In Case You Missed It: These 13 GA Laws Went Into Effect July 1

As Georgians rushed to prepare for the holiday weekend, it is possible some forgot about the dozens of new laws that went into effect in the state on Tuesday, July 1.

Nearly 400 new laws took effect in Georgia, including those centered on safety and education, the criminal justice system and income taxes.

In case you missed it, here is a look at 13 significant pieces of legislation — hindering chronically absent students from being expelled— that are now law in the Peach State:

House Bill 111: Income Tax Rate

• Drops the state income tax rate from 5.39 percent to 5.19 percent, a decrease of 56 basis points from the original rate of 5.75 percent since Gov. Brian Kemp first took office.

House Bill 136: Child Care Credits

• Increases the state tax credit for certain child and dependent care expenses.
• Establishes new tax credits for people with children ages 6 and younger, for employers that pay certain child-care expenses and for insurance companies against insurance premium tax liability for contributions to qualified organizations that support foster children and justice involved youth.
• Provides for terms, conditions, limitations and procedures for such credits.
• Revises a tax credit for contributions to foster child support organizations.
• Expands the organizations that qualify for such contributions.

House Bill 137: Public Contracts

• Maximizes the dollar value of certain public works contracts exempt from contractual payment retention provisions.
• Increases the dollar value related to when certain school construction contracts must be subject to competitive bidding.

House Bill 340: Electronic Devices During School Hours

• Enact the "Distraction-Free Education Act"
• Forbids public school students in kindergarten-8th grade from accessing personal electronic devices during the school day.
• By Aug. 1, schools must prohibit bell-to-bell access to personal electronic devices by students and establish appropriate methods for storing students' personal electronic devices.

House Bill 582: Family Violence, Abuse

• Provides for defendants to support a justification defense by offering evidence of family violence, dating violence or child abuse committed by the alleged victim.
• Revises provisions for the defense of coercion.
• Provides a privilege for participation in victim-centered programs and victim-offender dialogues.
• Provides for civil immunity for facilitators in certain circumstances.

House Bill 513: Video Surveillance

• Authorizes continuance of existing local ordinances related to video surveillance at gas stations.
• Amends Georgia code relating to service delivery strategy.
• Revises provisions related to the county share of funding for jointly funded county-wide services be borne by unincorporated residents.

Related: 'Ricky And Alyssa's Law' To Allow For Panic Buttons In GA Classrooms

Senate Bill 17: Panic Alert System

• Mandates mobile panic alert systems in private and public schools that will connect with state and local first responders in real time in the case of a school emergency.

Senate Bill 123: Student Absenteeism

• Forbids students from being expelled by a public school specifically for absenteeism.
• Provides for attendance review teams.

Senate Bill 1: Regulates Trans Athletes In Sports

• Enacts the "Riley Gaines Act of 2025."
• Provides generally for competitively fair and safe student participation in school and college sports.
• Provides for equal athletic opportunities and safety.
• Provides for specific designations of teams operated or sponsored by local school systems, public schools, participating private schools and postsecondary educational institutions in this state.
• Prohibits males from participating in interscholastic and intercollegiate competitions on teams designated as female.
• Prohibits females from participating in competition on intercollegiate teams designated as male, subject to exceptions.
• Provides for interscholastic coed team designations.
• Requires multiple occupancy restrooms and changing areas and sleeping quarters to be designated for exclusive use by males or females.
• Prohibits postsecondary educational institutions that are covered entities from hosting or sponsoring intercollegiate competitions that allow males to participate with teams designated as female or use multiple occupancy restrooms or changing areas and sleeping quarters designated for use by females.
• Prohibits such covered entities from awarding to males scholarships intended for female team members.
• Provides for investigation of complaints of noncompliance.

Senate Bill 36: Freedom of Religion

• Recognizes free exercise of religion as an inalienable right, secured its protection in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• Prohibits the government from burdening a person's exercise of religion unless it is in the furtherance of a compelling governmental interest or the least restrictive means of furthering such compelling governmental interest.

Senate Bill 69: Regulates Lawsuits

• Regulates third-party litigation financing practices.
• Enacts a new chapter regulating litigation financing practices.
• Prohibits any person with relevant affiliations with foreign persons, foreign principals or sovereign wealth funds from serving as litigation financiers.

Senate Bill 185: Prison Inmate Treatment

• Prohibits the use of state funds or resources for certain treatments for state inmates.

Senate Bill 244: Criminal Prosecutions

• Provides for the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs in a criminal case to the defendant upon the disqualification of the prosecuting attorney for misconduct in connection with the case and the subsequent dismissal of the case by the court or a subsequent prosecutor.
• Provides for procedures for assessing and paying such fees and costs.
• Requires administrative law judges within the Office of State Administrative Hearings to hear and evaluate such claims.
• Establishes the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Trust Fund.

ALSO SEE: Get The Latest Local News (For Free!) With One Quick Tap