HB997: HB997 Penal institutions; limit time that Department of Community Supervision can hold certain inmates in a county facility

Georgia counties often end up housing state inmates, probationers, and parole violators in local jails while they wait to be transferred to state facilities, but counties have long said the state's reimbursement rate is too low and that sheriffs are sometimes forced to transport offenders without being paid for it. This substitute to HB 997 amends several sections of Title 42 of the Georgia code covering penal institutions. It limits the Department of Community Supervision (DCS) to holding sanctioned probationers in a county jail for no more than 60 days unless the local sheriff, warden, or police chief agrees to a longer stay, and it bars courts or DCS from forcing local officials to transport probationers to state facilities such as probation detention centers or boot camps. It also raises the per diem reimbursement counties receive from the Department of Corrections, from $7.50 to $30 per day per inmate, and sets similar reimbursement for county custody of parole violators. The bill clarifies when reimbursement periods start (at sentencing or revocation) and end (at transfer or release), and adds a 10 percent reimbursement bonus for local agencies participating in federal immigration enforcement agreements.

• Caps at 60 days the time DCS can hold a sanctioned probationer in a county or municipal jail, unless the local sheriff, warden, or police chief approves a longer stay.
• Bars courts and DCS from requiring sheriffs, wardens, or police chiefs to transport probationers to a probation detention center, boot camp, or DCS day reporting center.
• Raises the state's minimum reimbursement to counties for housing state inmates from $7.50 to $30 per day per inmate, and sets the same $30 minimum for parole violators held on felony parole warrants.
• Specifies that reimbursement for an inmate begins on the date of the sentencing or probation-revocation order and ends when the inmate is transferred or released from county custody.
• Adds a 10 percent reimbursement bonus for local agencies that have entered into, or are actively trying to enter into, federal immigration enforcement agreements under Section 287(g).
• Changes the parole board's medical expense reimbursement to counties from optional ("may") to mandatory ("shall"), subject to funds being appropriated.

County sheriffs, jail administrators, and county governments that house state inmates and probation or parole violators; the Department of Community Supervision; the Department of Corrections; the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; and probationers and parolees who are held in county facilities awaiting transfer.

Counties would receive significantly more state money for holding state inmates and parole violators, and sheriffs would gain a firmer legal footing to limit or refuse extended holds and forced transport duties without their consent, changing the financial and logistical burden local jails currently carry.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 42-3-113 to cap DCS custody of sanctioned probationers in county jails at 60 days absent local sheriff, warden, or police chief approval, and bars mandatory transport orders.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 42-5-50 to bar courts from ordering counties to transport inmates to their assigned state facility, except when the inmate is assigned to a county facility.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 42-5-51 to raise the state's per diem reimbursement to counties from $7.50 to $30 per inmate, set new start and end dates for reimbursement periods, and add a 10 percent bonus for 287(g) participants.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 42-9-49 to set a $30 per day minimum reimbursement for counties housing parole violators and to make medical expense reimbursement mandatory rather than optional.
• Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-01-27House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-16House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-01-15House Hopper (House)

• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)Primary sponsor
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Danny Mathis (R, HD-133)
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)

• county jails
• probation and parole
• criminal justice funding
• sheriffs
• inmate reimbursement