---
title: HB 636. Crimes and offenses; sexual offenses; revise penalties
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb636
cite_as: HB 636, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb636
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb636.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb636/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70818
date: 2025-02-28
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb636.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 636
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-26
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Mekyah McQueen
- Eric Bell
- Bryce Berry
- Park Cannon
- Inga Willis
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB636/2025
upstream_id: 1986056
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- sexual offenses
- criminal penalties
- child exploitation funding
- Georgia criminal code
---
# HB 636. Crimes and offenses; sexual offenses; revise penalties
## Text
House Bill 636
By: Representatives McQueen of the 61st, Bell of the 75th, Berry of the 56th, Cannon of the
58th, and Willis of the 55th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sexual
offenses, so as to revise penalties for violations of certain offenses; to provide for fines for
such violations and to provide that such collected fines be made available to the Safe Harbor
for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sexual offenses,
is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 16-6-13, relating to penalties for
violating Code Sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12, as follows:
"(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a person
convicted of violating:
(1) Code Section 16-6-10 16-6-9 shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and
aggravated nature, and at the sole discretion of the judge, all but 24 hours of any term of
imprisonment imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated fined $75.00, and such
collected fine shall be made available to the Department of Human Services for the Safe
Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission;
(2) Code Section 16-6-9 16-6-10 shall be punished as for a misdemeanor fined $75.00,
and such collected fine shall be made available to the Department of Human Services for
the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission;
(3) Code Section 16-6-11 for a:
(A) First offense shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated
nature, and at the sole discretion of the judge, all but 72 hours of any term of
imprisonment imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated fined $75.00, and such
collected fine shall be made available to the Department of Human Services for the
Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission; and
(B) Second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by
a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than ten years fined $100.00,
and such collected fine shall be made available to the Department of Human Services
for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission; or
(4) Code Section 16-6-12 for a:
(A) First offense shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated
nature, and at the sole discretion of the judge, all but 72 hours of any term of
imprisonment imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated fined $75.00, and such
collected fine shall be made available to the Department of Human Services for the
Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission; and
(B) Second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by
a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than ten years fined $100.00,
and such collected fine shall be made available to the Department of Human Services
for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission."
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 636 would replace jail time with flat-dollar fines for several sexual offense misdemeanors under Georgia law, and send the money collected to a fund that helps sexually exploited children.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently punishes several offenses defined in Code Sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12 of Georgia's sexual offenses chapter (O.C.G.A. Chapter 6 of Title 16) with jail time as a misdemeanor or, for repeat violations of some offenses, a felony prison term of one to ten years. This bill rewrites the penalty section, O.C.G.A. § 16-6-13, so that instead of a jail sentence a judge would impose a fine, generally $75 for a first offense and $100 for a second or subsequent felony-level offense.
The money collected from these fines would be routed through the Department of Human Services to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission, a state fund that supports services for sexually exploited children. The bill also swaps the order of two cross-referenced code sections in the penalty list. It repeals any conflicting laws but does not include a stated future effective date beyond the standard process.
### What it does
- Replaces jail or prison time with a flat fine for violations of Code Sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12, Georgia's sexual offenses chapter (O.C.G.A. § 16-6-13).
- Sets the fine at $75 for a first offense under most of the affected code sections and $100 for a second or subsequent offense that would otherwise be a felony.
- Directs that all fines collected under this section be sent through the Department of Human Services to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission.
- Removes language allowing judges to suspend, stay, or probate jail terms, since jail time is no longer the penalty structure for these violations.
- Reorders the cross-references to Code Sections 16-6-9 and 16-6-10 within the penalty list.
### Who it affects
People charged or convicted under Georgia's sexual offenses statutes referenced in Code Sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12, judges who impose these sentences, the Department of Human Services, and the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission, which would receive the collected fines.
### Why it matters
People convicted of these specific offenses would face a set dollar fine instead of possible jail or prison time, changing both the punishment they experience and the deterrent effect of the law. The fine money would provide a funding stream for services aimed at sexually exploited children in Georgia.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 16-6-13, changing penalties for violations of Code Sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12 from jail or prison terms to fines of $75 or $100.
- Section 1 requires that all fines collected under this subsection be made available to the Department of Human Services for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission.
- Section 1 removes the prior judicial discretion to suspend, stay, or probate jail terms for these offenses, since jail time is replaced by a fine.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-26)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-28)
- Sponsors: Mekyah McQueen, Eric Bell, Bryce Berry, Park Cannon, Inga Willis
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70818
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb636.md?full=1