--- title: HB 435. Crimes and offenses; sexual exploitation of children; expand limitations to include Division of Family and Children Services collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb435 cite_as: HB 435, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb435 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb435.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb435/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70294 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/hb434.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb436.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 235 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb435.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 435 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-12 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Mandi Ballinger - Beth Camp - Carmen Rice - Angie O'Steen - Karen Mathiak - Kimberly New text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB435/2025 upstream_id: 1968101 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - child exploitation law - DFCS - child welfare - criminal law exemptions --- # HB 435. Crimes and offenses; sexual exploitation of children; expand limitations to include Division of Family and Children Services ## Text 25 LC 48 1410 House Bill 435 By: Representatives Ballinger of the 23rd, Camp of the 135th, Rice of the 139th, O’Steen of the 169th, Mathiak of the 82nd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 16-12-100 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 sexual exploitation of children, reporting violation, civil for feiture, and penalties, so as to2 expand limitations to include the Division of Family and Children Services; to provide for3 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Code Section 16-12-100 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotate d, relating to sexual7 exploitation of children, reporting violation, civil forfeiture , and penalties, is amended by8 revising subsection (d) as follows:9 "(d) The provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section shall not apply to:10 (1) The activities of law enforcement and prosecution agencies in the investigation and11 prosecution of criminal offenses;12 (2) Legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities; or13 (3) Any person who creates or possesses a visual medium depict ing only himself or14 herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct. ; or15 H. B. 435 - 1 - 25 LC 48 1410 (4) Any staff member of the Division of Family and Children Se rvices in the16 performance of his or her official duties."17 SECTION 2.18 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.19 H. B. 435 - 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 Georgia House bill would add Division of Family and Children Services staff to the list of people exempt from the state's child sexual exploitation material law when acting in their official duties. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's sexual exploitation of children law (O.C.G.A. § 16-12-100) makes it illegal to create, distribute, or possess sexually explicit images of minors. The law already exempts certain groups from that ban, including law enforcement and prosecutors investigating crimes, people conducting legitimate medical, scientific, or educational work, and people who create images only of themselves. This bill adds a fourth exemption: staff members of the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), Georgia's child welfare agency, when they are performing their official duties. The change is made in Section 1 by revising subsection (d) of the code section. Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. The bill does not change the underlying criminal offense or its penalties, only who is exempt from the ban described in subsection (b). ### What it does - Adds a new exemption to Georgia's sexual exploitation of children law (O.C.G.A. § 16-12-100) for DFCS staff acting in their official duties. - Leaves the existing exemptions in place for law enforcement, prosecutors, medical and scientific and educational work, and self-created images. - Does not change the criminal penalties or definitions elsewhere in the statute, only the list of who is exempt from subsection (b)'s prohibitions. - Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects Division of Family and Children Services staff who may encounter sexually explicit images of minors while handling child welfare cases, as well as prosecutors and courts applying Georgia's child exploitation law in cases involving DFCS records or evidence. ### Why it matters DFCS caseworkers sometimes handle files or evidence involving child abuse investigations that could otherwise fall under the same law that criminalizes possessing sexual images of children. This exemption clarifies that doing so as part of their official job would not expose them to prosecution. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (d) of O.C.G.A. § 16-12-100 to add a new exemption for 'Any staff member of the Division of Family and Children Services in the performance of his or her official duties.' - The existing exemptions for law enforcement investigations, legitimate medical/scientific/educational activities, and self-created images remain unchanged in the same subsection. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no substantive effect on its own. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-12) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Mandi Ballinger, Beth Camp, Carmen Rice, Angie O'Steen, Karen Mathiak, Kimberly New - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70294 > The history, votes, and amendments (235 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb435.md?full=1