Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 535: Penal institutions; credit for time served regarding probation revocation sentencing; provide
Last action May 5, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 535 rewrites Georgia's fentanyl trafficking penalties, setting a four-gram threshold and a 40 year sentencing cap, and requires courts to give probationers credit for time served in jail when their probation is revoked.
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 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.
What the bill does
- 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.
Who it affects
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.
Why it matters
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.
Key provisions
- 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.
From the bill
“Regarding any carceral sentence imposed pursuant to a revocation of probation, a person shall be given full credit for time served for each day served in confinement since the date of the commission of the violation”
“any person who violates any provision of subsection (b.1) of this Code section shall be punished as provided for in the applicable mandatory minimum punishment; provided, however, that any such punishment imposed shall be for not more than 40 years of imprisonment and by a fine not to exceed $1 million”
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 Judiciary Committee, March 9, 2026
From 0:25:15 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 535 would count jail time awaiting a probation revocation hearing toward the resulting incarceration sentence, reversing a court decision that counted it only toward the overall probation term. The sponsor said some people wait a year or more and that the Department of Community Supervision had approved the language, including an exception when a sentence stops running because of reporting problems. Answering a member, the sponsor said credit would cover time after arrest, not time between the violation and arrest. The committee substitute also changed fentanyl trafficking penalties. One member questioned an increase in a listed fine from $25,000 to $75,000. Legislative counsel and the chair described those provisions as restoring language intended last year after a drafting error. Another member questioned whether the earlier change was truly accidental; the sponsor maintained that it was. A Prosecuting Attorneys' Council witness took no official position and emphasized that the jail-credit provision changes current policy. A Georgia Justice Project witness supported that provision as making treatment consistent. The committee unanimously approved the substitute.
Senate Rules Committee, March 10, 2026
From 0:15:43 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate presenter said HB 535 would give people credit for each day spent in jail while a petition to revoke probation is being resolved. No questions, vote or calendar placement were shown.
Senate Rules Committee, March 12, 2026
From 0:28:19 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate presenter said HB 535 would provide credit for time served while someone held for a probation violation waits for the matter to be resolved. A committee member asked whether the credit would apply to an additional charge or only the existing sentence. The presenter said the bill applied only to the sentence being served on probation, although other credit could be addressed through a plea agreement. The committee later unanimously included the bill in the floor calendar.
Senate floor session, March 16, 2026 (legislative day 32)
From 2:11:41 · 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 the substitute for HB 535 strengthened fentanyl penalties and ensured jail-time credit for people awaiting probation-revocation proceedings. The sponsor described penalties beginning at 2½ to 10 years for four grams and rising with quantity. Another member supported the jail-credit provision, saying people could otherwise spend time jailed without credit. An amendment's author argued that counting four grams of a mixture containing only traces of fentanyl as trafficking could punish people with addiction who had no intent to distribute. Members questioned fentanyl's lethality, prosecutors' discretion and how to distinguish users from dealers. Supporters of retaining possession language emphasized overdose deaths and argued that strong penalties were needed. Amendment 1 would remove possession from the trafficking provision. Amendment 2 would replace the mixture language with unadulterated fentanyl. The sponsor then offered Amendment 3, requiring a mixture to contain at least four grams of fentanyl rather than merely weigh four grams. The sponsor said this addressed unintended consequences while retaining possession penalties. The first two amendments were withdrawn, and Amendment 3 was adopted without objection. The Senate passed the amended substitute 53 to 0.
House floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 3)
From 1:46:40 · 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 the original bill addressed calculation of time served following a Court of Appeals decision. The sponsor described Senate additions clarifying that a fentanyl trafficking charge requires four grams of actual fentanyl. The sponsor said that quantity could kill about 2,000 people and cited studies identifying two milligrams as a potentially fatal dose. The sponsor also said the substitute raises the maximum prison sentence and fine available when a prosecutor consents to a sentence below the mandatory minimum for fentanyl distribution, without changing the minimum sentence or fine. There were no questions. The House agreed to the Senate substitute, 160 to 0.
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 384
- 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 (20 actions)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
- Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
- Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
- Stacey Evans (D, HD-57)
- Tanya F. Miller (D, HD-62)
- Bill Cowsert (R, SD-46)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
178 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 16, 2026
53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 excused)
- House voteMarch 31, 2026
160 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 10 excused)
Topics
- fentanyl trafficking
- drug sentencing laws
- probation revocation
- mandatory minimum sentences
- criminal justice