Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 464: Crimes and offenses; immunity for a prospective offender while seeking assistance from law enforcement as a victim of certain offenses; provide
Last action April 4, 2025 · House Withdrawn, Recommitted
A House Judiciary substitute to HB 464 would shield victims of serious violent crimes, like rape or kidnapping, from arrest or prosecution when the only evidence against them came from seeking police help.
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 the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Currently, a crime victim who calls police for help can sometimes end up facing charges themselves if that call turns up evidence of their own wrongdoing, which can discourage victims from seeking assistance. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's justification and excuse laws (O.C.G.A. Title 16, Chapter 3) to address that problem. The bill grants limited immunity to victims of aggravated assault (as long as they are not the 'predominant aggressor'), aggravated battery, female genital mutilation, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery. If such a victim seeks law enforcement help in good faith and evidence for a criminal charge against them comes solely from that request for help, they cannot be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for it. The immunity also covers violations of protective orders and certain probation, parole, or pretrial release conditions tied to drug violations, as long as they stem from seeking that help. The protection does not apply to someone who was an accomplice to the crime they are reporting.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Georgia Code section (16-3-22.2) granting limited immunity from arrest, charge, or prosecution to victims of certain violent crimes who seek police help.
- Covers victims of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, female genital mutilation, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery.
- Excludes immunity if the person seeking help was an accomplice to the crime they are reporting.
- Extends the same protection to violations of protective orders and to drug-related probation, parole, or pretrial release conditions if tied to the request for help.
- Defines 'predominant aggressor' as the person posing the most serious ongoing threat, who is not necessarily the one who started a specific incident.
Who it affects
Victims of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, female genital mutilation, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery who contact police; law enforcement officers responding to these calls; and prosecutors deciding whether to bring charges against people who sought help.
Why it matters
Victims who fear being arrested themselves, for example due to an outstanding warrant or a probation violation, may hesitate to call police after surviving a violent crime. This bill would remove that risk in specific cases, potentially making victims more willing to report crimes and seek help.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Section 16-3-22.2 defining 'predominant aggressor' as the person posing the most serious ongoing threat in an incident.
- Subsection (b) lists the seven specific crimes covered: aggravated assault, aggravated battery, female genital mutilation, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery.
- Subsection (c) bars arrest, charge, or prosecution of a victim if evidence resulted solely from that person seeking law enforcement assistance in good faith.
- Subsection (c) also shields such a person from penalties for violating a protective or restraining order, or from probation, parole, or pretrial release sanctions tied to a drug violation, if related to seeking help.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“Any person who is a victim of a crime as provided for in paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (b) of this Code section who in good faith seeks law enforcement assistance for himself or herself or who is the subject of such a request shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for a criminal violation if the evidence for the arrest, charge, or prosecution of such criminal violation resulted solely from seeking such assistance from law enforcement.”
“the term 'predominant aggressor' means the individual who poses the most serious ongoing threat, and who may not be the initial aggressor in a specific incident.”
Discussed in meetings (1)
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.
House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, March 6, 2026
From 0:12:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 464 would protect victims who seek law enforcement help from arrest for certain other offenses, encouraging people affected by trafficking, addiction and violent crime to report harm. The sponsor requested passage with changes the committee had made the previous year. A witness for the ACLU of Georgia supported limited immunity for victims of certain violent and sexual crimes, saying fear of arrest discourages reporting and medical care. The witness cited college immunity policies as improving reporting and participation in investigations, and said overdose-immunity laws adopted in 48 states were associated with a 15% reduction in overdose deaths without increased drug use. The witness also cited similar victim-immunity laws in Mississippi and Virginia. Members asked no substantive questions. After returning to the bill later in the meeting, the committee rejected the motion to pass. No vote count was announced.
Status timeline
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Eric Bell (D, HD-75)
- Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-81)
- Bryce Berry (D, HD-56)
- Charlice Byrd (R, HD-20)
- Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-42)
Topics
- crime victim protections
- criminal immunity
- domestic violence law
- sexual assault law
- law enforcement policy