# Georgia HB 944: Motor vehicles; federal regulations regarding safe operation of commercial motor carriers and commercial vehicles; update reference date

Georgia HB 944, Motor vehicles; federal regulations regarding safe operation of commercial motor carriers and commercial vehicles; update reference date, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Clint Crowe (Republican), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Eddie Lumsden (Republican) and 1 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-HB944-2025-2026
- 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 944
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Motor vehicles; federal regulations regarding safe operation of commercial motor carriers and commercial vehicles; update reference date
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Clint Crowe (Republican), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Eddie Lumsden (Republican), Lauren McDonald III (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Motor Vehicles, Transportation, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (212 yes, 4 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Georgia updates commercial vehicle safety rules: benefit, low. Georgia’s commercial vehicle safety framework now references federal regulations in effect on January 1, 2026, instead of January 1, 2025. This reference applies to covered motor carriers, commercial vehicles, drivers, and the safe transportation of hazardous materials. The law defines “Department”…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Clint Crowe (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Bill Hitchens (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Eddie Lumsden (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Lauren McDonald III (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Timothy Bearden (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-23 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 50 | 0 | 5 |
| 2026-02-10 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 162 | 4 | 8 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-06: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-06: Act 420
- 2026-04-06: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-23: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-20: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-10: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-02-03: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-01-14: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-01-13: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-01-12: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 944/AP* (v3): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247116)

## 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 944/AP* (v3) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247116)

## 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-HB944-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).