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Georgia House approves bill allowing digital driver’s licenses for law enforcement checks
Summary
The House passed HB 296 to let Georgians present a digital driver’s license to law enforcement; voting and some agency uses remain excluded while poll workers lack the scanning technology.
The Georgia House on March 3, 2025, approved House Bill 296 to allow drivers to present a Department of Driver Services digital driver’s license to law enforcement during traffic stops, Representative Gaines said during floor debate.
Supporters said the measure modernizes identification procedures and aligns state practice with existing national uses such as TSA’s acceptance of digital IDs. Vice Chair Gaines told the House that more than 420,000 Georgians already use a digital driver’s license and that the bill would allow officers to verify a digital credential using “tap to touch” or scanning technology without requiring a motorist to hand over their phone.
The bill includes a two‑year transition period intended to give law enforcement agencies time to procure compatible verification equipment. Gaines and other supporters said the measure contains privacy safeguards so officers can access only the information required for identity verification. The text as presented maintains existing requirements that agencies not yet equipped — for example, many polling places and certain licensing desks — continue to rely on physical identification; Gaines said those agencies “are not quite ready” to verify digital IDs.
Lawmakers asked several procedural and technical questions. Representative Cannon asked whether the bill would require a physical license for voting; Gaines replied that it “is not a change in current law” and that election workers currently lack the technology to verify digital IDs. Chairman Corbett asked about privacy protections; Gaines answered that the bill includes safeguards limiting the data accessible to officers. A parliamentary inquiry from Representative Campbell flagged that the bill requires law enforcement to acquire verification equipment and noted the body could have extended that line to other agencies if desired.
The House adopted the committee substitute and then passed the bill on a floor vote. The transcript does not give a clear, consistent numeric tally for the final recorded roll call on the bill.
