---
title: HB 494. Motor vehicles; require mopeds to be covered by a form of minimum financial responsibility for accident damages
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb494
cite_as: HB 494, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb494
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb494.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb494/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70418
date: 2026-03-19
status: engrossed
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 750
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb494.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 494
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-06
last_action: Senate Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Dewey McClain
- Lynn Heffner
- Gabe Okoye
- Kimberly Alexander
- Rhonda Taylor
- Kim Jackson
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB494/2025
upstream_id: 1974259
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- moped insurance
- motor vehicle law
- financial responsibility
- traffic safety
---
# HB 494. Motor vehicles; require mopeds to be covered by a form of minimum financial responsibility for accident damages
## Text
House Bill 494
By: Representatives McClain of the 109th, Heffner of the 130th, Okoye of the 102nd,
Alexander of the 66th, and Taylor of the 92nd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 4 of Article 13 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to mopeds, so as to require mopeds to be covered by a form of minimum
financial responsibility for accident damages; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 4 of Article 13 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to mopeds, is amended by revising Code Section 40-6-351, relating to driver's
license or permit required for certain operators, as follows:
"40-6-351.
(a) No person under 15 years of age shall operate a moped upon the highways in of this
state.
(b) No person shall operate a moped upon the highways in of this state unless he or she has
in his or her possession a valid driver's license, instruction permit, or limited permit issued
to him or her pursuant to Chapter 5 of this title; provided, however, that all classes of
licenses, instruction permits, or limited permits issued pursuant to Chapter 5 of this title
shall be valid for the purposes of operating mopeds upon the highways in of this state.
(c) No person shall operate a moped upon the highways of this state unless such moped
is covered by a form of financial responsibility which provides for the ability to respond
in damages for liability on account of accidents in the amounts specified in
subparagraph (a)(1)(A) of Code Section 33-7-11."
SECTION 2.
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 require moped riders to carry proof of financial responsibility, such as liability insurance, covering the same minimum amounts required for cars.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, mopeds can be operated with a valid driver's license or permit, but riders are not required to carry insurance or any other form of financial responsibility for accidents. This bill would change that by adding a new requirement to the state's moped law (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-351).
The bill reorganizes the existing moped licensing rules into labeled subsections and adds a new subsection requiring every moped operated on Georgia highways to be covered by a form of financial responsibility, such as liability insurance, that can pay for accident damages at the same minimum dollar amounts required for other motor vehicles under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11. The bill also makes small wording changes, replacing 'in this state' with 'of this state' in two places. It repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific effective date beyond the standard process.
### What it does
- Adds a new requirement that mopeds operated on Georgia highways must be covered by a form of financial responsibility, such as liability insurance, for accident damages.
- Ties the required coverage amount to the same minimum liability limits set for other vehicles under Georgia's insurance law (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11).
- Reorganizes the existing moped statute into labeled subsections (a) and (b) without changing the underage and licensing rules already in place.
- Makes minor wording changes, replacing 'in this state' with 'of this state' in the existing licensing language.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with the new moped insurance requirement.
### Who it affects
Moped owners and riders in Georgia, who would need to obtain and maintain liability coverage; insurance companies that sell policies covering mopeds; and law enforcement officers who verify compliance with the state's financial responsibility rules.
### Why it matters
If enacted, moped riders would have to buy insurance or otherwise prove they can pay for accident damages, similar to car owners. This could raise the cost of owning a moped but would give people injured in moped accidents a better chance of being compensated.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 40-6-351 by splitting the existing rules into subsection (a), barring moped operation by anyone under 15, and subsection (b), requiring a valid license or permit.
- Section 1 adds new subsection (c), requiring every moped on Georgia highways to carry a form of financial responsibility covering accident liability at the minimum amounts set in O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(1)(A).
- Section 1 changes 'in this state' to 'of this state' in two places, a wording change with no substantive effect.
- Section 2 repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with the new requirement.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-19)
- Sponsors: Dewey McClain, Lynn Heffner, Gabe Okoye, Kimberly Alexander, Rhonda Taylor, Kim Jackson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70418
> The history, votes, and amendments (750 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb494.md?full=1