Georgia Code
Article 2 - Assault and Battery
§ 16-5-23.1. Battery

History. Code 1981, § 16-5-23.1 , enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 1010, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 971, §§ 7, 8; Ga. L. 1996, p. 449, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 907, § 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1064, § 9; Ga. L. 1998, p. 128, § 16; Ga. L. 1999, p. 562, § 4; Ga. L. 2000, p. 16, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 621, § 3; Ga. L. 2011, p. 227, § 4/SB 178; Ga. L. 2016, p. 587, § 1/SB 193; Ga. L. 2019, p. 81, § 1/HB 424; Ga. L. 2021, p. 384, § 3/HB 363.
The 2019 amendment, effective April 18, 2019, substituted “(k)” for “(l)” in subsection (c); deleted former subsection (j), which read: “Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) and paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Code section, any person who commits the offense of battery against a person who is 65 years of age or older shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.”; and redesignated former subsections (k) and (l) as present subsections (j) and (k), respectively.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, substituted “Reserved.” for the former provisions of subsection (j), which read: “A person who is an employee, agent, or volunteer at any facility licensed or required to be licensed under Code Section 31-7-3, relating to long-term care facilities, or Code Section 31-7-12.2, relating to assisted living communities, or Code Section 31-7-12, relating to personal care homes, or who is required to be licensed pursuant to Code Section 31-7-151 or 31-7-173, relating to home health care and hospices, who commits the offense of battery against a person who is admitted to or receiving services from such facility, person, or entity shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.”
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1987, a comma was inserted following “stay” in paragraph (d)(2).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1997, subsection (h), which was added by Ga. L. 1997, p. 1064, was redesignated as subsection (i).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 1997, p. 1064, § 12, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the provisions of that Act “shall not affect or abate the status of a crime or delinquent act or of any such act or omission which occurred prior to the effective date of this Act, nor shall the prosecution of such crime or delinquent act be abated as a result of the provisions of this Act.”
Ga. L. 1997, p. 1064, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Juvenile Justice Act of 1997’. ”
Ga. L. 1999, p. 562, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Crimes Against Elderly Act of 1999’. ”
Ga. L. 2000, p. 16, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 2000 amendment to this Code section is applicable to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2000.
Ga. L. 2004, p. 621, § 9(b), not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment by that Act shall apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2004.
Law reviews.
For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 69 (1997).
For article, “Misdemeanor Sentencing in Georgia,” see 7 Ga. St. B. J. (2001).
For annual survey on evidence law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 101 (2017).
For note on 2000 amendment of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23.1 , see 17 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 89 (2000).
For comment, “The Abuse of Animals as a Method of Domestic Violence: The Need for Criminalization,” see 63 Emory L.J. 1163 (2014).