Georgia CommonsSenate · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 29: DNA Sampling, Collection, and Analysis; collection of DNA samples of individuals arrested for the commission of a felony at the time such individuals are booked or otherwise processed by a detention facility; provide
Last action March 27, 2026 · House Withdrawn, Recommitted
Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill, the 'Ashley Spence Act,' that would require police to collect DNA samples from people arrested for serious violent felonies, not just those convicted, at the time of booking.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, DNA samples are generally collected from people after they are convicted of a felony, not simply arrested. This bill would change that for a specific category of crimes: it directs that anyone arrested for a 'serious violent felony' (as defined in O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1, which covers crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery) must have a DNA sample collected by the arresting officer or at the detention facility when they are booked. If someone is arrested without a warrant, the sample cannot be taken until a judge or grand jury finds probable cause. The bill also updates rules for destroying DNA records when charges are dismissed, reduced, or a conviction is reversed, spelling out more situations that trigger expungement. It requires the state to pay for DNA testing costs and to supply prepaid DNA collection kits to law enforcement agencies. The changes would only take effect on July 1, 2028, and only if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funding for the program.
What the bill does
- Requires DNA samples to be collected from anyone arrested for a serious violent felony, not just those convicted, at the time of booking or processing.
- Requires the state, rather than local detention facilities alone, to cover the cost of DNA testing and to furnish postage-prepaid DNA collection kits to law enforcement.
- Expands the list of documents (such as prosecutor statements or expired statute-of-limitations proof) that can trigger removal of a person's DNA profile from the state database.
- Blocks DNA collection from someone if the state already has an un-destroyed DNA sample from that person on file.
- Requires that DNA from a warrantless arrest not be collected until a judge or grand jury makes a probable cause finding.
- Makes the entire Act contingent on the state specifically funding it, with a target effective date of July 1, 2028.
Who it affects
People arrested for serious violent felonies in Georgia, law enforcement officers and detention facility staff who must collect and process DNA samples, the GBI's Division of Forensic Sciences, court clerks and prosecutors who handle expungement paperwork, and the state budget, which must fund the program before it takes effect.
Why it matters
If funded, Georgia would begin collecting DNA from people merely arrested for serious violent crimes, before any conviction, expanding the state's DNA database earlier in the criminal process. The bill also gives people whose charges are dropped or reduced more documented paths to get their DNA profile removed.
Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'Ashley Spence Act.'
- Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 35-3-160 to add arrest for a 'serious violent felony' (defined by cross-reference to O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1) as a new trigger for mandatory DNA collection, and requires the state to pay all testing costs and supply prepaid collection kits.
- Section 3 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 35-3-161 so DNA is collected by the arresting officer or at booking rather than within 30 days of incarceration, and requires a probable cause finding before taking DNA from a warrantless arrest.
- Section 4 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 35-3-165 to broaden the grounds and paperwork for expunging a person's DNA profile, including dismissed charges, expired statutes of limitations, or reduced sentences.
- Section 5 makes the Act effective July 1, 2028, only if the General Assembly appropriates specific funding for it.
- Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“Who has been arrested for the commission of a serious violent felony in this state.”
“However, if the person is arrested without a warrant, then the DNA sample shall not be taken until a probable cause determination has been made by a judge or grand jury.”
“This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2028, only if funds are specifically appropriated for the purposes of this Act”
Discussed in meetings (7)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, January 28, 2026
From 0:44:31 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute to SB 29 requiring DNA collection after arrests for seven serious violent crimes. The sponsor said state-provided kits and prepaid postage would avoid local supply costs, with implementation delayed until July 1, 2028, for funding and staffing. The sponsor estimated supplies at about 50 cents per person plus postage. An accompanying witness said CODIS stores limited identifying markers, unlike consumer genetic databases, and described arrest-based DNA matches that identified perpetrators and cleared an innocent person. Members questioned collection before conviction, privacy, costs, blood-draw language and judicial oversight. A GBI attorney said cheek swabs were intended; legislative counsel offered no firm constitutional opinion. The Southern Center for Human Rights opposed warrantless collection and urged judicial review and automatic record removal. A Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers witness supported those safeguards. Georgia Sheriffs' Association witnesses requested arresting-officer collection, citing training, evidence handling and burdens on jail staff. Members debated that request's practical effects. The committee adopted amendments requiring a judge or grand jury's probable-cause determination before collection after warrantless arrests, clarifying grounds for removing DNA records, and allowing collection by the arresting officer or during detention-facility processing. The amended bill passed by voice vote, with opposition heard.
House Rules Committee, February 2, 2026
From 0:53:24 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented SB 29 as a DNA-collection proposal that would help law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys establish guilt or innocence. The sponsor cited a newspaper report that DNA had helped solve a 24-year-old Lumpkin County murder and said collection involved a simple swab inside the cheek. No questions or calendar action followed.
House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026
From 1:19:32 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 29 as requiring DNA sampling after arrests for specified serious felonies. The sponsor said it would help solve crimes and establish innocence. No questions or scheduling decision followed.
House Rules Committee, March 16, 2026
From 0:37:20 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said SB 29 would require DNA swabs from people arrested for offenses in a category the presenter described as seven serious crimes, with samples going to the national CODIS database. The presenter said DNA could establish innocence or guilt and cited an Athens cold case solved through DNA. The presenter said the state would furnish kits costing $1.44 each, with postage paid, and noted that the proposal had undergone House public-safety review and changes. No questions or calendar action followed.
House Rules Committee, March 27, 2026
From 1:10:18 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed SB 29 on the legislative day 38 floor calendar under modified structure without stated opposition. No discussion of its contents occurred.
House floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38, part 1)
From 1:47:31 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Withdrawn, Recommitted)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The majority leader initially included SB 29 in a motion to return three bills to the Rules Committee. That motion and the accompanying caption readings were withdrawn. The majority leader then made a separate motion to remove this bill from the calendar and return it to Rules. After the clerk read its caption concerning DNA sampling, the House agreed without objection. There was no substantive debate.
Status timeline
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
Show full history (12 actions)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Rick Williams (R, SD-25)
- John Albers (R, SD-56)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
- Mike Hodges (R, SD-3)
- Timothy Bearden (R, SD-30)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
- Max Burns (R, SD-23)
- Marty Harbin (R, SD-16)
- Frank Ginn (R, SD-47)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
- Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 3, 2025
44 yea, 11 nay (0 not voting, 1 excused)
Topics
- DNA collection
- criminal justice
- law enforcement procedures
- violent crime arrests
- state funding