Respecting Home Rule, this legislation allows local governments to authorize the sale of package beer and wine from grocery stores within 100 yards of a school or school administrative building (which is currently prohibited by law).  Grocery stores must have at least 10,000 square feet of floor space and reserve at least 85 percent of their sales to food or other nonalcoholic items.  To authorize said beer and wine package sales, counties must pass a resolution or ordinance.  

This legislation transfers the Division of Aging Services from the Department of Human Services to a newly created agency called the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency.  

This legislation extends the date for adoption of drug free commercial zones by local ordinance to July of 2015.

This legislation requires DFCS to acknowledge in writing to the informant within 24 hours of receiving information about suspected child abuse and the completion of investigation. This legislation specifies that in the absence of a DFCS agency, the law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney shall acknowledge receipt of report, and the results of any investigation.  This legislation should have no impact on the counties with DFCS offices, for those without a DFCS office the responsibility will fall to local law enforcement.

This legislation creates the Board of Community Supervision to oversee the newly created Department of Community Supervision (DCS) and the Governor's Office of Transition, Support, and Reentry. All offender supervision activities will transfer from the Board of Pardons and Parole and the Department of Corrections to the new DCS. This legislation also transfers the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council, the agency tasked with registration and oversight of private misdemeanor probation providers and governmental misdemeanor probation providers to DCS. The bill also includes requirements for increased transparency and financial reporting by the misdemeanor probation providers to the counties of fine collections, which was an ACCG priority. A county commissioner or manager is included as a mandatory board member for the new department. The Board will adopt rules and regulations governing the management and treatment of probationers and parolees, and the operation of misdemeanor probation supervision.

Probation  and Parole Offices will combine, some counties currently provide space to these entities, and these offices collect fine revenue from probationers to be processed and sent back to local governments.  Misdemeanor probation providers (county and private) will be required to submit an annual report to the county commission that contains the amount of fines and fees collected and the nature of such fees, including probation supervision fees, rehabilitation programming fees, electronic monitoring fees, drug and alcohol detection device fees, substance abuse or mental health evaluation or treatment fees, and drug testing fees; the number of community service hours performed by probationer under supervision; and, a listing of any other service for which a probationer is required to pay to attend.

This legislation changes the juvenile code to include recommendations made by the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice. The juvenile code rewrite inadvertently assigned all juvenile traffic cases to juvenile court, which caused a major increase in caseload and the juvenile courts do not have the administrative capability to handle traffic cases.  This legislation corrects the statute to transfer jurisdiction for those traffic cases back to other local courts that handle traffic offenses.  Additionally this bill authorizes the district attorney to file petitions and prosecute CHINS cases in juvenile courts.

County Impact:  District Attorney's can now prosecute juvenile cases. 

 This legislation makes several changes to the laws regarding hospital authorities, including the  appointment and training of hospital authority board members. 

This legislation creates the Department of Early Care and Learning, which has the authority to solicit funds, services and other assistance from counties. This legislaton will have no mandatory fiscal impact, however the Deparment may request assistance and funds from the county.

This legislation allows prescriptions for auto injectible epinephrine ("epi pens") to be written to recreation camps, youth sport leagues, amusement parks, sports arenas and places of employment.  These "entities" must designate an employer or employees to receive training to administer the epi pens in case of emergency.