Committee advances Georgia Anti-Squatting Act with amendments after debate on innkeeper and due-process issues

The Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee advanced a committee substitute for House Bill 61, titled in the hearing the "Georgia Anti‑Squatting Act of 02/2025," and adopted two technical amendments after debate over protections for extended-stay guests and law-enforcement liability.

Representative Seabaugh, the bill's author, told the committee the substitute creates magistrate-court jurisdiction for unlawful squatting cases, adds unlawful squatting to magistrate misdemeanor trials with countywide jurisdiction, defines unlawful squatting and mandatory restitution, and adds protections for innkeepers and landlords. He summarized key provisions: mandatory restitution based on fair-market rent for convictions under the cited squatting code; clarification that guests remain guests unless a written agreement creates tenancy;…