On March 19, 2025, the following Georgia House of Representatives’ committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Ways and Means voted on HB 317
- Agriculture and Consumer Affairs heard SB 33 and voted on SB 105, SB 112, and SB 201
- Judiciary Non-Civil heard SB 74 and voted on SB 42, SB 132, and SB 207
- Health heard SB 91 and SB 130 and voted on SB 72, SB 140, and SB 195
- Budget and Fiscal Affairs voted on SB 28 and SB 46
- Regulated Industries voted on SB 241 and SB 220
- Banks and Banking voted on SB 119
- Public Safety and Homeland Security voted on SB 99 and SB 147
- Higher Education voted on SB 20 and SB 180
- Judiciary Juvenile voted SB 259
- Judiciary heard SB 36
- Technology and Infrastructure Innovation voted on SB 9 and heard SB 111 and SB 177
- Governmental Affairs voted on SB 12, SB 199, and SB 284
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Ways and Means
HB 317
This bill—the Workforce and Residential Infrastructure District for Georgia Act—creates independent districts (RIDs) for management and financing of basic services for community developments. This multi-year project was the subject of three prior subcommittee meetings. The goal is to align Georgia with other southern states that already use mechanisms for private bond funding for very expensive infrastructure needs.
The bill allows local governments in Georgia to form these districts to address housing shortages and improve infrastructure, making it easier to build affordable housing projects and residential communities. This structure has been used for large projects in Texas and Florida, such as Disneyworld and The Villages.
The main goals are to promote economic growth, provide affordable living options for workers, and create a streamlined process for developing the necessary infrastructure to support these developments. By passing this legislation, Georgia intends to foster better housing availability and support the state’s workforce needs.
The bill passed committee.
Agriculture and Consumer Affairs
SB 33
This bill defines intoxicating cannabinoids and includes a substance called HHC, which is synthesized from CBD. The bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture to include any other compound that it deems necessary to protect health and safety. SB 33 sets limits on the total THC concentration in these products.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
SB 105
This bill authorizes licensed veterinarians and veterinary technicians to practice veterinary teleadvice. It expands the scope of veterinary services by allowing professionals to provide remote consultation, advice, and guidance to pet owners; this will potentially improve access to care, especially in rural or underserved areas.
The bill passed committee.
SB 112
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), deals with extended warranties on HVAC products. Currently, consumers must register their new system with the manufacturer to activate the warranty; this bill removes this requirement and makes the warranty active as soon as a licensed contractor installs the system. Additionally, the warranty must remain with the product rather than the purchaser, allowing home buyers access to the warranty on systems installed by the previous owner. This bill benefits both consumers and the installers of the HVAC systems.
The bill aims to enhance consumer rights by ensuring that warranties for HVAC systems are more reliable and to offer additional protections for homeowners when purchasing, installing, or servicing these systems.
The bill passed committee.
SB 201
This bill provides protections for homeowners in counties declared state-of-emergency counties. These homeowners will be able to end contracts with contractors if the work is not done in a reasonable amount of time.
The bill aims to safeguard homeowners’ rights and ensure fair practices in the contracting process.
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary Non-Civil
SB 42
This bill addresses human trafficking in Georgia. Due to the rule of lenity, which means that a judge who finds a statute to be ambiguous must give the lesser penalty to the defendant, two similar crimes against children can have very different penalties. The Georgia code outlines enhanced penalties for anyone who keeps a place of prostitution, pimp, or pander when committed against a minor; the human trafficking statutes against a minor are similar but not the same. This bill repeals the lesser penalty for this act to ensure perpetrators receive the harsher penalty.
The bill passed committee.
SB 74
This bill seeks to repeal the exemption for libraries and librarians from the Code; this exemption concerns the distribution of harmful materials to minors. The Code criminalizes the distribution of obscene or harmful materials to minors, and SB 74 aims to remove the specific exemption that currently protects libraries and librarians from being held liable under this law. Whether “obscene or harmful materials” includes LBTQ+-related material is unclear, but this law will likely attempt to criminalize librarians for allowing minors access to any books containing these themes. The bill also does not specify how “harmful” or “obscene” should be defined.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
SB 132
This bill requires a hearing before a court orders an evaluation of the mental competency of an accused person to stand trial. This legislation aims to ensure that a formal legal process takes place before a mental competency evaluation is ordered, providing an additional safeguard for individuals accused of crimes who may not be mentally competent to understand the charges against them or participate in their defense.
The bill passed committee.
SB 207
This bill aims to establish a preclearance process for individuals with criminal records who apply for licenses with certain licensing boards and commissions. The bill is designed to provide individuals with criminal histories a clearer path toward professional licensure by requiring a process to determine whether their criminal record would disqualify them before they formally apply.
The bill passed committee.
