# Georgia HB 162: Georgia Bureau of Investigation; restriction and seal of First Offender Act sentences until such status is revoked; provide Georgia HB 162, Georgia Bureau of Investigation; restriction and seal of First Offender Act sentences until such status is revoked; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Katie Dempsey (Republican), Leesa Hagan (Republican), Rob Leverett (Republican) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB162-2025-2026 - 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 162 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Georgia Bureau of Investigation; restriction and seal of First Offender Act sentences until such status is revoked; provide - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-28 - Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date - Sponsors: Katie Dempsey (Republican), Leesa Hagan (Republican), Rob Leverett (Republican), Matt Reeves (Republican), Tyler Paul Smith (Republican), Bill Werkheiser (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Judiciary Non-Civil, Judiciary, General Bill - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 3 (385 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More record privacy for first offenders: benefit, medium. Georgia limits public and private sharing of covered first-offender arrest, charge, sentence, warrant, and probation records. Courts must seal First Offender Act court records and restrict covered law-enforcement records at sentencing or during the sentence. People sentenced before July 1, 2026, ca… - Sealed records for discharged first offenders: benefit, medium. Georgia restricts court records when a first offender is exonerated and discharged without a court finding of guilt. Clerks must seal case documents within 60 days of discharge or a sealing order. People discharged before July 1, 2026, can petition the discharge-granting court to seal public record… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Katie Dempsey (Republican), House - Sponsor: Leesa Hagan (Republican), House - Sponsor: Rob Leverett (Republican), House - Sponsor: Matt Reeves (Republican), House - Sponsor: Tyler Paul Smith (Republican), House - Sponsor: Bill Werkheiser (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Bill Cowsert (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-23 | House | Agree to Senate Substitute | pass | 166 | 0 | 5 | | 2026-03-12 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 47 | 0 | 3 | | 2025-02-19 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 172 | 0 | 3 | ## Actions (20) - 2026-07-01: Effective Date - 2026-05-05: House Date Signed by Governor (House) - 2026-05-05: Act 403 - 2026-04-06: House Sent to Governor (House) - 2026-03-23: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House) - 2026-03-12: Senate Third Read (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate) - 2026-01-12: Senate Taken from Table (Senate) - 2026-01-12: Senate Recommitted (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Senate Tabled (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Senate Read Second Time (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate) - 2025-02-20: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-02-19: House Third Readers (House) - 2025-02-19: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House) - 2025-02-12: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2025-01-30: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-01-29: House First Readers (House) - 2025-01-28: House Hopper (House) ## Bill text - HB 162/AP* (v8): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247114) ## 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 162/AP* (v8) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247114) ## 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) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB162-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).