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GA SB154

Bill

Status

Engrossed

2/24/2017

Primary Sponsor

Gregory Kirk

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Origin

Senate

2017-2018 Regular Session

AI Summary

  • Consolidates and expands protections for "public safety officers" — defined to include peace officers, correctional officers, emergency health workers, firefighters, highway emergency response operators, and officers of the court — by making aggravated assault and aggravated battery against them while performing official duties subject to enhanced penalties (5–20 years for assault, 10–20 years for battery)
  • Imposes a mandatory additional $5,000 fine for aggravated assault or aggravated battery convictions against public safety officers, with 50% directed to the Georgia State Indemnification Fund and 50% to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for public relations campaigns encouraging law-abiding behavior
  • Increases the state indemnification payment for line-of-duty death or organic brain damage of law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, prison guards, and related personnel from $100,000 to $150,000, payable in equal monthly installments over five years or as a discounted lump sum
  • Removes the $10,000 cap on tort liability for parents or guardians of minors under 18 whose willful or malicious acts injure a public safety officer engaged in official duties, making parental liability unlimited in those circumstances
  • Eliminates previously separate code subsections for aggravated assault/battery against correctional officers, emergency health workers, and officers of the court, replacing them with a single unified "public safety officer" category and shared definitions under new Code Section 16-5-19

Legislative Description

Assault and Battery; public safety officer while engaged in his or her official duties; provide for the offenses of aggravated assault and aggravated battery

Last Action

House Passed/Adopted By Substitute

3/27/2018

Full Bill Text

No bill text available