---
title: SB 443. Offenses Against Public Order; the punishment for the offense of obstructing highways, streets, sidewalks, or other public passages; increase
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb443
cite_as: SB 443, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb443
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb443.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb443/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72639
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb442.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb444.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1339
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb443.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 443
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- Carden Summers
- John Albers
- Clint Dixon
- Billy Hickman
- Frank Ginn
- Brian Strickland
- Jason T. Dickerson
- Ricky Williams
- Randy Robertson
- Jason Anavitarte
- Lee Anderson
- Timothy Bearden
- Mike Hodges
- Max Burns
- Drew Echols
- Steve Gooch
- Russ Goodman
- Noel Williams
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB443/2025
upstream_id: 2102325
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- public order laws
- protest laws
- road blockage penalties
- criminal misdemeanors
- civil liability
---
# SB 443. Offenses Against Public Order; the punishment for the offense of obstructing highways, streets, sidewalks, or other public passages; increase
## Text
Senate Bill 443
By: Senators Summers of the 13th, Albers of the 56th, Dixon of the 45th, Hickman of the
4th, Ginn of the 47th and others
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to offenses against public order, so as to provide for the offense of obstructing
highways or streets; to provide for punishment; to authorize civil liability for damages; 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 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
offenses against public order, is amended by revising Code Section 16-11-43, relating to
obstructing highways, streets, sidewalks, or other public passages, as follows:
"16-11-43.
A person who, without authority of law, purposely or recklessly obstructs any highway, or
street, sidewalk, or other public passage in such a way as to render it impassable without
unreasonable inconvenience or hazard and fails or refuses to remove the obstruction after
receiving a reasonable official request or the order of a peace officer that he or she do so,
is guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor. In addition to any other fine, penalty, or
restitution which may be imposed by law, such person may be held civilly liable for
damages that results from an offense of this Code section."
A person who, without authority of law, purposely or recklessly obstructs any sidewalk or
other public passage in such a way to render it impassable without unreasonable
inconvenience or hazard and fails or refuses to remove the obstruction after receiving a
reasonable official request or the order of a peace officer that he or she do so is guilty of
a misdemeanor.
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.
A Georgia Senate bill would increase the penalty for blocking a highway or street to a high and aggravated misdemeanor and let victims sue for damages, while keeping sidewalk or other passage obstruction a regular misdemeanor.
### Plain-language summary
Current Georgia law treats obstructing a highway, street, sidewalk, or other public passage as a single misdemeanor offense. This bill rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-43) to split it into two separate offenses. Blocking a highway or street without legal authority, in a way that makes it impassable and causes unreasonable inconvenience or hazard, becomes a high and aggravated misdemeanor if the person refuses to clear it after a police order or reasonable official request. That is a more serious classification than a standard misdemeanor and can carry steeper fines and jail time under Georgia law.
The bill also allows a person harmed by this kind of obstruction to sue the offender in civil court for damages, on top of any criminal fine or penalty. Obstructing a sidewalk or other public passage besides a highway or street remains a regular misdemeanor under a separate provision. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.
### What it does
- Splits the existing obstruction law into two offenses: one for highways and streets, another for sidewalks and other public passages.
- Raises the penalty for obstructing a highway or street to a high and aggravated misdemeanor, a more serious classification than a standard misdemeanor.
- Creates a new civil liability provision letting people harmed by a highway or street obstruction sue the offender for damages.
- Keeps obstruction of a sidewalk or other public passage as a regular misdemeanor, unchanged in severity.
- Requires a reasonable official request or a peace officer's order to remove the obstruction before the offense applies in either case.
### Who it affects
People who block highways or streets, such as protesters or demonstrators who occupy roadways, face the stiffer penalty and possible civil lawsuits. Law enforcement officers who issue removal orders, prosecutors handling these cases, and anyone who obstructs sidewalks or other public passages are also affected.
### Why it matters
Someone who blocks a highway or street and refuses a police order to move could now face a tougher criminal charge and a civil lawsuit for damages, rather than the lighter misdemeanor that previously covered all types of public obstruction, changing the legal risk of road blockages.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-11-43 to make obstructing a highway or street, when done without legal authority and causing impassability, a high and aggravated misdemeanor if the person refuses a removal order.
- Section 1 adds a civil liability provision allowing a person to be sued for damages resulting from a highway or street obstruction, in addition to criminal fines or penalties.
- Section 1 keeps a separate provision making obstruction of a sidewalk or other public passage a standard misdemeanor.
- Section 2 repeals any laws in conflict with the Act.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Carden Summers, John Albers, Clint Dixon, Billy Hickman, Frank Ginn, Brian Strickland, Jason T. Dickerson, Ricky Williams, Randy Robertson, Jason Anavitarte, Lee Anderson, Timothy Bearden, Mike Hodges, Max Burns, Drew Echols, Steve Gooch, Russ Goodman, Noel Williams
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72639
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,339 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb443.md?full=1