Bill > SB296

This bill establishes two new criminal offenses related to operating a school bus while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Georgia. The first offense applies specifically to school bus drivers licensed under state law who are caught driving under the influence, with penalties including imprisonment for one to five years and/or a fine between $1,000 and $5,000. The second offense applies to anyone who causes an accident while driving under the influence that results in damage to an occupied school bus, which also carries a potential one to five-year prison sentence and/or a fine between $1,000 and $5,000, with the additional requirement that the first 90 days of any imprisonment cannot be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld. These new provisions are added to the existing driving under the influence statute and are designed to create more serious consequences for incidents involving school buses, reflecting the heightened risk to children's safety. The bill also repeals a previous, presumably less comprehensive law about driving a school bus under the influence, and includes a standard clause repealing any laws in conflict with these new provisions.

Justice

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70934