HB967: HB967 Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; provide financial assistance to law enforcement agencies to equip certain motor vehicles with bullet-resistant features; establish grant program

Georgia law currently has no dedicated grant program to help law enforcement agencies armor their patrol vehicles. This bill adds a new section to the law governing the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (O.C.G.A. § 35-6A-18) authorizing the council to set up such a program, subject to the General Assembly actually providing funding. Under the program, law enforcement agencies could apply for grants to buy and install bullet-resistant windshields, side windows, rear windows, and door panels on vehicles used by peace officers on duty. The council would write the rules for who qualifies, how to apply, how much grants can be, and how applications get reviewed. Agencies that receive money would have to send the council proof of purchase and installation once they spend the funds. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but sets no specific funding amount or start date beyond ordinary enactment.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 35-6A-18) letting the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council create a grant program for bullet-resistant vehicle equipment.
• Limits the program to funding that the General Assembly actually appropriates, meaning the grants only exist if lawmakers set aside money.
• Covers purchase and installation of bullet-resistant windshields, side windows, rear windows, and door panels on vehicles used by peace officers.
• Directs the council to write its own rules for applicant eligibility, application steps, grant amounts, and application review.
• Requires agencies that get grant money to submit proof of purchase and installation to the council after spending the funds.
• Defines 'peace officer' by pointing to the existing definition in O.C.G.A. § 35-8-2, the state's peace officer standards and training law.

Local police departments, sheriff's offices, and other law enforcement agencies in Georgia that operate patrol vehicles, along with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which would design and run the new grant program, and the General Assembly, which would need to appropriate funds for grants to be awarded.

If funded, the program would give law enforcement agencies, especially smaller ones with tight budgets, a new state funding source to armor patrol cars, potentially offering officers more protection during shootings or ambush-style attacks. Without an appropriation, however, the program could exist on paper without providing any actual grants.

• Section 1 adds new Code section 35-6A-18, defining 'peace officer' using the existing definition in O.C.G.A. § 35-8-2.
• Subsection (b) authorizes the council to establish the grant program 'subject to appropriations by the General Assembly,' meaning funding is not guaranteed.
• Subsection (c) requires the council to set eligibility criteria, application procedures, grant amount guidelines, evaluation procedures, and compliance monitoring.
• Subsection (d) requires grant recipients to provide proof of purchase and installation to the council after spending grant funds.
• Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the new provisions.

1. 2026-03-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-04House Passed/Adopted (House)
3. 2026-03-04House Third Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-12House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
5. 2026-01-16House Second Readers (House)
6. 2026-01-15House First Readers (House)
7. 2026-01-14House Hopper (House)

• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)Primary sponsor
• Jason Ridley (R, HD-006)
• Mitchell Horner (R, HD-003)
• Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)
• Johnny Chastain (R, HD-007)
• Demetrius Douglas (D, HD-078)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   155 yea, 1 nay (9 not voting, 12 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #631

• law enforcement funding
• police vehicle safety
• state grant programs
• public safety