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42, C. 9. Editor’s notes. — Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994.’ ’’ Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘The General Assembly declares and finds: ‘‘(1) That persons who are convicted of certain serious violent felonies shall serve minimum terms of imprisonment which shall not be suspended, probated, stayed, deferred, or otherwise withheld by the sentencing judge; and ‘‘(2) That sentences ordered by courts in cases of certain serious violent felonies shall be served in their entirety and shall not be reduced by parole or by any earned 1095 time, early release, work release, or other such sentence-reducing measures administered by the Department of Corrections.’’ Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘The provisions of this Act shall apply only to those offenses committed on or after the effective date of this Act; provided, however, that any conviction occurring prior to, on, or after the effective date of this Act shall be deemed a ‘conviction’ for the purposes of this Act and shall be counted in determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed for any offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.’’ This Act became effective January 1, 1995. Ga. L. 1998, p. 180, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘The General Assembly declares and finds: (1) That the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994,’ approved April 20, 1994 (Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959), provided that persons convicted of one of seven serious violent felonies shall serve minimum mandatory terms of imprisonment which shall not otherwise be suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld by the sentencing court; (2) That in State v. Allmond, 225 Ga. App. 509 (1997), the Georgia Court of Appeals held, notwithstanding the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994,’ that the provisions of the First Offender Act would still be available to the sentencing court, which would mean that a person who committed a serious violent felony could be sentenced to less than the minimum mandatory ten-year sentence; and (3) That, contrary to the decision in State v. Allmond, it is the expressed intent of the General Assembly that persons who commit a serious violent felony specified in the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994’ shall be sentenced to a mandatory term of imprisonment of not less than ten years and shall not be eligible for first offender treatment.’’ Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 9-1(a)/HB 1176, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘This Act shall become effective on 17-10-7 July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2012, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense and shall be considered a prior conviction for the purpose of imposing a sentence that provides for a different penalty for a subsequent conviction for the same type of offense, of whatever degree or level, pursuant to this Act.’’ Ga. L. 2013, p. 222, § 21/HB 349, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2013, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2013, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense.’’ Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 9-1/HB 328, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that: ‘‘The provisions of Part II of this Act shall be given retroactive effect to those sentences imposed before the effective date of Part II of this Act.’’ The effective date of this Act is May 5, 2015.