SB570: SB570 "Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act"; enact

Georgia currently has no statewide requirement that hotel employees or short-term rental managers receive training on spotting human trafficking. This bill, called the Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act, adds a new section to Georgia's innkeeper law requiring on-site inn employees and third-party managers of short-term rentals (like those booked through Airbnb-style platforms) to complete annual human trafficking awareness training within 60 days of being hired and every year after. The Attorney General's office, working with the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and rental platforms, would develop or approve the training content, covering how to spot trafficking victims and warning signs, and how to report concerns to the National Human Trafficking Hotline or police. Owners must keep training records, post required notices, and adopt reporting procedures. Owners who willfully violate the law face fines starting at $500 and rising to $2,000. Individually owner-managed rentals and short-term rentals used less than 15 days a year are exempt. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.

• Requires all on-site inn employees and third-party managers of short-term rental properties to complete annual human trafficking awareness training within 60 days of hire and yearly thereafter.
• Directs the Attorney General's office to develop or approve training content covering trafficking definitions, warning signs, and reporting procedures, in consultation with industry groups.
• Requires inn and short-term rental owners, operators, or managers to adopt reporting policies and comply with existing anti-trafficking posting requirements (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-47).
• Requires owners to keep employee training records for the duration of employment plus one year, and to turn them over to the Attorney General's office within ten business days of a written request.
• Creates administrative penalties for willful violations: $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second, and $2,000 for a third or later offense.
• Exempts short-term rentals managed directly by the owner and those rented out for fewer than 15 days a year.

Hotel and inn owners and their on-site staff, third-party property managers who run short-term rentals, hosting platforms that list those rentals, the Attorney General's office, local law enforcement and sheriffs who help enforce posting rules, and travelers staying at Georgia lodging properties.

Hospitality workers would gain formal training to recognize trafficking victims and know how to report suspicions, potentially improving detection at hotels and rentals. Owners face new administrative burdens, recordkeeping duties, and financial penalties if they knowingly skip the training requirements.

• Section 1 titles the bill the 'Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act.'
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 43-21-16, defining terms like 'hosting platform,' 'human trafficking,' and 'third-party property manager.'
• Subsection (b) sets the annual training deadline (60 days after hire, completed by December 31 of the first full year) and exempts workers who completed equivalent training in the prior 12 months before July 1, 2026.
• Subsection (c) lists required training topics, including identifying trafficking victims and differences between labor and sex trafficking.
• Subsection (d) and (e) require reporting procedures and compliance with existing posting requirements under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-47.
• Subsection (f) sets recordkeeping rules, requiring records be kept during employment plus one year and produced to the Attorney General's office within ten business days of a written request.
• Subsection (h) sets administrative penalties of $500, $1,000, and $2,000 for first, second, and third or later willful violations.
• Subsection (i) exempts owner-managed rentals and rentals used less than 15 days per year; Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 519
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-19House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-19House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-18House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Primary sponsor
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #671

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 19, 2026

   162 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 10 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #732

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   38 yea, 6 nay (2 not voting, 8 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #859

• human trafficking prevention
• hotel regulations
• short-term rentals
• employee training requirements
• Attorney General enforcement