---
type: "Bill"
title: "Paternity; Uniform Parentage Act of 2017; align evidentiary medical and genetic testing"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to determination of paternity, so as to align evidentiary medical and genetic testing with the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017; 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: "SB 135"
citation: "Georgia SB 135 (2023_24)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bo Hatchett", "Bo Hatchett", "Brian Strickland", "Jason Esteves", "John F. Kennedy", "Kay Kirkpatrick", "Kim Jackson", "Lee Anderson", "Matt Brass", "Max Burns", "Mike Dugan", "Rick Williams", "Sam Watson", "Sonya Halpern", "Steve Gooch"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 16
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-02-09"
last_action: "2023-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1f35a63e-d0c0-4261-9fc6-4a1c4c42220e"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "38c410458c0eb03016602a2c47a862daf441d10fee2a0fc0b3a6863aed7dbe5c"
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 SB 135 (2023_24) — Paternity; Uniform Parentage Act of 2017; align evidentiary medical and genetic testing

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to determination of paternity, so as to align evidentiary medical and genetic testing with the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017; 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. **As introduced LC 48 0818** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/214185.pdf)
2. **As passed Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/216567.pdf)
3. **Committee sub LC 48 0857S** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/215237.pdf)
4. **SB 135/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/219042.pdf)

## Votes

- House Vote #269 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **171–0** (pass) · lower
- Senate Vote #109 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **56–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bo Hatchett — primary (person)
- Bo Hatchett — primary (person)
- Brian Strickland — primary (person)
- Jason Esteves — primary (person)
- John F. Kennedy — primary (person)
- Kay Kirkpatrick — primary (person)
- Kim Jackson — primary (person)
- Lee Anderson — primary (person)
- Matt Brass — primary (person)
- Max Burns — primary (person)
- Mike Dugan — primary (person)
- Rick Williams — primary (person)
- Sam Watson — primary (person)
- Sonya Halpern — primary (person)
- Steve Gooch — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-09** Senate Hopper `introduction`
- **2023-02-13** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-21** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-22** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2023-03-01** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2023-03-01** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2023-03-02** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2023-03-06** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2023-03-14** House Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-20** House Postponed
- **2023-03-21** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2023-03-21** House Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2023-04-05** Senate Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-05-02** Senate Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-02** Act 244 `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/1f35a63e-d0c0-4261-9fc6-4a1c4c42220e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).