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Legislative Watch

Georgia House of Representatives – 2.18.2025 Committee Meetings

By February 23, 2025No Comments

On February 18, 2025, the following Georgia House of Representatives committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:

Select the associated links to read each bill in full.

Creative Arts and Entertainment

HB 353

Although the music industry and talent in Georgia is undeniable, the state does not have the infrastructure to support, grow, and brand the Georgia music industry is missing a key factor. This bill aims to fill that gap by creating the Georgia Office of Music without the Department of Community Affairs as well as a Music Ready Community Initiative to empower cities and local towns across the state to invest in music as an economic driver. 

The Georgia Office of Music would serve as a hub for the music industry, working to support local musicians and venues through information-sharing grants, promote music tourism by creating trail routes that guide visitors through important music-related locations, and attract industry investments such as record labels, studios, and major music festivals. It would also offer professional development for artists, venue owners, and music businesses as well as develop strategic partnerships with the film and gaming industries to integrate with Georgia music. Additionally, it would promote music education degrees in Georgia colleges and universities. 

The Music Ready Community Initiative would help cities develop local music strategies tailored to their needs and offer grants for infrastructure improvements, better venues, rehearsal spaces, and studio facilities as well as provide technical assistance to governments on how to attract and retain music businesses. 

The bill passed committee. 

Motor Vehicles

HB 225

This bill seeks to reverse a bill passed in 2018 that allows school zone speed cameras to issue citations in Georgia. Many local governments and camera companies appear to be abusing the system. 

Some of the tickets arrive in envelopes not clearly marked to be a citation and are assumed to be junk mail; some are addressed to the car’s registrant rather than the person who was driving during the violation, in which case the person responsible must get a notarized statement and send it by certified mail. 

Some counties have seen almost a 92% reduction in speeding in the school zone since the cameras were introduced. 

The bill passed committee. 

HB 283

This bill is designed to reduce negative encounters between law enforcement and citizens, save taxpayer dollars, free up law enforcement for more high-priority calls, and ensure everyone goes home at the end of the night. It addresses the moment of conflict between citizens and officers, allowing officers to write “refused to sign the ticket” and leave the scene without any further conflicts if the citizen refuses to sign the ticket. This also allows the officer to avoid arresting the citizen and lets the county avoid spending taxpayer dollars to jail the citizen.

The bill passed committee. 

HB 308

This bill allows mini trucks—those under 4,000 pounds—to legally drive on the road as long as the trucks meet federal regulations and have a tag.

The bill will return to committee at a later date. 

HB 344

The civil fine for violating a stop arm of a school bus was previously raised from $300 to $1,000. This bill intends to make that a tiered fee: $300 for the first violation, $500 for the second violation, and $1,000 for the third violation. 

The bill will return to committee with some amendments.

Education

HB 268

This bill would codify the definition of a student’s critical record and require that the entire record be sent to a receiving school within five days; parents or guardians can have access to complete student record upon request. Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security would create a statewide student database called the S3 Database, which would collect, integrate, and analyze student behavior to identify threats. This database would allow local school systems to identify threats and intervene by coordinating services for the student. 

HB 268 would create processes for threat management teams within the schools and would increase a threat made to a school to a terroristic threat level. Additionally, it would supply grants to school systems to hire mental health coordinators.

The bill will return to committee at a later date.

Public and Community Health

HB 352

This bill will provide coverage under Medicaid for continuous glucose monitors via the most cost-effective channel for individuals with gestational diabetes. Individuals with a history of problematic hypoglycemia can also qualify if they meet the one of the following criteria: 

  • They have a history of recurrent level 2 hypoglycemic events that persist despite two or more attempts to adjust treatment plan 
  • They have a history of level 3 hypoglycemic events characterized by altered mental or physical state requiring third party assistance for treatment

HB 352 also aims to remove the requirement of daily insulin treatment from the Medicaid requirements for these monitors. 

The bill passed committee.

Retirement

HB 78

This bill asks to raise the alternative investments from 5% to 10% for the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia to give them more flexibility to diversify their portfolio. 

The committee passed an amendment to also raise the Firefighter’s Retirement System from 15% to 20%.

The bill passed committee. 

HB 406

This bill raises the retirement age for any person who becomes a judge after July 1, 2025, from 60 to 65. 

The bill was tabled while the sponsor works through some language. 

Game, Fish, and Parks

HB 75

If an individual’s pet is impounded without a warrant and the state intends to euthanize the animal, this bill allows the pet owner the opportunity to go to court to determine whether the pet should be euthanized. Animal shelters are concerned about the extra burden this would place on them.

The bill was only heard during the meeting and will be voted on at a later date.

HB 115

This bill was almost passed last year, but it died on the Senate floor. Georgia waterways and lakes contain almost 200 abandoned or derelict vessels; the cost to remove them is placed on the taxpayers. HB 115 aims to deter people from abandoning vessels by creating criminal penalties for such action. Under this bill, the first offense would be a misdemeanor of aggravated nature, and the second offense would be a felony. Additionally, the bill would allow the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources to revoke vessel and fishing licenses and would allow the Department of Revenue to revoke drivers’ licenses. 

The bill passed committee.

HB 167

This bill adds fluorescent pink as a color option for hunters’ garments. Currently, hunters can only wear daylight fluorescent orange. The author claims the bill will incentivize women to participate in hunting.

The bill passed committee.

HB 287

This bill updates standards, rules, and regulations for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Environmental Advisory Council. The bill updates the year and codifies the rules and regulations for the Department of Natural Resources. Additionally, HB 287 expands courtesy hunting and fishing licenses to include disabled people and sets the age for youth hunters at 16 years of age. 

The bill also redfines shellfish crew licensing, allowing an individual to purchase one license that is good for up to ten people or to purchase an unlimited license that is available for a larger fee. This part of the bill seeks to grow Georgia’s shellfish industry. 

The bill passed committee.