---
title: HB 80. Law enforcement agencies; option to destroy or sell certain firearms; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb80
cite_as: HB 80, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb80
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb80.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb80/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69413
date: 2025-01-27
status: introduced
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb80.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 80
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-16
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Anne Westbrook
- Mary Oliver
- Omari Crawford
- Miriam Paris
- Ron Stephens
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB80/2025
upstream_id: 1926113
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- gun laws
- law enforcement
- firearm disposal
- public auctions
- police procedures
---
# HB 80. Law enforcement agencies; option to destroy or sell certain firearms; provide
## Text
House Bill 80
By: Representatives Westbrook of the 163rd, Oliver of the 84th, Crawford of the 89th, Paris
of the 142nd, and Stephens of the 164th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to disposition of property seized, so as to provide law enforcement agencies the
option to destroy or sell certain firearms; to revise procedures for the disposition of certain
firearms in custody of law enforcement agencies; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
disposition of property seized, is amended by revising Code Section 17-5-52, relating to
disposition of weapons used in commission of crime or delinquent act involving possession
and civil forfeiture, as follows:
"17-5-52.
When a final judgment is entered finding a defendant guilty of the commission or
attempted commission of a crime against any person or guilty of the commission of a crime
or delinquent act involving the illegal possession or carrying of a weapon, any device
which was used as a weapon in the commission of the crime or delinquent act shall be
turned over by the person having custody of the weapon or device to the sheriff, chief of
police, or other executive officer of the law enforcement agency that originally confiscated
the weapon or device when the weapon or device is no longer needed for evidentiary
purposes. Within one year after receiving the weapon or device, the sheriff, chief of police,
or other executive officer of the law enforcement agency shall return, or sell, or destroy the
weapon as provided in Code Section 17-5-54, or if the weapon or device is subject to
forfeiture, the procedures set forth in Chapter 16 of Title 9 shall be followed
notwithstanding the time frames set forth in Code Section 9-16-7. A state attorney seeking
forfeiture under this Code section shall commence civil forfeiture proceedings within 60
days of the entry of a final judgment as contemplated by this Code section; the remaining
provisions of Chapter 16 of Title 9 shall be applicable."
SECTION 2.
Said article is further amended by revising subsection (g) of Code Section 17-5-54, relating
to definitions and disposition of personal property in custody of law enforcement agency, as
follows:
"(g)(1) Except as provided for under paragraph (2) of this subsection with With respect
to unclaimed firearms, if the sheriff, chief of police, agency director, or designee of such
official certifies that a firearm is unsafe because of wear, damage, age, or modification
or because any federal or state law prohibits the sale or distribution of such firearm, at the
discretion of such official, it such firearms shall be transferred to the Division of Forensic
Sciences of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a municipal or county law enforcement
forensic laboratory for training or experimental purposes, or be destroyed; provided,
however, that paragraph (2) of this subsection shall not apply to any firearm certified by
the sheriff, chief of police, agency director, or designee of such official to be unsafe
because of wear, damage, age, or modification or because any federal or state law
prohibits the sale or distribution of such firearm.
(2) An Otherwise, an unclaimed firearm:
(A) Possessed by a municipal corporation shall may be destroyed or be disposed of as
provided for in Code Section 36-37-6; provided, however, that municipal corporations
shall not have the right to reject any bids or to cancel any proposed sale of such
firearms, and all sales shall be to persons who are licensed as firearms collectors,
dealers, importers, or manufacturers under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Section 921, et
seq., and who are authorized to receive such firearms under the terms of such license;
or
(B) Possessed by the state or a political subdivision other than a municipal corporation,
shall may be disposed of by sale at public auction to persons who are licensed as
firearms collectors, dealers, importers, or manufacturers under the provisions of 18
U.S.C. Section 921, et seq., and who are authorized to receive such firearms under the
terms of such license. Auctions required by this subparagraph may occur online on a
rolling basis or at live events, but in no event shall such auctions occur less frequently
than once every 12 months during any time in which the political subdivision or state
custodial agency has an inventory of five or more saleable firearms.
(3) If no bids from eligible recipients are received within six months from when bidding
opened on a firearm offered for sale pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the
firearm shall be transferred to the Division of Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation, a municipal or county law enforcement forensic laboratory for training
or experimental purposes, or be destroyed."
SECTION 3.
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 80 would let Georgia sheriffs, police chiefs, and other law enforcement agencies choose to destroy or sell unclaimed and crime-related firearms instead of being required to auction them, removing a rule that auctions happen at least once a year.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, when a firearm used in a crime is no longer needed as evidence, or when a firearm goes unclaimed after being held by police, the law enforcement agency that has it generally must either return it to its owner or sell it, often through a public auction to licensed firearms dealers. This bill changes that by giving agencies the added option to destroy those firearms instead.
The bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 17-5-52 so agencies can return, sell, or destroy weapons used in a crime once they are no longer needed as evidence. It also rewrites O.C.G.A. § 17-5-54(g), which covers unclaimed firearms. Municipal corporations would be allowed, not required, to destroy or dispose of unclaimed firearms, and other government bodies would be allowed, not required, to sell them at auction. The bill also removes a requirement that public auctions of unclaimed firearms happen at least once every 12 months when an agency has five or more sellable guns on hand.
### What it does
- Lets law enforcement agencies destroy weapons used in a crime, in addition to the existing options to return or sell them, once the weapon is no longer needed as evidence.
- Removes the requirement that municipal corporations sell unclaimed firearms, instead making destruction or sale a discretionary choice for the municipality.
- Removes the requirement that state and county agencies sell unclaimed firearms at public auction, making that sale optional rather than mandatory.
- Eliminates the rule requiring firearm auctions at least once every 12 months when an agency holds five or more sellable firearms.
- Keeps the existing rule that if no licensed buyer bids on an auctioned firearm within six months, it goes to a forensic lab or is destroyed.
### Who it affects
Sheriffs, police chiefs, and other law enforcement agency heads across Georgia who handle seized or unclaimed firearms, municipal and county governments that currently must auction unclaimed guns, and licensed firearms dealers, collectors, importers, and manufacturers who buy these weapons at public auctions.
### Why it matters
Georgia agencies currently must generally sell unclaimed firearms rather than destroy them, and must hold regular auctions. This bill gives agencies more flexibility to permanently destroy guns instead of putting them back into circulation through sales, changing how firearms taken by police end up being handled statewide.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 17-5-52 so agencies may return, sell, or destroy a weapon used in a crime once it is no longer needed as evidence, adding destruction as a new option.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 17-5-54(g)(1) to broaden which unclaimed firearms can be transferred to a forensic lab or destroyed, beyond just those certified as unsafe.
- Section 2 changes O.C.G.A. § 17-5-54(g)(2)(A) so municipal corporations 'may' destroy or dispose of unclaimed firearms rather than being required to sell them.
- Section 2 changes O.C.G.A. § 17-5-54(g)(2)(B) so state and county agencies 'may' sell unclaimed firearms at public auction rather than being required to.
- Section 2 removes the requirement that firearm auctions occur no less often than once every 12 months when an agency holds five or more sellable firearms.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-16)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-27)
- Sponsors: Anne Westbrook, Mary Oliver, Omari Crawford, Miriam Paris, Ron Stephens
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69413
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb80.md?full=1