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Parchment Rights in Treacherous Hands: The History and Future of Georgia’s “Social Status Provision”

In the throes of “Radical Reconstruction,” the population of Georgia remained sharply divided along racial and political lines. Three long years passed between emancipation and the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, during which time the status of the state’s Black population remained uncertain. They were no longer enslaved but

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White Rabbit Bankruptcy Appeals: The (Unconstitutional) Jurisdictional Significance of Being Late

Unlike ordinary civil litigation, which usually allows thirty days to appeal, appeals from bankruptcy court usually allow only fourteen. Adding to that difference, bankruptcy cases can have many appealable final decisions instead of just one. But what happens if an appeal is filed late? In ordinary civil litigation, that usually

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Vindicating Retirees

Through ERISA, Congress prioritized the competent management of retirement plans held in trust for Americans, codifying strict fiduciary obligations and providing broad relief to those injured by fiduciaries failing to execute those duties. Specifically, ERISA provides retirement plan participants and beneficiaries, along with plans themselves and the Secretary of Labor,

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HB 420: Amendments Relating to Foreign Ownership of Land

The Act restricts nonresident aliens from acquiring certain land interests. It forbids such nonresident aliens from acquiring possessory interests in agricultural land within ten miles of military bases, installations, and airports. Nonresident aliens include natural persons who are not United States citizens or legal residents, are agents of foreign adversaries

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HB 404: The Safe at Home Act

The Act serves to increase protections for tenants of residential properties in Georgia. Also known as the “Safe at Home Act,” the Act’s main provision requires that all rental residences are fit for human habitation. Additionally, the Act sets a maximum amount for security deposits and gives a tenant

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HB 353: Georgia Lottery for Education Act

The Act primarily functions to combat the illegal use of cash payouts for coin- operated amusement machines (COAM). The Act codifies Governor Brian Kemp’s (R) prior executive order that created a pilot program for the redemption of noncash gift cards into law. In addition, the Act brings the Georgia

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HB 301: Proposals Relating to Undocumented Immigrant Reporting

The bill proposed a private cause of action that allowed citizens to sue municipal governments for enacting “sanctuary” policies that barred city or county employees from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement officials. If found in violation of the state ban on such policies, all non-emergency state funds and federal funds

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HB 300: Amendments Relating to Solar Power

The Act establishes requirements for solar power facility agreements executed or renewed after July 1, 2024, including the grantee’s responsibility to decommission and remove solar power equipment upon lease termination. The Act specifies decommissioning procedures, allows for landowner requests, and requires the grantee to provide financial assurance for removal

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SB 332: Amendments Relating to the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission

The Act removes the requirement that the Georgia Supreme Court must review and adopt the standards and rules set forth for the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission. This removal effectively withdraws the approval power given to the Supreme Court by the original Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission Senate Bill (SB) 92. This

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SB 233: The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act

The Act permits some current students or prospective kindergarteners attending a public school ranked in the bottom 25% by the Georgia Department of Education to apply for a $6,500 grant toward qualified education expenses, including some homeschooling expenses and private school tuition. These grants will only be made available

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SB 189: Amendments Relating to Elections and Primaries

The Act allows third-party candidates with ballot access in at least twenty other states to appear on the presidential general election ballot in Georgia. For homeless voters without a permanent mailing address, their mailing address for elections defaults to the address of the registrar’s office in their county of

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SB 63: Adding Offenses Requiring Bail

The Act primarily functions to expand the list of serious offenses for which bail or surety is required by adding thirty new offenses, including misdemeanors that have a mandatory cash bail. It also requires many repeat offenders to post bail or surety. In addition, the Act restricts organizations, charities, or

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HB 1409: Limiting Liability for Mental Health Care Providers

The Act decreases liability exposure to inpatient mental healthcare providers and foster care providers by requiring claimants to prove gross negligence instead of the existing standard of negligence. It also contains jury instructions to be provided in an action involving a mental health care liability claim that describe what the

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HB 1339: Reforming Certificate of Need

The Act primarily reforms Georgia’s Certificate of Need Laws by removing thresholds for healthcare providers, thereby enabling them to increase the availability of healthcare services. Specifically, this Act seeks to expand access to healthcare for rural Georgians by easing certain restrictions affecting the construction and expansion of hospitals. The

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