New Ga. laws regulate hemp products, rentals and more

ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia on Monday imposed new restrictions on the sale of hemp products, required some basic standards for rented residences, cut income taxes and required cash bail for dozens of new crimes.

Those are among many laws ed earlier this year by the General Assembly that took effect on July 1.

Part of the bail law, which limits the ability of individuals and charitable groups to post bail for others, was put on hold Friday by a federal judge after a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality was filed.

Another law that would require online sites to gather data on high-volume sellers who collect payment in cash or some other offline method also has been challenged with a lawsuit, but a federal judge didn’t immediately block it following a Friday hearing.

Other laws took effect when Gov. Brian Kemp signed them, including a measure signed May 1 that compels jailers to check the immigration status of inmates. That already has been law in Georgia but Republican ers say some jailers are flouting their obligations.

The immigration law was ed after the killing of a nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus. Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan man, has pleaded not guilty to murder and kidnapping charges in Riley’s death.

Here’s a look at some of the Georgia’s new laws:

Income taxes

An already-planned state income tax cut is being accelerated under House Bill 1015, giving the state a flat 5.39% income tax rate retroactive to Jan. 1. As of that date, Georgia gained a flat income tax rate of 5.49%, ed under a 2022 law that transitioned away from a series of income brackets that topped out at 5.75%.

The income tax rate is supposed to drop 0.1% a year until reaching 4.99% if state revenues hold up. The state will forgo an estimated $300 million by dropping the rate from 5.49% to 5.39%. That’s on top of the $800 million the state is projected to forgo as part of the earlier tax cut.

A separate law will drop the corporate income tax rate from 5.75% to 5.39%. Under the bill, the corporate income tax rate would keep falling along with the personal income tax rate until reaching 4.99%. The corporate income tax cut would cost $176 million in its first full year.

Hemp products

Retailers can only sell hemp products such as CBD to people 21 and older under Senate Bill 494. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers must buy permits from the state Department of Agriculture. Products can only be sold if they have been tested, with state agriculture officials also regulating testing labs.

Hemp products must include results of testing and a warning sticker if they contain THC, the substance in marijuana that produces a high. Officials have said products they tested in the past had illegally high levels of delta-9 THC and said labels didn’t accurately reflect a product’s ingredients.

The measure bans the sale of hemp products within 500 feet (152 meters) of a K-12 school and bans hemp products that look like existing snacks or candy, trying to make them less attractive to children. That could ban hemp-infused brownies, cookies and candy, but experts say gummies and hemp-infused beverages are still legal.

The measure limits how much delta-9 THC a product can contain, aiming to also eliminate the sale of products with chemicals that can be turned into THC. Other CBD substances such as Delta-8-THC and Delta-10-THC remain legal in Georgia.

Rental standards

Landlords in Georgia would be legally required for the first time to maintain rental properties in a state that is fit for human habitation under House Bill 404. The bill also adds air conditioning as a utility that can’t be shut off before an eviction notice is filed, along with the existing requirements to provide heat, light and water.

The law requires a landlord to give a tenant three days’ written notice before starting eviction proceedings when a tenant doesn’t pay rent or some other required fee, while also requiring that an eviction notice be posted “conspicuously” on the door of rental property.

The measure limits security deposits to two months’ rent.

Cash bail

Cash bail would be required for 30 additional crimes, including some misdemeanors, under Senate Bill 63.

The measure erodes changes in 2018 allowing judges to release most people accused of misdemeanors without bail. Proponents argue people who leave jail without paying bail are less likely to show up for court, although national studies contradict that claim.

Judges would still have the discretion to set very low bails, but opponents say that’s unlikely. They warn the move could strand poor defendants in jail even when they’re accused of crimes for which they are unlikely to ever go to prison.

A federal judge on Friday put on hold for at least 14 days part of the law that would limit charitable bail funds or individuals from bailing out of jail more than three people in a year. Only those who meet legal requirements to be bail bond companies could do so.

Opponents sued on June 21, alleging that part of the law is unconstitutional.

Also ...

• The $36.1 billion 2025 budget gives $3,000 annual raises to law enforcement and child welfare workers.
• State workers are also receiving double parental leave of up to 240 hours.
• State employees making less than $70,000 are getting a 4% raise, while K-12 certified teachers are getting a $2,500 raise.
• House Bill 1017 is the Georgia Squatter Reform Act, and gives property owners more rights to evict people suspected of illegally taking possession of their home.
• SB 189 makes even more changes to Georgia’s election laws as the state continues to dominate the nation’s political headlines. Voters can now be removed from rolls if evidence exists that they died; voted or ed to vote in another jurisdiction; or have a tax exemption that shows they have a primary residence somewhere else, among other new provisions. The law also requires homeless individuals to use their respective county’s voter registration office as their address instead of whatever possibly temporary address they may be using.
• House Bill 1207 allows for fewer voting machines based on population estimates and also allows election supervisors more freedom to change the number of voting booths in their precincts.
• Senate Bill 73 will now hold companies liable for illegal telemarketing calls made by third-party contractors.
• Senate Bill 10 stiffens the penalties for anyone hosting a drag racing event: repeat offenders will face a felony charge, thousands of dollars in fine, and could spend up to 10 years in prison. Penalties for illegal street racing are also increasing.
• Fed up with your homeowners association? You’re not alone. Now, House Bill 220 requires HOAs to notify their of a covenant breach and give them time to fix it before the association call in the lawyers.
• HB 404 is the called the Safe at Home Act, and it requires all rental units to be fit for occupation and meet state housing codes and other health and safety standards. It also restricts the amount landlords can ask for in a security deposit in an amount that cannot exceed two months’ rent.
• Senate Bill 351, aka the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024, provides guidelines for social media use and Internet safety for minors in schools.
• Kids being overseen in Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services can now get free, state-issued ID cards under Senate Bill 387.
• Senate Bill 376 is designed to speed up the permanent placement of children removed from their home by Georgia DFACS.
• Senate Bill 465 is aimed at increasing the penalties for drug dealers found to be indirectly responsible for fatal fentanyl overdoses. They will now face felony aggravated involuntary manslaughter charges and the possibility of life in prison.
• Senate Bill 233 is the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, and it allows parents to receive vouchers up to $6,500 for better-performing schools.
• Senate Bill 421 increases the penalties for swatting, which is the practice of making false reports of shootings and bomb threats at homes.
• Senate Bill 395 allows schools to provide opioid antagonists for drug overdose prevention.
• House Bill 874 requires all schools in Georgia to have automated external defibrillators outside buildings instead of inside.
• House Bill 409 is known as Addy’s Law, named in honor of Adalynn Pierce, an 8-year-old school girl who was killed while crossing a road to board her school bus. It requires public school systems to prioritize bus routes that avoid having students cross roads that have a speed limit of more than 40 miles per hour. Stronger penalties are now imposed on motorists who a school bus picking up children.
• Finally, since we always need another official something or another, House Bill 1341 makes shrimp Georgia’s official crustacean.

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