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Published Tuesday, June 29, 2010 in Local

Georgia ban on texting while driving kicks in July 1

BY ERRIN HAINES

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

ATLANTA (AP) -- Starting Thursday, Georgia drivers caught checking e-mail, sending text messages or using the Internet while behind the wheel could face a $150 fine and get a point added to their driver's license.

The law is one of several that take effect on July 1. Teen drivers will also be barred from talking on a cell phone while driving.

As of Thursday, the governor - or any former Georgia governor - can perform marriage ceremonies. It will also be illegal for massage parlors to operate escort services or employ unlicensed massage therapists.

During a marathon session that lasted nearly five months, the Legislature passed more than 140 bills in the Senate and 80 bills in the House that take effect July 1, including:

- A bill increasing the time the Supreme Court has to grant or deny review or pretrial proceedings in death penalty cases from 20 days to 45 days.

- Legislation requiring the Georgia Department of Education to provide each school in the state access to a list of all registered sex offenders.

- A bill allowing religious organizations to self-insure Georgia-registered motor vehicles for liability purposes, sparked by a small community of Mennonites in south Georgia which considers buying state-required car insurance a form of gambling.

- A law establishing the "Blue Alert" system that would activate to help catch suspects wanted for a crime involving the death or serious injury or a peace officer, similar to the statewide alert system for missing disabled adults.

- A law allowing members of the armed services and veterans who have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder to have a notation of the diagnosis placed on their driver's license.

Other major laws that took effect this month include:

- Effective June 2, a bill that allows daily outdoor watering for the purposes of planting, growing, managing or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs or other plants between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. Outdoor water use for any purposes other than watering of plants, such as power washing or washing cars, is still restricted to the current odd/even watering schedule. Odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Even-numbered and unnumbered addresses are allowed to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

- Effective June 2, Georgia became the last state to require adults in pickup trucks to wear seat belts.

- Effective June 3, a person would be allowed to keep native wildlife, not including protected species, that has been accidentally killed by a motor vehicle if the person notifies the Department of Natural Resources or a law enforcement officer within 48 hours after taking possession of the animal.

- Effective June 4, any person who is not legally prohibited from possessing a gun may carry a weapon on his/her property and inside his/her home, motor vehicle or place of business without a carry license. Licensed gun owners will also be allowed to carry their weapons into the parking lots of colleges, courthouses and jails.

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