Committee hears HB673 to extend First Offender Act to some juveniles tried as adults; prosecutors seek technical fixes

The House Judiciary (Juvenile) Committee held a hearing on HB673, a proposal to extend aspects of Georgia’s First Offender Act to certain people who committed crimes when they were 13–16 years old and were tried as adults. Lawmakers heard testimony from the bill’s author, people personally impacted by juvenile sentencing, district attorneys and defense and reentry organizations before the chair declared the item a hearing only and asked the sponsor to develop a substitute addressing several technical concerns.

Representative Lim, the bill’s sponsor, said HB673 (LC 489002) would allow courts to consider deferring judgment under first-offender procedures for juveniles tried as adults for “serious crimes,” but as written it requires both probation and confinement as part of the sentence before someone could be eligible for first-offender treatment. The sponsor emphasized the proposal would not automatically release young people without accountability but would offer one discretionary path for some first-time offenders to have their…