ATLANTA – Most of the new laws enacted by the General Assembly this year took effect in July.
But some important bills and pieces of legislation passed by lawmakers related to elections, taxes and health care won’t go into effect until New Year’s Day.
The list also includes Senate Bill 189, a controversial election reform bill passed along party lines by the Republican majority in Congress. Most of the 24-page bill took effect in July, but three provisions will not take effect until January 1st.
The most sweeping of these provisions requires homeless Georgians to use their county registrar’s office as their mailing address. While Republicans argue that the homeless registration provision helps achieve the overall bill’s broader goal of restoring the integrity of the voting process, Democrats and civil rights groups argue that it would disenfranchise voters who are homeless. He argued that it would be.
“Bad laws like Georgia’s SB 189 are bad solutions looking for a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. A lawsuit challenging this bill. “The people of Georgia deserve better, especially our most vulnerable.”
The remaining two parts of Senate Bill 189, which goes into effect Jan. 1, allow voters in local elections in the smallest counties to use paper ballots and provide county election offices with measures to prevent tampering with absentee ballots. It obliges them to take the necessary measures.
Two tax measures soon to go into effect will provide both property tax relief and increased accountability for the various tax incentives the state provides to businesses as bait to attract jobs to Georgia. It will be.
Last month, voters in Georgia approved an amendment to the state’s constitution by 63% that would prohibit local governments from increasing residential real estate assessments in a given year by more than the annual rate of inflation, even if the market value of the home increases further. Ratified.
Cities, counties and school districts can opt out of this measure if they wish. However, local governments wishing to take that action must submit their intentions to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office by March 1 and hold at least three public hearings.
The Tax Expenditure Transparency Act of 2024 would require the Georgia Office of the Comptroller and Accountant to complete at least 12 analyzes each year of the state’s earned income tax credits or sales tax exemptions. These reports must include how much the audited incentives are costing the state in lost tax revenue and whether the tax cuts are providing the intended economic benefit to the state.
One of the provisions included in a 40-page bill amending Georgia’s Certificate of Necessity Act, which governs hospital construction and new medical services, is aimed at helping rural hospitals stay open. . Among other things, House Bill 1339 would increase the annual cap on the state’s local hospital tax credit from $75 million to $100 million starting Jan. 1.
The program, launched in 2016, allows donors to donate to hospitals in counties with populations of 50,000 or fewer, and their state income tax liability is reduced based on the amount of their donation. Taxpayers can select a specific hospital, but if no hospital is specified, a hospital will be selected based on rank of need.
Two other new laws that will go into effect Jan. 1 with health care implications are aimed at supporting military families and first responders.
House Bill 880, which passed unanimously in the Georgia House and Senate, would allow military spouses to use an existing occupational license from another state “in good standing” to obtain a license in Georgia. Allow. Supporters said making it easier for military spouses to get jobs in Georgia could help ease the state’s nursing shortage.
Another bill that passed the General Assembly without a single “no” vote, House Bill 451, would require insurance companies to provide initial support to patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after being exposed to a series of traumatic events. The law requires that mental health services be covered for people with disabilities. Obligation.
this story Available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat, an initiative of the Georgia Foundation for Publishing and Education.
