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HB 296GEORGIASession 2025_26State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Georgia House Bill 296 regulates electronic driver's licenses, voting identification rules, and vehicle tax payments

Original title: Motor vehicles; presentation of a driver's license in a certain electronic format; provisions

Last action · May 14, 2025: House Date Signed by GovernorSponsors: Houston Gaines and 6 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Does

House Bill 296 establishes that electronic driver's licenses can satisfy driving possession requirements if officers have verification equipment, but explicitly mandates physical driver's licenses for voting identification, fishing and hunting licenses, and lifetime sportsman residency proof. The law also prohibits law enforcement from compelling drivers to hand over their phones during a license check and permits a 50 percent split payment for es on special modified rental vehicles and for-hire charter buses.

Why it matters

Drivers can display licenses digitally without risking device searches, but voters and license applicants must use physical cards, and certain commercial vehicle operators receive delayed tax payment schedules.

Background
  • House Bill 296 was passed by the Georgia General Assembly during the 2025-2026 legislative session and signed into law by the Governor. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Drivers

Drivers may display licenses electronically on mobile devices during traffic stops without consenting to device searches, but must pay a fine if failing to produce a physical license when required.

Directly affected

Voters

Voters must present physical identification formats rather than electronic versions at polling places.

Directly affected

Law enforcement officers

Officers must acquire electronic verification equipment by July 1, 2027, and are prohibited from compelling drivers to hand over wireless devices.

Key Facts

  • Electors must present a physical Georgia driver's license or other approved physical identification at polling places.
  • Purchasing hunting, fishing, trapping, or lifetime sportsman's licenses requires displaying a physical driver's license or reliable identification.
  • Drivers must have their license in immediate possession, though department-issued receipts confirmed by the state or crime information center suffice.
  • Law enforcement officers cannot compel a driver to hand over or release a wireless telecommunications device to check an electronic license.
Show all 8 facts
  • Utilizing a wireless telecommunications device to display an electronic license does not constitute consent to search the device.
  • All law enforcement officers must acquire equipment capable of verifying electronic driver's licenses by July 1, 2027.
  • A person convicted of failing to possess a physical license while driving is fined no more than $10.00 if a valid license is produced in court.
  • Applicants registering for a certificate of title for for-hire charter buses, motor coaches, or special modified rental vehicles pay 50 percent of the title ad valorem tax upfront, with the remaining 50 percent due within 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use an electronic driver's license when voting at a polling place?
No. State law requires electors to present a Georgia driver's license in a physical format or another approved physical photo identification.
Does handing my phone to an officer to show my digital license give them permission to search my phone?
No. The law explicitly states that displaying an electronic license on a wireless device does not consent to a search of that device, and officers cannot compel you to release the device to them.
When must law enforcement agencies be equipped to verify electronic licenses?
By July 1, 2027, all law enforcement officers must acquire equipment capable of verifying licenses issued in an electronic format.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

20 actions
  1. Jul 1, 2025Georgia General Assembly
    Effective Date
  2. May 14, 2025HouseEnrolled
    House Date Signed by Governor
  3. May 14, 2025GovernorEnrolled
    Act 256
  4. Apr 10, 2025House
    House Sent to Governor
  5. Apr 4, 2025Senate
    Senate Taken from Table
  6. Apr 4, 2025Senate
    Senate Third Read
Show 14 earlier actions
  1. Apr 4, 2025SenateFloor
    Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended
  2. Apr 4, 2025HouseFloor
    House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub
  3. Apr 2, 2025Senate
    Senate Tabled
  4. Mar 13, 2025Senate
    Senate Read Second Time
  5. Mar 11, 2025SenateCommittee
    Senate Committee Favorably Reported
  6. Mar 4, 2025SenateIntroduced
    Senate Read and Referred
  7. Mar 3, 2025House
    House Third Readers
  8. Mar 3, 2025HouseFloor
    House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
  9. Feb 26, 2025HouseCommittee
    House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
  10. Feb 24, 2025House
    House Withdrawn, Recommitted
  11. Feb 11, 2025HouseCommittee
    House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
  12. Feb 10, 2025House
    House Second Readers
  13. Feb 6, 2025HouseIntroduced
    House First Readers
  14. Feb 5, 2025HouseIntroduced
    House Hopper

Version history & redline

7 versions on file
Comparing LC 39 4667S/hcs → HB 296/AP*
removed addedOfficial text
25 removed: LC 39 4667S added: HB 296/AP House Bill 296 removed: (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE) added: (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Gaines of the 120th , Corbett of the 174th , Kelley of the 16th , Blackmon of the 146th , Wiedower of […] officer; to require the provision of equipment and the implementation of technology capable of verifying validity of driver's licenses in such electronic formats; to added: amend Code Section 48-5C-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alternative ad valorem taxation of motor vehicles and title ad valorem tax fee, so as to provide for added: an alternative method for payment of title ad valorem tax for certain modified rental vehicles; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Code Section 21-2-417 […] she produces in court a license theretofore issued to him or her and valid at the time of his or her arrest." SECTION 5. added: Code Section 48-5C-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alternative ad valorem taxation of motor vehicles and title ad valorem tax fee, is amended in subsection (d) by repealing paragraph (7.1) and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows: "(19)(A) As used in this paragraph, the term: (i) 'For-hire charter bus or motor coach' means a motor vehicle designed for carrying more than 15 passengers and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. (ii) 'Special modified rental vehicle' means a motor vehicle that has been significantly modified at a manufacturing facility in this state, provided that: (I) Such manufacturing facility is operated by the owner of such motor vehicle; (II) Such owner primarily uses such motor vehicle by renting or leasing it without a driver to businesses; (III) Such rental or lease transactions are subject to Georgia state and local sales and use taxes; and (IV) Such owner provides the department with an affidavit affirming that the vehicle has been significantly modified and that the other qualifications of this definition have been met for such vehicle. (B) In the case of for-hire charter buses or motor coaches or special modified rental vehicles, the person applying for a certificate of title shall be required to pay title ad valorem tax fees in the amount of 50 percent of the amount which would otherwise be due and payable under this subsection at the time of filing the application for a certificate of title, and the remaining 50 percent shall be paid within 12 months following the filing of such application." SECTION 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Houston GainesHouse · District 120RepublicanPrimary sponsor
John CorbettHouse · District 174RepublicanCosponsor
Trey KelleyHouse · District 16RepublicanCosponsor
Shaw BlackmonHouse · District 146RepublicanCosponsor
Wiedower, Marcus 121stHouseCosponsorNo profile match
Show 2 more sponsors
Scott HiltonHouse · District 48RepublicanCosponsor
Randy RobertsonSenate · District 29RepublicanCosponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Codification of Electronic Driver's Licenses Alongside Strict Physical Mandates

The legislation simultaneously creates legal pathways for electronic driver's licenses during traffic stops while strictly barring electronic IDs from voting and hunting/fishing licensing contexts.

Department of Driver Services

Connected Entities

Georgia Crime Information Center, Department of Driver Services
OrganizationGeorgia Crime Information Center“Confirms validity of driver's license receipts”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Driver Services“Issues driver's licenses and identification cards”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.ga.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy45
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz50
    Current news / social attention level

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