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 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 amends the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act to provide the attorney general with concurrent authority to prosecute criminal gang activity alongside local prosecuting attorneys in Georgia. Modeled after a similar act that created concurrent authority for the attorney general to prosecute human trafficking crimes, the Act
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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This Act removes the requirement to obtain a weapons carry license to carry concealed weapons in public spaces. The Act makes it lawful to carry a firearm in public so long as the individual is eligible for a license, has a license, or has a license in different state, and
The Executive Order primarily functions to enumerate the Governor’s emergency powers during a Public Health State of Emergency. The Executive Order allows for the Governor to assist health and emergency management officials by deploying available resources for the mitigation and treatment of COVID-19 within Georgia.
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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
Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued Executive Orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that required businesses to close in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. Business owners often challenged those forced business closures as unconstitutional or as exceeding the State’s police power, and those challenges were
The doctrine of preemption expresses the idea that “a higher authority of law will displace a lower authority of law when the two authorities come into conflict.” Preemption exists on both the federal and state level. According to the Georgia Constitution, local laws are permissible if they do not conflict
The Act repeals certain provisions regarding the sentencing of defendants for crimes involving bias or prejudice and provides both criteria for punishment for those crimes and required reporting of those crimes.
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