COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) – Several new laws take effect July 1 in both Alabama and Georgia, affecting grocery shoppers, food truck vendors, student athletes, school safety protocols, and families statewide.
Alabama: Grocery tax returns
The state’s 2% grocery tax, which had been temporarily suspended, will be reinstated starting July 1. The tax will apply to all eligible grocery items.
Sawyer Sewell, a college student, said the return of the tax will affect his budget. “I’m a college student so I hate spending money already, and that’s not going to help things,” Sewell said.
Campbell Webber said the tax could serve a purpose. “If the tax is used to help the city, especially the university, and just is used to better everyone’s daily life I think it could be really beneficial for the city,” Webber said.
Alabama: Food truck inspection streamlined
Beginning July 2, a new single statewide food truck inspection law takes effect, eliminating the need for vendors to obtain multiple certifications across different cities.
JR Omohundro said the change benefits vendors who travel frequently. “They are travelling all across the state and doing festivals, and cities, and events, so they’re constantly on the road and having to go through hoops and red tape to get the certificates that they need,” Omohundro said. “Having one location where it’s one health certificate for everybody that kind of blankets everything, it just speeds up the process and streamlines it for everybody.”
Alabama: Sports physicals, school threats
Starting July 1, Alabama schools will accept sports physical forms for K-12 athletes signed by physician assistants in addition to doctors.
Jay Conner said he has a preference but understands the change. “I’d rather a doctor do it, but I guess they have their reasoning,” Conner said.
House Bill 7, signed in April, makes it a Class B felony to issue credible threats against hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. The law also requires schools to issue immediate suspensions when a threat is made and mandates a psychological evaluation before a student can return.
Hayden Smith said the measure reflects a broader concern. “You see it on the news all the time, that’s how worse stuff happens. I mean I can’t be mad at them for trying to take extra steps to prevent stuff like that,” Smith said.
Additional Alabama laws are set to take effect Oct. 1.
Georgia: Over 100 new laws take effect
More than 100 new laws take effect in Georgia on July 1, covering technology, family protections, financial fraud, and medical cannabis.
Georgia: Phone ban in schools
The Distraction Free Education Act prohibits all public school students in grades K through 8 from using personal electronic devices during the school day.
Georgia: Safe haven, maternity leave, and financial protections
Georgia’s House Bill 1112 expands the state’s safe haven laws to include ambulances, public safety vehicles, and newborn safety devices as approved surrender locations for newborns.
Eligible state employees will now receive 120 hours of paid maternity leave, with protections in place against workplace retaliation.
House Bill 945 introduces new financial fraud protections, allowing banks to freeze suspicious transactions involving elderly or disabled adults. The bill also brings new protections for cryptocurrency kiosks.
Georgia: Medical cannabis expansion
An expansion of Georgia’s medical cannabis guidelines takes effect July 1, removing the THC cap and making thousands of additional patients eligible through new qualifying health conditions.
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