New Laws Now in Effect in Georgia

With the new year comes new laws that were passed by the Georgia legislature last year and have now taken effect. The majority of the laws went into effect back in July of 2018, but a few, including one that passed on the ballot in November, just recently became law.

Among the new laws that took effect January 1, 2019:

• Georgia is among a number of states that will now start enforcing sales tax laws on some out-of-state retailers. A 4% sales tax will be collected by online retailers who make at least $250,000 or conduct 200 sales a year.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court upheld taxes like this in a 1992 ruling, but some tax experts say SCOTUS could again rule on the issue of state internet sales taxes.
• The new Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority (ATL) is now a thing, set to replace MARTA transit.
• Marsy’s Law, which passed by Constitutional Amendment in November, is an amendment to the state constitution that requires that crime victims receive notifications before hearings in cases involving defendants accused of harming them. The amendment is duplicative of the state law already on the books.