HB1265: HB1265 Traffic offenses; fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing vehicle or law enforcement officer performing duties; provisions

Georgia already has a general law against fleeing police, but this bill adds a separate offense (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-395.1) specifically covering officers acting for the Capitol Police Division, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or Uniform Division (Georgia State Patrol) of the Department of Public Safety. It makes it illegal for a driver to refuse to stop or to try to elude one of these officers or vehicles after being signaled by hand, voice, light, or siren. The bill ties punishment to distance traveled while fleeing, adding 30 days of jail time for every mile fled, on top of fines that rise with each conviction. A first offense is a high and aggravated misdemeanor; a second or later offense is a felony. Fleeing at high speed, causing a crash, endangering the public, running other traffic laws, or leaving the state while fleeing automatically makes the crime a felony with mandatory, non-suspendable sentences for repeat or aggravated cases.

• Creates a new crime for failing to stop or fleeing when signaled by an officer working for the Capitol Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, or Uniform Division (Georgia State Patrol) of the Department of Public Safety.
• Requires the jury or judge to determine how many miles the person actually traveled while fleeing, adding 30 days of jail per mile to the sentence.
• Sets escalating fines and jail terms for first, second, and third-or-later convictions within a ten-year period, moving from a misdemeanor to a felony.
• Makes fleeing automatically a felony, with fines of $5,000 to $10,000, if the driver speeds over 20 mph above the limit, crashes, endangers the public, breaks other specified traffic laws, or leaves Georgia while fleeing.
• Bars judges from suspending, probating, deferring, or reducing the sentence for repeat offenders or for the aggravated felony version of the crime.
• Allows municipal courts to impose the first-offense penalties for local ordinance violations covering the same conduct.

Drivers who fail to stop for or attempt to evade Georgia State Patrol troopers, Capitol Police, or Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers; judges and prosecutors handling these cases; and municipal courts that may enforce local versions of the offense.

Drivers who flee these specific state officers would face jail time that scales directly with how far they drove while fleeing, plus mandatory, non-reducible sentences for repeat offenses or dangerous fleeing (crashes, high speed, leaving the state). This creates tougher, more automatic penalties than under Georgia's existing general fleeing law.

• New Code Section 40-6-395.1(a) defines the offense: refusing to stop or fleeing a marked Department of Public Safety vehicle or officer after a visual or audible signal.
• Subsection (b) requires fact-finders to determine the distance traveled while fleeing, with distance presumed zero miles if it cannot be determined.
• Subsection (c) sets tiered penalties: first conviction is a high and aggravated misdemeanor with a $1,000-$5,000 fine and 30 days jail per mile fled (30 days to 12 months); second and third-or-later convictions become felonies with higher fines ($2,500-$7,500 and $5,000-$10,000) and longer mandatory jail terms.
• Subsection (d) makes the offense an automatic felony, with a $5,000-$10,000 fine and jail time based on miles fled, if the driver speeds 20+ mph over the limit, crashes, endangers the public, violates certain other traffic laws, or leaves Georgia.
• Subsection (e) bars suspending, probating, deferring, or reducing sentences for second/third convictions or the aggravated felony version, and prohibits merging or running the charge concurrently with other offenses.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-19House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-12House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-11House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-10House Hopper (House)

• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)Primary sponsor
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)

• traffic offenses
• fleeing police
• Georgia State Patrol
• criminal penalties
• Department of Public Safety