New laws in effect in Georgia today

It’s July 1st, and that means a lot of new laws go into effect in Georgia today following action taken during the 2026 session of the Georgia General Assembly. This includes laws impacting building permits, student cell phone use in schools, human trafficking and protections for senior citizens.

Lawmakers actually passed a cellphone ban in 2025 for students in public schools up to eighth grade. And many schools across the state have already implemented the ban. But it will officially go into full effect today. Georgia lawmakers passed another bill extending the ban through high school in the 2026 session, but that bill doesn’t go into effect until December.