On February 27, 2025, the following Georgia House of Representatives committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Natural Resources and the Environment voted on HB 351
- Public Safety and Homeland Security voted on HB 246
- Education voted on HB 175, HB 127, HB 371, HB 12, HB 200, HB 235, HB 335, and HB 37 and heard HB 135
- Judiciary voted on HB 179, HB 339, HB 482, and HB 531
- Health voted on HB 522, HB 567, HB 571, HB 612, and HB 473
- Transportation voted on HB 224 and HB 575 and heard HB 76
- Human Relations and Aging voted on HB 465
- Technology and Infrastructure voted on SB 652
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Natural Resources and the Environment
HB 351
This bill amends the powers of the Board of Natural Resources. The board may adopt, promulgate, modify, amend, and repeal rules and regulations to implement and enforce provisions deemed necessary to control and manage solid waste to protect the environment and the health of humans. These rules can vary by area based on the characteristics of the solid waste.
The bill passed committee.
Public Safety and Homeland Security
HB 246
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), relates to sheriffs’ qualifications. Under the current Georgia code, within six months of becoming sheriff, an individual must have received the required training to be a sheriff. This bill has been amended since its previous hearing: to be qualified, any law enforcement officer must swear or affirm that they would be able to complete the training within six months.
The bill passed committee.
Education
HB 175
This bill aligns Georgia code with federal requirements regarding background checks and expands the entire ecosystem by which background checks will be applied.
The bill passed committee.
HB 127
Teachers currently earn 1.25 sick days per month; 3 of these days can be used for personal time. This bill seeks to allow teachers to use 5 sick days for personal use without making any other changes to increase cost.
The bill passed committee.
HB 371
This bill increases the state maximum authorization of capital outlay funding from $300 million to $375 million. This program provides state funds to local school systems to support construction, renovation, and modification of educational facilities. Athletics facilities are not part of this program. The cap has not been increased since 2007.
The bill passed committee.
HB 12
This bill lowers the threshold for equalization eligibility from 14 to 10 mills but does not change the formula of equalization and introduces a penalty for school systems that try to roll back their millage rates below the new threshold of 10.
The bill passed committee.
HB 200
This bill creates a pilot immersive writing program for three years that will allow students in the second to fifth grade to write a book and get the book published on Amazon. This includes exercises and steps to help students create a book; it will cost $30 per student. The goal is to increase literacy rates and help set students up for success.
An amendment not about the literacy program was added. Every school constructed or beginning construction on or after July 1, 2027, shall have playgrounds that meet certain requirements for disabled children that goes above ADA compliance so that these children can participate on the playground.
The bill as amended passed committee.
HB 235
This bill allows teachers to have paid time off not taken out of their normal PTO when they donate an organ. Legislation passed previously inadvertently left public school teachers off the list of those who can have this time off after organ donation.
The bill passed committee.
HB 335
This bill is designed to address the growing suicide rate among student athletes by creating information to put on websites so that parents, teachers, and student athletes can learn more about mental health awareness suicide rates and by requiring coaches to undergo training regarding these issues to better monitor for these risks.
The bill passed committee.
HB 37
This bill requires school systems to inform employees whether the system pays into Social Security and whether the employees will have those taxes taken out of their paychecks.
The bill passed committee.
HB 135
This bill allows parents to sign their kids up for a religious studies group that will take students off campus for 45 minutes to an hour once per week. Schools can provide academic credit for this religious studies group.
The bill was tabled for further discussion.
Judiciary
HB 179
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), would allow for the digital recording of certain felony trial proceedings and of certain Georgia State-wide Business court proceedings.
The bill passed committee.
HB 339
This bill would exempt rideshare drivers or rideshare network services from the definition of motor carrier and exempt rideshare network services from liability for actions of rideshare drivers in certain instances. Under current Georgia law, due to our independent contractor statute, there has never been a successful vicarious claim against a rideshare company; although such a claim is theoretically impossible, insurance companies are still figuring the possibility of this outcome into their premiums because there is no statute against it. This bill would address that problem and likely reduce premiums and eliminate court cases that are bound to fail.
The bill passed committee.
HB 482
This bill would authorize counties to provide funding for up to 5 judicial officers to assist and serve in their superior court. The intent of the bill would be to increase the judicial efficiency in states.
The bill passed committee.
HB 531
This bill provides guidelines for liability when two local governments undertake a joint action. When a municipal corporation is participating in a joint undertaking, its sovereign immunity is not waived if a cooperating local government participating in the undertaking acquires liability insurance.
The bill would extend the period of the notice for a cause of action against a municipality from 6 months to 12 months. The bill also establishes that in any civil action or claim under the revised code, no claimant shall recover a sum exceeding $3 million from a single occurrence, and multiple occurrences shall not exceed $5 million.
The bill passed committee.
Health
HB 522
This bill would prohibit healthcare providers and facilities from discriminating against potential organ transplant recipients due solely to their COVID-19 vaccine status.
The bill passed committee.
HB 567
This bill would authorize and regulate the practice of teledentristry in Georgia. The goal is to create a network of dentists within Georgia that allows providers to share workforces and gives Georgians better access to oral health care. Teledentristy can be the beginning of establishing a relationship with a dentist or give initial impressions of care that is needed. Dentists do not have to adopt this practice.
The bill passed committee.
HB 571
This bill would allow for the licensing of radiology assistants. Persons qualifying for this license would be radiology assistants who complete an additional two years of schooling to fulfill the role of a radiology extender. An extender can meet with the patient to measure organs, discuss the upcoming procedure, and conduct other preparations so the radiologist can quickly perform their job. The purpose of this bill would be to extend the career of rad techs and decrease the time it takes to receive results from imaging studies.
The bill passed committee.
HB 612
The bill is intended to strengthen the oversight on the mental health insurance coverage in Georgia by holding providers accountable for parity compliance. This bill would add a member to the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council and establish a parity compliance review panel.
The bill passed committee.
HB 473
This bill revises the list of drugs classified as Schedule 1 substances at a state level. This includes designer opioids, synthetic mushrooms, and a drug similar to Ritalin. This kind of bill is passed yearly to maintain this list of drugs.
The bill passed committee.
Transportation
HB 224
This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation from constructing or maintaining roads on military bases or installations unless directed and funded by the Department of Defense or another federal entity.
The bill passed committee.
HB 76
This bill requires a public hearing should any local government undertake a project related to public roads or transportation that is significant enough to need authorization from the Department of Transportation.
The bill will return to committee at a later date.
HB 575
This bill ensures transportation development plans requiring Department of Transportation authorizations will have a public hearing. These hearings must be announced electronically.
The bill passed committee.
Human Relations and Aging
HB 465
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), deals with communication and training for when an autistic person is missing. The GBI will manage this training, which is designed to alert pertinent organizations and outlets when an autistic person goes missing. Much of the language has been updated to reflect upon Maddie’s Law. It also now accounts for mental disabilities as well.
The bill passed committee.
Technology and Infrastructure
SB 652
This bill ensures there is no motor fuel tax incurred for individuals using vehicle charging stations.
The bill passed committee.
