--- title: SB 7. Jails; certain municipal corporations make municipal detention facilities or jails available for use by a sheriff; require collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb7 cite_as: SB 7, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb7 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb7.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb7/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69328 date: 2026-01-12 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/sb6.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb8.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 240 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb7.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 7 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-14 last_action: Senate Recommitted sponsors: - John Albers - Randy Robertson - Brandon Beach - Shawn Still - Chuck Payne - Brian Strickland text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB7/2025 upstream_id: 1919158 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - jails and detention facilities - sheriffs - local government - Capitol Police - state capitol security --- # SB 7. Jails; certain municipal corporations make municipal detention facilities or jails available for use by a sheriff; require ## Text 25 LC 47 3188 Senate Bill 7 By: Senators Albers of the 56th, Robertson of the 29th, Beach of the 21st, Still of the 48th, Payne of the 54th and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 42 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to general provisions regarding jails, so as to requir e that certain municipal2 corporations make municipal detention facilities or jails available for use by a sheriff under3 certain conditions; to provide for fee and fee cap; to provide for related matters; to provide4 for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 42 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to8 general provisions regarding jails, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as9 follows:10 "42-4-17.11 (a) Any municipal corporation that owns or operates a municipal detention facility or jail12 located within the radius provided for in subsection (a) of Cod e Section 35-2-122 as the13 jurisdiction of the Capitol Police Division of the Department of Public Safety, regardless14 of whether or not such municipal detention facility or jail is actively incarcerating inmates,15 shall, at the request of the sheriff of the county where such municipal detention facility or16 jail is located, and provided that sufficient funding has been appropriated to such sheriff,17 S. B. 7 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3188 place such municipal detention facility or jail at the disposal of such sheriff for use in the18 detention of persons placed in the custody of such sheriff.19 (b) In the event that a sheriff requests the use of a municipa l detention facility or jail20 pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, the municipal corporation may charge such21 sheriff a fee for the use of such municipal detention facility or jail; provided, however, that22 in no event shall such fee exceed the actual cost incurred by s uch municipal corporation23 in maintaining such municipal detention facility or jail."24 SECTION 2.25 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law26 without such approval.27 SECTION 3.28 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.29 S. B. 7 - 2 - ## 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 require certain municipal jails near the State Capitol to let county sheriffs use their facilities to hold inmates, if the sheriff has the funding to pay for it. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, county sheriffs run the county jail system, and municipal governments that operate their own city jails are not required to share that space with the sheriff. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's jail laws (O.C.G.A. § 42-4-17) that changes that for a specific group of cities: those with a detention facility or jail located within the area that the Capitol Police Division of the Department of Public Safety covers around the State Capitol. Under the bill, if the county sheriff asks to use one of these municipal jails, and the sheriff has enough money set aside to pay for it, the city must make the facility available, whether or not the city is currently using it to hold inmates. The city can charge the sheriff a fee, but that fee cannot be more than what it actually costs the city to run the jail. The bill would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature. ### What it does - Adds a new Georgia code section requiring certain municipal jails near the State Capitol to be made available to the county sheriff upon request. - Limits the requirement to municipal detention facilities located within the jurisdiction area used for the Capitol Police Division under O.C.G.A. § 35-2-122. - Applies the requirement even if the municipal jail is not currently holding any inmates. - Conditions the sheriff's request on the sheriff having sufficient funding already appropriated to cover the cost. - Allows the municipal corporation to charge the sheriff a fee for use of the facility, capped at the city's actual maintenance cost. - Sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without his signature. ### Who it affects County sheriffs and their offices, municipal governments that own or run detention facilities or jails near the State Capitol, and people held in custody who may be housed in these facilities as a result of the new arrangement. ### Why it matters Sheriffs facing jail overcrowding or capacity problems near the Capitol area could gain access to additional cell space in city-run jails, but only if they already have the money to pay for it. Affected cities would lose some control over how their jail facilities are used and could recover only their actual costs, not extra revenue. ### Key provisions - Section 1 creates new Code Section 42-4-17, requiring covered municipal jails to be placed at a sheriff's disposal upon request. - Subsection (a) ties the requirement to the geographic jurisdiction defined for the Capitol Police Division in O.C.G.A. § 35-2-122 and requires that funding already be appropriated to the sheriff. - Subsection (b) permits the municipal corporation to charge a fee, capped at its actual cost of maintaining the facility. - Section 2 sets the effective date as approval by the Governor or the bill becoming law without his signature. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-14) - Last action: Senate Recommitted (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: John Albers, Randy Robertson, Brandon Beach, Shawn Still, Chuck Payne, Brian Strickland - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69328 > The history, votes, and amendments (240 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb7.md?full=1