The Act prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places in Georgia. The Act exempts private residences, hotel and motel rooms (as long as the hotel or motel does not designate more than 20% of the rooms as smoking), retail tobacco stores, long term care facilities, outdoor areas of employment, smoking
The amendment would have amended the Georgia Constitution to allow religious and sectarian organizations to receive state funding for social services. Currently, such organizations cannot receive state funding for social services.
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The Act provides for civil justice reform in Georgia, amending Titles 9, 24, 33, 43, and 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The Act addresses venue for cases involving joint defendants and the doctrine of forum non conveniens. It also amends procedures relating to affidavits in professional malpractice
The Act replaces the Community Greenspace Program. Its purpose is to provide a mechanism to encourage cities, counties, and private partners to protect the state's natural resources. The Act establishes a competitive grant and loan program for preservation of land or conservation easements on land. The Act establishes
The bill provides for a charter for the City of Sandy Springs. Most importantly, the bill provides for a referendum whereby the citizens of Sandy Springs will vote to decide whether to become an independent city. The bill outlines the boundaries of Sandy Springs and provides for a governing authority
The Act known generally as the "Woman's Right to Know Act," requires that physicians inform women who are seeking an abortion, at least 24-hours prior to the abortion, of particular medical risks associated with the procedure, the probable gestational age of the unborn child, the medical
The Act provides the defense and the prosecution with an equal number of peremptory strikes in criminal trials. The Act establishes the number of peremptory challenges at three strikes for misdemeanors, nine strikes for felonies, and fifteen strikes for cases seeking the death penalty. The Act gives the prosecuting attorney
The Georgia General Assembly found that identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in Georgia and that the privacy of Georgia citizens is greatly at risk due to the large amount of information collected from individuals every day. The Act requires information brokers that collect and maintain personal
The Act establishes a statewide Master Teacher Program to identify and recognize certain teachers who have exhibited professional excellence. The Act rewards teachers through professional recognition and potential monetary incentives in conjunction with an eligible master teacher's involvement with the Academic Coach Program. Further, the Act limits the
The Act provides authority for Fulton County to call a referendum on a special purpose local option sales tax increase to eight percent for the county to use to pay for water, sewer projects, and associated costs. If Fulton County does not call a referendum within ten days of the
The Act adds new law in an area previously lacking regulation. Previously, utility companies had no restrictions on the exercise of their eminent domain power. The Act requires utility companies to use particular procedures before invoking their right of eminent domain. The Act provides for limited state oversight in the
Had it passed, SB 517 would have revised the Georgia Ethics in Government Act to provide provisions governing campaign contributions, lobbyist registration, gifts from lobbyists, disclosure of lobbyists' income, legislators' ability to influence the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and minimum waiting periods before a government employee
The Act amends existing Georgia law relating to the following: (1) the eligibility requirements for HOPE scholarships and grants; (2) the residency requirements for HOPE scholarships and grants; (3) the Scholarship's amount as it pertains to fees and books; (4) the hours of eligibility for HOPE grants; (5)
HB 1190 amends Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The Bill, among other things, changes certain responsibilities of local boards of education and school officials, addresses budgetary concerns, provides for curriculum and testing procedures, improves disciplinary practices in schools, and changes the consequences for failure to comply
The Act replaces the Georgia rule relating to the development of water management plans for a series of rivers in Georgia by establishing a system to develop a comprehensive state-wide water management plan. The Act creates a water council that will work in cooperation with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division
The Georgia Indigent Defense Act creates a state-wide public defender system overseen by the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. The Council will establish guidelines to ensure consistent and quality legal representation of all indigent defendants. The Act addresses qualification and training, caseload size, performance and compensation standards, as well as
