Georgia – Just like any other year, there will be new laws that will go into effect on January 1 in Georgia. However, most of the changes set to take place on January 1, 2024, are insignificant because the majority of the laws are minor changes to laws that are already in place. The biggest change is related to healthcare, but the Georgia governor might soon announce a surprising pay raise for all Georgia state workers.
The CATCH Act
The CATCH Act makes sure people can get good healthcare through insurance plans. It sets rules for these plans to cover important health services. This includes regular and specialized medical care, mental health support, access to pharmacies and labs, and programs for treating substance abuse. Everyone with insurance gets these benefits.
House Bill 1437
Starting in 2024, Georgia will have a new way of calculating personal income tax. Governor Brian Kemp approved a law on April 26, 2022, which introduces a single tax rate of 5.49% from January 1, 2024. This rate will gradually decrease to 4.99% over the next few years. However, these decreases can be postponed if needed.
Here’s the planned schedule for the tax rate changes up to January 2029:
- January 1, 2024: 5.49%
- January 1, 2025: 5.39%
- January 1, 2026: 5.29%
- January 1, 2027: 5.19%
- January 1, 2028: 5.09%
- January 1, 2029: 4.99%
Governor Kemp has also suggested making these tax reductions faster. If his idea is accepted, the 2024 tax rate would be 5.39%, a smaller rate than the 5.75% in 2023.
The Office of Planning and Budget believes this change will save Georgia taxpayers about $1.1 billion in 2024.
House Bill 120
House Bill 120 aims to set rules for limited driving permits for certain offenders. This includes fees, how long these permits last, how to renew or replace them, and reasons for taking them away.
House Bill 128
House Bill 128 focuses on ensuring that minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and veteran-owned businesses are fairly considered for state contracts.
House Bill 175
House Bill 175 is about developing safe rules for driving commercial cars at the federal level. It lets people who work for the state constitution, the Public Service Commission, the Georgia National Guard, the retired active reserve, or Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. get special license plates. It also changes the rules about how disabled soldiers can get tax breaks on their cars.
House Bill 453
House Bill 453 aims to stop the need for ambulance services to pay an annual license fee and to stop putting these fees into the Indigent Care Trust Fund.
House Bill 528
House Bill 528 is mostly about making it easier to stop online subscriptions that are set to renew automatically. Additionally, it aims to safeguard restaurants from delivery services that are not their own. To accomplish this, it requires a written contract between the restaurants and the delivery services.
Senate Bill 90
Senate Bill 90 sets rules for businesses offering commercial financing. They must provide clear information about their services and face penalties for not doing so. The bill also defines key terms and overrules any conflicting laws.
Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act
According to the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act (HB1013) ensures that health insurance plans cover mental health and substance use disorder treatments. Health insurers are also required to send an annual report comparing their coverage to the insurance commissioner.
Pay raises for Georgia state workers are on the horizon
Georgia Gov. Kemp has said on multiple occasions in recent months that he wants to increase state workers’ pay. While announcing the $1,000 Christmas bonus for state employees recently, he once again confirmed that he will push for this change and asked the public to “remain tuned” for surprises in the coming period.