HB1022: HB1022 Motor vehicles; prohibit electric tinting

Georgia already limits how dark window tint can be on cars (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-73.1). This bill keeps those existing light transmission limits but adds a new category: 'electric tinting,' meaning glass or film that changes darkness using an electric current, such as electrochromic glass or polymer dispersed liquid crystal film. It would be illegal to apply electric tinting to a front or rear windshield, with fines of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for later offenses. The bill also bars covering a license plate with electric tinting. Separately, the bill pushes back from 2027 to 2032 the deadline for law enforcement officers to get equipment that can verify a digital driver's license. Finally, it creates a new criminal offense for fleeing or trying to elude a Department of Public Safety officer (Capitol Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, or the Uniform Division), with escalating fines and jail time based on how far the person fled and whether the flight involved speeding, a crash, or other aggravating conduct.

• Defines 'electric tinting' as glass or film that uses electric current to change light darkness, including electrochromic glass and polymer dispersed liquid crystal film.
• Makes it illegal to apply electric tinting to a vehicle's front or rear windshield, with fines up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for repeat violations.
• Bars covering a license plate with electric tinting, on top of the existing rule that plate covers must be clear and colorless.
• Pushes back from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2032 the deadline for law enforcement officers to obtain equipment able to verify an electronic driver's license.
• Creates a new crime (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-395.1) for fleeing or trying to elude Capitol Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, or Uniform Division officers, with penalties tied to how many miles the person fled.
• Sets escalating fines (up to $10,000) and jail terms (up to ten years) for repeat fleeing convictions or fleeing involving a crash, high speed, or leaving the state.

Drivers who use tinted or electronically tinted windows and license plate covers, law enforcement agencies that must acquire digital license verification equipment, and any driver who flees or attempts to elude Capitol Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or Uniform Division officers of the Department of Public Safety.

Drivers with newer electric-tint window technology or tinted plate covers could face fines they don't currently face. Police get five more years to buy digital ID scanners. And people who flee certain state police units, rather than any officer, would face a specific new crime with penalties scaled to how far they ran.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 40-8-73.1 to define 'electric tinting' and 'light reflectance,' and bans applying electric tinting to front or rear windshields, with fines of $500 (first offense) and $1,000 (repeat offenses).
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-2-41 to prohibit covering a license plate with electric tinting, keeping the existing misdemeanor penalty for plate-display violations.
• Section 3 changes O.C.G.A. § 40-5-29 to move the deadline for law enforcement to obtain electronic driver's license verification equipment from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2032.
• Section 4 creates new Code Section 40-6-395.1, making it a crime to flee or elude Capitol Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, or Uniform Division officers, with a first offense being a high and aggravated misdemeanor and later offenses felonies.
• Section 4 ties jail time to distance fled (30 days per mile) and adds felony-level penalties for fleeing involving speeding over 20 mph above the limit, a crash, endangering the public, certain traffic violations, or leaving Georgia.
• Section 4 bars suspending, probating, or reducing sentences for second-or-later fleeing convictions or for aggravated fleeing described in subsection (d).
• Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
3. 2026-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2026-02-17House Passed/Adopted (House)
5. 2026-02-17House Third Readers (House)
6. 2026-02-03House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
7. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
8. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)

• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)Primary sponsor
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Kimberly New (R, HD-040)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 17, 2026

   132 yea, 24 nay (7 not voting, 12 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #518

• window tinting laws
• license plates
• traffic offenses
• law enforcement equipment
• fleeing police