HB1060: HB1060 Georgia Public Safety Transparency and Citizen Protection Act of 2026; enact

Georgia law currently does not require officers to show visible identification or forbid them from wearing masks during everyday duties like traffic stops or patrols. This bill, called the Georgia Public Safety Transparency and Citizen Protection Act of 2026, would change that by adding a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 35-1-25) requiring officers to display their last name and agency name and to verbally identify themselves during routine operations, while banning face coverings in those same situations. The bill also rewrites Georgia's kidnapping and false imprisonment laws so that an officer who hides his face or fails to identify himself while detaining someone is considered to be acting without legal authority, exposing him to those criminal charges. It creates civil liability of at least $1,000 for officers who violate the identification rules, tightens the state's deadly force law to require de-escalation and a verbal warning first, and ties compliance with the new identification rule to defenses in fleeing-and-eluding prosecutions.

• Creates a new law (O.C.G.A. § 35-1-25) requiring officers to wear visible name and agency identification and verbally identify themselves during routine operations like traffic stops and patrols.
• Bans law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings or masks while performing routine duties, with exceptions for undercover work, tactical gear, and protecting identity in court.
• Rewrites Georgia's kidnapping and false imprisonment statutes so an officer who wears a face covering or fails to identify himself is treated as acting without legal authority.
• Sets civil liability for noncompliant officers at actual damages or a minimum of $1,000, and removes their ability to claim privilege or immunity in such lawsuits.
• Requires the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate reported violations and refer certified officers to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council for discipline.
• Amends the deadly force statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-4-20) to require officers to exhaust de-escalation tactics and give a verbal warning before using deadly force when safe and feasible.

All law enforcement officers in Georgia, including federal, state, and local officers acting in the state; the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which would investigate and discipline violators; and members of the public who interact with police during stops, patrols, or arrests.

Officers who mask their identity or hide their face during routine stops could face criminal exposure under kidnapping or false imprisonment laws, civil lawsuits with guaranteed minimum damages, and disciplinary review, while people stopped by unidentified officers could gain new legal defenses and grounds to sue.

• Section 3 and 4 revise the kidnapping (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-40) and false imprisonment (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-41) statutes to define detentions by masked or unidentified officers as without legal authority.
• Section 5 amends Georgia's anti-mask law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-38) to exclude officers performing routine operations from the existing exception allowing masks for occupational safety.
• Section 6 amends the deadly force statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-4-20) to require de-escalation attempts and a verbal warning before deadly force is used, when safe and feasible.
• Section 7 creates new Code Section 35-1-25, defining 'face covering,' 'routine operations,' and 'visible identification,' and setting the identification and no-mask requirements.
• Section 7 assigns enforcement to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with referral to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council for certified officers, and sets civil damages of at least $1,000 for violations.
• Section 8 amends the fleeing-and-eluding law (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-395) to require the pursuing officer to comply with the new identification rules, and to allow noncompliance as a defense to prosecution.

1. 2026-02-02House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-29House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-28House Hopper (House)

• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)Primary sponsor
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)

• police masks
• law enforcement identification
• police use of force
• civil liability for officers
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation