HB1268: HB1268 Official Code of Georgia Annotated; revise, modernize and correct errors or omissions

Each year the Georgia General Assembly passes a bill like this one to keep the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (the state's official law book) clean and internally consistent. HB 1268 goes title by title through the Code, correcting things like outdated cross-references, mismatched punctuation, inconsistent capitalization (such as 'Internet' versus 'internet'), outdated terms like 'chairman' being changed to 'chairperson,' and renumbering or redesignating sections that had become disorganized. The bill also formally reenacts the statutory text of the Code as published with its 2025 supplements, which gives that published text the force of law, while making clear that non-statutory material like case notes, editorial comments, and indexes are not part of the law. It also repeals a few Code sections that had become obsolete. Section 55 sets rules for how this reenactment relates to other laws passed in the same legislative session, and Section 56 repeals any conflicting laws.

• Corrects hundreds of small drafting errors across nearly every title of the Georgia Code, such as fixing wrong cross-references, missing or extra commas, and inconsistent spacing.
• Standardizes terminology throughout the Code, replacing outdated words like 'chairman' with 'chairperson' and unifying spellings such as 'internet' instead of 'Internet' and 'database' instead of 'data base.'
• Renumbers, redesignates, or repeals several Code sections that had become disorganized, reserved, or obsolete, including reclassifying some formerly repealed sections as 'reserved.'
• Formally reenacts the statutory text of the 2025 version of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, giving it legal force, while excluding case annotations, editorial notes, and other non-statutory material from having legal weight.
• Clarifies how this bill's corrections interact with other bills passed in the same legislative session if their provisions conflict.
• Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this bill.

This bill mainly affects lawyers, judges, state agencies, and anyone who relies on the precise wording of Georgia statutes, since it changes phrasing and organization rather than substantive rights. It touches nearly every area of Georgia law, including education, wildlife, taxation, elections, and local government, because the corrections span the entire Code.

Because these are technical corrections rather than policy changes, day-to-day life for most Georgians will not change. But accurate, consistent statutory text matters for courts, agencies, and attorneys who cite specific Code sections, since a wrong cross-reference or outdated term can cause confusion in legal proceedings.

• Sections 3 through 50 go title by title through the Georgia Code, making specific wording, punctuation, and cross-reference fixes, for example correcting a cross-reference in the alcoholic beverages law (O.C.G.A. § 3-3-10) and updating the low THC oil possession statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-12-191).
• Section 20 makes numerous corrections to the education title, including fixing definitions in early care and learning law, standardizing 'High-Demand Career List' capitalization, and revising the Accelerated Career Diploma Program requirements (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149.2).
• Section 28 updates General Assembly procedural statutes, replacing informal terms like 'House' with 'House of Representatives' and 'chairman' with 'chairperson' throughout multiple Code sections.
• Section 54 makes bulk technical fixes, such as inserting missing commas after 'however, that' and replacing 'For purposes of' with 'As used in,' across dozens of listed Code sections spanning education, wildlife, guardianship, mental health, and tax law.
• Section 55 formally reenacts the statutory text and numbering of the 2025 Official Code of Georgia Annotated as law, while specifying that case annotations, editorial notes, indexes, and similar publisher-added material carry no legal authority.
• Section 55(e) states that if this bill's corrections conflict with another bill passed in the 2026 session, the other bill's provisions control.
• Section 56 repeals all laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-12Act 723
3. 2026-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-20Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-20Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• James Burchett (R, HD-176)Primary sponsor
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2026

   168 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #591

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 20, 2026

   45 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #763

• Georgia Code revision
• statutory corrections
• legislative housekeeping
• code recodification