Non-compete change takes effect at beginning of '11

I read with interest the Nov. 8 article by Joseph P. Shelton, “How does law bolster non-competes,” discussing the recent changes in Georgia law and Constitution addressing covenants not to compete with employment. Mr. Shelton raises a concern regarding the effective date of the constitutional amendment passed at the 2010 general election, which I believe practitioners in this area of the law need to be made aware.

The legislative process of improving the law of covenants not to compete has been long and complicated, stretching over several years. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I believe that the enactment of House Bill 173 and the recent ratification of Amendment No. 1 have brought very worthwhile improvements to Georgia law. Unfortunately, during the process there has been a relatively minor-and temporary-problem with the way in which the effective dates of the two pieces of legislation were enacted. To cut to the bottom line, it is my opinion and that of staff lawyers at the Capitol with whom I have consulted that practitioners should assume that the provisions of HB 173 are available only for contracts entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2011.