Sunday, July 1, 2018

Legislation Effective on July 1

When we think of July, Independence Day is usually what comes to mind. However, July also means the start of the new fiscal year for the State of Georgia and the enforcement of many new laws that were passed in the previous session. Because several of these new laws could have a substantial impact on your personal life, business and potentially your finances, it’s important to know what laws are going into effect and how they could change your daily routine or decisions. 

Since I’ve previously covered many of the Senate bills that passed and were signed by the governor, here are few of the House bills that will become effective on July 1, 2018.

First, of special significance for the Fourth of July, is House Bill 419. Currently, state law allows fireworks to be used on any day between 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. This bill allows fireworks to be used between 10:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on any day unless there is a local ordinance that makes the noise caused by fireworks illegal. But, this bill clarifies that state law does allow fireworks to be used on the last Saturday and Sunday in May over the Labor Day weekend, July 3rd, July 4th, December 31st, and January 1st from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. regardless of any local ordinance, though some locations for shooting fireworks may be off limits. In the case of a drought in any part of a county registering at 700 or higher on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, the bill allows the governor to suspend all fireworks usage in that area until the drought has abated.

House Bill 951 creates the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation and the corresponding Georgia Rural Development Council. The Center will provide a central research hub, rural leadership training, and best practices including: community planning models, industry specific assistance, and cooperative efforts with other organizations. The location of the center has yet to be determined, but will be located within a University System of Georgia school that offers Bachelor of Science degrees in rural development.

House Bill 769 establishes the Rural Health System Innovation Center to serve as a research organization utilizing academic research, public health policy, data and workforce resources to develop new approaches for financing and delivering health care in rural areas. The Center must develop education for rural hospital leadership on legal, fiduciary, grant management, planning and compliance training. Rural hospital CEOs, CFOs, board members and hospital authority members must complete the program. It also establishes a medical malpractice insurance premium assistance grant program for physicians practicing in a medically underserved rural area. This center will be located in Tifton, Georgia.  In addition, this legislation allows Georgia taxpayers to earn a tax credit of up to 100 percent of charitable contributions donated to rural hospital organizations. The tax credit had been capped at 90 percent, but due to the fiscal pressures that rural hospitals are facing, we needed to provide additional incentive for people to give so hospitals in our rural communities can keep their doors open.

House Bill 878 allows for the cancellation of an insurance policy through a verbal or electronic request. After a request has been made, the insurance company must acknowledge the request either through written, mailed correspondence or through electronic means within 10 days.  

House Bill 635 provides for Adult Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Multidisciplinary Teams within judicial districts. The purpose of these teams is to look into cases of elder abuse and to help regulate service providers of elder care. They will also be responsible for giving a report to the GBI and the Commissioner of Human Services detailing the extent of their investigations, what they have learned and what they believe could be done better to protect the elderly. This streamlines the process for finding and reporting adult abuse and neglect and provides us with the data we need to pass further laws and statutes to protect our loved ones who need constant care in specialized nursing facilities.

House Bill 978 allows the installation of automated traffic enforcement devices in school zones. When students are arriving at school and leaving to go home, these automated devices will help law enforcement monitor these zones, making them safer for our children. As additional enforcement, the bill empowers the Department of Revenue to refuse to renew vehicle registrations and to freeze the titles of drivers who refuse to pay fines ticketed through automated traffic enforcement devices. Also, HB 978 allows vehicles approaching school buses on divided highways to continue traveling because children exiting those buses do not cross the median. 

House Bill 852 is a law that will benefit our students as their family moves to another part of a school system. This allows students to complete the remainder of the school year at the school they started in, if they move to another attendance zone within the same local school system. This is only applicable to students who have been in their original school for at least half of the school year.

And finally, one of the more publicized bills that has been a much debated topic of conversation is the Hands-Free Georgia Act or House Bill 673. There are many rumors flying around about the specifics of this law, so I want to provide what I hope will be clear information. 

• You cannot hold your phone (or other standalone electronic device such as an iPod) or support it on your body (i.e. holding the phone up to your ear with your shoulder) while driving. If you are legally parked you may still regularly answer calls and do as you please with your phone.

* If you are answering or ending a phone call, you cannot push more than one button on your phone to do so. 

* If you are listening to an internet radio streaming app (Spotify, Pandora, or Apple music radio) you cannot change the song with your phone or MP3 player, so go ahead and make a road trip playlist or have a CD ready to go. However, you can still use these apps to listen to music, so long as you are not supporting your phone to do so. You cannot use headsets or earpieces to listen to music, however, you can use them for communication purposes.

* You cannot reach for your phone if it requires you to sit in an improper position or requires you to remove or improperly wear your seat belt.

* If you have a Bluetooth capable car, you can use the Bluetooth technology to take calls.

* You can watch your mapping app or a GPS screen for navigation purposes, but you cannot manually enter new navigation instructions on your device while driving.

* You can use your phone as normal while driving if you are making a 9-1-1 call.

* As a reminder, texting while driving is illegal in Georgia and has been since 2010.

For those of us who do not have Bluetooth compatible cars, the solution could be as simple as a $5-$15 device to mount your phone to your dashboard to help you see directions or to make calls on speakerphone. These are commonly known as “hands-free devices” or a cell phone dashboard mount. These accessories can be bought from stores and online retailers.

These devices are made to keep the phone out of your hand, which is the purpose of this bill. While I know some people may see this as an inconvenience, please think of the inconvenience it will be to pay the fine because you were driving distracted, buy a new car because you totaled your own or end up in the hospital because you were in an accident. And if this is not enough, I urge you to think about the families who would never get to see their loved one again because you were inconvenienced by this law. Any text, call or song-change can wait until you can safely pull over.

I know that the implementation of new laws can be confusing, but these changes are made for the benefit of all citizens in the state. Please keep this in mind and be understanding of law enforcement officers who are simply doing their job to keep us safe while we are on the road. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you at the state capitol. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sen. William Ligon serves as Chairman of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee. He represents the 3rd Senate District which includes Brantley, Camden, Glynn, and McIntosh counties and portions of Charlton County.  He can be reached by phone at 404.463.1383 or by email at william@senatorligon.com.

Full Article & Source: 
Legislation Effective on July 1

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