Georgia

Several new laws took effect in Georgia on July 1. Find them here.

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2024

Several new laws took effect in Georgia on July 1. Find them here.

Dave Williams
| Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – With housing – particularly affordable housing – in short supply across Georgia, two new state laws about to take effect are aimed at an especially challenging group affected by the shortage: the homeless.

The two bills, which the General Assembly passed overwhelmingly this year, are among a host of new laws covering a wide range of policy areas that take effect July 1.

On the housing front, lawmakers passed the Safe at Home Act offering new rights to tenants of rental properties designed to curb a high eviction rate in Georgia that drives up homelessness. The second housing bill brings an accountability component to the State Housing Trust Fund intended to help Georgians overcome the root causes that lead to homelessness.

House Bill 404, the Safe at Home Act, provides renters in Georgia new rights by requiring rental properties to be “fit for human habitation” upon signing a lease. Landlords also will be required to maintain their properties throughout the lease.

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“It’s pretty common-sense stuff,” said state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, the bill’s chief sponsor. “We shouldn’t have people living in third-world conditions in a first-world country.”

Elizabeth Appley, a lawyer and public policy advocate in Georgia, said the bill is long overdue.

“We’ve been working on it for a number of years,” she said. “Georgia is an outlier in providing even basic protections (for tenants).”

House Bill 1410 amends the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless by requiring program participants for the first time to meet certain accountability requirements to qualify. Those eligible to enroll in the new program can receive funding for transitional housing for up to 18 months.

“This is really the Georgia way to address homelessness,” said House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, the bill’s chief sponsor. “Right now, federal funds prohibit testing participants for sobriety. By prohibiting testing for sobriety, participants face the same challenges they did while homeless. … This is to put them on the path to sobriety.”

Unlike the federal program, Georgia’s approach will require participants to maintain sobriety from drug or alcohol use, participate in job training while pursuing an active search for employment, take part in mental health-care and substance-abuse counseling if necessary, and submit to drug and alcohol testing.

Efstration said House Bill 1410 moves Georgia away from the Housing First approach, which asserts that anyone experiencing homelessness should be connected to a permanent home as quickly as possible, and programs should remove requirements for sobriety or absence of a criminal record.

“The federal restrictions, I believe, are a barrier to fixing the problem,” he said. “This comes from my experience as an accountability court prosecutor.”

But Appley said forcing homeless applicants to comply with a series of requirements before they can qualify for housing and get a roof over their heads is the wrong approach.

“Housing First is a model that works to help homeless people leave homelessness,” she said. “Without that, it’s hard if not impossible to meet these requirements.”

Whatever qualms some lawmakers might have had about imposing accountability requirements on the homeless evidently were overcome by a dire need for housing in Georgia. House Bill 1410 cleared the General Assembly with only one “no” vote in the House and one in the Senate.

“What we need is more funding for housing in Georgia,” Appley said. “It’s desperately underfunded.”

Other bills that will take effect on Monday include:

House Bill 1010 – doubles paid parental leave for state workers following the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child in their home, providing a total leave of up to 240 hours. The General Assembly passed legislation three years ago authorizing 120 hours of paid parental leave for state employees.
House Bill 1332 – The No Patient Left Alone Act ensures visitation rights for patients in hospitals or nursing homes. The bill was championed by Rep. Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, whose mother died alone of COVID in a hospital.
Senate Bill 420 – prohibits foreign nationals or agents of foreign nationals from countries designated as adversaries by the U.S. Commerce Department from buying agricultural land in Georgia.
Senate Bill 494 – establishes regulations for the licensing and production of hemp products and prohibits their sale to anyone under age 21.
House Bill 1341 – declares the white shrimp Georgia’s official crustacean, a move designed to promote the product in restaurants and grocery stores.

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Georgia

Ga. lawmakers propose changes to state’s early voting process

Published

9 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Ga. lawmakers propose changes to state’s early voting process

ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – State legislators are considering more changes to Georgia’s voting law, proposing a new bill that would alter the way early voters cast ballots.

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, introduced SB 568 this week. The proposal would assign early voters to one precinct in their county. Currently, voters can cast early votes at any precinct in their county.

It would also move early voting to a hand-marked paper ballot system, where voters use a pen to mark their selections, instead of the currently used touchscreen system.

“So that we would not have to print so many permutations at the paper ballots, we would assign voters to an early voting location,” said Dolezal. “Most people are going to vote to the at the early voting location closest to their home anyway.”

The bill was immediately met with backlash from democrats as a barrier to the vote.

“I have no idea how voting on a piece of paper, marking it down with your pencil in any way suppresses the vote,” said Dolezal. “For most counties out of, you know, 140 call it out of 159, they just have one location.”

Dolezal’s proposal would also require local clerks to publicly post their entire voting rolls ahead of elections.

“Making public every single voter who is qualified to vote is to some extent, a little bit of an invasion of privacy for each individual voter,” said state Sen. Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta). “We need to have trust in our election officials to run those elections.”

It’s the latest change the legislature has proposed to Georgia’s voting system.

“You have dirty, dirty voting rolls, you’re going to have dirty elections,” Dolezal said.

The bill would also shift responsibility for voter challenges from the counties to the State Elections Board. In addition, it would also move the threshold for an automatic recount in the state from a 1.5% margin to 2%.

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Georgia

No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics

Published

21 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics

ATHENS – The third-ranked Georgia equestrian team will host No. 1 Auburn on Saturday at 12 p.m. to conclude the regular season.

Georgia fell at Auburn 14-6 to wrap up the fall slate of their season. The overall record against the Tigers currently stands at 31-31, including a 13-7 record in Bishop.

During their National Championship run in the 2024-25 season, the Mane Dawgs faced off against Auburn on three separate occasions. Georgia was victorious at home, 11-9, before falling on the road, 11-8. In the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships in Ocala, the Bulldogs stunned the second-ranked Tigers, 13-4, en route to their eighth National Championship title.

Georgia returns to action following a trip to Blythewood, South Carolina, to take on the third-ranked Gamecocks.

Top-ranked Auburn travels to Bishop after hosting No. 4 SMU at home the prior weekend. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs 13-7 and swept all four MOP honors.

Following the conclusion of the meet, Georgia will honor their seven seniors for their dedication and contributions to the program.

The meet will be streamed on SECN+ at https://gado.gs/e7v, and live scoring will be available at https://gado.gs/e7w.

HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

JOIN OUR MANE DAWGS FUND: Mane Dawgs Fund contributions make a direct impact in supporting our student-athletes and equines at the Georgia Equestrian program. A gift to the Mane Dawgs fund helps provide resources such as equipment upgrades for our student and equine athletes, travel assistance, and enhance overall team experiences. Contributions to the Mane Dawgs provide benefits such as membership gifts and information about upcoming special events. Click here for more information.

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Georgia

Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann

Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann will be paid equally in 2026 after receiving raises, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.

Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are coming off a second consecutive SEC championship season and College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal appearance.

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