---
title: HB 668. Crimes and offenses; change references to assistance and guide dogs to service dogs
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb668
cite_as: HB 668, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb668
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb668.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb668/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70962
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
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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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1825
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb668.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 668
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- Brad Thomas
- Devan Seabaugh
- Dale Washburn
- Derrick McCollum
- Katie Dempsey
- Darlene Taylor
- Kay Kirkpatrick
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB668/2025
upstream_id: 1987874
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- service dogs
- disability rights
- animal cruelty penalties
- public accommodations
- criminal law
---
# HB 668. Crimes and offenses; change references to assistance and guide dogs to service dogs
## Text
House Bill 668 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Thomas of the 21st, Seabaugh of the 34th, Washburn of the 144th,
McCollum of the 30th, Dempsey of the 13th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 16, Chapter 4 of Title 30, and Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, rights of persons with disabilities, and
uniform rules of the road, respectively, so as to change references to assistance and guide
dogs to service dogs; to provide for definitions and conforming changes; to provide for a
criminal penalty for a person who interferes with, causes death, or physical harm to a service
dog; to provide for exceptions; to provide for restitution; to revise provisions relating to the
use and training of service dogs; to provide for a penalty for persons who misrepresent the
need for a service dog; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mara Jade Act."
SECTION 2.
Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, is
amended in Chapter 11, relating to offenses against public order and safety, by revising Code
Section 16-11-107.1, relating to harassment of assistance dog by humans or other dogs and
penalty, as follows:
"16-11-107.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Assistance dog' means a dog that is or has been trained by a licensed or certified
person, organization, or agency to perform physical tasks for a physically challenged
person. Assistance dogs include guide or leader dogs that guide individuals who are
legally blind; hearing dogs that alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to
specific sounds; and service dogs for individuals with disabilities other than blindness or
deafness, which are trained to perform a variety of physical tasks, including, but not
limited to, pulling a wheelchair, lending balance support, picking up dropped objects, or
providing assistance in a medical crisis.
(2) 'Harass' means to engage in any conduct directed toward an assistance a service dog
that is knowingly likely to impede or interfere with the assistance service dog's
performance of its duties or that places the blind, deaf, or physically limited physically
or mentally impaired person being served or assisted by the service dog in danger of
injury.
(3) 'Notice' means an oral or otherwise communicated warning proscribing the behavior
of another person and a request that the person stop the particular behavior.
(2) 'Service dog' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 30-4-1.
(b) Any person who knowingly and intentionally harasses or attempts to harass an
assistance dog, knowing the dog to be an assistance dog, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 90 days
or a fine not to exceed $500.00, or both.
(b)(1) A person commits the offense of interfering with a service dog when he or she
knows or should have known the dog to be a service dog and intentionally:
(A) Frightens, agitates, harasses, or tampers with the dog;
(B) Delays, obstructs, or hinders the dog in the performance of its duty as a service
dog; or
(C) Allows his or her dog to harass a service dog.
(2) Any person convicted of a violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment not to
exceed 12 months, or a fine not to exceed $1,000.00, or both. Any person who is
convicted of a second or subsequent violation of this subsection shall be punished as for
a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
(c)(1) A Any person who has received notice that his or her behavior is interfering with
the use of an assistance dog who continues to harass an assistance dog, knowing the dog
to be an assistance dog, person commits the offense of harming a service dog when he
or she knows or should have known that a dog is a service dog and intentionally:
(A) Causes, or commits an act that is likely to cause, physical harm, pain, or suffering
to a service dog; or
(B) Allows his or her dog to cause physical harm, pain, or suffering to a service dog.
(2) Any person convicted of a violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by imprisonment for not less than 90 days six months nor more than 12 months
or a fine not to exceed $500.00 $5,000.00, or both, provided that any person who is
convicted of a second or subsequent violation of this subsection shall be punished as for
a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
(d)(1) A Any person who knowingly and intentionally allows his or her dog to harass an
assistance dog, knowing the dog to be an assistance dog, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 90 days
or a fine not to exceed $500.00, or both, provided that any person who is convicted of a
second or subsequent violation of this subsection shall be punished as for a misdemeanor
of a high and aggravated nature. person commits the offense of aggravated harming of
a service dog when he or she knows or should have known that a dog is a service dog and
when he or she intentionally commits an act that:
(A) Causes the death of the dog; or
(B) Injures the dog in a manner that materially affects its ability to perform as a service
dog.
