HB 627: Courts; juvenile proceedings; use of a deadly weapon; revise a provision

Georgia's juvenile code (O.C.G.A. Title 15) lists certain serious offenses, called designated felony acts, that trigger stricter handling of juvenile cases. One part of that definition covers assault with a deadly weapon or other object that actually causes serious bodily injury. Under current law, that provision specifically excludes cases where the deadly weapon is a firearm, meaning firearm assaults were treated differently under this particular clause. House Bill 627 removes that firearm exclusion from Code Section 15-11-2. After the change, the provision would apply whether or not the weapon used was a firearm, as long as the victim is not a public safety officer and the case is not already covered by a separate assault statute. The bill does not create new penalties itself; it changes which acts fall under this existing definition used elsewhere in juvenile court proceedings.

• Removes the current exclusion that keeps firearm-related assaults out of one specific 'deadly weapon' definition in the juvenile code (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-2).
• Keeps the requirement that the assault must actually cause serious bodily injury for this provision to apply.
• Preserves the existing exception for cases where the injured person is a public safety officer, which are handled under a different code section.
• Preserves the existing exception for acts already prohibited under a separate assault provision (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21(c)).

Juveniles accused of assault with a weapon, juvenile court judges and prosecutors who apply the designated felony act definition, and public safety officers who are already covered by a separate exception in the same law.

Because designated felony acts in Georgia's juvenile code trigger different, often stricter, court procedures and possible sentencing, expanding this definition to include firearm assaults could change how some juvenile firearm cases are classified and handled by the courts.

• Section 1 revises division (12)(A)(iii) of O.C.G.A. § 15-11-2, the juvenile code's definitions section, by removing the phrase excluding firearms as deadly weapons under this clause.
• The revised text keeps the requirement that the injured person not be a public safety officer as defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-5-19.
• The revised text keeps the requirement that the act not already be prohibited under subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21.
• Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the changes made by the bill.

1. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
2. 2025-03-27Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2025-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
4. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
6. 2025-03-06House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-02-28House Second Readers (House)

• Holt Persinger (R, HD-119)Primary sponsor
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   156 yea, 2 nay (16 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #237

• juvenile justice
• deadly weapons
• firearms law
• assault definitions
• juvenile courts