HB1004: HB1004 Public Safety, Department of; security guards to leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives and their families; provisions

Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-2-73), the Department of Public Safety's security guard division protects the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House, along with their immediate families, state property, and the executive department. This bill expands that protection to the majority and minority leaders of both the Senate and House of Representatives and their families, putting them under the same security arrangements currently reserved for the state's top three officials. The bill also adds a new provision allowing the commissioner of public safety to assign security guards to any member of the General Assembly, and that member's immediate family, if the Georgia Bureau of Investigation determines the member faces a credible threat to their safety or security. Protection would be provided in the same manner already used for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker, including transportation arrangements. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law without a signature.

• Adds the Senate and House majority and minority leaders and their immediate families to the list of officials the Department of Public Safety can assign security guards to protect.
• Creates a new process letting the commissioner of public safety provide guards to any General Assembly member and their immediate family if the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirms a credible threat.
• Extends state-funded or state-owned transportation arrangements, previously limited to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker and their families, to the four legislative leaders and their families.
• Keeps existing protections for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and the executive department unchanged.

The bill directly affects the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House (whose existing protections stay the same), the Senate and House majority and minority leaders and their immediate families, other General Assembly members who may qualify for protection after a GBI threat determination, and the Department of Public Safety, which administers the security guard division.

If enacted, more of Georgia's top legislative leaders and, in credible-threat cases, any lawmaker could receive state-provided security guards and transportation, extending protections that currently apply only to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 35-2-73(a) to authorize the commissioner to employ security guards to protect the Senate and House majority and minority leaders and their immediate families, in addition to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker.
• Section 1 also updates subsection (b) so that state-owned or state-paid transportation for family members traveling on state business now covers the families of the four legislative leaders as well.
• Section 1 adds new subsection (c), letting the commissioner provide security guards to any General Assembly member and their immediate family once the Georgia Bureau of Investigation determines a credible threat exists, using the same protection methods described in subsections (a) and (b).
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without his signature.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-16House Hopper (House)

• David Wilkerson (D, HD-038)Primary sponsor
• Lisa Campbell (D, HD-035)
• Esther Panitch (D, HD-051)
• Dar'shun Kendrick (D, HD-095)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)

• legislative security
• Georgia General Assembly
• public safety funding
• state government protection