Monday, March 8, 2021 marked Legislative Day 28, or “Crossover Day,” and the beginning of the ninth week of the 2021 legislative session. Crossover Day is a crucial deadline for the House and Senate as this is the last day for bills to pass out of the legislative chamber from which they originated to remain eligible to be signed into law this year. As a result, Crossover Day was one of the longest days of this session.
House members from across the aisle came together last week to unanimously pass House Bill 479, which would repeal Georgia’s antiquated citizen’s arrest law. Under HB 479:
· Law enforcement officers would only be able to make an arrest for an offense outside of their jurisdiction if the offense is committed in an officer’s presence or within his or her immediate knowledge, when the officer is in immediate pursuit of an offender for an offense first committed within the officer’s jurisdiction or while assisting another officer in his or her jurisdiction
· Would authorize retail store and food service establishment owners and employees to detain someone if they reasonably believe that the individual committed or attempted to commit shoplifting, theft or fraud
· Would prohibit any use of force that is intended or likely to cause great bodily harm or death
· State motor weight inspectors and licensed private detectives, or security businesses may detain individuals when conducting their official business. However, the legislation clarifies that if these private citizens detain an individual, they must release the individual or contact law enforcement within a reasonable time
House Bill 255, or the “Sexual Assault Reform Act of 2021,” also passed unanimously on Crossover Day to improve the state’s handling of sexual assault cases.
· Implement a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system to give survivors the ability to track and receive updates on the status of evidence from their case
· Require sexual assault protocol committees to submit an annual certification to ensure statewide compliance, update our laws to reflect cases where the victim does not want to immediately report the case, as well as require law enforcement to retain physical evidence for at least 12 months
We passed another bipartisan measure last week that would address sexual abuse crimes against children in the state.
House Bill 109, the “Child Victim Protection Act of 2021,” would extend the amount of time that survivors of childhood sexual abuse can file civil action from two years to four years if the abuse occurred after July 1, 2015 and has proven to have caused physical or psychological harm.
Victims between 23 and 38 years old would also be able to bring a civil action for recovery of damages because of childhood sexual abuse that occurred under an entity’s supervision, such as a non-profit or religious organization.
These civil actions could be brought against an entity if the entity was aware or should have been aware that such abuse occurred under its watch and failed to take remedial action against the alleged abuser.
This legislation would send a strong message that childhood sexual abuse will not be tolerated in Georgia, hold organizations accountable for protecting children under their care, and support victims of childhood sexual abuse.
We also passed two measures last week that would extend protections to survivors of domestic violence in Georgia.
House Bill 231 would create a new temporary protective order (TPO) specifically for dating violence which is not currently covered by a TPO for family violence.
