Georgia CommonsHB 421: Interstate Sexual Predator Prevention Act; enact
Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled
House Bill 421 would expand Georgia's child enticement law to cover people who travel from another state to Georgia intending to molest or commit indecent acts against a child under 16.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-6-5), a person commits the crime of enticing a child for indecent purposes by soliciting, enticing, or taking a child under 16 to any place for the purpose of child molestation or indecent acts. This bill adds a new way the crime can be committed: traveling from another state for the purpose of child molestation or indecent acts against a child under 16. The bill accomplishes this by inserting the phrase 'or travels from another state' into the existing statute, so the offense now covers both bringing a child somewhere and someone crossing state lines themselves with that intent. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not list a separate penalty section, meaning the existing penalties for enticing a child for indecent purposes would apply to this new form of the offense.
What the bill does
- Adds 'travels from another state' as a new way to commit the crime of enticing a child for indecent purposes under O.C.G.A. § 16-6-5.
- Applies the offense to a person who crosses into Georgia from another state intending to molest or commit indecent acts against a child under 16.
- Keeps the existing age threshold of under 16 years old for the child involved.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this change.
Who it affects
The change affects people who travel to Georgia from another state intending to molest a child or commit indecent acts, law enforcement and prosecutors who charge this offense, and Georgia courts that apply the enticement statute in these cases.
Why it matters
The change would let Georgia prosecutors charge someone under the child enticement statute simply for traveling into the state with the intent to molest a child, even if the person never physically transported the child anywhere, closing a gap for out-of-state offenders.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 16-6-5 to add 'or travels from another state' to the existing language covering taking a child to any place for indecent purposes.
- Section 1 keeps the existing threshold that the child must be under 16 years old.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws but does not itself set a new penalty, leaving the offense's existing penalty structure in place.
From the bill
“A person commits the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes when he or she solicits, entices, or takes any child under the age of 16 years to any place whatsoever”
“or travels from another state”
Status timeline
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Postponed (House)
Show full history (14 actions)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
- Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
- Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
- Mandi Ballinger (R, HD-023)
- Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
- Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2026
164 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 11 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)
Topics
- child protection
- criminal law
- sex offenses
- interstate travel