O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 1-3-4 (2019)

Effective date of legislative Acts

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) Unless a different effective date is specified in an Act: (1) Any Act which is approved by the Governor or which becomes law without his approval on or after the first day of January and prior to the first day of July of a calendar year shall become effective on the first day of July; and (2) Any Act which is approved by the Governor or which becomes law without his approval on or after the first day of July and prior to the first day of January of the immediately succeeding calendar year shall become effective on the first day of January. (b) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to local legislation or to resolutions intended to have the effect of law. Such local legislation and resolutions intended to have the effect of law become effective immediately upon approval by the Governor or upon their becoming law without his approval, unless a different effective date is specified in the Act or resolution.

History

Ga. L. 1968, p. 1364, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 7, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 984, § 1; Ga. L. 2002, p. 985, § 2.

Annotations

Editor’s notes. - Ga. L. 1985, p. 984, § 3, not codified by the General Assembly,

provided that that Act would apply to general Acts affecting the compensation of the county officers listed in Ga. Const. 1983, Art. IX, Sec. I, Para. III which are enacted after January 1, 1986.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Effective date of amendment to kidnapping statute. - The amendment to the kidnapping statute, O.C.G.A. § 16-5-40, providing that slight movement is sufficient to prove kidnapping as long as the movement was not incidental to another offense, and defining what actions would not be incidental to another offense, applies to crimes committed on or after the revised statute’s effective date, July 1, 2009, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 1-3-4. Decoteau v. State, 302 Ga. App. 451, 691 S.E.2d 328 (2010). Cited in Pruitt v. State, 123 Ga. App. 659, 182 S.E.2d 142 (1971); Lott v. State, 123 Ga. App. 781, 182 S.E.2d 546 (1971); Gunn v. Balkcom, 228 Ga. 802, 188 S.E.2d 500 (1972); J.C. Penney Co. v. Malouf Co., 125 Ga. App. 832, 189 S.E.2d 453 (1972); Coe & Payne Co. v. Wood-Mosaic Corp., 125 Ga. App. 845, 189 S.E.2d 459 (1972); J & L Oil Co. v. City of Carrollton, 230 Ga. 817, 199 S.E.2d 190 (1973); Jones v. Caldwell, 230 Ga. 775, 199 S.E.2d 248 (1973); Geiger v. State, 129 Ga. App. 488, 199 S.E.2d 861 (1973); Montaquila v. Cranford, 129 Ga. App. 787, 201 S.E.2d 335 (1973); Brinks v. State, 232 Ga. 13, 205 S.E.2d 247 (1974); DeKalb County v. Chapel Hill, Inc., 232 Ga. 238, 205 S.E.2d 864 (1974); Kenner v. MacDougall, 232 Ga. 273, 206 S.E.2d 519 (1974); White v.

Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 131 Ga. App. 630, 206 S.E.2d 576 (1974); Smith v. State, 132 Ga. App. 199, 207 S.E.2d 681 (1974); Johnson v. State, 134 Ga. App. 67, 213 S.E.2d 170 (1975); Brown v. Ricketts, 233 Ga. 809, 213 S.E.2d 672 (1975); Screamer Mt. Dev., Inc. v. Garner, 234 Ga. 590, 216 S.E.2d 801 (1975); Town of Lyerly v. Short, 234 Ga. 877, 218 S.E.2d 588 (1975); Lanthrip v. State, 235 Ga. 10, 218 S.E.2d 771 (1975); Whitehead v. Hasty, 235 Ga. App. 331, 219 S.E.2d 443 (1975); Fowler v. State, 235 Ga. 535, 221 S.E.2d 9 (1975); Carrindine v. Ricketts, 236 Ga. 283, 223 S.E.2d 627 (1976); Morris v. Morris, 244 Ga. 120, 259 S.E.2d 65 (1979); Searcy v. State, 162 Ga. App. 695, 291 S.E.2d 557 (1982); Shook & Fletcher Insulation Co. v. Central Rigging & Contracting Corp., 684 F.2d 1383 (11th Cir. 1982); American Booksellers Ass’n v. Webb, 590 F. Supp. 677 (N.D. Ga. 1984); Robinson v. State, 180 Ga. App. 43, 348 S.E.2d 662 (1986); Duke v. State, 298 Ga. App. 719, 681 S.E.2d 174 (2009); Smith v. State, 302 Ga. App. 222, 690 S.E.2d 867 (2010); Smith v. State, 312 Ga. App. 174, 718 S.E.2d 43 (2011); City of Brookhaven v. City of Chamblee, 329 Ga. App. 346, 765 S.E.2d 33 (2014); City of Atlanta v. Mays, 301 Ga. 367, 801 S.E.2d 1 (2017); Abrams v. Laughlin, 304 Ga. 34, 816 S.E.2d 26 (2018).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Retroactive effective date clause in Act is void. - A retroactive effective date clause in an Act is meaningless and void, in which event this Code section supplies

the effective date, the same as if no effective date had been specified in the Act. 1976 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 76-76.

