ATLANTA -- Georgia residents can now put their credit reports on ice.

After a three-year legislative fight, a new law started Friday that allows residents to pay $3 to freeze their credit, barring reporting agencies from releasing information without written permission.

Jubilant consumer advocacy groups that have long contended the freeze is the most effective tool to stop new account fraud started spreading the word immediately.

"It's a superior form of protection," said Allie Wall, director of consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch. "There's no comparison. It's the only proactive tool that stops new account fraud before it starts."

The law allows residents to pay $9 for a freeze on all three major credit reporting agencies, and lets those older than 65 get the freezes for free. Supporters say it is one of the nation's most consumer-friendly credit freeze bills.

When the measure was first introduced by state Rep. Rob Teilhet in early 2006, the Smyrna Democrat and other supporters hoped Georgia would join a handful of states then covered by the protection.

But auto dealers, landlords and other industries that rely on quick credit fought the bill to a standstill, worried it would hurt their business. Credit freeze proposals were soon bottled up in legislative committees, and attempts to force a vote failed.

The mood began to shift late last year, though, as legislators faced mounting pressure to take action against identity theft. Businesses groups quickly met to seek a compromise, coming up with a face-saving measure.

They would drop their opposition so long as the law included the so-called "15-minute thaw" -- a provision that allows consumers who want to make on-the-spot purchases to lift the freeze for an additional $3.

The measure and its new provision passed both chambers with little opposition, and Gov. Sonny Perdue signed it in a May ceremony, claiming "the cavalry is coming for identity thieves in Georgia."

Georgia now joins 40 other states that have adopted their own versions of the freeze. The three major credit reporting agencies are offering them to customers as well, regardless of the state, but for $10 a pop.

Teilhet, though, still regrets that his colleagues didn't act sooner.

"It's a good bill. Past due, but good, and hopefully consumers will take advantage of it," said Teilhet. "Better late than never."