(2) Any person convicted of a violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two nor
more than ten years, a fine not to exceed $50,000.00, or both, and the first two years of
such sentence shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld by a sentencing
court; provided, however, that in the court's discretion, the court may depart from such
mandatory minimum sentence when the prosecuting attorney and defendant have agreed
to a sentence that is below such mandatory minimum.
(e) Any person who knowingly and intentionally allows his or her dog to cause death or
physical harm to an assistance dog by rendering a part of the assistance dog's body useless
or by seriously disfiguring the assistance dog, knowing the dog to be an assistance dog,
shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. In addition to any
other penalty provided for under this Code section, the court shall order the defendant to
make restitution pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 14 of Title 17 to the owner of a service
dog for the costs of the veterinary expenses incurred in the treatment of such dog and the
costs of any restorative training necessary to enable the dog to resume its duties.
Notwithstanding Code Section 17-14-2 to the contrary, restitution when a service dog dies
or is no longer able to engage in performance of its duties as a result of a violation of this
Code section shall additionally include the amount of the actual replacement value of the
service dog, which shall include the value of a dog to replace the service dog and all costs
associated with training such dog and its handler or handlers.
(f) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit the killing or euthanasia of a service dog for
humane purposes in a manner consistent with the provisions of Code Section 4-11-5.1.
(g) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit the defense of a person against a service dog
that attacks such person."
SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 12, relating to offenses against public health and
morals, by revising paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Code Section 16-12-120, relating to
certain acts in public transit buses, rapid rail cars, or stations and penalty, as follows:
"(6) Carries or possesses any explosives, acids, other dangerous articles, or live animals,
except for the following:
(A) A guide dog or service dog as described in Code Section 30-4-2, provided that
such guide dog or service dog is accompanied by a physically disabled person, blind
person, person with visual disabilities, deaf physically or mentally impaired person, or
a person who is responsible for training a guide dog or service dog; and
(B) Small pets confined to rigid pet carriers with locks or latches;"
SECTION 4.
Chapter 4 of Title 30 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to rights of persons
with disabilities, is amended by revising Code Section 30-4-1, relating to definitions, as
follows:
"30-4-1.
As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Activities of daily living' means tasks that are essential, routine, and provide for an
individual's basic needs, including, but not limited to, eating, toileting, grooming,
dressing, shaving, walking, transferring, and other functions necessary for independent
living.
(2) 'Housing accommodations' means any real property or portion thereof which is used
or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home,
residence, or sleeping place of one or more human beings but shall not include any
single-family residence the occupants of which rent, lease, or furnish for compensation
not more than one room therein.
(2) 'Physically disabled person' means any person, regardless of age, who is subject to
a physiological defect or deficiency regardless of its cause, nature, or extent that renders
the person unable to move about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other
form of support, or that limits the person's functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend,
sit, rise, or to perform any related function.
(3) 'Owner training' means training of a dog to become a service dog by an owner who
is a physically or mentally impaired person by teaching the dog to perform the specific
tasks that directly assist such owner and directly relate to such owner's specific disability
and to take a specific action when needed to assist the person.
(4) 'Physically or mentally impaired person' means any person, regardless of age, who,
regardless of the cause, nature, or extent, is rendered substantially limited or unable to
perform one or more activities of daily living over an extended period of time as a result
of developmental deficiencies, the aging process, learning disabilities, physical injury or
disease, cognitive impairments, or psychological disabilities.
(5) 'Service dog' means any domestic canine that has been individually trained to do
work or perform tasks that directly assist a physically or mentally impaired person and
directly relate to such person's specific disability and to take a specific action when
needed to assist the person, or if still in training, that is operating under the guidance of
a trainer. Such term shall not include a dog that has not been trained to do a specific job
or task or that solely provides comfort, companionship, or emotional support to a person,
regardless of such person's disability status.
(6) 'Trainer' means a service dog owner with a disability who is involved in the training
process of his or her service dog or an individual who is competent to train service
animals and is involved in such processes."
SECTION 5.
Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 30-4-2, relating to right to equal
public accommodations and right to be accompanied by guide dog or service dog, as follows:
"30-4-2.
(a) Physically or mentally impaired Blind persons, persons with visual disabilities, persons
with physical disabilities, and deaf persons are entitled to full and equal accommodations,
advantages, facilities, and privileges on all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles,
railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats, or any other public conveyances or modes
of transportation and at hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation,
amusement, or resort, and other places to which the general public is invited, subject only
to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.
