What New Legislation Did Gov. Brian Kemp Sign Into Law This Year?

Sam Whitehead, Molly Samuel, Johnny Kauffman, and Martha Dalton contributed to this report.

Gov. Brian Kemp had until Monday, 40 days since the close of the 2021 General Assembly session, to decide whether to sign or veto the bills the legislature passed. The most controversial bill of the session, the state’s new election law, was signed within an hour of its passage in March, but the legislature was busy passing other bills this year as well. 

Kemp vetoed one bill that would have created a “chief labor officer” within the Department of Labor who would have reported to the state legislature. This was a hot-button issue during the legislative session as a backlog of unemployment claims frustrated jobless Georgians and the lawmakers they appealed to for help.