ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers found a proposal they all agreed on during the 2026 legislative session.
Many bills under review had votes with strong support but some holdouts. A plan for an animal cruelty database passed unanimously in the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate.
If approved by Gov. Brian Kemp, the bill would create a database of animal cruelty offenders.
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As written, Senate Bill 587 would create a publicly searchable animal cruelty database to assist animal shelters and animal services departments with screen potential owners for animals in need of new homes.
The database would also include case information on alleged child abusers and elder abusers, in addition to the animal abuse cases under investigation or prosecuted in the state.
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The database would list the full names of each individual convicted of animal abuse, child abuse or elder abuse, or entered a guilty plea or nolo contendere in Georgia.
The database would have to be updated at least once every month and must be freely available to the public at no charge.
When someone is convicted of any of the abuses relevant to the bill, the conviction and sentence must be sent to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council within 60 days.
The PAC will also be able to solicit input from members of state law enforcement and prosecutors for determining what information should also be included in the animal cruelty database, according to SB 587.
The Georgia House and Senate both voted to pass the bill unanimously on Tuesday, with only a few members of each chamber not participating in the vote. None voted against it.
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