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 73 Am. Jur. 2d, Statutes, § 245 et seq. C.J.S. - 82 C.J.S., Statutes, § 548 et seq. ALR. - At what stage does a statute or ordinance pass beyond the power of legislative body to reconsider or recall, 96 A.L.R. 1309.

Date or event contemplated by term ‘‘passage,’’ ‘‘enactment,’’ ‘‘effective date,’’ etc., employed by statute in fixing time of facts or conditions within its operation, 132 A.L.R. 1048.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 49 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: Robinson v. State, 348 S.E.2d 662 (Ga. Ct. App. 1986).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Robinson v. State, 348 S.E.2d 662 (Ga. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 8× “See OCGA § 1-3-4. The Act was described by the legislature as "An Act To amend Code Section 16-13-31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to trafficking in cocaine, illegal drugs, or marijuana and penalties for violations, so as to provide for mandatory minimum…”
Shawn Daniel Meintz v. State, 810 S.E.2d 602 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “2 (b) in its entirety provides: Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, and notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, any person convicted of a sexual offense shall be sentenced to a split sentence which shall include the minimum term of…”
Harrell v. City of Griffin, 816 S.E.2d 738 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “See OCGA § 1-3-4 (a) ("Unless a different effective date is specified in an Act .”
Heywood v. State, 743 S.E.2d 12 (Ga. 2013). · cites it 2× “” OCGA § 1-3-4. The Code also provides that, “[a]fter they take effect, the laws of this state are obligatory upon all the inhabitants thereof.”
Vance v. T. R. C., 494 S.E.2d 714 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 4× “Although abuse includes inducing or coercing a minor to engage in sexual activity, it does not include “consensual sex acts involving persons of the opposite sex when the sex acts are between minors.”
Dias v. Boone, 912 S.E.2d 547 (Ga. 2025). · cites it 4× “632-636 (containing no provision for effective date); OCGA § 1-3-4 (a) (1) (unless otherwise specified in the act, any act approved by the governor on or after first day of January and prior to first day of July of a calendar year shall become effective on the first day of July).”
City of Atlanta v. Mays, 801 S.E.2d 1 (Ga. 2017). · cites it 2× “11, which incorporate South Fulton and define its boundaries, became effective when the Governor approved the act, which he did on April 26, 2016, and Sections 1.”
JIG Real Est., LLC v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 712 S.E.2d 820 (Ga. 2011). · cites it 2× “413; OCGA § 1-3-4 (a) (1). However, it is uncontroverted that JIG was not a party to the transaction between appellees and the sale in this case did not occur until March 6, 2007, well after the effective date of OCGA § 9-13-172.”
Lynch v. State, 815 S.E.2d 340 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “1118, § 6 (Act was approved on April 15, 1996); OCGA § 1-3-4 (a) (1) ("Unless a different effective date is specified in an Act[, an] Act which is approved by the Governor .”
Brower v. State, 680 S.E.2d 859 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “OCGA § 1-3-4. The crimes in this case occurred in January 2006, and therefore the standard set forth in Garza applies.”
State v. Barker, 625 S.E.2d 500 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “14 See OCGA§ 1-3-4 (a). 15 The prosecution against Barker for the molestation of similar transaction witness S.”
Horne v. State, 680 S.E.2d 616 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “OCGA § 1-3-4. The crime in this case occurred in April 2005, and therefore the standard set forth in Garza applies.”
Show all 49 citing cases →
— 1-3-4(a) — 1 case
Vance v. T. R. C., 494 S.E.2d 714 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997). “Although abuse includes inducing or coercing a minor to engage in sexual activity, it does not include “consensual sex acts involving persons of the opposite sex when the sex acts are between minors.”
— 1-3-4(a)(1) — 2 cases
In Re Ad, 715 S.E.2d 787 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011).
Emely Gomez v. Usaa Cas. Ins. Co. (Ga. Ct. App. 2026).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.