Here is a further list of new state laws that go into effect July 1.
HB 1300 — Allows local school boards to make a determination of make-up days required at the end of the school year following emergencies or disasters.
HB 535 — Changes present unused law concerning mental health ombudsman and establishes the Office of Disability Services Ombudsman that will investigate complaints and provide periodic reports.
HB 1041 — Requires a background check including fingerprinting through the Georgia Crime Information Center for registered nurses licensing.
HB 1105 — Requires hospitals to administer, prior to discharge, flu vaccine to any elderly patient 65 or older during the period of Oct. 1 to March 1 of any year
SB 433 — Provides extensive revision of the certificate of need law which governs bed expansion and capital equipment purchases by hospitals and the medical community. Expands exemptions for non-medical capital outlay and eliminates CON requirement for expenditures under $2.5 million (from $1.7 million) and loosens a number of CON requirements. For ambulatory service centers, redefines single specialty to include general surgery and requires 2 percent of annual gross income to be spent on indigent or charity care yearly. Allows destination cancer treatment centers to locate in Georgia under certain conditions, limited to one location within 25 miles of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, requiring 3 percent charity care and requiring 65 percent of the total business from out of state residents.
SB 1 — Revises sexual predator law to exempt the 1,000 feet prohibited zone if the registered offender owns the property on which the offender’s home is located. Must register this exemption with the local sheriff. Also applies to ownership of other property within the zone that is owned by the registered offender.
HB 1346 — Creates the crime of organized retail theft where the intent of two or more people is to shoplift property over time to sell to a fence for resale.
SB 400 — Authorizes investigators for the Georgia Forestry Commission to make arrests and investigate arson of forestlands and creates the offense of arson of lands with varying degrees of punishment.
HB 1104 — Revises Georgia’s charitable solicitations laws. Tightens reporting requirements of paid solicitors and fixes the amount they can receive from proceeds. Exempts local fire departments if raising under $25,000 yearly.
HB 993 — Allows seniors 75 or older or disabled to bypass a waiting line for absentee voting.
SB 366 — Adds telecommunications devises to the list of items an inmate in state custody cannot have in their possession.
SB 417 — Requires the Department of Transportation to establish and report on attainment benchmarks on transportation projects of $10 million or more and requires a report of savings achieved by value engineering studies.
SB 369 — For active and retired military personnel, allows a disabled parking permit to be issued by a military physician or by a practitioner of the healing arts.
State parks passes at libraries
Get a state park pass from your library.
You can save the $4 parking fee at Georgia State Parks by “checking out” a park pass at your local library with your PINES or other library card.
The pass is good for seven days. There are 63 parks and historic sites in Georgia.
Additional info: www.georgiastateparks.org
Or www.getoutdoorsgeorgia.org
