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Fleeing And Eluding While Driving Under The Influence Increased To A Felony Charge

This week, the Georgia State Senate united to pass the majority of Lt. Governor Mark Taylor’s legislative agenda, strengthening public safety measures and protecting Georgia families. All measures passed with unanimous support of the Senate.

The Senate voted to strengthen Georgia’s Driving Under the Influence (DUI) law (SB 13/75), to provide for post-conviction DNA testing (SB119), to close the loopholes in child prostitution laws (SB 77) and to enact a child endangerment felony statute (SB 1).

Sponsored by Sen. Connie Stokes (D-43), Taylor’s DUI legislation was added onto Senate Bill 13. The legislation encompasses the recommendations made by a non-partisan blue ribbon commission on DUI which studied Georgia's current DUI laws for 2 years.   Sen. Stokes served on the Commission.  Together, both measures significantly enhance the current DUI laws and are the result of a bipartisan effort.

“Closing these loopholes was long overdue.  I am grateful for Sen. Stokes and Sen. Balfour’s perseverance so that so we can prevent tragic, unnecessary deaths on Georgia’s highways,” Lt. Governor Taylor said.

Taylor’s proposal strengthens the DUI laws by harmonizing alcohol DUI with drug DUI for the purposes of driver’s license suspension and surrender of drivers’ licenses.  The law also adds a strict penalty for the offense of fleeing and eluding while driving under the influence by increasing it to a felony charge.

The new legislation enables the use of Post-Conviction DNA testing to help prove identity and possibly lead to a new trial. Currently, Georgia law does not provide guidance as to when DNA testing should be done in a post-conviction context.

Under the legislation, a court can allow  DNA testing of evidence after a conviction if (1) identity of perpetrator was significant issue, (2) evidence exists that can be tested to produce reliable results, (3) a reasonable probability exists that exculpatory results of testing would have affected the outcome of the trial, (4) evidence was not previously tested in manner requested.  Once testing results come back, the court decides whether to grant a motion for a new trial.

 “This legislation is about and providing law enforcement all the tools it needs to prosecute the right people and making sure that innocent people are never subjected to imprisonment or to society’s highest penalty -- capital punishment,” Taylor said.

The Senate also closed the loopholes in Georgia’s child prostitution laws. When the child prostitution laws were reformed two years ago, penalties for pimping or pandering a minor were increased to a felony and imprisonment between one and five years.   However, “keeping a place of prostitution” was left at a misdemeanor.

Sponsored by Sen. Vincent Fort (D-39), Taylor’s legislation changed the law to make the keeping a place of prostitution a felony.  It applies to children under 18 and creates a prison sentence between 5-20 years (same as pimping and pandering) for those who subject children under 18 to places of prostitution.

“It is common sense that we would make it a felony to subject children to places of prostitution. It is atrocious and deserves harsh punishment,” Fort said.

On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed Taylor’s child endangerment legislation which protects Georgia’s children by making it a felony to put a child under 18 in imminent danger.

“This week, we have shown the people of Georgia that there are many issues that the Senate can come together on and that is why I continue to believe that we will keep this state moving forward by focusing on kitchen-table issues, like public safety,” Taylor said.   

“I am very appreciative of the Senate’s bipartisan support.”

For more information, please contact Kristi Huller at 678-488-0174.

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