A host of new state laws take effect July 1, including measures that will provide raises for state employees, restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth and expand welfare benefits for pregnant women.
Some legislation passed during the 2023 General Assembly session has already gone into effect, such as a $1 billion state income tax rebate for Georgians who filed returns for both 2021 and 2022 and a new regulation banning private donations for funding election operations, while others won’t become effective until January. Here’s a look at some that will take effect Saturday.
Gender-affirming care
Georgia will ban health care providers from providing minors hormonal or surgical treatments to align with their gender identity.
Supporters of the law say it will stop youth from obtaining irreversible procedures that they may regret when they’re an adult. Critics believe it will further alienate transgender youth and block them from obtaining what they say is lifesaving treatment.
Exceptions to Senate Bill 140′s ban include treatments for intersex minors, those born without the physical characteristics of only one gender, and other nongender-related treatments. Transgender youth who have already started hormonal treatment before Saturday are permitted under the law to continue to receive it.
Welfare expansion
Low-income pregnant women will now qualify to receive benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under House Bill 129. Previously, low-income women only became eligible for TANF, better-known as welfare, once the child was born.
The law is seen as a way to combat the state’s high maternal mortality rate. Georgia has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the nation.
State budget
The new state fiscal year begins Saturday, and the $32.4 billion budget lawmakers passed includes raises for an array of public workers. Teachers, university and other state employees will receive a $2,000 boost, while many law enforcement officers will receive a $4,000-$6,000 raise.
House Bill 19 sets aside tens of millions of dollars more for mental health and substance abuse programs and borrows $600 million for new construction projects. The budget also included cuts of $1.4 million from Georgia Public Broadcasting and $66 million from the University System of Georgia.
The budget spends a record $13.1 billion on K-12 schools.
Prosecutor oversight
Local district attorneys and solicitor-generals will now have a new state commission with the power to investigate, punish and or remove them.
Senate Bill 92 comes in response to concerns that some local prosecutors won’t enforce low-level drug offenses or statewide laws, such as Georgia’s ban on abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected. Supporters believe it will make prosecutors act on facts and not politics, while critics worry it weakens local authority.
School safety
Amid concerns regarding gun violence in schools, all public schools will be required to conduct “intruder alert” drills by Oct. 1 each school year.
The drills are designed to prepare those in a school to react to someone coming into the building with a gun.
House Bill 147 also gives the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which certifies educators, until the end of the year to design a school safety and anti-gang “endorsement.” Those who earn the endorsement will go through a training program to help identify and stop gang activity in the classroom.
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