Georgia committee advances bill creating felony for material support of terrorism after amendment to add humanitarian carve-outs

Representative Brent Cox, the bill—s sponsor, presented House Bill 675, saying the measure "creates an offense, which is a felony and a penalty for material, tangible and financial terroristic acts," and asked for the committee—s "favorable consideration."

The committee—s discussion focused on three recurring concerns: whether the state law mirrors federal statute closely enough to avoid preemption, whether the measure criminalizes humanitarian or charitable deliveries, and whether the bill clearly requires proof that a defendant knew they were aiding a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The bill—s sponsor told the committee he had consulted "DAs, prosecuting attorneys, also from the AG's office, a variety of places." Chairman Gunner and other members pressed for language specifying the federal designation referenced in the text and for exemptions that appear in the federal statute.

Representative Panitch proposed amendments to clarify the bill would not apply to organizations removed from the federal foreign terrorist organization list after the statute's effective date. Representative Panitch also asked to add a specific date and executive order reference for the federal designation; the amendment language discussed the designated foreign terrorist organization list "under executive order 14157 as of 03/06/2025."

Members and outside commenters warned about criminalizing common humanitarian activities. A committee member noted there is an exception in federal law for "explosives, personnel, or transportation, except for medicine or religious materials," and urged the committee to incorporate comparable language to avoid prosecuting Red Cross or church gift packages. A representative of the committee's prosecutorial advisory group (PAC) said, "this does criminalize if you send 1 cell phone, you're subject to a 1 to 20 year felony," flagging concerns about proportionality and potential resource implications for local prosecutors.

On the mental state required for conviction, sponsor Cox confirmed the drafters intended to require that the defendant knowingly and intentionally provide support or resources; members discussed adding or clarifying "knowingly and intentionally" in the offense language.

Members also discussed delegation language that would allow the attorney general or executive branch to act on the designated list; some members said that delegation caused "a little angst" and asked for that language to be reworked.

After amendments and additional clarifying edits were proposed on the floor, the committee adopted an amendment to add the carve-out after the list of covered items so the provision would read "explosives, personnel, or transportation, except for medicine or religious materials." The committee then voted to advance the bill as amended to the Rules calendar.

Ending: The committee recorded the bill as approved by committee and sent to Rules for further consideration; members said they expect further technical edits could be made in the Senate if necessary.