From cell phone restrictions in schools to tax credits for families and tougher fentanyl penalties, dozens of new Georgia laws are set to take effect July 1.

The changes touch nearly every part of daily life, affecting students, parents, workers, business owners and consumers across the state.

Education changes

Several of the new laws focus on Georgia schools and students.

House Bill 340, known as the Distraction-Free Education Act, requires public school districts to adopt policies restricting students' use of personal electronic devices in grades K-8 during the school day.

Senate Bill 1 requires school athletic teams to be designated as male, female or coeducational and limits participation based on those designations.

Senate Bill 63 requires public schools to make standardized testing available to homeschooled students.

Senate Bill 123 prohibits schools from expelling students solely because of excessive absences or truancy.

Criminal justice and public safety

A number of laws target fentanyl trafficking, sentencing and compensation for people who were wrongfully convicted.

Senate Bill 79 increases criminal penalties for fentanyl trafficking.

Senate Bill 244 creates a process allowing people who were wrongfully convicted to seek compensation from the state and recover legal expenses.

House Bill 582, known as the Survivor Justice Act, allows courts to consider reduced sentences for victims of domestic violence or human trafficking who committed crimes under coercion.

Senate Bill 547 increases penalties for certain pimping and pandering offenses.

Taxes and finances

Several new laws are aimed at providing tax relief to Georgia families.

House Bill 111 lowers Georgia's flat income tax rate as part of the state's ongoing tax reduction plan.

House Bill 136 creates a $250 tax credit for children younger than 6 and expands dependent care tax credits.

House Bill 945 establishes new regulations for cryptocurrency kiosks and allows financial institutions to place temporary holds on transactions when elder financial exploitation is suspected.

Health care

Some new laws will also expand access to health care services and consumer protections.

Senate Bill 6 legalizes possession of fentanyl testing strips, which can be used to detect the presence of fentanyl and help prevent overdoses.

Senate Bill 100 allows adult adoptees to obtain copies of their original birth certificates.

House Bill 352 requires improvements to insurance coverage for gestational diabetes care during pregnancy.

Senate Bill 195 allows trained pharmacists to dispense certain HIV prevention medications under specific circumstances.

Labor and employment

Senate Bill 55 eliminates subminimum wages for workers with disabilities, changing how some employees are paid in Georgia.

Child welfare and families

Several measures focus on children, caregivers and childcare safety.

Senate Bill 110 clarifies that allowing children reasonable independence does not automatically constitute child neglect under Georgia law.

House Bill 256 expands rights and protections for foster parents, relative caregivers and fictive kin caregivers.

Consumer protection and animals

House Bill 331 prohibits the sale of pets in roadside locations and parking lots.

Land ownership and national security

House Bill 358 restricts certain foreign principals and entities associated with foreign adversary nations from purchasing agricultural land and property near military installations and other critical infrastructure in Georgia.

Medical cannabis

Senate Bill 220, officially called the "Putting Georgia's Patients First Act," removes the previous 5% THC potency cap on medical products. Patients can now possess up to 12,000 milligrams of medical cannabis if it is kept in labeled pharmaceutical containers. 

The new law also broadens the types of products dispensaries can sell, including gummies, edibles, and vaporized flower. Conditions like Stage III HIV, lupus, autism, severe Alzheimer's disease, and inflammatory bowel disease will now be accepted through the registry. Patients with incurable or irreversible conditions will no longer have to certify annually.

Traffic enforcement

House Bill 651 updates procedures governing school-zone speed camera enforcement and the collection of civil penalties tied to violations.

Human trafficking prevention

Senate Bill 570 requires certain lodging operators to provide human trafficking awareness training to employees.

Business courts

House Bill 1185 expands the jurisdiction and accessibility of Georgia's statewide Business Court system.

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