Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 6 R cosponsors

HB 1226 — Crimes; justification for use of force in defense of self or others; revise standards

Last action — House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced February 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to justification and excuse in defenses to criminal prosecutions, so as to revise standards of justification for use of force in defense of self or others; to provide for a rebuttable presumption; to provide for timing for claims of immunity from prosecution based upon justification; to provide for standards of proof; to amend Code Section 51-11-9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to no duty to retreat and immunity in certain instances of threat or use of force, so as to extend immunity from civil liability in justified use of force cases to legal representatives and heirs of the person against whom force was used; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

  2. House Withdrawn, Recommitted

  3. House Committee Favorably Reported

  4. House Second Readers

  5. House First Readers

  6. House Hopper

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 5 co-sponsors · 241 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (5)

Not signed on (241)

241 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1226 do?
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to justification and excuse in defenses to criminal prosecutions, so as to revise standards of justification for use of force in defense of self or others; to provide for a rebuttable presumption; to provide for timing for claims of immunity from prosecution based upon justification; to provide for standards of proof; to amend Code Section 51-11-9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to no duty to retreat and immunity in certain instances of threat or use of force, so as to extend immunity from civil liability in justified use of force cases to legal representatives and heirs of the person against whom force was used; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Who sponsors HB 1226?
HB 1226 is sponsored by Karen Mathiak (Republican), Josh Bonner (Republican), Alan Powell (Republican), Tyler Paul Smith (Republican), David Clark (Republican), and Jordan Ridley (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1226?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced February 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 1226?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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