# Georgia HB 1131: Criminal procedure; personal service of process for notice of a warrant application hearing; provide

Georgia HB 1131, Criminal procedure; personal service of process for notice of a warrant application hearing; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Soo Hong (Republican), Matt Reeves (Republican), Steven Sainz (Republican) and 2 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1131-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 1131
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Criminal procedure; personal service of process for notice of a warrant application hearing; provide
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-02
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Soo Hong (Republican), Matt Reeves (Republican), Steven Sainz (Republican), Mitchell Scoggins (Republican), Tyler Paul Smith (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Judiciary Non-Civil, Judiciary, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 4 (418 yes, 12 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Lower cash deposit cap for bail companies: benefit, medium. Professional bail companies qualify after operating continuously in a county for at least 18 months. Their maximum required cash escrow deposit drops from $1 million to $500,000. Required cash escrow or other collateral also remains capped at 5% of current outstanding bail bond liability.
- Family cash bonds escape yearly limits: benefit, low. An individual posting a cash bond for an immediate family member is exempt from the three-bonds-per-year limit in each jurisdiction. The same exception removes the charitable bail fund requirements in that paragraph. It applies only to an individual posting for an immediate family member, not an or…
- Stronger notice rights for accused people: benefit, low. Before an arrest warrant hearing, officials must try to notify the person whose arrest is sought. They must use personal service or another judge- or officer-approved method likely to convey the hearing’s date, time, and location. The exception in Georgia Code Section 17-4-40(b)(6) still applies. I…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Soo Hong (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Matt Reeves (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Steven Sainz (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Mitchell Scoggins (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Tyler Paul Smith (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Randy Robertson (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-02 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 47 | 2 | 5 |
| 2026-04-02 | House | Agree to Senate Substitute | pass | 166 | 0 | 11 |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | MOTION TO TABLE REMAINING LEGISLATION ON THE RULES CALENDAR | pass | 39 | 10 | 4 |
| 2026-02-26 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 166 | 0 | 8 |

## Actions (18)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 482
- 2026-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-04-02: Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Tabled (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-26: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-02-18: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-02-04: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-02-03: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-02-02: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 1131/AP* (v7): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249069)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 1131/AP* (v7) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249069)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1131-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).