Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 483: Crimes and offenses; protections for inspectors of code enforcement; provide
Last action May 5, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 483 adds code enforcement officials to the list of Georgia public workers who get enhanced criminal penalties when they are assaulted or battered while on duty.
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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law already sets tougher penalties for assaulting or battering certain public workers, such as utility workers, firefighters, and healthcare workers, while they are on the job. This bill adds a new category, code enforcement officials, to that protected list. The bill defines a code enforcement official as someone with at least a high school diploma who has completed Level 1 code enforcement training and works for or under contract with a city, county, or consolidated government inspecting buildings, structures, businesses, or property for legal compliance. It then amends five separate Georgia criminal statutes covering simple assault, aggravated assault, simple battery, battery, and aggravated battery (O.C.G.A. §§ 16-5-19 through 16-5-24) so that crimes committed against these officials while they act within their job duties carry the same enhanced penalties already applied to utility workers. The changes take effect upon the Governor's signature and apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Creates a new legal definition of 'code enforcement official' covering trained inspectors employed by or contracted with a municipality, county, or consolidated government.
- Adds code enforcement officials to the list of protected workers under Georgia's simple assault law, making an on-duty assault a high and aggravated misdemeanor.
- Adds the same protection to Georgia's aggravated assault law, setting a prison term of 3 to 20 years for offenders.
- Extends the same enhanced penalties to simple battery, battery, and aggravated battery committed against code enforcement officials on duty.
- Sets the changes to take effect once signed into law and to apply only to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026.
Who it affects
Municipal, county, and consolidated government code enforcement inspectors who check buildings, structures, businesses, or property for legal compliance; people who assault or batter these officials while they are working; and prosecutors and courts handling such cases under Georgia's assault and battery statutes.
Why it matters
Code enforcement officials, who often inspect properties for safety violations, would gain the same legal protections already given to utility workers, meaning anyone who assaults or batters them on the job would face harsher misdemeanor or felony penalties, including up to 20 years for aggravated offenses, starting July 1, 2026.
Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites the definitions section of Georgia's assault and battery law (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-19) to add 'code enforcement official' as a defined term requiring specific training and government employment or contract status.
- Section 2 amends the simple assault statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-20) to make assaulting a code enforcement official on duty a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
- Section 3 amends the aggravated assault statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21) to set a 3-to-20-year prison sentence for aggravated assault on a code enforcement official.
- Section 4 amends the simple battery statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23) to apply the same high and aggravated misdemeanor penalty to battery of a code enforcement official.
- Section 5 amends the battery statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23.1) similarly for the offense of battery.
- Section 6 amends the aggravated battery statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-24) to set a 3-to-20-year sentence for aggravated battery on a code enforcement official.
- Section 7 sets the effective date as upon the Governor's approval, applying only to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026.
From the bill
“'Code enforcement official' means any person with a high school diploma or equivalent who has completed Level 1 code enforcement training under a professional program and is employed by or under contract with a municipality, city, county, or consolidated government who performs safety inspections of buildings, structures, businesses, or real property to ensure they are operated in accordance with the law.”
“Any person who commits the offense of aggravated assault upon a utility worker or code enforcement official while such worker or official is acting within the course and scope of his or her employment or is performing official duties shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than 20 years.”
Discussed in meetings (6)
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.
Senate Rules Committee, January 27, 2026
From 0:01:07 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate sponsor said the substitute would restore the bill’s original form after changes made late in the previous session. The sponsor explained that it would give code enforcement officials protections against assault and battery comparable to those provided to peace officers and certain local officials. One committee member noted that existing law already protects code enforcement employees from those offenses and asked whether the bill instead adds heightened penalties because of their work and employer. The sponsor confirmed that understanding. The House sponsor also appeared and offered to answer questions. The committee approved the measure unanimously. Later, the chair clarified that the approval was by substitute.
Senate Rules Committee, March 9, 2026
From 0:03:58 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would define code enforcement officials and establish penalties for hindering them while they perform their duties. There were no substantive questions, and no vote was recorded.
Senate Rules Committee, March 10, 2026
From 0:15:28 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair briefly described HB 483 as increasing penalties involving code enforcement inspectors. There was no substantive discussion or questioning. The committee later unanimously approved including the bill on the floor calendar.
Senate floor session, March 12, 2026 (legislative day 31)
From 2:17:41 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 483 would give code enforcement officials the same protections provided to utility workers while performing their jobs. The clerk’s reading described enhanced penalties for assault and battery against covered officials. Asked how the Rules substitute differed from earlier versions, the sponsor said it removed language added near the end of the previous session and restored the original bill, including adding code enforcement officials to provisions protecting utility workers. The Senate adopted the substitute and passed the bill 40 to 7.
House floor session, March 23, 2026 (legislative day 36, PM)
From 1:37:24 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 483 would protect code enforcement personnel while performing their duties. The sponsor explained that the Senate substitute changed the term used for covered personnel from officers to officials, added a high school diploma or equivalent requirement, and moved the effective date from July 2025 to July 2026. No questions were asked. The House agreed to the Senate substitute 140 to 26.
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 380
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
Show full history (22 actions)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (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 Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
- Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
- Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
- Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
- Shea Roberts (D, HD-52)
- Esther Panitch (D, HD-51)
- Max Burns (R, SD-23)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
168 yea, 5 nay (4 not voting, 3 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 12, 2026
40 yea, 7 nay (2 not voting, 6 excused)
- House voteMarch 23, 2026
140 yea, 26 nay (3 not voting, 7 excused)
Topics
- code enforcement
- assault and battery law
- public employee protections
- criminal penalties