The Act protects agricultural facilities, agricultural operations, and forest landowners from nuisance lawsuits after two years of operation. If a facility converts to a confined animal feeding operation, the two-year time period restarts.
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The Act provides for the remote operation of personal delivery devices on Georgia’s highways, streets, bike paths, and sidewalks. It provides the required parameters for operation including parking, time frames, speed limits, safety parameters, weight limits, insurance, and local enforcement through civil citations.
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The Act amends Georgia laws relating to mental health and provides a statutory psychiatric advance directive form. The Act allows citizens with diagnosed mental health disorders to appoint a mental health agent to make treatment decisions on their behalf. The Act delineates the responsibilities, duties, and immunities of physicians and
The Act overhauls Georgia’s mental health system by enforcing compliance with federal mental health parity law. Most notably, the Act requires health insurers to provide coverage for mental health and substance use disorders equitably with physical health and defines generally accepted standards of care. The Act requires insurers to
The Act amends the zoning procedures law to clarify the process for challenging and appealing certain land use decisions. The Act codifies the long-standing appeals process for zoning decisions that existed prior to 2017 such that legislative zoning challenges will be reviewed de novo by a superior court. Additionally, the
The Act contains two distinct components. First, the Act reforms Georgia’s criminal records reporting system. Second, the Act grants the Georgia Bureau of Investigation authority to initiate investigations into election fraud.
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The Act revises the Georgia Evidence Code to enhance the evidentiary standard for admitting expert testimony in criminal cases. Like in civil cases, expert testimony in criminal cases now must satisfy the Daubert standard for admission of scientific, technical, and other specialized evidence.
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The Act prevents the creation of free speech zones at public institutions of higher education including Georgia universities, colleges, and technical colleges. Additionally, the Act allows universities to create reasonable, content- and viewpoint-neutral, and narrowly tailored time, place, and manner restrictions on any expressive activity on campus.
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The Act prohibits local school systems, charter schools, and their employees from teaching or advocating for divisive concepts as defined in the Act. Training programs for teacher certification by the Professional Standards Commission may not advocate for such divisive concepts. The Act also implements a complaint resolution policy for aggrieved
The Act requires each local board of education to adopt a complaint resolution process to be used by its local school system to address parents’ or permanent guardians’ complaints alleging that harmful material has been provided or is currently available to a minor student.
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The 2020 election cycle was all but normal. Due to certain health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia delayed its primary election three months from March to June and summarily mailed absentee ballot request forms to all active, registered voters. From presidential social media postings to a federal lawsuit,
In March 2020, Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued an Executive Order declaring a Public Health State of Emergency due to COVID-19. The Supreme Court of Georgia also issued a Judicial Order declaring a Statewide Judicial Emergency. The Council of Probate Court Judges subsequently characterized the processing of weapons carry licenses
Beginning in March 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued a series of Executive Orders addressing the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in these Orders was a prohibition on large groups of people gathering in a single location. Though an effective means of curtailing the virus’s
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the country faced unprecedented volumes of patients seeking treatment related to the respiratory complications of the virus. As a result, states were forced to reassess existing scarce resource allocation guidelines to appropriately accommodate the high demand. This Peach Sheet analyzes the
The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) establish a standard for the use and protection of individuals’ health information and apply to certain covered entities or their business associates. Covered entities may only disclose an individual’s protected health information in limited situations. Covered entities or
The Executive Order expanded immunity from liability for volunteer health care workers as emergency management workers performing emergency management activities. The Order was not limited to only COVID-19-related activities. When the legislature reconvened, legislators passed the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act, which provided liability limitation to businesses against tort
