Georgia lawmakers propose bills to protect people with disabilities during police encounters

Georgia lawmakers held a news conference Wednesday to introduce two pieces of legislation that aim to protect people with mental or physical disabilities.

State Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, introduced Senate Bill 419, or “Eric’s ID Law,” which would allow people with physical or mental disabilities that are not immediately obvious or visible to request a symbol to go on the front of their driver’s licenses to alert law enforcement during an encounter.

Linda Carpenter-Grantham said she was explaining to her son, Eric, how to interact with the police because he is on the autism spectrum. He started crying.

“He said, ‘Mom, I could do that, but the police might shoot my friends that have autism and other disabilities because we’re all different on the spectrum,’” she said.

Linda and Eric came up with Eric’s Law in Maryland in 2023 to address issues surrounding hidden disabilities and the police. The law was passed in Maryland last year and drafts of the bill have also been introduced in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

The symbol on the driver’s license aims to help alert police officers that the person they are dealing with has a hidden disability and might respond differently to stressful situations.

At a joint appropriations committee hearing on Jan. 22, Sen. James asked Department of Public Safety Commissioner Billy Hitchens if the legislation would help them do their job.

“Anytime we have more information going up there would help us understand why a person may be acting the way they are,” he said. “In our situation, more information is usually better.”

Although Hitchens acknowledged that sometimes people do not want to hand over their license, he said any attempt to give the officers more information about the individual they are pulling over would help them better assess the situation.

Another piece of legislation that was highlighted on Wednesday was House Bill 465, or the Autism Missing Person Alert System Act. The bill would establish a rapid alert system for missing individuals with autism. It was passed in the House in the 2025 Legislative Session and is awaiting consideration in the Senate.