Sexual Offenses; clergy members to be charged with certain improper sexual contact offenses; permit
Introduced
Moved
Reached a final decision
Became law
Derived from the official record below.
Officially: “A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sexual offenses, so as to permit clergy members to be charged with certain improper sexual contact offenses;” Read the full text
Official title shown verbatim from the official record. Plain-language summary coming as coverage deepens. Not legal advice.
2025-2026 regular session
Where it is
Show all 16 actions
Senate Hopper · Feb 20, 2026
Senate Read and Referred · Feb 24, 2026
Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute · Feb 26, 2026
Senate Read Second Time · Mar 3, 2026
Senate Third Read · Mar 6, 2026
Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute · Mar 6, 2026
House First Readers · Mar 9, 2026
House Second Readers · Mar 10, 2026
House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute · Mar 20, 2026
House Third Readers · Mar 23, 2026
House Passed/Adopted By Substitute · Mar 23, 2026
Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub · Mar 27, 2026
Senate Sent to Governor · Apr 10, 2026
Senate Date Signed by Governor · May 11, 2026
Act 496 · May 11, 2026
Effective Date · Jul 1, 2026
The numbers
25
sponsors on the bill
Sponsors
Robertson, RandyHatchett, BoStrickland, BrianKirkpatrick, KayHickman, BillyAlbers, JohnBurns, MaxGoodman, RussEchols, DrewAnderson, LeePayne, ChuckTillery, BlakeBearden, TimothyAnavitarte, JasonHodges, MikeWatson, BenGooch, SteveHufstetler, ChuckBrass, MattHarbin, MartyWalker, III, LarryDickerson, Jason T.Dixon, ClintSummers, CardenEfstration, Chuck
Recorded votes
AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTESenate · 2026-03-27 · yea 47, nay 0, notVoting 4, excused 5
PASSAGEHouse · 2026-03-23 · yea 168, nay 0, notVoting 5, excused 7
PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTESenate · 2026-03-06 · yea 55, nay 0, notVoting 1, excused 0
Roll-call results shown verbatim from the Georgia legislature’s records. A result reflects that roll call’s own motion, not the bill’s overall outcome.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record. Last action: Effective Date (Jul 1, 2026).