Georgia
Several new laws took effect in Georgia on July 1. Find them here.
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.
Georgia
No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics
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.
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Georgia
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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Georgia
Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones on Monday unveiled legislation inspired by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk that he says would expand students’ free speech rights in public schools, making Georgia the first state in the nation to pursue such a measure.
Jones announced the “True Patriotism and Universal Student Access Act,” known as the TPUSA Act, on Monday as a priority for the 2026 legislative session. The proposal, sponsored by State Sen. Ben Watson (R–Savannah), would strengthen First Amendment protections for public school students by safeguarding their right to speak, organize, and express political and religious views on campus.
The bill is explicitly shaped around the work and legacy of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA and its political arm, Turning Point Action. Jones and others have framed the legislation as a way to honor Kirk’s efforts to mobilize young conservatives and defend free speech in schools and on college campuses.
“In the spirit and memory of Charlie’s work, the TPUSA Act in Georgia would ensure that students’ First Amendment rights to organize, gather and speak are protected, regardless of their religious, political, or social viewpoints,” Jones said in a press release. “Georgia is leading the way as the first state in the nation to do it.”
Jones, who is running for governor and is endorsed by both former President Donald Trump and Turning Point Action, also emphasized his broader commitment to free speech rights as part of his campaign rhetoric.
“Georgia is building on the work of Charlie Kirk to ensure students can speak, organize and express their beliefs freely,” Jones posted on social media.
The TPUSA Act would require public schools in Georgia to permit political expression before, during and after the school day to the same extent that non-political expression is allowed. It also would let students form political clubs and groups during non-instructional time, bar discrimination against groups based on viewpoint, and guarantee that students could wear politically themed clothing and accessories under the same standards that apply to other permitted attire.
Supporters say the legislation would ensure that school administrators cannot block students from engaging in peaceful political activities and that all viewpoints, partisan and nonpartisan, would have equal access to meeting spaces and facilities.
Sen. Watson said the move reflects the belief that schools should not restrict students’ free speech or prohibit them from organizing around their beliefs.
“School officials should not have the power to enforce their own ideologies on students,” he said.
Josh Thifault, senior director at Turning Point Action, praised Georgia’s effort, asserting that Kirk “lived and died for the First Amendment.” He added that the legislation will benefit students “for decades to come” by removing barriers to student expression.
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