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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Every July 1, new laws take effect in Georgia. This year, they involve overbearing homeowners associations, social media guidelines and an official crustacean in the state.

Here are some of those new laws taking effect on this year′s 182nd day of the Gregorian calendar:

Among the hundreds of new laws signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp are state-budget related: House Bill 1015 speeds up what is already the largest state income tax in Georgia history, while House Bill 1021 increases the income tax exemption by 33 percent. House Bill 1023 cuts the corporate income tax rate from 5.75% to 5.39%.

The $36.1 billion 2025 budget also 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 registered 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.

Sections of Senate Bill 63, which requires cash bail for over two dozen more crimes, will go into effect on July 1. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has issued a temporary restraining order from enforcing a certain section of the law.

Fed up with your homeowners association? You’re not alone. Now, House Bill 220 requires HOAs to notify their members 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 andamp; Children Services can now get free, state-issued ID cards under Senate Bill 387.

An Atlanta News First investigation

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 eight-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 pass 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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