<p>Beginning Friday across Georgia, smokers pretty much will have to take their cigars and cigarettes outdoors, some popular cold remedies will be moved behind the counters, and photos of sex offenders will begin appearing in local newspapers.</p><p>Also, engaged couples will get a modest break on their marriage license fees if they undergo premarital counseling, people with handicapped parking permits will have to renew the permits more often, and defense attorneys will lose the two-to-one advantage they have over prosecutors in picking a jury.</p><p>Those are among the new state laws which take effect Friday, along with measures making the green tree frog the official state amphibian and allowing Georgians to "noodle," or fish for catfish with their bare hands.</p><p>The new laws were passed during this year's Legislature, the first since Reconstruction under complete Republican control. Some 1,304 measures were introduced during the session but only 408 made it through both houses. Gov. Sonny Perdue signed 393 of them, and a third of them take effect Friday.</p><p>Some of the more controversial already have taken effect, or won't take effect until next year. For example, a medical malpractice law that caps pain-and-suffering awards and helps shield emergency room doctors from lawsuits took effect when the governor signed it in February. Another law passed that imposes a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions took effect May 10, when the governor signed it, saying it reflects "the mainstream values that Georgians share."</p><p>Even so, the traditional July 1 date for bills to take effect will bring significant changes for many Georgians, smokers among them.</p><p>The new law bans smoking in most public buildings, allowing smokers only to light up in a handful of places, such as in a bar or restaurant if no one under age 18 is admitted. Violators could be fined $100 to $500.</p><p>Sen. George Hooks, D-Americus, a smoker, voted for the bill. "It's a reasonable compromise. It is a good step in the right direction to protect the nonsmoker and the private business owner," he said.</p><p>Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton, a physician who championed the proposal, said the measure is a clear statement of the principal "that the rights of individuals to breathe smoke-free air supersedes the desire of smokers to smoke."</p><p>Under another law that takes effect Friday, popular cold medicines that can be used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine must be moved behind counters and no more than three packages can be sold at a time. The idea is to limit access to the drugs and therefore slow the spread of meth, an increasingly troublesome drug for law enforcement officers.</p><p>The law only applies to drugs made of pseudoephedrine. Claritin and Sudafed are the examples cited during the legislative debate.</p><p>Another new law requires the publication of photos of released sex offenders in the legal ad section of the newspaper in the county in which they plan to live.</p><p>HASH(0x1cdd3a0)</p><p>Under another law, couples considering tying the knot could save $25 on the cost of their marriage license if they get at least six hours of premarital counseling from a professional counselor, social worker, family therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist or clergy member.</p><p>"Studies have shown if a couple has premarital counseling, their chances of divorce within five years are significantly less," said Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem.</p><p>Handicapped parking permits, now issued for four years, will have to be renewed every two years under another new law. Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, said the measure is designed to curb black-market sales of the tags.</p><p>Another law that takes effect this week reduces the two-to-one advantage the defense enjoyed over the prosecution in striking prospective jurors in criminal cases, giving both sides an equal number. Both sides will be allowed to strike 15 prospective jurors in capital cases no matter what the reason. Currently, the defense gets 20 strikes and the state gets 10.</p><p>___</p><p>Dick Pettys has covered Georgia government and politics since 1970</p>
