HB1288: HB1288 Law enforcement officers and agencies; require consent or a court order to withdraw blood from persons who are to be incarcerated or are to be released for DNA testing

Current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-3-161) requires DNA samples, including blood, to be collected from people entering or leaving detention facilities within set time windows, but it does not clearly require the person's agreement before blood is drawn. This bill adds a new requirement: no blood may be withdrawn from a person who is to be incarcerated for DNA testing purposes unless the person gives written consent or a court issues an order authorizing it. The bill also adjusts the timing rules so that if a person does not consent to a blood draw, the sample must instead be taken within 30 days after a court order is issued, both for people entering incarceration and for people about to be released. Other parts of the law, covering who may draw blood, how samples must be labeled and stored, and liability protections for staff who follow proper procedures, stay in place. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds a new requirement that blood cannot be drawn from a person to be incarcerated for DNA testing without either written consent or a court order.
• Changes the timing rule so that, if a person does not consent, the blood sample must be taken within 30 days after a court order is issued rather than automatically within the standard collection window.
• Applies the same consent-or-court-order timing rule to blood samples taken from people who are about to be released from a detention facility.
• Keeps existing rules unchanged on who is qualified to draw blood samples, sample labeling and handling, and liability protections for staff following accepted procedures.

People entering or being released from Georgia detention facilities who are subject to DNA sample collection, corrections and detention facility staff who administer the sampling process, courts that may need to issue withdrawal orders, and the state DNA data bank operated under the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

People facing incarceration or release would gain a legal say over whether their blood is drawn for DNA testing, since facilities could no longer withdraw blood without consent unless a judge orders it. Detention facilities and courts would need new procedures to document consent or obtain orders before proceeding.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 35-3-161(a) to bar blood withdrawal from a person to be incarcerated for DNA testing without written consent or a court order.
• Section 1 amends subsection (b) so that if a person entering incarceration does not consent to a blood draw, the sample must be taken within 30 days of a court order rather than the standard 30-day incarceration window.
• Section 1 similarly amends the release provision so that a departing person's blood sample, if not consented to, must be taken within 30 days of a court order rather than within the 12 months before release.
• Section 1 leaves unchanged the rules on who may draw blood samples (nurses, phlebotomists, and similar trained staff) and how samples must be labeled, secured, and transported.
• Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the changes.

1. 2026-02-17House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-12House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Terry Cummings (D, HD-039)Primary sponsor
• Robert Dawson (D, HD-065)
• Robert Flournoy (D, HD-074)
• Esther Panitch (D, HD-051)
• Arlene Beckles (D, HD-096)
• Segun Adeyina (D, HD-110)

• DNA testing
• criminal justice
• incarceration policy
• consent laws
• court orders