Sen. Lee Anderson

Maddy summarySB 69, the "Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act," prohibits courts from considering a driver’s failure to wear a seat belt as evidence of negligence or fault in car accident lawsuits. It also prevents insurance companies from canceling coverage or raising rates due to not wearing a seat belt. The law amends Georgia’s seat belt statute (Code Section 40-8-76.1) to explicitly block such evidence and insurance penalties, effective January 1, 2026. This directly affects drivers involved in civil cases related to vehicle accidents and insurers handling those claims. The bill repeals conflicting laws but does not apply to cases already pending before its effective date.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Titles 20 and 39 of the O.C.G.A, relating to education and minors, respectively, so as to provide for social media platform access by minors; to require local boards of education to adopt, implement, and enforce social media policies; to authorize the Attorney General and the Department of Education to consult with and assist local boards of education in the development and implementation of such policies; to require social medial platforms to provide certain information to parents upon request; to provide for enforcement authority of the Attorney General; to prohibit certain waivers; to provide for definitions; to provide for effective dates; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to conditions of detention generally relative to correctional institutions of state and counties, so as to provide consent for the release of certain criminal history, vocational, and educational information for inmates upon release; to provide for issuance of an identification card and a Program and Treatment Completion Certificate; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 20 of the O.C.G.A., relating to education, so as to provide generally for competitively fair and safe student participation in middle school, high school, and college sports; to promote fair and safe competition; to provide for equal athletic opportunities and safety; to provide for specific designations of teams operated or sponsored by local school systems, public schools, participating private schools, and postsecondary educational institutions in this state; to prohibit males from participating in interscholastic and intercollegiate competitions on teams designated as female; to prohibit females from participating in competition on intercollegiate teams designated as male, subject to exceptions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 6 of Chapter 7 of Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to liability for use of fertilizers, plant growth regulators, or pesticides, so as to clarify that a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency with respect to pesticides; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 1 of Article 5 of Chapter 9 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to Georgia State Indemnification Fund, so as to authorize the Department of Administrative Services to purchase annuities for the payment of indemnification claims; to provide for qualification standards for indemnification claims relating to certain deaths of public safety officers related to COVID-19; to provide for timing requirements for application of such indemnification claims; to provide for definitions; to provide for conforming changes; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding the assessment and payment of costs of criminal proceedings, so as to provide for the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs in a criminal case to the defendant upon such defendant making a successful motion to disqualify the prosecuting attorney for misconduct in connection with the case; to provide for procedures for assessing and paying such fees and costs; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 18 of Title 43 of the O.C.G.A., relating to funeral directors and establishments, embalmers, and crematories, so as to provide for the organic human reduction as a means of disposing of deceased human bodies; to amend Titles 10, 31, and 36 of the O.C.G.A., relating to commerce and trade, health, and local government, respectively, so as to require a disposition permit for the organic human reduction of a dead human body or fetus; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend various titles of the O.C.G.A., so as to modernize and update provisions creating certain boards, panels, authorities, centers, commissions, committees, councils, task forces, and other such bodies; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 16 of the O.C.G.A., relating to crimes and offenses, so as to revise threshold amounts of fentanyl and related substances necessary to constitute the offenses of possessing, selling, distributing, and manufacturing of such substances; to revise mandatory minimum departure provisions for defendants convicted of trafficking of substances in violation of Code Section 16-13-31, relating to trafficking in cocaine, illegal drugs, marijuana, or methamphetamine and penalties; to amend various titles of the O.C.G.A., so as to provide for conforming changes; to provide for an effective date; to provide for applicability; to provide for related matters; to provide for a short title; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.