--- title: HB 458. Controlled substances; possession of four grams or more of fentanyl; provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb458 cite_as: HB 458, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb458 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb458.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb458/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70336 date: 2025-02-19 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb457.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb459.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb458.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 458 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-13 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Terry Cummings - Clint Crowe - Bill Hitchens - Kimberly New - Yasmin Neal - Mary Oliver text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB458/2025 upstream_id: 1970357 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - fentanyl - drug trafficking laws - criminal sentencing - controlled substances - opioid crisis --- # HB 458. Controlled substances; possession of four grams or more of fentanyl; provisions ## Text House Bill 458 By: Representatives Cummings of the 39th, Crowe of the 118th, Hitchens of the 161st, New of the 40th, and Neal of the 79th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to schedules, offenses, and penalties regarding controlled substances, so as to clarify that the sale, manufacture, delivery, or possession of four grams or more of fentanyl and fentanyl analog structural class is included within the prohibition of trafficking certain drugs; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to schedules, offenses, and penalties regarding controlled substances, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 16-13-31, relating to trafficking in cocaine, illegal drugs, marijuana, or methamphetamine and penalties, as follows: "(b) Except as authorized by this article, any person who sells, manufactures, delivers, brings into this state, or has possession of four grams or more of any morphine, opium, fentanyl or fentanyl analog structural class, or substance identified in subparagraph (RR) or (SS) of paragraph (1) or paragraph (13), (14), or (15) of Code Section 16-13-25, or subparagraph (A), (C.5), (F), (U.1), (V), or (V.2) of paragraph (2) of Code Section 16-13-26 or any salt, isomer, or salt of an isomer thereof, including heroin, as described in Schedules I and II, or four grams or more of any mixture containing any such substance in violation of this article commits the felony offense of trafficking in illegal drugs and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as follows: (1) If the quantity of such substances involved is four grams or more, but less than 14 grams, the person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and shall pay a fine of $50,000.00; (2) If the quantity of such substances involved is 14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams, the person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ten years and shall pay a fine of $100,000.00; and (3) If the quantity of such substances involved is 28 grams or more, the person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 25 years and shall pay a fine of $500,000.00." SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall apply to all offenses committed on or after such date. SECTION 3. 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 explicitly add fentanyl and its chemical analogs to the state's drug trafficking law, exposing people caught with four grams or more to the same mandatory prison sentences as traffickers of morphine and opium. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's trafficking law (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31) already sets mandatory minimum prison terms for people who sell, manufacture, deliver, bring into the state, or possess four grams or more of morphine, opium, heroin, and certain other listed drugs. This bill adds the words 'fentanyl or fentanyl analog structural class' directly into that list, making clear that fentanyl and chemically similar substances trigger the same trafficking charge and penalties as the other listed drugs. The penalties stay tiered by weight: four to under 14 grams brings a mandatory minimum of five years and a $50,000 fine, 14 to under 28 grams brings ten years and a $100,000 fine, and 28 grams or more brings 25 years and a $500,000 fine. The change would take effect July 1, 2025, and would apply only to offenses committed on or after that date. ### What it does - Adds fentanyl and fentanyl analog structural class by name to the list of substances covered by Georgia's drug trafficking law (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31). - Applies the existing tiered mandatory minimum prison sentences and fines to anyone selling, manufacturing, delivering, bringing into Georgia, or possessing four grams or more of fentanyl. - Keeps the same three weight-based penalty tiers already used for morphine, opium, and heroin trafficking, without creating new sentence lengths. - Sets the change to take effect July 1, 2025, and limits it to offenses committed on or after that date. ### Who it affects People arrested for possessing, selling, manufacturing, or transporting four or more grams of fentanyl or its chemical analogs in Georgia, along with prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges handling drug trafficking cases, and the state prison system, which would house anyone convicted under the mandatory minimum sentences. ### Why it matters By naming fentanyl directly in the trafficking statute, prosecutors would no longer need to rely on it fitting under a broader existing drug category, making it clearer that fentanyl cases carry mandatory prison time of five to 25 years and fines up to $500,000 depending on quantity. ### Key provisions - Section 1 rewrites subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31 to insert 'fentanyl or fentanyl analog structural class' into the list of substances covered by the trafficking statute. - Section 1 keeps the existing penalty structure: 5 years and $50,000 for 4 to under 14 grams, 10 years and $100,000 for 14 to under 28 grams, and 25 years and $500,000 for 28 grams or more. - Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, and states the law applies only to offenses committed on or after that date. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause that clears away inconsistent prior statutes. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-13) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-19) - Sponsors: Terry Cummings, Clint Crowe, Bill Hitchens, Kimberly New, Yasmin Neal, Mary Oliver - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70336 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb458.md?full=1