Kirby Smart shared some brief thoughts on a new law that was passed in the state of Georgia on Tuesday.

The law, which was an executive order by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, prevents the NCAA or athletic conferences from punishing schools in Georgia for “offering compensation, or compensating an intercollegiate student-athlete for the use of such student-athlete’s NIL,” per ESPN.

Such acts are currently against NCAA rules, although that may soon change pending the finalization of an anti-trust settlement involving the NCAA. Regardless of the outcome of that settlement, the order signed into law by Governor Kemp on Tuesday is effective immediately, according to ESPN.

Smart is understandably pleased with this development, as it makes it easier for his program to compensate prospective student-athletes directly.

“You’re out there competing in a real competitive environment and there’s times you feel like you want to do something and you can’t,” Smart said, via the Athens Banner-Herald. “Now hopefully we’ve got the capabilities to do what we need to do.”

It’s unclear at this time how this new law will be interpreted by the NCAA, should Georgia or Georgia Tech’s actions come under scrutiny. In the past, the NCAA has required its member institutions to abide by NCAA rules even when they contradict more “permissive” local laws. Here’s a statement obtained by ESPN last summer by NCAA executive vice president of regulatory affairs Stan Wilcox:

“The Association has been clear and maintains that schools must adhere to NCAA legislation (or policy) when it conflicts with permissive state laws,” Wilcox wrote in the letter. “In other words, if a state law permits certain institutional action and NCAA legislation prohibits the same action, institutions must follow NCAA legislation.”

Georgia is idle in Week 4.