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Senate · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 586: "K-9 Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2026"; enact

Last action April 2, 2026 · Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended

A Georgia Senate bill would let county sheriffs donate impounded stray livestock to nonprofits or qualified caretakers instead of only selling or destroying the animals, despite being titled the 'K-9 Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2026.'

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

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, when a sheriff impounds livestock found running loose, the owner has three days to redeem the animals before the sheriff must offer them for sale at public auction. If no one bids at the auction, the sheriff currently must have the livestock killed and dispose of the carcass, or give it to a public or charitable institution. This bill changes that process by adding donation as an option at each stage. A sheriff could now donate unclaimed livestock to a nonprofit organization, an individual, or an entity the sheriff believes has the facilities and resources to properly and humanely care for the animals, instead of selling them at auction. If no one bids at a sale, the sheriff could also choose to donate the livestock rather than killing it. The bill updates the required notice forms and redemption rules to reflect this new donation option. Note that despite its title referencing police dogs, the bill's actual text deals only with impounded livestock such as cattle or horses.

What the bill does

  • Lets a sheriff donate impounded, unredeemed livestock to a nonprofit, individual, or entity capable of humanely caring for the animals, instead of only auctioning them.
  • Adds donation as an alternative to killing livestock when no bidder appears at the public sale required under Georgia's livestock impoundment law (O.C.G.A. § 4-3-7).
  • Requires the sheriff's written notice to owners to mention that unredeemed livestock may be donated as well as sold.
  • Preserves an owner's right to redeem livestock by paying impoundment costs any time before the livestock is sold or donated.
  • Updates gendered pronoun language in the impoundment statutes to include 'or her' alongside 'his.'

Who it affects

County sheriffs and their deputies who handle stray livestock complaints, owners of livestock that gets impounded after running at large, and nonprofit organizations, individuals, or entities that may now receive donated animals from sheriffs' offices.

Why it matters

Stray livestock that goes unclaimed and unsold at auction can now be given to a caretaker instead of being killed, which could reduce animal deaths from impoundment while giving sheriffs more flexibility in handling unclaimed cattle, horses, or other livestock.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 4-3-5 so the sheriff's impoundment notice tells owners livestock may be donated, not just sold, if unredeemed within three days.
  • Section 1 also lets a sheriff donate livestock to a qualified nonprofit, individual, or entity in place of holding a public sale.
  • Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 4-3-6 to preserve an owner's right to redeem livestock any time before it is donated or sold.
  • Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 4-3-7 to let a sheriff donate livestock that receives no bidders at auction instead of only being allowed to have it killed.
  • Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“the livestock shall be offered for sale or donated to a nonprofit organization, an individual, or an entity deemed by the sheriff to have the facilities, land, and resources necessary to properly and humanely care for such livestock.”

This is the bill's core change letting sheriffs donate impounded livestock instead of only selling it.

“the sheriff shall donate the livestock to a nonprofit organization, an individual, or an entity deemed by the sheriff to have the facilities, land, and resources necessary to properly and humanely care for such livestock or have the livestock killed”

If no one bids at auction, the sheriff can now choose donation over killing the unclaimed livestock.

Discussed in meetings (13)

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.

  1. Senate Public Safety Committee, March 2, 2026

    From 0:25:50 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: Presenting SB 586 for the absent sponsor, the chair said it would authorize the Commissioner of Public Safety to issue commendations for heroism to public safety animals injured or killed in the line of duty. No members asked questions, and the committee unanimously approved the bill.

  2. Senate Rules Committee, March 5, 2026

    From 0:51:47 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 586 as a measure to protect law-enforcement dogs but did not explain specific provisions. The committee unanimously included the bill in the floor-calendar package.

  3. Senate floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, part 1)

    From 7:31:52 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Tabled)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 586 would authorize the public safety commissioner to issue commendations for heroism to public safety and search-and-rescue animals injured or killed in the line of duty. The sponsor described the measure as recognition for those animals' service. No questions or opposing speeches followed. The Senate passed the bill, 51 to 0.

  4. House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, March 26, 2026

    From 0:22:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenters explained a substitute that would allow sheriffs to donate impounded livestock to a nonprofit, individual or other entity the sheriff considers capable of caring for the animal. One presenter said sheriffs currently must feed animals while advertising for their owners, then sell or kill unclaimed animals rather than give them away. The presenter said the substitute would add donation to the notice and owner-reclamation provisions and require donation when an auction attracts no bidder. A second presenter described a Paulding County auction that cost $750 to $1,000 in attorney fees alone and brought in $2, in addition to animal-care costs. The presenters supported donation as a humane option that could reduce sheriffs’ expenses. No substantive questions were raised. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote, with no numerical count announced.

  5. House floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 3)

    From 0:34:04 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 4132

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read a caption concerning public safety and search-and-rescue animals. In presenting the committee substitute, the sponsor described a provision allowing sheriffs to give unclaimed livestock to schools, FFA, nonprofit organizations, individuals, or other entities able to care for the animals. The sponsor said existing law left sheriffs with the options of auctioning or killing the animals, and the change would provide another option. There were no questions. The House adopted the substitute and passed the bill, 166 to 1.

  6. House Rules Committee, March 31, 2026

    From 0:30:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 3954

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed SB 586 on the supplemental floor calendar without stated opposition. No substantive discussion occurred.

  7. Senate floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, part 1)

    From 6:00:27 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read SB 586's original public-safety-animal caption and a House substitute concerning impounded livestock. The senator presenting it then offered replacement language restricting certain state officials' financial interests in state contracts and business with the state. The senator alleged that Jackson Healthcare received more than $930 million in taxpayer money from 2021 through 2025 and argued that the spending lacked adequate oversight and increased healthcare costs. The senator said the proposal would close a conflict-of-interest gap involving constitutional officers, including the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state. A committee member asked why Public Service Commission members were not listed. The presenting senator said they believed those members were already covered and discussed existing restrictions and reporting requirements for legislators. The Senate agreed to the House substitute as amended, 49 to 0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senate)
  2. 2026-03-31House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
  3. 2026-03-31House Third Readers (House)
  4. 2026-03-27House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  5. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
  6. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
  7. 2026-03-06Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  8. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
Show full history (14 actions)
  1. 2026-03-06Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
  2. 2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
  3. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  4. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
  5. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  6. 2026-02-25Senate Hopper (Senate)

Sponsors

  • Rick Williams (R, SD-25)Primary sponsor
  • Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
  • Martin Momtahan (R, HD-17)

Votes

  1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

    51 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 4 excused)

    PASSAGE: Senate Vote #666

  2. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

    166 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 7 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #820

  3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

    49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 2 excused)

    AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE AS AMENDED: Senate Vote #942

Topics

  • livestock impoundment
  • sheriffs
  • animal welfare
  • rural law enforcement

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SB586: "K-9 Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2026"; enact | Georgia Commons