---
title: SB 565. Peace Officers; the definition of law enforcement unit and peace officer to include members of police forces of nonprofit private colleges and universities; revise
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb565
cite_as: SB 565, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb565
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb565.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb565/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73554
date: 2026-03-19
status: engrossed
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: 571
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb565.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 565
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-04
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Randy Robertson
- Jason Anavitarte
- John Albers
- Brian Strickland
- Bo Hatchett
- Bethany Ballard
text_version: Engrossed
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB565/2025
upstream_id: 2123567
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- peace officer certification
- campus police
- law enforcement definitions
- private colleges
- public safety
---
# SB 565. Peace Officers; the definition of law enforcement unit and peace officer to include members of police forces of nonprofit private colleges and universities; revise
## Text
Senate Bill 565
By: Senators Robertson of the 29th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Albers of the 56th, Strickland of
the 42nd and Hatchett of the 50th
AS PASSED SENATE
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 35-8-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
definitions relative to employment and training of peace officers, so as to revise the
definition of law enforcement unit and peace officer to include members of police forces of
nonprofit private colleges and universities; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 35-8-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions
relative to employment and training of peace officers, by revising paragraphs (7) and (8) as
follows:
"(7) 'Law enforcement unit' means:
(A) Any agency, organ, or department of this state, a subdivision or municipality
thereof, or a railroad, or a police force of a nonprofit private college or university that
is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code whose primary functions include the enforcement of criminal or traffic laws, the
preservation of public order, the protection of life and property, or the prevention,
detection, or investigation of crime;
(B) The Office of Permits and Enforcement of the Department of Transportation, the
Department of Juvenile Justice and its institutions and facilities for the purpose of
personnel who are authorized to exercise the power of arrest and who are employed or
appointed by such department or institutions, and the office or section in the
Department of Juvenile Justice in which persons are assigned who have been
designated by the commissioner to investigate and apprehend delinquent children and
any child with a pending juvenile court case alleging the child to be a child in need of
services; and
(C) The Department of Corrections, the Department of Community Supervision, the
State Board of Pardons and Paroles, municipal correctional institutions employing 300
or more correctional officers, and county correctional institutions for the purpose of
personnel who are authorized to exercise the power of arrest and who are employed or
appointed by such department, board, or institutions.
(8) 'Peace officer' means, for purposes of this chapter only:
(A) An agent, operative, or officer of this state, a subdivision or municipality thereof,
or a railroad, or a police force of a nonprofit private college or university that is exempt
from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
who, as an employee for hire or as a volunteer, is vested either expressly by law or by
virtue of public employment or service with authority to enforce the criminal or traffic
laws through the power of arrest and whose duties include the preservation of public
order, the protection of life and property, and the prevention, detection, or investigation
of crime;
(B) An enforcement officer who is employed by the Department of Transportation in
its Office of Permits and Enforcement and any person employed by the Department of
Juvenile Justice who is designated by the commissioner to investigate and apprehend
delinquent children and any child with a pending juvenile court case alleging the child
to be a child in need of services;
(B.1) Personnel who are authorized to exercise the power of arrest, who are employed
or appointed by the Department of Juvenile Justice, and whose full-time duties include
the preservation of public order, the protection of life and property, the detection of
crime, the supervision of delinquent children in the department's institutions, facilities,
or programs, or the supervision of delinquent children under intensive supervision in
the community;
(C) Personnel who are authorized to exercise the power of arrest and who are
employed or appointed by the Department of Corrections, the Department of
Community Supervision, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, municipal
correctional institutions employing 300 or more correctional officers, county probation
systems, and county correctional institutions; and
(D) An administrative investigator who is an agent, operative, investigator, or officer
of this state whose duties include the prevention, detection, and investigation of
violations of law and the enforcement of administrative, regulatory, licensing, or
certification requirements of his or her respective employing agency.
Law enforcement support personnel are not peace officers within the meaning of this
chapter, but they may be certified upon voluntarily complying with the certification
provisions of this chapter."
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 let police forces at nonprofit private colleges and universities count as official law enforcement units and their officers as certified peace officers under state law.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-8-2), the definitions of 'law enforcement unit' and 'peace officer' cover state and local government agencies and railroads, but not police departments at private colleges. This bill adds a new category: police forces of nonprofit private colleges and universities that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code.
By adding this category to both definitions, the bill would let officers employed by these private college police departments be treated the same as other peace officers for purposes of state training and certification requirements under this chapter. The change appears in two places in the code: the definition of 'law enforcement unit' and the definition of 'peace officer,' both amended the same way. The rest of the existing definitions, covering state agencies, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and corrections agencies, stay the same.
### What it does
- Adds police forces of nonprofit, tax-exempt private colleges and universities to the definition of 'law enforcement unit' in O.C.G.A. § 35-8-2.
- Adds officers of those same private college police forces to the definition of 'peace officer' under the same code section.
- Makes these additions apply specifically to institutions exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
- Leaves all other existing categories of law enforcement units and peace officers, such as state agencies, railroads, and corrections departments, unchanged.
### Who it affects
Nonprofit private colleges and universities in Georgia that operate their own police forces, the officers employed by those forces, and the state agency that oversees peace officer training and certification. Students, faculty, and staff at these campuses could also be affected since their campus police would gain formal peace officer status.
### Why it matters
If enacted, campus police officers at qualifying private colleges would be formally recognized as peace officers under Georgia law, meaning they could be certified and trained through the same state process as municipal or county police. This could affect their legal authority to make arrests and enforce laws on campus.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises paragraph (7) of O.C.G.A. § 35-8-2 to add 'a police force of a nonprofit private college or university' exempt under IRS Section 501(c)(3) to the definition of 'law enforcement unit.'
- Section 1 also revises paragraph (8) to add the same category of private college police forces to the definition of 'peace officer.'
- Section 2 repeals any existing laws that conflict with these changes.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-04)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-19)
- Sponsors: Randy Robertson, Jason Anavitarte, John Albers, Brian Strickland, Bo Hatchett, Bethany Ballard
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73554
> The history, votes, and amendments (571 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb565.md?full=1