Health
SB 72
This bill aims to help children with rare diseases, cancer patients, and other vulnerable patients in Georgia by giving them access to potentially life-saving treatments after they have tried all other FDA-approved options. All treatments in this legislation are provided by healthcare professionals and must be given at the recommendation of these professionals. Treatment must be provided in a facility that has received official federal-wide assurance for protection of human subjects and will follow all ethical policies for the protection of patients.
Treatments in this bill include medical cannabis.
The bill passed committee.
SB 91
This bill prevents the State of Georgia from entering into, executing, or renewing a contract or contracts for state employee health insurance plans with any pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) who owns or has an ownership interest in any retail pharmacy or with any legal entity that contracts with or uses such PBM. PBMs are vertically integrating businesses, giving these individuals a sort of monopoly on the sale of pharmaceuticals. This bill requires them to either negotiate rates with a retail pharmacy or choose to be a retail pharmacy, not both.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
SB 130
This bill aims to increase the number of healthcare workers in Georgia by expanding the eligibility of medical education funding and the scope of the Healthcare Workforce Board’s service-cancellation loan program. Final-year residents and fellowship physicians are eligible to participate in the program. Individuals in this program agree to serve for a specified period of time in a specified geographic area; in return, the state pays back some of their medical education loans.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
SB 140
This bill would allow optometrists to dispense and sell certain pharmaceuticals used to treat diseases of the eye and the area around the eye. The doctor must be onsite when the medicine is prescribed, provide advice on usage, and maintain a records system to track who received it. The optometrists have not dealt with the insurance piece yet.
This bill passed committee.
SB 195
This bill deals with HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylactics; it allows pharmacists who have gone through training to prescribe and dispense a 30-day up to 60-day supply. If the individual is under the care of a primary care physician, the pharmacist can also administer a long-acting injectable or pre-exposure prophylactic. The physician must be available for consultation.
The pharmacist must carry appropriate insurance.
These pharmaceuticals do not treat HIV but prevent it.
The bill passed committee.
Budget and Fiscal Affairs
SB 28
This bill aims to reduce unnecessary government regulations and bureaucracy to improve efficiency, streamline processes, and make government operations more effective. The bill does not specify which regulations need to be removed but introduces several measures by which state agencies must scrutinize regulation, such as enforcing regular reviews of agency rules and analyzing the economic impact of implementing new rules.
The bill passed committee.
SB 46
This bill would create a department within the state government that would gather customer experience data and distribute it back to the government as feedback for improvement. Customers in this case are the people of Georgia. The Georgia Technology Authority would lead this department and be responsible for hiring high-level staff. This bill is intended to help establish a means to determine the effectiveness of the government when it works for or interacts with the people.
The bill passed committee.
Regulated Industries
SB 241
Under current Georgia law, the accepted methods to dispose of a human body are burial green, burial cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, and donation to a medical school or other research facility. This bill seeks to legalize human composting with licensing. Human composting is putting a body in a container to decompose naturally. Remains do not mix.
The bill passed committee.
SB 220
This bill renames low THC Oil to medical cannabis and changes the 5% THC cap to 50%; doctors will be allowed to prescribe the new levels. SB 220 also removes the designation of liquid ounces to ounces so as to include vaping, capsules, gummies, and other products. Additionally, the bill will allow a distribution increase from 1 ounce to 2 ounces to accommodate a 30-day supply. The bill restricts hemp, cookies, candies, or raw plant material and allows associations to educate on these products.
This bill passed committee.
Banks and Banking
SB 119
This bill aims to help expedite the application process for a manufactured home to become a permanent location. Once the location is considered a real property, individuals can apply for a traditional mortgage, which has much lower interest rates.
The bill passed committee.
Public Safety and Homeland Security
SB 99
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), seeks to amend the Official Code of Georgia to include the definition of a “Law enforcement officer” in relation to definitions relative to crimes and offenses. The bill would allow federal officers to assist the local government in times of emergency. The committee revised the language of the bill passed in the Senate to state that federal officers must be requested to help if there is an emergency circumstance where human life is in danger. This change is intended to prevent officers from acting on their own behalf.
The bill passed committee.
SB 147
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), allows the Department of Corrections to provide inmates with documents that they may need to help get a job upon release, such as a GED, driver’s licence, or state ID. These documents also include copies of the inmate’s vocational training record and resume along with records of any trade the inmate learned and their proficiency in that trade. The committee amended the bill to include language that would exclude undocumented aliens from receiving these benefits when they are released.
The bill passed committee.
Higher Education
SB 20
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), aims to improve access to veterinary care in underserved areas, particularly in shelters and nonprofit pet sterilization clinics, by incentivizing veterinarians to work in these settings. It will allow $25,000 of loans to be canceled per year for three years of service, with the intent of incentivizing veterinarians to take jobs at these lower-paying clinics rather than private practices to address the pet overpopulation and rising rates of euthanasia.
