SB 79: "Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act"; enact

Georgia currently prosecutes fentanyl trafficking under the same law that covers cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine (O.C.G.A. 16-13-31), using shared weight thresholds and penalties. This bill carves fentanyl out into its own trafficking category with new, generally lower weight thresholds and its own mandatory minimum sentences and fines, ranging from 10 years and a $75,000 fine for 4 to 8 grams up to 35 years and a $750,000 fine for 28 grams or more. The bill also rewrites the list of situations where judges may depart below the mandatory minimum sentence, adding specific ranges tied to the new fentanyl offense, and tightens the rule so that no portion of a mandatory minimum sentence can be suspended, probated, or otherwise reduced except through that formal departure process. It updates roughly a dozen other Georgia laws, covering dog ownership registration, firearm possession during crimes, bail and appeal bonds, parole eligibility, and informant rewards, so they refer to the new, broader definition of drug trafficking under Code Section 16-13-31. The changes take effect July 1, 2025, and apply only to offenses committed on or after that date.

• Creates a new stand-alone crime of trafficking in fentanyl with its own weight thresholds starting at 4 grams, separate from the existing cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking law.
• Sets escalating mandatory minimum prison terms and fines for fentanyl trafficking, from 10 years and a $75,000 fine up to 35 years and a $750,000 fine depending on quantity.
• Rewrites the list of sentencing departure ranges that let a judge go below the mandatory minimum, adding specific ranges for the new fentanyl offense.
• Bars courts from suspending, staying, probating, or deferring any part of a mandatory minimum sentence for these offenses except through the formal departure process.
• Updates about a dozen other Georgia laws on dog ownership permits, firearm use during crimes, bail and appeal bonds, parole eligibility, and informant rewards so they match the revised trafficking law.
• Sets an effective date of July 1, 2025, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.

People arrested for selling, manufacturing, or possessing fentanyl in Georgia; prosecutors and judges handling drug trafficking cases; the Department of Corrections and State Board of Pardons and Paroles; people with felony drug convictions applying for dog ownership permits, bail, or parole; and informants eligible for cash rewards.

Fentanyl cases would carry their own, often lower weight thresholds and separate mandatory minimum sentences and fines, meaning smaller quantities of fentanyl could trigger longer prison terms than under the prior combined trafficking law, and judges would have less room to reduce these sentences outside a formal process.

• Section 1-2 adds new subsection (b.1) to O.C.G.A. 16-13-31 creating the fentanyl trafficking offense with four tiers: 4-8 grams (10 years, $75,000), 8-14 grams (15 years, $150,000), 14-28 grams (25 years, $250,000), and 28+ grams (35 years, $750,000).
• Section 1-2 rewrites subsection (g), replacing the old sentencing departure list with 14 specific ranges covering both existing drug trafficking tiers and the new fentanyl tiers.
• Section 1-2 revises subsection (i) to bar courts from suspending, staying, probating, or deferring any part of a mandatory minimum sentence under this Code section except via the formal substantial-assistance departure procedure.
• Sections 2-1 through 2-11 make conforming changes to laws on dog ownership certificates, firearm possession during crimes, bail and appeal bonds, judicial release, parole eligibility, and informant rewards, replacing references to specific drugs with the broader term 'trafficking of substances in violation of Code Section 16-13-31.'
• Section 3-1 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-12Act 123
3. 2025-05-12Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-28Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2025-03-28House Immediately Transmitted to Senate (House)
7. 2025-03-28House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-03-28House Third Readers (House)

• Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)Primary sponsor
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-42)
• John F. Kennedy (R, SD-18)
• Blake Tillery (R, SD-19)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-51)
• John Albers (R, SD-56)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-24)
• Larry Walker, III (R, SD-20)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-31)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-13)
• Max Burns (R, SD-23)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-52)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-1)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
• Brandon Beach (R, SD-21)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-3)
• Rick Williams (R, SD-25)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-27)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-30)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-49)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-11)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 26, 2025

   50 yea, 3 nay (2 not voting, 1 excused)

   PASSAGE: Senate Vote #95

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 28, 2025

   131 yea, 31 nay (3 not voting, 15 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #339

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 28, 2025

   99 yea, 62 nay (4 not voting, 15 excused)

   Immediately Transmit: House Vote #340

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   49 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 7 excused)

   AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #334

• fentanyl
• drug trafficking penalties
• mandatory minimum sentencing
• criminal justice
• parole eligibility