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Georgia House approves bill allowing electronic driver’s licenses in police stops with two-year rollout for scanning
Summary
The Georgia House passed House Bill 296 to allow Georgians to present a digital driver’s license to law enforcement; the measure includes privacy safeguards and a two-year period for agencies to obtain scanning equipment. Lawmakers debated readiness of poll workers and other agencies to accept digital IDs.
The Georgia House on Monday approved House Bill 296, a measure that would allow drivers to present a digital version of their driver’s license to law enforcement and other agencies once the technology is in place.
Representative Kasey Gaines, vice chair of the House committee that carried the bill, told colleagues the measure codifies existing digital-ID use and sets a two‑year period so law enforcement can obtain scanners and verification equipment. “We already have over 420,000 Georgians who use a digital driver's license,” Gaines said, adding that the bill preserves privacy safeguards and that drivers would not be required to hand their phones to officers.
Supporters said the technology is already accepted by the Transportation Security Administration for airport screening. Representative Cannon questioned whether the bill would allow digital IDs at polling places, noting current lines in the bill that reference voting and other uses. Gaines replied that the bill does not change current voting requirements and that poll workers do not yet have the technology to verify digital IDs, which is why the measure leaves those uses to a later implementation timeline.
The bill specifies privacy protections so a verifying officer can access only the information necessary for identity verification, supporters said, and the committee substitute passed the House. The clerk announced the bill had passed after the vote was recorded in the chamber.
The measure amends Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to permit presentation of a driver’s license in an electronic format for certain verifications, with implementation timing and agency-readiness provisions included in the text.
Rep. Gaines said the bill is intended to be consumer friendly and to bring Georgia law in line with practical deployment of digital-ID technology. Opponents questioned costs for non-law-enforcement agencies and whether poll workers would be prepared, but the sponsor said those agencies are not yet ready and the bill leaves them out of immediate implementation.
The House adopted the committee substitute and the bill was recorded as passed by the House.
The bill’s proponents pointed to a two‑year transition window for agencies to obtain equipment and emphasized that the law does not require a driver to hand over a personal device.