The bill passed committee.
SB 180
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), relates to the High Demand Apprenticeship program, which incentivizes apprenticeship sponsors to establish new or grow existing registered apprenticeship programs in Georgia. SB 180 aims to expand apprenticeship programs in Georgia by creating an easier path for sponsors to collaborate with the state’s technical education system, helping to address labor shortages and provide workers with valuable skills in high-demand industries.
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary Juvenile
SB 259
Under this bill, if a child is taken into temporary protective custody by a physician treating the child, the physician is required to advise the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of their right to pay for an independent medical evaluation or specialty consultation at their own expense; this evaluation allows the parent, guardian, or legal custodian to receive a second opinion to determine abuse. SB 259 will also require the physician to disclose the basis of their determination. A court order may prohibit the specialty consultation, and the consultation requires cooperation of DFCS law enforcement and the medical professionals.
SB 259 requires the juvenile court to consider the results of the second opinion and prevents the delay of the adjudication hearing if a dependency case has been initiated.
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary
SB 36
This bill is paraded as a Religious Freedom Act (RFRA), but because there are no statewide anti-discrimination laws in place in Georgia, it would give license to discriminate on the basis of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin, etc., all in the name of “religious freedom.”
Amendments were proposed that would include language preventing discrimination, as well as an amendment to protect children from child abuse in the name of religious freedom, but those amendments were denied. This shows the true intent of the bill.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
Technology and Infrastructure Innovation
SB 9
This bill establishes criminal offenses of fraudulent election interference and solicitation thereof for using deceptive AI-generated media to falsely depict conduct that appears to be real. A person may not broadcast, publish, stream, or upload materially deceptive media within 90 days of an election with the intent to deceive one or more electors. A person may not command, encourage, or request such interference.
The bill would not apply to satire, parody, works of artistic expression, or works of journalism by bona fide news organizations. The Attorney General may bring an action upon recommendation of the State Election Board. Individuals depicted, the Attorney General, and candidates injured or likely to be injured can seek injunctive relief.
SB 9 allows campaigns to use AI-generated content in a campaign ad so long as the ad visibly discloses who created, sponsored, and paid for it; who is being impersonated; and that AI was used.
The bill passed committee.
SB 111
This bill is the Georgia Consumer Privacy Protection Act, purporting to protect the privacy of consumer personal data. It would apply to businesses conducting business in Georgia that meet the following criteria:
- Provide products or services to consumers
- Bring in more than $25 million in revenue
- Control or process personal information of more than 25,000 consumers
- Derive more than 50% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data
- Control or process information of at least 175,000 consumers each year.
SB 111 limits the collection of personal information to what is needed, provides the ability for consumers to have their information deleted, and gives the Attorney General exclusive ability to bring legal actions.
Because it requires consumers to opt out versus opting in, the ACLU is opposed to this legislation.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
SB 177
This bill purports to provide transparency in political activities within Georgia of organizations that are controlled by or under the influence of foreign countries or principals hostile to the interests of the US and Georgia—hostile foreign countries are defined as North Korea, Iran, China, and Russia.
The bill would require agents of hostile foreign principals to register with the State Ethics Commission, providing detailed data and regular, frequent updates. The commission could assess penalties per violation in the amount of up to $10,000; if violations are willful or repeated, the commission could charge up to $200,000. The Attorney General could bring an action for an injunction or initiate a criminal investigation.
Several nonprofit organizations testified against the bill as being overbroad and unworkable, imposing burdensome requirements on nonprofits and other businesses, violating First Amendment rights, and chilling political activity.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
Governmental Affairs
SB 12
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), concerns public records requests when the records are being held by a private contractor. Whether private persons or entities, these contractors must produce public records to the custodian (public agency responsible for the record) upon the custodian’s request. Individuals must request the record from the public agency. The agency cannot hide the record by allowing a private entity to hold the record.
The bill passed committee.
SB 199
This bill regulates the role of the State Ethics Commission in handling complaints against candidates running for office. The State Ethics Commission shall not accept or reject complaints made against candidates within 60 days prior to an election. This measure is intended to ensure that any complaints or ethical issues involving candidates are handled in a timely manner without interfering with the election process close to election day.
The bill passed committee.
SB 284
This bill addresses securities and security investment advisors and fraudulent activity in that industry. Current Georgia law allows the Secretary of State to deal with fraudulent activity by removing the investment advisor’s license and/or fining the fraudulent investor. This bill will allow the Secretary of State to order an investor convicted of fraud to return the funds to the investors who were defrauded. The Secretary will also be allowed to issue a subpoena to determine whether there are any assets that can be returned to the defrauded investors.
The bill passed committee.
