Text of GA HB 426 (2020)

19 LC 28 9224 H. B. 426 - 1 - House Bill 426 By: Representatives Efstration of the 104th, Smyre of the 135th, Bennett of the 94th, Silcox of the 52nd, Drenner of the 85th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, 1 relating to procedure for sentencing and imposition of punishment, so as to revise the criteria 2 for imposition of punishment for crimes involving bias or prejudice; to revise the sanctions 3 for such crimes; to provide for the manner of serving such sentences; to provide for related 4 matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 6 SECTION 1. 7 Article 1 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to 8 procedure for sentencing and imposition of punishment, is amended by revising Code 9 Section 17-10-17, relating to sentencing of defendants guilty of crimes involving bias or 10 prejudice, circumstances, and parole, as follows: 11 "17-10-17. 12 (a) Subject to the notice requirement provided in Code Section 17-10-18 and in 13 enhancement of the penalty imposed, if the trier of fact determines beyond a reasonable 14 doubt that the defendant intentionally selected any victim or any property of the victim as 15 the object of the offense because of bias or prejudice the individual's belief or perception 16 regarding the race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, mental 17 disability, or physical disability of such person or group of persons, whether or not such 18 individual's belief or perception was correct, the judge imposing sentence shall: 19 (1) If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a misdemeanor, increase the 20 sentence and the fine normally imposed by the court through court policy or voluntary 21 sentencing guidelines by 50 percent up to the maximum authorized by law impose a 22 sentence of imprisonment for a period of not less than three nor more than 12 months, 23 and a fine not to exceed $5,000.00; 24 (2) If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a misdemeanor of a high and 25 aggravated nature, increase the sentence and fine normally imposed by the court through 26 19 LC 28 9224 H. B. 426 - 2 - court policy or voluntary sentencing guidelines by 50 percent up to the maximum 27 authorized by law impose a sentence of imprisonment for a period of not less than six nor 28 more than 12 months, and a fine not to exceed $5,000.00; or 29 (3) If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a felony, increase the 30 sentence normally imposed by the court through court policy or voluntary sentencing 31 guidelines by up to five years, not to exceed the maximum authorized by law impose a 32 sentence of imprisonment for a period of not less than two years. 33 (b) The judge shall state when the judge he or she imposes the sentence the amount of the 34 increase of the sentence based on the application of subsection (a) of this Code section. 35 (c) Any person convicted of a felony and given an enhanced sentence under this Code 36 section shall not be eligible for any form of parole or early release until such person has 37 served at least 90 percent of the sentence imposed by the sentencing court felony sentence 38 imposed pursuant to this Code section shall be not be suspended, stayed, probated, 39 deferred, or withheld by the sentencing court. Any misdemeanor sentence imposed 40 pursuant to this Code section shall be computed by actual days of incarceration." 41 SECTION 2. 42 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. 43

20 HB 426/AP H. B. 426 - 1 - House Bill 426 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Efstration of the 104th, Smyre of the 135th, Bennett of the 94th, Silcox of the 52nd, Drenner of the 85th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, 1 relating to procedure for sentencing and imposition of punishment, so as to repeal certain 2 provisions regarding the sentencing of defendants for crimes involving bias or prejudice; to 3 provide criteria for imposition of punishment for defendants who select their victims based 4 upon certain biases or prejudices; to provide the sanctions for such crimes; to provide a 5 definition; to provide for reporting of bias motivated crimes and the attributes of the parties; 6 to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 8 SECTION 1. 9 Article 1 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to 10 procedure for sentencing and imposition of punishment, is amended by repealing Code 11 Section 17-10-17, relating to sentencing of defendants guilty of crimes involving bias or 12 prejudice, circumstances, and parole, in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code 13 section to read as follows: 14 "17-10-17. 15 (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'designated misdemeanor' means: 16 (1) Simple assault as defined in Code Section 16-5-20; 17 (2) Simple battery as defined in Code Section 16-5-23; 18 (3) Battery as defined in Code Section 16-5-23.1; 19 (4) Criminal trespass as defined in Code Section 16-7-21; and 20 (5) Misdemeanor theft by taking as defined in Code Section 16-8-2. 21 (b) Subject to the notice requirement provided in Code Section 17-10-18 and in 22 enhancement of the penalty imposed, if the trier of fact determines beyond a reasonable 23 doubt that the defendant intentionally selected any victim or group of victims or any 24 property as the object of the offense because of such victim's or group of victims' actual or 25 20 HB 426/AP H. B. 426 - 2 - perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental 26 disability, or physical disability, the judge imposing sentence shall: 27 (1) If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a designated misdemeanor, 28 impose a sentence of imprisonment for a period of not less than six nor more than 12 29 months, and a fine not to exceed $5,000.00; or 30 (2) If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a felony, impose a sentence 31 of imprisonment for a period of not less than two years, and a fine not to exceed 32 $5,000.00. 33 (c) The judge shall state when he or she imposes the sentence the amount of the increase 34 of the sentence based on the application of subsection (b) of this Code section." 35 SECTION 2. 36 Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, is 37 amended in Article 2 of Chapter 4, relating to arrest by law enforcement officers generally, 38 by adding a new Code section to read as follows: 39 "17-4-20.2. 40 (a) Whenever a law enforcement officer investigates an incident of a crime in which it 41 appears that the defendant intentionally selected any victim or group of victims or any 42 property as the object of the offense because of such victim's or group of victims' actual or 43 perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental 44 disability, or physical disability, whether or not an arrest is made, the officer shall prepare 45 and submit to the law enforcement officer's supervisor or other designated person a written 46 report of the incident entitled 'Bias Crime Report.' Forms for such reports shall be designed 47 and provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The report shall include: 48 (1) Names of the parties; 49 (2) Relationship of the parties; 50 (3) Sex and gender of the parties; 51 (4) Race of the parties; 52 (5) Religion of the parties; 53 (6) Dates of birth of the parties; 54 (7) Time, place, and date of the incident; 55 (8) Whether there is evidence to indicate that the incident occurred because of a person's 56 actual or perceived attributes as specified by subsection (a) of this Code section; 57 (9) Type and extent of the alleged violation; 58 (10) Existence of any objects or symbols associated with the terrorizing of persons based 59 upon actual or perceived race, religion, or sex; 60 20 HB 426/AP H. B. 426 - 3 - (11) Number and types of weapons involved, if any; 61 (12) Existence of any prior difficulties between the parties; 62 (13) Type of police action taken in disposition of case; 63 (14) Whether the victim was apprised of available remedies and services; and 64 (15) Any other information the officer deems pertinent. 65 (b) The report provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be considered for 66 statistical purposes only and, where no arrests are made, shall not be subject to the 67 provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. However, upon request, a defendant who 68 has been arrested for a criminal violation subject to Code Section 17-10-17 and the victim 69 shall be entitled to review and copy any report prepared in accordance with this Code 70 section relating to the defendant. 71 (c) Each police department, including local precincts and county sheriff departments, shall 72 report, according to rules and regulations of the Georgia Crime Information Center, all 73 incidents involving alleged criminal violations subject to the provisions of this Code 74 section, both arrests and nonarrests, to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which shall 75 compile and analyze statistics of such crimes and cause them to be published annually in 76 the Georgia Uniform Crime Reports. An offense shall be counted for each incident 77 reported to the police. A zero shall be reported if no incidents have occurred during the 78 reporting period." 79 SECTION 3. 80 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. 81