Ignorance of the law is no excuse, so get ready for these new ones about to take effect

On Tuesday Georgians will reap what their state lawmakers sowed when a slew of new laws take effect from divisive limits on transgender trainee athletes to a broadly popular guarantee to keep in vitro fertilization legal In addition to keeping options to start life the General Assembly gave Georgians a new way to say goodbye to loves ones when life ends They addressed apparatus that is changing how we live letting Georgians use a digital replica of their driver s license on their phone during traffic stops while at the same time banning cellphones in elementary and middle schools They also passed laws affecting the justice system food safety and taxes Senate Bill was the first item on the Republican-led state Senate s agenda It generally prohibits novice athletes in private and masses schools and colleges from competing in interscholastic and intercollegiate sports on teams that do not match their birth gender Lawmakers spent several hours debating whether transgender athletes were a threat to the safety of girls and women during competition and whether there were enough of them to merit a legal ban Democrats called it unnecessary and dangerous Republicans called it necessary for safety asserting that female athletes could be injured when competing against transgender opponents This common-sense rule is about what is fair and safe for our children stated Gov Brian Kemp when he signed the measure into law in April Girls should not have to share a playing field a restroom or locker room with boys Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns R-Newington explained the statute would ensure no young woman is ever forced to face a biological male on the field on the court or in a locker room It wasn t an ideological issue but one of right or wrong he revealed Critics fear the new law will encourage bullying of transgender youths They also worry that girls with a masculine appearance will face unwanted scrutiny The law allows parents to challenge their gender It s legalizing discrimination commented Lynn Green of Rome whose transgender son Ash was born female Green noted there are no documented incidents of transgender athletes playing on Georgia school teams but Ash corrected her While not interested in playing sports himself Ash has heard about a female high school athlete who is transitioning to male Under this law he must still compete on a girls association That would be stupid Ash disclosed adding There are definitely trans athletes in Georgia I just don t think they re as big of a deal as the bill is making them They re not going to affect anyone They re not beating people up There were plenty of laws that were not so controversial For instance House Bill passed with just one no vote in the Senate and no opposition in the House as Republicans and Democrats identified a rare moment of solidarity in sponsorship of protecting in vitro fertilization The regulation was prompted by an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last year that declared frozen embryos had to be treated as children Since various embryos are destroyed during the procedure it was ruled illegal raising concerns about legality in Georgia Now by near unanimous consent it is clearly legal Read on for highlights about new laws on other critical topics APPARATUS House Bill no more cellphones in inhabitants schools at least from kindergarten through middle school The proponents of this ban on devices that are widely viewed as a distraction stopped short of prohibiting them in high schools But ban backers mentioned high schools could be next In the meantime the law gives elementary and middle schools until fall to figure out how to stop their students from using their phones at school House Bill think of this one like chocolate meets peanut butter nearly everyone has a smartphone and nearly everyone has a driver s license So why not put them together This law goes into effect Tuesday but gives police two years to prepare Apps to carry and read a digital license already exist For instance flyers can present their license in Apple Wallet at select Transportation Defense Administration checkpoints But the digital licenses are otherwise limited until July when Georgia drivers will be able to present their phones to police if they don t have a physical license handy Officers will not be authorized to take the phone or rifle through it but they will have to be equipped to scan the digital license JUSTICE Senate Bill this law was backed by Republicans but drew advocacy from particular Democrats It gives money to people whom a court determines were wrongfully convicted awarding them per year of imprisonment It also reimburses defendants for attorney fees and court costs when a prosecutor is disqualified due to improper conduct and the development is then dismissed Those indicted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in connection with her criminal scenario against President Donald Trump stand to benefit Senate Bill far too countless people young people in particular have died because they have taken fentanyl sometimes unknowingly The drug is used as a painkiller in anatomical settings but it has located its way to the streets often contaminating other drugs such as Adderall Oxycodone and Xanax And it is times more potent than morphine This law imposes mandatory minimum sentences on those convicted of trafficking fentanyl House Bills and these two measures update the way judges are paid the former striving to equalize local supplementary pay for superior court judges and the latter indexing pay for state supreme court justices appeals court judges and a statewide business judge to what federal judges make House Bill this law expands the authority of the Georgia Bureau of Assessment to secure subpoenas without asking a court With the attorney general s approval the GBI will be able to compel telecommunications companies to turn over customer information including name address and connection records such as arrangement usage times and durations The types of investigations that will warrant these extrajudicial subpoenas include crimes against children crimes facilitated by a computer and crucially when it came to securing lawmaker encouragement the crime known as swatting which according to testimony is happening more frequently against politicians swatting is when someone calls police to an address on false pretenses FOOD House Bill home bakers and other makers it s time to go to arena This new cottage food law will allow home cooks to sell their goods online by mail in grocery stores and at restaurants The food must be stable without temperature control so refrigerated items are not included But breads cakes cereals jams jellies preserves pasta produce dried fruits herbs nuts seasonings vinegar dill pickles dry soup mixes and roasted coffee beans generally are included Senate Bill any pesticide with a federally-approved label shall be deemed adequately labeled in Georgia and will satisfy the state law duty to label the substance DEATH and TAXES Senate Bill this is another one that passed with big bipartisan majorities It allows the composting of human corpses and inspired gallows humor at the Capitol that eased discomfort about the topic The new law offers grieving families several measure of comfort proponents noted it will let them plant flowers in soil that came from a departed loved one House Bills and the former is a tax cut and the latter is a taxpayer rebate The cut will reduce the state income tax rate from to retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year The rebate will give taxpayers a one-time bonus for single income tax filers for single filer heads of household and for married couples filing jointly The post Ignorance of the law is no excuse so get ready for these new ones about to take effect appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta