New laws take effect Friday

Indoor smoking ban, restriction on sale of cold medicines included

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Starting Friday, you won’t be able to light up indoors — at least in most places — and it will be a bit harder to get some cold medicine at the store.

Those are just two of a number of laws that will be enforced beginning Friday, many of which will affect Georgians’ everyday lives.

The statewide indoor smoking ban will affect bars and restaurants unless they elect to deny entry to anyone under 18 years old or erect private enclosed rooms with a separate air handling system from the rest of the building. The law also forbids lighting up in any building owned by state or local governments including cities and counties.

Other exceptions to the indoor smoking ban include private residences (except when used as a licensed child care, adult day care or health care facility) smoking rooms in hotels and motels and convention facility meeting rooms.

Although private places of business are required to go smoke-free, they can elect to build a smoking area with a separate air handling system from the rest of the facility, as long as no employee is required to enter that particular “non-work” area.

As for those nighttime coughs and aches, you’ll have to head behind the counter for some types of cold medicine at your local druggist due to House Bill 216.

Don’t plan to buy in bulk either: store clerks will be limited to selling no more than three packages of any medicine whose sole active ingredient is pseudoephedrine.

The bill requires that such medicines be sold either behind the counter or another barrier so the general public can’t access them without assistance from a store employee. The idea is to try and keep the medicine out of the hands of persons who want to use it to manufacture methamphetamine, an illegal drug whose use is rapidly growing.

Thanks to House Bill 244, voters will need to present a photo ID both when they register to vote and at the polling precinct on election day. Acceptable types of photo ID include a valid state driver’s license, a valid photo ID card issued by any state department or agency, a valid U.S. passport, a valid photo ID issued by the U.S. government, a valid U.S. military photo ID or a valid tribal photo ID card.

While some critics of the bill complained it would disenfranchise voters who don’t have any type of state-issued photo ID, the bill also allows that the state can’t charge a fee for any photo ID card if the person swears under oath that he or she is indigent and cannot pay the fee.

Georgians will still be able to avoid the photo ID process altogether by requesting an absentee ballot if they are qualified to do so, according to the new law.

Motorists getting a new license or renewing their license this year will feel the difference from new legislation in their wallets. Gone is the discounted $8 fee for drivers who sign up as organ donors. In its place are hikes in license fees, though it will last for five years instead of the previous four-year term.

The non-commercial driver’s license fee increases from $15 to $20 starting July 1. Motorists can also opt for the 10-year license at $35.

The law allows the state to offer discounted license renewal fees for those who choose to do so via computer, mail or phone. Those discounts are not specifically outlined in the legislation, however.

Motorists also need to be careful with the window tint of their vehicles thanks to a new law. If the windows are too dark, you could get a ticket and possibly be dragged into court for a misdemeanor charge.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Department is offering free window tint checks for motorists concerned about staying within the law, as most drivers don’t have the fancy light meter required to determine if their vehicle has legal window tinting or not.

The checks are available by stopping by the sheriff’s department at 155 Johnson Avenue in Fayetteville, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.

The new law forbids any window tinting on the front windshield of a vehicle, but some is allowed on the side and rear windshield. The tinted windows cannot reduce light transmission through the window or windshield to less than 32 percent or increase light reflectance to more than 20 percent.

Exempt from the new window tint regulations include the windows to the right and left of the driver in limousines, school buses and any other vehicles which were tinted before factory delivery.

Law enforcement vehicles are also excluded from the window tint regulations.

The new “Slam Spam” bill allows for district attorneys and the state attorney general to prosecute individuals who “initiate a commercial e-mail that the person knew or should have known to be false or misleading” and is sent from, passes through, or received by any computer located in the state.

The crime of “initiating deceptive e-mail” will be upgraded to a felony if the volume of spam e-mail sent exceeds 10,000 attempted recipients in 24 hours, or 100,000 attempted recipients in a 30-day period, or 1 million attempted recipients in a year. The felony charge is also triggered if the revenue from one of the e-mails exceeded $1,000, or if multiple e-mails bring revenue in excess of $50,000.

The crime can also be considered a felony if the accused “knowingly hires, employs, uses or permits any minor to assist in the transmission of commercial e-mail” that violates the law.

The anti-spam bill also gives fairly broad subpoena and search warrant powers to investigate alleged spamming incidents. Also authorized are civil suits based on the statute, which could be filed by internet service providers.

Anyone found guilty of a misdemeanor under the slam spam law faces a fine up to $1,000 and no more than 12 months in jail. The felony charge raises the stakes to a fine of up to $50,000 and up to five years in prison.

Several measures aimed at leveling the playing field in criminal trials were added by the legislature this year. Now, in both misdemeanor and felony cases, prosecutors will be able to “strike” the same number of jurors from the qualified pool for specific reasons outlined by law. Previously, defendants were allowed 12 such strikes in felony cases while the prosecution was allowed just six strikes. Now, each side will get nine strikes each.

In misdemeanor cases, both sides now will be allowed three jury strikes, compared to the previous setup of four strikes for defendants and two allowed for prosecutors.

The new wide-ranging law also allows for prosecutors to put a defendant’s character into play regardless of whether the defendant makes that an issue at trial. It also allows for prosecutors to provide the final argument to the jury, a practice formerly reserved for defense attorneys on two occasions: when they present no evidence to the jury or when they only present the defendant’s testimony.

The legislature also has changed the fee structure for marriage licenses. Couples who attend “a qualifying premarital education program” will not be charged a fee. Those who don’t will pay a $35 fee, up from the previous $10 charged to all marriage license applicants.

The premarital education program must consist of six hours of instruction on martial issues, and must be performed by a professional counselor, social worker, marriage therapist, family therapist, licensed psychiatrist, licensed psychologist or active member of the clergy, according to House Bill 378.

Another law passed by the legislature requires the state to dispose of all its fingerprinting records collected from persons who applied for driver’s licenses and ID cards. The state has until the first of August to get rid of the paper records, but the electronic records can be kept on each person until they apply for the renewal of their driver’s license, according to House Bill 577.