ATLANTA — New state laws take effect Wednesday, bringing new mandates that will change life for Georgians in both obvious and unseen ways.
The laws that were passed this year and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp will affect everything from health and housing to safety and schooling.
There are new laws concerning religion, relationships and a child named Rio. Some were controversial and some were unifying.
Here are highlights of laws that take effect on July 1, 2026.
Consumers
Pennies are only for thoughts, after the U.S. Mint decided copper was too valuable to forge into coins destined for the bottom of fountains. House Bill 1112, which passed the state Senate unanimously and the House nearly so, requires merchants to round cash transactions at the register to the nearest nickel when customers lack exact change.
Senate Bill 439 regulates referral agencies for senior services, requiring them to disclose potential conflicts of interest by revealing relationships they have with the assisted living communities or personal care homes that they are recommending. Covered relationships include payments, ownership shares and other arrangements that could bias referrals. Enforcement falls to the state attorney general.
Development
Senate Bill 447 seeks to reduce development costs by expediting local building inspections. It gives local governments two days to notify applicants of deficiencies in their permit applications and requires more clarity around reasons for denial. The law also sets a January 2028 deadline for certain localities to establish websites with real-time permit tracking.
Drugs
Patients who have a prescription for medical marijuana can now get stronger and faster-acting doses. Senate Bill 220 lifts the state’s limit on THC content in medical marijuana and lets patients vape for faster relief. Georgia had a low adoption rate among the 42 states with medical marijuana programs, with about 34,500 registered patients and 2,200 registered caregivers when the Legislature was in session in the spring.
Education
Senate Bill 556 establishes a state-funded college scholarship for Georgia students from low-income households. The DREAMS Scholarship will begin disbursing aid in the fall from $325 million in state seed money. The program ends Georgia’s distinction as one of only two states in the nation without a need-based college scholarship.
Lawmakers also expanded a nearly two-decade-old program that funnels taxpayer dollars to primary and secondary students attending a private school. House Bill 328 increases the annual total cap on tax credits for contributions to Georgia’s student scholarship organizations to $150 million. The organizations allocate a portion of their proceeds to students in payments that the state calls scholarships but that critics call vouchers.
The new law also relaxes eligibility for some, exempting military families and students with intellectual or developmental disabilities from the requirement that they first enroll in a low-performing public school. That is the general eligibility requirement for students entering the program after first grade.
Donors who give money for scholarships can get all of it back as a credit off their state taxes. The statewide cap was $120 million, up from $50 million when lawmakers created the scholarships in 2008.
Senate Bill 150 extends a program that helps public schools fill teacher shortages by paying retired teachers in high-demand areas to return to the classroom while collecting their pensions. The program was to expire Wednesday but will now continue another four years.
Senate Bill 552, the True Patriotism and Universal Student Access Act, honors slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk by using the same acronym as the organization he founded, Turning Point USA. It requires equal access to public school facilities for student meetings, prohibiting denial of access for political or ideological reasons.
Homeownership
Residents in neighborhoods governed by condominium and homeowner associations are getting new rights from Senate Bill 406. Most of the mandates for accountability and transparency in the levy of fees and fines — and for limitations on foreclosures — will take effect in January. But a section regulating the associations’ authority to extract attorney’s fees from homeowners in payment disputes is now in effect, requiring review by judges in bench trials.
Religion
Imams, ministers, priests, rabbis and other clergy members now risk prison if they have sex with someone with whom they have a “pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship.” Senate Bill 542 establishes penalties, from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, with exceptions for married couples.
The concept is similar to existing laws that prohibit sexual relationships involving an authority figure when there is a power imbalance. For instance, sexual encounters between school employees and students are forbidden, as are such relationships between parole officers and their charges, hospital employees and patients, psychotherapists and their clients, police and those they arrest, and correctional officers and inmates with a disability.
Safety
Mason Sells was 20 when his heart stopped during an intramural soccer match at Mercer University two years ago. His death, which was caused by a soccer ball kicked to his chest, led to Senate Bill 399. The Mason Sells AED Coordination Act requires everyone with an automated external defibrillator to notify 911 of its location. It also gives 911 operators until the end of next year to get trained in how to coach callers to use the devices and to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Senate Bill 433 establishes a specialty license plate for people with autism or a developmental disability. Rio’s Law, named after a boy with autism, also requires training for police to avoid escalations during encounters with people who have those conditions.
Senate Bill 443 increases the financial exposure for protesters who block streets by enhancing the charge for the offense from a misdemeanor to a high and aggravated misdemeanor. Those convicted could still get up to a year in jail, but now they may also be fined up to $5,000 and could be sued by motorists and others for damages, such as for lost wages or medical costs.
House Bill 1230 makes it a felony to fly a drone over a jail or prison for criminal purposes, authorizing law enforcement agencies and officers to jam, hack and seize the aircraft. The measure is a reaction to the increasing use of unmanned aircraft to deliver drugs, weapons and other contraband to inmates.