Georgia laws on hunting, IDs and schools take effect July 1
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Over 100 new laws — covering everything from hunting vests to digital IDs — take effect across Georgia today.
Why it matters: The new rules affect Georgians' lives in many ways, including changes for schools, health care, employers and law enforcement.
How it works: July 1 marks the start of Georgia's fiscal year, which is when most new state laws go into effect.
Here's an overview of some of the new laws.
🪦 Human composting: The law legalizes "human composting" — an environmentally friendly burial process that essentially turns a person's body into soil.
🪪 Digital IDs: The driver's license you loaded on your cellphone is now legit in the eyes of Georgia. Law enforcement can scan your ID but are not authorized to search your phone.
🧑⚖️ Fentanyl: People convicted of trafficking fentanyl will receive mandatory minimum sentences of at least five years.
⚖️ Wrongful convictions: People who were wrongfully convicted in Georgia can seek up to $75,000 for every year they served.
- Under the law, people can also seek attorney fees and other costs if the prosecutor in their case was later disqualified for misconduct.
🏳️⚧️ Trans youth sports: The controversial law prohibits trans youth from playing sports or using locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
👶 In vitro fertilization: Lawmakers approved a resolution protecting IVF in Georgia after an Alabama court ruled that a frozen embryo could be considered a person.
- The Georgia measure passed with near-unanimous support from Republicans and Democrats.
🩷 Hunting garb: The law permits the use of fluorescent pink hunting vests and other headwear in addition to traditional hunter orange.
📵 Cellphones: Students through eight grade must now stow away smartphones in Georgia public schools. Schools have until fall 2026 to create policies to enforce the law.
💵 Disabled workers: The new law makes clear in Georgia code that employers can't pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage.
🚨 School safety: Named in honor of two students who died at Stoneman Douglas and Apalachee high schools, "Ricky and Alyssa's Law" requires classrooms to have a panic alert button.
🚁 Vertiports: The law creates a framework for the state to start regulating electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs, specifically where they take off and land.
- Delta and other airlines are partnering with companies that make the vehicles, which take off like helicopters and then fly like planes, to launch short-range service from cities to airports.
🧮 Income tax: House Bill 111 lowers the state income tax rate incrementally to 4.99%.
Go deeper: Atlanta News First, Capitol Beat, Fox 5