HB 535: Penal institutions; credit for time served regarding probation revocation sentencing; provide

Georgia law already sets mandatory minimum prison terms and fines for trafficking fentanyl, but the current statute did not clearly state a weight threshold or a maximum sentence specific to fentanyl. This bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31 to specify that trafficking in fentanyl applies to four grams or more of the drug, and it raises the minimum and maximum prison terms and fines within each departure range a judge can use when reducing a mandatory minimum sentence. It also adds a new rule that fentanyl trafficking convictions can be punished up to 40 years in prison, five years more than the general 30 year cap that applies to other drug trafficking offenses under this Code section. Separately, the bill changes how probation revocation sentencing works. When a judge revokes someone's probation and orders them to serve time, the person must now get full credit against that sentence for every day they spent in jail since the date they committed the violation. The fentanyl provisions take effect when the Governor signs the bill and apply to offenses committed afterward; the probation credit provision takes effect July 1, 2026.

• Sets a four gram minimum quantity threshold for the felony of trafficking in fentanyl under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31).
• Raises the fines and increases some maximum prison terms within the sentencing departure ranges judges may use for fentanyl trafficking convictions.
• Creates a new 40 year maximum sentence specifically for fentanyl trafficking convictions, five years above the general 30 year cap for other trafficking offenses under the same Code section.
• Removes language that let the State Board of Pardons and Paroles reduce mandatory minimum sentences through pardon, parole, or commutation for these drug trafficking convictions.
• Requires courts to give people whose probation is revoked full credit for every day they spent confined since the date of the violation, when calculating their new sentence.

People convicted of fentanyl trafficking in Georgia, defense attorneys and prosecutors handling drug trafficking cases, sentencing judges, the Department of Corrections, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and anyone whose probation is revoked and who faces a new jail or prison sentence.

People convicted of trafficking small amounts of fentanyl could face longer minimum sentences and steeper fines, and some fentanyl traffickers could now be sentenced up to 40 years instead of 30. People who spend time in jail after a probation violation would get that time counted toward their eventual sentence, which could shorten how long they actually serve.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(b.1) to define fentanyl trafficking as involving four grams or more of fentanyl or a fentanyl analog, rather than any amount.
• Section 1 raises the fine and maximum prison term ranges within the mandatory minimum departure schedule for several fentanyl quantity tiers, for example raising the top fine from $500,000 to $750,000 for the largest quantity tier.
• Section 1 adds new subsection (h)(2) capping fentanyl trafficking sentences at 40 years in prison and a $1 million fine, distinct from the general 30 year cap in (h)(1) for other trafficking offenses.
• Section 1 removes a clause in subsection (i) that had referenced pardon, parole, or commutation reducing mandatory minimum sentences under Department of Corrections programs.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 42-8-38(c) to require full credit for time served in confinement since the date of a probation violation, when a court revokes probation and imposes a sentence.
• Section 3 makes the fentanyl provisions effective upon the Governor's signature, applying to offenses committed on or after that date, while the probation credit provision in Section 2 takes effect July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-05-05
2. 2026-05-05Act 384
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-16Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-16Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-03-10Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)

• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)Primary sponsor
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   178 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #230

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 16, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #723

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

   160 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 10 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #830

• fentanyl trafficking
• drug sentencing laws
• probation revocation
• mandatory minimum sentences
• criminal justice