(b)(1) Every totally or partially blind person shall have the right to be accompanied by
a guide dog, and every physically disabled person and every deaf physically or mentally
impaired person shall have the right to be accompanied by a service dog, especially
trained for the purpose, in any of the places listed in subsection (a) of this Code section
without being required to pay an extra charge for the guide or service dog; provided,
however, that he or she shall be liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities
by such service dog. In addition, if such totally or partially blind person, physically
disabled person, or deaf physically or mentally impaired person is a student at a private
or public school in this state, such person shall have the right to be accompanied by a
guide dog or service dog subject to liability for damage as provided in the preceding
sentence. The guide dog or service dog must be identified as having been trained by a
school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs.
(2) Every person engaged in the training of a guide dog or service dog for the purpose
of accompanying a person as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall have the
same right to be accompanied by such service dog being trained as the totally or partially
blind person, deaf person, or physically disabled physically or mentally impaired person
has under paragraph (1) of this subsection, so long as such trainer is engaged in owner
training or is identified as an agent or employee of a school for seeing eye, hearing,
service, or guide service dogs.
(3) Every person engaged in the raising of a dog for training as a guide dog or service
dog for the purpose of accompanying a person as provided in paragraph (1) of this
subsection and every physically or mentally impaired person who is engaged in owner
training of his or her dog as a service dog shall have the same right to be accompanied
by such dog being raised for training or in owner training as the totally or partially blind
person, deaf person, or physically disabled physically or mentally impaired person has
under paragraph (1) of this subsection, so long as:
(A) The trainer notifies an onsite manager that a service dog in training is being
brought onto the premises;
(B) Each trainer or puppy raiser during the training of a service dog is liable for any
damage done to persons, premises, or facilities by that service dog in training;
(C) Such dog is being held on a leash and is under the control of the person raising
such dog for an accredited school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs at all
times and such control includes that such dog is on a harness, leash, or other tether,
unless either the handler is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash, or
other tether, or the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the
service dog's safe, effective performance of work or tasks, in which case the service dog
must be otherwise under the handler's control through the use of voice control, signals,
or other effective means;
(B) Such person has on his or her person and available for inspection credentials from
the accredited school for which the dog is being raised; and
(D) Such dog is at least six months of age and is reliably housebroken; and
(C)(E) Such dog is wearing a collar, leash, or other appropriate apparel or device that
identifies such dog with the accredited school for which such dog is being raised as
being trained as a service dog.
(c) If a person engaged in the raising and training of a service dog does not uphold the
requirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of this Code section, then business and
public entities shall have the right to ask the person to remove the service dog in training.
In such instance, the staff of the business or public entity shall offer the person with the
disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the dog's presence.
(d) Service dogs in training shall have the same rights and protections under the law as
working service dogs.
(e) Every totally or partially blind person operating a vending stand shall have the right to
be accompanied by a trained guide service dog on the entire premises of his or her vending
operation."
SECTION 6.
Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 30-4-3, relating to right to housing
accommodations, as follows:
"30-4-3.
(a) Physically or mentally impaired Blind persons, visually disabled persons, physically
disabled persons, and deaf persons shall be entitled to rent, lease, or purchase, as other
members of the general public, all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or other
compensation in this state, subject to the conditions and limitations established by law and
applicable alike to all persons.
(b) Every totally or partially blind person, every physically disabled person, and every deaf
physically or mentally impaired person who has a guide dog or service dog or who obtains
a guide dog or service dog and every person engaged in the training of a guide dog or
service dog shall be entitled to full and equal access to all housing accommodations
provided for in this Code section, and he or she shall not be required to pay extra
compensation for such guide dog or service dog. However, he or she shall be liable for any
damage done to the premises by such guide dog or service dog.
(c) Nothing in this Code section shall require any person renting, leasing, or otherwise
providing real property for compensation to modify his or her property in any way or
provide a higher degree of care for a blind, visually disabled, physically disabled, or deaf
physically or mentally impaired person than for a person who is not so disabled physically
or mentally impaired."
SECTION 7.
Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 30-4-4, relating to denial of or
interference with admittance to or enjoyment of facilities or exercise of rights, as follows:
"30-4-4.
(a) Any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of any person, firm, or corporation, who
denies or interferes with admittance to or enjoyment of the facilities enumerated in this
chapter or otherwise interferes with the rights of a totally or partially blind person,
physically disabled person, or deaf physically or mentally impaired person or person
engaged in the training or raising of a guide dog or service dog as provided by this chapter
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $2,000.00, imprisonment confinement
for not more than 30 days, or both.
