---
title: SB 604. Crimes and Offenses; the Attorney General concurrent jurisdiction with district attorneys to conduct criminal prosecutions of violent crimes, illegal immigration offenses, and fentanyl offenses; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb604
cite_as: SB 604, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb604
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb604.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb604/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73714
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: 781
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb604.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 604
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-06
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Bill Cowsert
- Greg Dolezal
- Steve Gooch
- Tyler Smith
text_version: Engrossed
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB604/2025
upstream_id: 2124787
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- criminal prosecution
- Attorney General powers
- district attorneys
- violent crime
- drug trafficking
---
# SB 604. Crimes and Offenses; the Attorney General concurrent jurisdiction with district attorneys to conduct criminal prosecutions of violent crimes, illegal immigration offenses, and fentanyl offenses; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 604
By: Senators Cowsert of the 46th, Dolezal of the 27th and Gooch of the 51st
AS PASSED SENATE
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 18 Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions regarding prosecuting attorneys, so as to give the Attorney
General, in certain circumstances, the option of being appointed in the place of a disqualified
district attorney prior to any other potential appointee; to amend Chapter 1 of Title 16 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding crimes and
offenses, so as to allow for a district attorney to request the assistance of the Attorney
General in the prosecution of certain offenses and violations; to provide for related matters;
to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 18 Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding prosecuting attorneys, is amended in Code Section 15-18-5,
relating to appointment of substitute for absent or disqualified district attorney, by revising
subsection (a) as follows:
"(a) When a district attorney's office is disqualified from interest or relationship to engage
in a prosecution, the district attorney shall notify the executive director of the Prosecuting
Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia of the disqualification. Upon receipt of such
notification, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of
Georgia shall:
(1) Request the services of and thereafter appoint a district attorney, a solicitor-general,
a retired prosecuting attorney as provided in Code Section 15-18-30, or an attorney
employed by the Department of Law; provided, however, that, except in the event of the
voluntary recusal of a district attorney for any offense or violation provided for in Code
Section 16-1-13, the executive director shall first notify the Attorney General of the
disqualification of a district attorney and shall give the Attorney General the option of
having the Attorney General or an attorney employed by the Department of Law
appointed to engage in a prosecution prior to any other attorney provided for in this Code
section;
(2) Designate an attorney from the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of
Georgia; or
(3) Appoint a competent attorney to act as district attorney pro tempore in place of the
district attorney."
SECTION 2.
Chapter 1 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions regarding crimes and offenses, is amended by adding a new Code section to read
as follows:
"16-1-13.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title to the contrary, a district attorney may
request the assistance of the Attorney General in the prosecution of:
(1) Murder or felony murder, as defined in Code Section 16-5-1;
(2) Armed robbery, as defined in Code Section 16-8-41;
(3) Kidnapping, as defined in Code Section 16-5-40;
(4) Rape, as defined in Code Section 16-6-1;
(5) Aggravated child molestation, as defined in subsection (c) of Code Section 16-6-4,
unless subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of Code Section
16-6-4;
(6) Aggravated sodomy, as defined in Code Section 16-6-2;
(7) Aggravated sexual battery, as defined in Code Section 16-6-22.2;
(8) Violation of Code Section 16-13-31, relating to trafficking in cocaine, illegal drugs,
marijuana, or methamphetamine and penalties;
(9) Violation of an offense in Article 5 of Chapter 11 of this title, relating to offenses
involving illegal aliens; or
(10) Violation of an offense in Chapter 14 of this title, relating to racketeering influenced
and corrupt organizations."
SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval and shall apply to all prosecutions initiated on or after such date.
SECTION 4.
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 the Attorney General step in ahead of other appointees when a district attorney is disqualified from a case, and would let district attorneys ask for the Attorney General's help prosecuting murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, and other serious crimes.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, when a district attorney's office is disqualified from a case because of a conflict of interest, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council appoints a replacement, which could be another district attorney, a solicitor-general, a retired prosecutor, or a Department of Law attorney. This bill changes that process by requiring the council's executive director to first notify the Attorney General and give the Attorney General the option to take the case (or assign a Department of Law attorney to it) before considering anyone else, except when a district attorney voluntarily steps aside for one of the crimes listed in the bill.
The bill also creates a new Georgia law, O.C.G.A. section 16-1-13, letting any district attorney request the Attorney General's help prosecuting specific serious crimes: murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, drug trafficking, offenses involving illegal aliens, and racketeering (RICO) violations. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it and would apply to prosecutions started on or after that date.
### What it does
- Requires the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council to notify the Attorney General and offer the Attorney General first option when a district attorney is disqualified from a case, before other appointees are considered.
- Creates an exception to that priority when a district attorney voluntarily recuses from one of the specific crimes listed in the new law.
- Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. section 16-1-13) letting district attorneys request the Attorney General's assistance prosecuting a defined list of serious crimes.
- Lists ten categories of crimes eligible for Attorney General assistance, including murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, drug trafficking, illegal immigration offenses, and racketeering (RICO).
- Sets the law to take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature and apply to prosecutions started on or after that date.
### Who it affects
District attorneys and their offices across Georgia, the Attorney General and the Department of Law, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia, and defendants charged with the listed serious crimes such as murder, rape, drug trafficking, and racketeering.
### Why it matters
The bill gives the Attorney General a bigger role in local criminal cases, either by stepping in when a district attorney is disqualified or by helping prosecute serious crimes at a district attorney's request. This could shift how conflict-of-interest cases and major prosecutions are handled statewide.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. section 15-18-5 so the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council must notify the Attorney General first when a district attorney is disqualified, giving the Attorney General priority to take the case over other possible appointees.
- Section 1 exempts cases where a district attorney voluntarily recuses for a crime listed in the new Code section 16-1-13 from that Attorney General priority requirement.
- Section 2 creates new Code section 16-1-13, allowing a district attorney to request Attorney General assistance in prosecuting ten listed categories of crimes, including murder, armed robbery, rape, drug trafficking, illegal alien offenses, and racketeering.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature, applying to prosecutions initiated on or after that date.
- Section 4 repeals any existing laws that conflict with the bill.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-06)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-19)
- Sponsors: Bill Cowsert, Greg Dolezal, Steve Gooch, Tyler Smith
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73714
> The history, votes, and amendments (781 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb604.md?full=1