Rockdale County, GA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Sections 42-124 and 42-128 of the Rockdale County Smoke-free Air Ordinance prohibit smoking in all public places and places of employment countywide and extend that ban outward 15 feet from every entrance and every open window or opening into a place where smoking is barred, whenever the location is open to the public. Public place is defined broadly in § 42-123 to include restaurants and attached bars, retail stores, banks, bowling facilities, theaters, shopping malls, service lines and government-owned buildings, among others. Section 42-129 carves out limited exceptions: private residences (unless used as licensed childcare, adult day care or health care), designated smoking rooms capped at 20 percent of a hotel or motel's rented rooms, significant tobacco retailers whose smoke does not infiltrate prohibited areas, and outdoor seating areas that directly adjoin a restaurant or business, are not enclosed or partially enclosed, and sit at least 15 feet from any entrance or open window.

Restaurants may also go smoking-permitted if they bar entry to and employ no one under 18 and post the required warning sign at every entrance. The ordinance is enforced by the board of health or its designee, and any certified sheriff's deputy may issue a citation. Violations carry escalating minimum fines under § 42-136: $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for each additional violation within that year, plus possible suspension or revocation of the business's permit or license, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.