler. The sponsor described testimony from the child’s grandmother and said the goal was to prevent similar deaths by giving parents more options. No questions were asked. The Senate adopted the committee substitute without objection and passed it, 49–1.

8. House floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, PM, part 2)

   From 5:20:53 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 350 would allow newborn safety devices, often called baby boxes, at locations including fire stations, police stations, and hospitals. The sponsor described Senate changes renaming the law in memory of a newborn who died after abandonment, adding ambulatory surgery centers and urgent-care facilities as surrender locations, and allowing direct handoffs at public-safety vehicles. The sponsor said the changes also raised the age limit from 30 to 45 days and protected people assisting a surrender from prosecution. The sponsor said cameras would have to face the devices and that state funds could not pay for purchase or operation. Asked what communities unable to afford devices could do, the sponsor cited private fundraising efforts. A member questioned whether cameras could discourage surrender. The sponsor suggested they might not and explained that cameras were intended to detect misuse of the devices. The House agreed to the Senate's replacement version, 164 to 4.

• Read aloud: House floor session, January 29, 2026 (legislative day 9), 1:04:51
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 4, 2026 (legislative day 12), 0:24:24
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38), 0:27:20

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