---
type: "Bill"
title: "Georgia Ports Authority; provide for powers; expand arrest authority of officers"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 2 of Title 52 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to Georgia Ports Authority, so as to provide for powers of the authority; to expand the arrest authority of officers of the Georgia Ports Authority in certain circumstances; to provide for additional powers and duties of such officers; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2023_24"
identifier: "HB 35"
citation: "Georgia HB 35 (2023_24)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Al Williams", "Bill Hitchens", "Eddie Lumsden", "Edna Jackson", "Ron Stephens"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 16
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-01-13"
last_action: "2023-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7eaaa352-5f19-4c7d-997a-b184e1d9c788"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "a6d97aa2d24d0f21e37cfaba21b75cb839d7ad69e9028bb9e86b459344a4f733"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 35 (2023_24) — Georgia Ports Authority; provide for powers; expand arrest authority of officers

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 2 of Title 52 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to Georgia Ports Authority, so as to provide for powers of the authority; to expand the arrest authority of officers of the Georgia Ports Authority in certain circumstances; to provide for additional powers and duties of such officers; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 35/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/220460.pdf)
2. **LC 39 3562/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/212488.pdf)
3. **Sen ctee sub LC 39 3890S** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/217834.pdf)

## Votes

- Senate Vote #250 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **54–0** (pass) · upper
- House Vote #346 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **172–0** (pass) · lower
- House Vote #21 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **164–2** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Al Williams — primary (person)
- Bill Hitchens — primary (person)
- Eddie Lumsden — primary (person)
- Edna Jackson — primary (person)
- Ron Stephens — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-01-13** House Hopper `introduction`
- **2023-01-23** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2023-01-24** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2023-02-02** House Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-08** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2023-02-08** House Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2023-02-09** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-14** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-15** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2023-03-20** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2023-03-20** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2023-03-29** House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub
- **2023-04-05** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-05-01** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-01** Act 56 `executive-signature`
- **2023-07-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7eaaa352-5f19-4c7d-997a-b184e1d9c788`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).