These New GA Laws Go Into Effect On Jan. 1

GEORGIA — Georgia legislators passed hundreds of new laws in 2024, and Gov. Brian Kemp signed more than 700 into law. Many already went into but some kick in on Jan. 1, 2025.

Thousands of schoolchildren could be eligible for school vouchers, while the homeless will be limited to registering to vote in the county where they’re currently staying. Other bills taking effect Jan. 1 will affect how state tax spending is analyzed and how counties deal with elections.

Here are some of the laws going into effect on Jan. 1:

Senate Bill 233: "The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act" ensures that students in the lowest-performing schools will be eligible to apply for $6,500 Promise Scholarships or vouchers. The money can be used for home-schooling and supplies, private-school tuition, books, transportation, tutoring, therapy and early college courses. The law limits spending to 1% — about $144 million — of the funding formula for public schools. The authority will begin taking applications in early 2025.

SB 189: Most of this omnibus election law has already taken effect, but the portion governing where the homeless can register to vote begins in January. Homeless voters won’t be able to register to vote beyond the county in which they’re staying.

SB 212: This law requires local governments without boards of election and registration to create one, replacing the probate judges who previously served as election superintendents. Local governments had until Dec. 15 of this year to create the boards, which will serve as the county’s election superintendent and run primaries and elections starting Jan. 1.

SB 366: This law is meant to improve transparency and oversight of tax spending in Georgia. The law requires at least a dozen economic analyses a year on tax expenditures, prioritizing those expiring within two years or costing over $20 million.

Controlled substances & pharmaceuticals

• HB 181: Limits sales and possession of kratom to people over 21.
• HB 1072: Most of this law took effect last year, but January 1 will be the effective date for tax exemptions included in the bill which relate to donating drugs to a state drug repository program.

Disclosures/fees/taxes/licensing/etc.

• SB 19: Requires superior court clerks and probate judges to make quarter disclosures to county governments relating to the collection of passport collection or processing fees (this comes after reports over the last few years on court clerks legally collecting, and keeping, thousands of dollars in passport fees).
• SB 232: Changes the fees collected by probate courts, including for legal filings and documents, certain kinds of applications (like a weapons carry license), marriage licenses, fireworks applications and lots of other things.
• HB 1339: Most of this law went into effect, however a portion relating to OCGA 48-7-29.20 and tax credits for rural hospital organizations goes into effect January 1.
• HB 880: This allows the spouse of a military servicemember stationed in Georgia to practice their occupation without being specifically licensed here.
• HB 1292: Most of this went into effect last year, but three provisions — Sections 44-2-2, 44-2-39, and 45-17-8 — are effective Jan. 1. These relate to self-filing of real estate records electronically.
• HB 451: The "Ashley Wilson Act" requires "the provision of certain insurance benefits to certain first responders diagnosed with occupational post-traumatic stress disorder."
• HB 1181: Relating to income tax credits, it "reduces the number of subsequent years in which certain unused income tax credits may be allowed against income tax liability in such subsequent years," and "limits the number of years in which certain income tax credits may be allowed," as well as repeals some credits and exemptions.
• HB 571: This was effective last year but January 1 is the date when it begins requiring an advisory council to submit an interim progress report every four years "detailing the latest data and statistics showing the impact of dementia on the State of Georgia and a summary of the progress toward the goals" identified in the state Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan (the state plan itself is to be updated every four years starting January 1, 2027, hence the two-year interval with this progress report).
• SB 362: Relates to labor agreements and state economic development incentives. Again, this was effective last year but there are certain penalties that are only applicable to contracts beginning January 1.

Judicial reorganizations

• HB 158: Changes the name of the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit to the DeKalb Judicial Circuit.
• SB 259: Moves Banks County Superior Court from the Piedmont Judicial Circuit (which had served Banks along with Barrow and Jackson counties) to the Mountain Judicial Circuit (serving Habersham, Rabun and Stephens counties).
• SB 424: Creates the West Georgia Judicial Circuit. It will serve Carroll and Heard counties, which had been part of the Coweta Judicial Circuit.

Legislative organization

• SB 341: Most of this law took effect last year except for provisions amending OCGA Sections 28-4-1 and 28-4-3, which are effective Jan. 1. Those deal with structural changes to the Georgia General Assembly's Legislative Services Committee and newly making the communications of General Assembly officers and staff privileged with the Office of Legislative Council (General Assembly members themselves were already privileged in this way).
• SB 366: Changes how the state budget (the general appropriations bill) is introduced and formalized. It gives 24 hours for members to review budget changes after it's passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee before action on the bill, requires the House Budget and Research Office and Senate Budget and Evaluation Office to make the governor's budget report available to each member (plus a list of revenue sources, expected revenue from those sources in the fiscal year and summaries of tax expenditures) and requires the Department of Audits and Accounts to conduct 12 economic analyses on the budget and publish a list of the analyses.

Constitutional amendments passed in November:

Amendment 1 (passed with 62.92%): This changed how the statewide homestead exemption is applied, limiting how property taxes increase. Local governments have a process to opt out. This also functionally passed all of HB 581, which carried with it a range of property tax changes you can read about on Page 51 of this state document.

Amendment 2 (passed with 51.89%): This establishes the Georgia Tax Court, taking jurisdiction for tax disputes and appeals from a Tax Tribunal under the state Department of Revenue to the judicial branch of the state government. The law takes administrative effect Jan. 1 for administrative purposes, but the court's chief judge won't begin serving an appointment until July 1, 2026, at which time they will begin establishing the court to hear petitions starting Aug. 1, 2026.

Find bills the governor has signed into law here.

See a full list of new laws going into effect on Jan. 1, compiled by 11 Alive, Pro State Affairs, .