ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - July 1 marks the beginning of a new fiscal year in Georgia, meaning a host of new laws go into effect.

Here they are:

Taxes and money

HB 111: Lowers Georgia’s income tax rate incrementally to 4.99% through January 2026.

HB 136: Increases Georgia’s child and dependent care tax credit. It also creates a new $250 credit for children under age 6.

SB 55: The Dignity and Pay Act prohibits any employer from paying a person with a disability less than the federal minimum wage.

HB 266: Exempts veterans from paying income tax on their retirement income.

Laws and justice

SB 244: Establishes a system for compensating individuals who were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated in the state. It also includes provisions allowing defendants to recover attorney’s fees and costs if they are successful in disqualifying a prosecuting attorney for misconduct. The bill, originally inspired by the Georgia election interference case involving President Donald Trump, was later amended to include the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act.

HB 85: Changes the salary provisions of superior court judges in Georgia.

SB 79: The Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act raises the jail sentencing and fines for anyone convicted of fentanyl trafficking in Georgia.

SB 6: Carrying tools that can test drugs for fentanyl, such as fentanyl test strips, is now legal.

HB 582: The Georgia Survivor Justice Act allows survivors of domestic violence or sex trafficking who committed crimes under duress to ask for lighter or reduced sentences.

SB 110: Provides new definitions of neglect in Georgia’s juvenile code.

HB 177: Provides domestic and dating violence protections for pets.

Education and schools

HB 371: Lawmakers have increased the state’s annual capital outlay for the decades-old Quality Basic Education Act from $300 million to $375 million.

SB 63: Another provision under the Quality Basic Education Act requires local school systems to offer some exams to students who are home-schooled.

SB 123: The Compulsory Attendance Act prohibits students from being expelled from school solely because of absenteeism. The bill’s sponsors also said it provides more localized approaches to reviewing chronic absenteeism cases and requires local school boards to adopt policies to help students who are chronically absent.

SB 17: Known as “Ricky and Alyssa’s Law,” the law requires all public K-12 schools to install mobile panic alert systems that connect directly to local and state emergency services. Just the 10th state to implement the law - named for Alyssa Alhadeff, a victim of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, and Richard Aspinwall, who was killed in last year’s shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder - Georgia’s version also mandates real-time digital mapping to help first responders locate and respond faster during an emergency.

SB 1: The Riley Gaines Act of 2025, also known as the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act, requires schools to designate their sports teams by sex and regulate their participation.

HB 340: The Distraction-Free Education Act requires elementary and middle school students to keep their personal cellphones stowed away during school hours. Other personal electronic devices are also now banned.

HB 175: Provides for a more comprehensive background check for early care and education programs and Head Start programs, which include fingerprint check and a search of child abuse and sex offender registries.

HB 150: The Combating Threats from China Act of 2025 requires Georgia’s public universities to report funding from Chinese entities.

Health

SB 72: The Hope for Georgia Patients Act is designed to expand experimental treatment access for patients.

HB 352: The Georgia Gestational Diabetes Management Act expands treatments for pregnant women who have diabetes.

HB 428: Codifies the right to in vitro fertilization for Georgia residents.

HB 422: Health insurance plans that are offered to state employees must now include high-deductible options.

HB 196: Drug reimbursements under state health plans are now required to follow transparent pricing measures.

HB 53: More persons are now allowed to be buried in Georgia’s veteran cemeteries.

HB 398: Authorizes the production and sale of cottage food items with some exemptions and other requirements.

Driving and transportation

HB 156: Gives the Georgia Department of Transportation the authority to regulate drone or vertiports, which are air taxi ports.

HB 164: Transfer trucks are now allowed to be 4,000 pounds heavier on non-interstate Georgia roads.

HB 296: Georgia driver’s licenses stored on electronic devices, such as cell phones, are now legally valid.

SB 40: Anyone selling used catalytic converters are now required to keep records of the sales and of the materials.

Consumer protections

SB 35: Providers of homeowner insurance are now required to give policy owners more notice before they cancel anyone’s policies.

SB 201: Consumers now have more protection if they enter into agreements with contractors who are repairing any damages from natural disasters.

HB 399: Residential landlords who live outside Georgia are now required to have in-state staff to manage their tenant communications.

Odds and ends

HB 331: This bill bans roadside pet sales. Only licensed sellers are allowed to sell dogs or cats.

HB 339: Changes the liability regulations of rideshare drivers and rideshare companies.

HB 131: Owners of self-storage service facilities who wanted to place a lien on a unit’s property were required to advertise their intention once a week for two straight weeks in their respective county’s legal publication. As of July 1, they only have to do so once.

SB 241: New standards and definitions have been established for funeral directors to classify organic human reduction as a means of disposing of deceased human bodies. Organic human reduction is a process that transforms human remains into soil through aerobic decomposition.

SB 100: Andee’s Law allows adult adoptees to get a copy of their original birth certificates without a court order.

HB 233: Brunswick stew is now the state’s official state stew.

HB 491: Air guns are no longer allowed for big game hunting. The bill also updates rules for catfish bowfishing.

HB 167: Fluorescent pink is now a legal color in outer garments used for hunting.

HB 454: Establishes the Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund.

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