VALDOSTA — Georgia State Patrol troopers will issue citations to drivers whose automobile windows are illegally tinted beginning June 1.

Earlier this month, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 20 which reinstates Georgia’s window tint law on motor vehicles.

Violation of the law by either driving a vehicle with illegal window tint or installing the illegal material is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and/or up to 12 months imprisonment.

Troopers are issuing educational warnings during May.

Trooper Anthony Williams, Post 31, Valdosta, said Post 31 will probably give drivers more time after June 1 before troopers start issuing citations. He encouraged drivers to stop by the post to get windows checked.

“It is going to be a little rough to begin with,” Williams said. “When they first said the law is unconstitutional, we had a rush of people going out and getting their windows tinted. It will take us a little while to get everybody to realize the law is back in effect.”

Georgia’s window tinting law was struck down as unconstitutional last year because the provisions applied only to vehicles registered in Georgia.

“House Bill 20 corrected the language so the law applies to all vehicles, whether registered in Georgia or another state,” said Col. Bill Hitchens, commander of the GSP, in a press release. “The window tint law is a safety issue, not only for law enforcement officers as they

approach a vehicle during a traffic stop but also for drivers so they can better see approaching vehicles while they drive.”

Williams said the GSP’s basic concern is officer safety.

“When you are approaching a vehicle and you can’t see inside you really don’t know what you are dealing with,” Williams said.

Debbie Ellington, of Sunblock, said when the law was in effect the first time a lot of customers complained to her about the law being unconstitutional.

“They said, ‘It’s not right that government workers can have it as dark as they want, and we go out and work for our money and somebody tells us we can’t get our windows tinted,’ ” Ellington said.

It costs about $140 to have windows tinted and about $100 to get them stripped, Ellington said.

“A lot of people aren’t aware that the law is changing,” Ellington said.

There are various reasons for getting windows tinted, Ellington said. A few of those reasons include the heat, saving the interior of the car from sun damage, and saving gas money because drivers don’t have to run the air conditioner as high.

The law allows for the same light transmission standards as the previous law. It is now illegal for window tinting material to be applied to the rear, side and door windows of motor vehicles that does not allow for more than 32 percent of light transmission (plus or minus 3 percent). It is also illegal for materials to be applied to the windows that increase the level of light reflected to more than 20 percent. Additionally, except for the top six inches of the windshield, no material or glazing can be applied that would reduce the light transmission through the windshield, according to a press release.

Among the exemptions to the window tint law are: adjustable sun visors not attached to the glass; signs or stickers displayed in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the passenger side of the windshield or in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the driver’s side of the windshield; law enforcement vehicles; and any federal, state or local sticker or certificate which is required by law to be placed on any windshield or window.

Also exempted under the law are the rear windshields and side windows, except the windows to the left and right of the driver, on multipurpose passengers vehicles; school buses and buses used for public transportation; buses and vans owned or leased by any religious or non-profit organization; limousines; and any other vehicle where the windows or windshields have been tinted or darkened before factory delivery or permitted by federal law or regulation, according to a press release.