--- title: HB 390. HALO Act; enact collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb390 cite_as: HB 390, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb390 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb390.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb390/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70191 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb389.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb391.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 249 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb390.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 390 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-11 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Tim Fleming - Leesa Hagan - Bill Hitchens - Mitchell Scoggins - Lauren McDonald - Lehman Franklin text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB390/2025 upstream_id: 1965809 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - first responders - criminal bail law - law enforcement - public safety - judicial release --- # HB 390. HALO Act; enact ## Text 25 LC 48 1573S The House Committee on Judiciary, Non-Civil offers the following substitute to HB 390: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 17-6-12 of the Official Code of Georgia A nnotated, relating to1 unsecured judicial release, requirement, effect of failure of person charged to appear for trial,2 and consideration of criminal record, so as to provide for the crime of interference with a first3 responder; to revise a definition; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters;4 to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "HALO Act."8 SECTION 2.9 Code Section 17-6-12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to unsecured10 judicial release, requirement, effect of failure of person char ged to appear for trial, and11 consideration of criminal record, is amended by revising subsec tion (a) by striking "or" at12 the end of subparagraph (DDD), by replacing the period with a s emicolon at the end of13 subparagraph (EEE), and by adding new subparagraphs to read as follows:14 H. B. 390 (SUB) - 1 - 25 LC 48 1573S "(FFF) A felony violation of obstructing or hindering law enforc ement officers, as15 described in Code Section 16-10-24;16 (GGG) A felony violation of obstructing or hindering firefighters, as described in Code17 Section 16-10-24.1; or18 (HHH) A felony violation of obstructing or hindering emergency medical technicians19 or emergency medical professionals, as described in Code Section 16-10-24.2."20 SECTION 3.21 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.22 H. B. 390 (SUB) - 2 - ## 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 House Judiciary substitute for HB 390, the "HALO Act," would add felony obstruction charges against police officers, firefighters, and EMS workers to the list of offenses covered by Georgia's unsecured judicial release law. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12) lists certain criminal charges that judges must specifically consider before releasing a person from jail without requiring a cash bond, a practice known as unsecured judicial release. This bill adds three new categories of felony charges to that list: obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers, obstructing or hindering firefighters, and obstructing or hindering emergency medical technicians or other EMS professionals. The bill does not create any new crimes. Instead, it amends the existing list in the bail statute so that someone charged with a felony version of these obstruction offenses is treated the same way as people charged with the other serious offenses already named in that Code section when a judge considers releasing them without bond. The bill also gives itself the short title "HALO Act" and repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Adds felony obstruction of law enforcement officers (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24) to the list of charges judges must weigh under the unsecured judicial release statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12). - Adds felony obstruction of firefighters (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.1) to that same list. - Adds felony obstruction of emergency medical technicians or EMS professionals (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.2) to that same list. - Makes technical edits to the existing subparagraph list, changing punctuation so the new categories fit into the statute. - Gives the Act the short title "HALO Act." - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with the changes. ### Who it affects People charged with felony obstruction of police officers, firefighters, or EMS personnel; judges who decide whether to grant unsecured judicial release; and law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics whose on-duty interactions could lead to these charges. ### Why it matters By adding these felony obstruction offenses to the bail statute's list, judges would specifically have to account for these charges when deciding whether to release a defendant without requiring cash bail, potentially making it harder to secure unsecured release in these cases. ### Key provisions - Section 1 names the Act the "HALO Act." - Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12(a) by striking "or" after subparagraph (DDD) and changing punctuation after subparagraph (EEE) to add new entries. - New subparagraph (FFF) adds felony obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24. - New subparagraph (GGG) adds felony obstructing or hindering firefighters under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.1. - New subparagraph (HHH) adds felony obstructing or hindering emergency medical technicians or EMS professionals under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.2. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-11) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Tim Fleming, Leesa Hagan, Bill Hitchens, Mitchell Scoggins, Lauren McDonald, Lehman Franklin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70191 > The history, votes, and amendments (249 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb390.md?full=1