(b) Any individual who deliberately misrepresents himself or herself as qualified to use
a service dog or train or raise service dogs for the purpose of obtaining accommodations
or securing rights under this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and
aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to
exceed $2,000.00, confinement for not more than 30 days, or both."
SECTION 8.
Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to uniform rules
of the road, is amended by revising Code Section 40-6-94, relating to right of way of blind
pedestrian, as follows:
"40-6-94.
The driver of every vehicle shall yield the right of way to any blind pedestrian who is
carrying a walking cane or stick white in color or white tipped with red or who is
accompanied by a guide dog service dog."
SECTION 9.
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 668, known as the Mara Jade Act, rewrites Georgia law to replace terms like 'guide dog' and 'assistance dog' with 'service dog,' toughens penalties for harming service dogs, and creates a new crime for faking a disability to use one.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently uses inconsistent terms like 'assistance dog,' 'guide dog,' and 'seeing eye dog' across different code sections, with a patchwork of narrow definitions tied to blindness, deafness, or physical disability. House Bill 668, called the Mara Jade Act, standardizes the term 'service dog' across the criminal code, the disability rights chapter, and the rules of the road, and broadens the definition to cover people with physical or mental impairments rather than only blind, deaf, or physically disabled people.
The bill creates tiered criminal offenses for interfering with, harming, or killing a service dog, with penalties ranging from a misdemeanor up to a felony carrying two to ten years in prison for causing a service dog's death or disabling injury. It requires courts to order restitution, including replacement value, for harmed service dogs. It also sets new rules for service dogs in training, including handler control and identification requirements, and creates a new misdemeanor for falsely claiming to need or train a service dog. The bill does not include a stated delayed effective date, so it would take effect under Georgia's standard rules once signed.
### What it does
- Replaces terms like 'assistance dog,' 'guide dog,' and 'seeing eye dog' with 'service dog' throughout Georgia's criminal code, disability rights law, and rules of the road.
- Creates three tiered offenses for interfering with, harming, or aggravated harming of a service dog, with the most severe carrying a two to ten year prison sentence.
- Requires courts to order restitution to a service dog's owner, including veterinary costs, retraining costs, and full replacement value if the dog dies or can no longer work.
- Broadens who qualifies to use a service dog by replacing narrow categories (blind, deaf, physically disabled) with a single 'physically or mentally impaired person' definition.
- Sets new requirements for service dogs in training, including handler control, notice to business managers, and identifying gear.
- Creates a new misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for falsely claiming to need or train a service dog to get accommodations.
### Who it affects
People who use service dogs for physical or mental impairments, service dog trainers and puppy raisers, business and public accommodation owners who host service dogs, landlords and housing providers, public transit operators, and anyone who harasses, harms, or falsely claims to need a service dog.
### Why it matters
Georgians who rely on service dogs would get broader legal recognition covering more disabilities and stronger protection against people who harm or interfere with their dogs, including felony charges and financial restitution. Businesses and trainers would face new rules on identifying and controlling dogs in training, and people who fake a disability to bring a dog into public places could face criminal charges.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'Mara Jade Act.'
- Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 16-11-107.1 to create three offenses: interfering with a service dog (up to 12 months and $1,000 fine), harming a service dog (misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, 6-12 months and up to $5,000 fine), and aggravated harming causing death or disabling injury (felony, 2-10 years and up to $50,000 fine, with the first two years not eligible for suspension or probation absent a plea agreement).
- Section 2 also adds a restitution requirement covering veterinary expenses, retraining costs, and full replacement value if a service dog dies or can no longer perform its duties.
- Section 4 rewrites the definitions in O.C.G.A. § 30-4-1, replacing 'physically disabled person' with 'physically or mentally impaired person' and adding definitions for 'activities of daily living,' 'owner training,' 'service dog,' and 'trainer.'
- Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 30-4-2 to extend service dog access rights to physically or mentally impaired people generally, and adds detailed control, notice, and identification requirements for dogs still in training.
- Section 7 adds a new subsection (b) to O.C.G.A. § 30-4-4 making it a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature to falsely claim to need or train a service dog, punishable by a fine up to $2,000 and up to 30 days confinement.
- Section 8 updates O.C.G.A. § 40-6-94 so drivers must yield to a pedestrian accompanied by a service dog rather than only a 'guide dog.'
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Brad Thomas, Devan Seabaugh, Dale Washburn, Derrick McCollum, Katie Dempsey, Darlene Taylor, Kay Kirkpatrick
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70962
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,825 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb668.md?full=1