With bipartisan support, Georgia House Bill 906 stands to give police officers the right to confiscate ATVs from their lawful owners. HB 906 relates to off-road vehicles and authorizes forfeiture of that vehicle if the rider is found driving recklessly or fleeing police.

If the driver is arrested and charged with one of these crimes, the vehicle is declared contraband and can be taken by the officer. According to the bill, even people who rightfully own their vehicles could have them taken by the police.

HB 906 is currently backed by five representatives. Four Republicans and one Democrat.  Representative J Collins, from Villa Rica, says the bill is meant to prevent large groups of riders from causing trouble on roads.

“I come from a small community. Years ago, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to see an ATV running up and down the road somewhere. We don’t want to target specific individuals. But when you have these collective groups that are plaguing neighborhoods. They’re shutting down interstates. They’re shutting down major thoroughfares in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, that’s dangerous.”

Despite what Collins says his intentions are, some Georgia riders are not in favor, making their stance known on social media, calling this bill “government theft.”

“That’s one of the reasons why we’re going to vet this bill in our committee. We want to look at some of the unintended consequences of this legislation. If you’re a 16-year-old kid or a 15-year-old kid out joyriding, that’s probably going to be one thing. But what we want to target are these groups of people.”

HB 906 is currently in a committee, set to be discussed by other lawmakers in the near future.

WGXA