HB 1390: Motor vehicles; declare vehicles used in the commission of reckless stunt driving offenses contraband and authorize forfeiture

Current Georgia law on reckless stunt driving (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-390.1) only lets the state treat a vehicle as contraband subject to forfeiture if the driver had already been convicted once before and was then arrested and charged with another violation. This substitute bill removes that prior-conviction requirement. Instead, a vehicle becomes contraband and can be forfeited once its driver is arrested and convicted of a single reckless stunt driving offense. The bill keeps an existing hardship provision: if the seized vehicle is a family's only vehicle, a judge can transfer its title to another licensed family member who needs it for work or family transportation, as long as any liens on the vehicle are honored. That transfer can happen only once per vehicle. The forfeiture itself still follows the procedures already set out in Chapter 16 of Title 9 of Georgia law, which governs property forfeiture generally.

• Removes the requirement that a driver have a prior reckless stunt driving conviction before their vehicle can be declared contraband.
• Changes the trigger for forfeiture from being merely arrested and charged to being arrested and actually convicted of a reckless stunt driving offense.
• Keeps in place the rule letting a judge transfer title of a seized family vehicle to another licensed family member facing financial hardship.
• Continues to route these forfeitures through Georgia's existing forfeiture procedures under Chapter 16 of Title 9.

Drivers convicted of reckless stunt driving in Georgia, their family members who may rely on a shared vehicle, law enforcement agencies that seize vehicles, and Georgia courts that process forfeiture cases and any hardship title transfers.

Under this change, a single reckless stunt driving conviction, not a second offense, would be enough for the state to seize and potentially sell the vehicle involved. That expands how often vehicles can be forfeited, while the existing family-hardship transfer option would still offer some protection against losing a household's only car.

• Section 1 revises subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-390.1 to drop the requirement that a driver already have a prior conviction under this section.
• Section 1 also changes the forfeiture trigger from being 'charged with' a violation to being 'convicted of' a violation.
• Subsection (c)(2) preserves the option for a judge to transfer title of a family's only vehicle to another licensed family member if forfeiture would cause outsized financial hardship.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2026-02-24House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-02-20House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-02-19House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)Patrocinador principal
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-061)
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Betsy Holland (D, HD-054)
• Sheila Jones (D, HD-060)

• reckless stunt driving
• vehicle forfeiture
• traffic law
• criminal penalties