---
title: HB 627. Courts; juvenile proceedings; use of a deadly weapon; revise a provision
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb627
cite_as: HB 627, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb627
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb627.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb627/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70804
date: 2026-01-12
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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previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb626.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb628.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 638
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb627.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 627
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-06
last_action: Senate Recommitted
sponsors:
  - Holt Persinger
  - Charles Cannon
  - Bill Hitchens
  - Tyler Smith
  - Eddie Lumsden
  - Marcus Wiedower
  - Bo Hatchett
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB627/2025
upstream_id: 1985954
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - juvenile justice
  - deadly weapons
  - firearms law
  - assault definitions
  - juvenile courts
---

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

## Text

House Bill 627 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Persinger of the 119th, Cannon of the 172nd, Hitchens of the 161st, Smith
of the 18th, Lumsden of the 12th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, so as to
revise a provision relating to the use of a deadly weapon; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising
division (12)(A)(iii) of Code Section 15-11-2, relating to definitions regarding the juvenile
code, as follows:
"(iii) Aggravated assault upon an individual or situation described in subsection (d),
(h), or (k) of Code Section 16-5-21 or assault with a deadly weapon or with any
object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, actually
does result in serious bodily injury, <del>provided that such deadly weapon is not a
firearm; and provided, further;</del> <ins>provided, however,</ins> that such injured person is not a
public safety officer as defined in Code Section 16-5-19 and such acts are not
prohibited under subsection (c) of Code Section 16-5-21;"
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.

House Bill 627 would change how Georgia's juvenile court law defines a serious weapons offense, removing a carve-out that had excluded firearms from a specific 'deadly weapon' assault provision used to classify juvenile cases.

### Plain-language summary

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.

### What it does

- 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)).

### Who it affects

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.

### Why it matters

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.

### Key provisions

- 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.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Recommitted (2026-01-12)
- Sponsors: Holt Persinger, Charles Cannon, Bill Hitchens, Tyler Smith, Eddie Lumsden, Marcus Wiedower, Bo Hatchett
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70804

> The history, votes, and amendments (638 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb627.md?full=1