Today Gov. Nathan Deal signed Senate Bill 148, incorporating the Office of Consumer Protection into the Office of the Attorney General, effective July 1, 2015. Attorney General Sam Olens released the following statement on the signing:

“I am pleased to add a consumer protection division to the Office of the Attorney General. Consumer protection is an important area of concern for Georgians, and it must be done effectively and with a balanced approach. Consumers have a right to be provided with truthful information and to be protected from abusive practices and bad actors. At the same time, businesses often make honest mistakes and should not be harshly penalized if they admit those mistakes and take the proper action to rectify them. I intend to work with both consumers and businesses to ensure that Georgia has a fair and equitable consumer protection framework.

“I look forward to working with the consumer protection staff to educate Georgia consumers and to enforce Georgia’s consumer protection laws. My goal is to ensure an efficient and streamlined consumer protection division that serves Georgians with excellence. Our citizens should expect nothing less from their government.”

“I am grateful to Governor Deal for signing the legislation to make this move possible and appreciate Senator John F. Kennedy and Representative Terry Rogers sponsoring the measure.”