By Alan Powell
State Rep.
Gov. Brian Kemp has signed all the 2025 legislation he will put a pen to this year and he has vetoed seven pieces of legislation. You can review legislation signed and vetoed at this link: https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/legislation.
Below are highlights from the Health and Human Services and Judiciary Committees:
• House Bill 197 implements a callback telecommunications system for peer-to-peer communications in the event a clinical peer is not available upon first contact effort; addresses prior authorization practices.
• House Bill 322 creates additional provisions for dental school teaching applicants to accomplish before submitting a teaching application to the Georgia Board of Dentistry.
• House Bill 567 authorizes teledentistry by licensed dentists, while establishing requirements and restrictions. The bill allows for the coverage of teledentistry healthcare services under dental benefits plans.
• House Bill 645 removes the COVID-19 testing requirement for new residents and staff in long-term care facilities; lowers the age which a patient shall be offered a vaccination for influenza virus at hospital discharge from 50 to 18.
• House Resolution 72 creates the House Study Committee on Cancer Care Access.
• House Resolution 304 creates the House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking.
• House Resolution 847 creates the House Study Committee on Evaluating Funding for Public Health.
• Senate Bill 5 requires health insurers to implement a program that reduces prior authorization requirements for providers based on quality metrics; requires that all health benefit policies administered by the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) in Georgia provide coverage for healthcare services related to Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).
• Senate Bill 6 allows for drug analysis equipment to be used to determine whether a controlled substance or its packaging has been altered.
• Senate Bill 58 ‘Georgia Transporting Life-Saving Organs and Personnel Act,’ authorizes the emergency transportation of necessary personnel, organs, tissue, or medical supplies to a time-critical organ transplant procedure.
• Senate Bill 72 allows for a terminally ill patient’s right to try investigational drugs, biological products, and devices to expand their access to individualized treatments.
• Senate Bill 130 expands the ability for a resident or fellow to be taught in a teaching hospital or a medical facility that meets the stated criteria; allows a resident or fellow to apply for the service cancelable loan program through the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce.
• Senate Bill 140 authorizes a doctor of optometry to dispense and sell pharmaceuticals that are related to the treatment of diseases and conditions of the eye, except those that are controlled substances.
• House Bill 123 changes the standard, in a capital case for which the death penalty is being sought, for determining when the accused has an intellectual disability (ID) from beyond a reasonable doubt to preponderance of the evidence.
• House Bill 161 expands the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) ability to subpoena computers or electronic devices to include investigations using the statutes involving identity fraud, computer crimes, transmitting a false public alarm, terroristic threats and acts, harassing communications, and domestic terrorism.
• House Bill 222 is a further attempt at increasing the number of defendants who attend their trial by expanding the information on a bond to include the full name, email address, and phone number of the principal and each surety.
• House Bill 339 exempts ride share network services from liability for any injury to persons or damage to property committed by a ride share driver, provided that there has been no negligence or criminal misconduct by the ride share network service; the ride share network service obtains a background check for each ride share driver at least once every two years.
• Senate Bill 42 Addressing Rule of Lenity repeals O.C.G.A. 16-6-13(b), which currently is a criminal penalty for when anyone violates the crimes of keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, or pandering, when the offense involves someone under the age of 18 years old.
• Senate Bill 245 permits grandparents who have been granted visitation rights to their grandchild following the death, incapacitation, or incarceration of the parent of the child to petition the court for revocation or amendment of the visitation rights, as long as the petition has not been filed more than once during any two-year period.
• Senate Bill 259 ’Ridge’s Law’ responds to allegations against certain entities specializing in the care and hospitalization of minors relating to temporary protective custody due to suspected abuse or neglect of the child and the subsequent evaluation by a physician.
Please call my Capitol office at 404-463-3793 or email alan.powell@house.ga.gov or alanpowell23@hotmail.com, if I can be of service on any matter of state government.
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.