On February 21, 2025, the following Georgia House of Representatives committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Higher Education voted on HB 217
- Human Relations and Aging voted on HB 11 and heard HB 465
- Motor Vehicles heard HB 204, HB 368, and HB 461 and voted on HB 208, HB 308, and HB 393,
- Education voted on HB 267
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Higher Education
HB 217
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), extends a dual achievement pilot program from 2021 that allows students who failed out of high school or are no longer in high school to have a path to join technical colleges to get their high school diploma as well as a technical certificate.
Rather than making the program permanent, as the bill originally intended, this amended bill extends the program for 10 years to allow for more data gathering.
The bill passed committee.
Human Relations and Aging
HB 11
This bill is designed to ensure long-term care facilities are adequately staffed for the facilities’ food service functions; this includes employing licensed dieticians as well as appointing a qualified director of food and nutrition services to oversee meal planning, nutritional assessments, and dietary compliance. As senior malnutrition is a problem in these facilities and often leads to hospital admissions, this bill would save Georgia money in the long term in medical costs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the requirement was changed from having a CDM to a CFM, which has less training and expertise in clinical nutrition.
This bill was only heard and will return to committee at a later date.
HB 465
This bill 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. This new communication will leverage convenience stores with lottery capabilities, as these stores can communicate out to people quickly and efficiently. This speed and training are particularly important because autism can create special circumstances that need to be taken into account when an individual is missing. This bill is tailored after Maddie’s Law. The committee will need to decide whether to attach this bill to Maddie’s Law or a separate entity.
This bill was only heard and will return to committee at a later date.
Motor Vehicles
HB 204
This bill seeks to repeal the authority of the Department of Public Safety to establish reasonable rates, fares, and charges for transportation by motor carriers of household goods. It removes any caps on fees that moving companies can charge to move household goods.
The bill was only heard and will return to committee at a later date.
HB 208
This bill, previously discussed (see HERE), originally aimed to create two new license plates benefiting the Department of Revenue—a plate for the state parks and historic sites division (the first of its kind in Georgia) and a plate for bass fishing anglers. It has been amended to add the Shepherd Center, which is a catastrophic injury hospital specializing in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, and other neuromuscular conditions. The funds generated will go toward the patients and their families to help cover what insurance does not. It also adds the Georgia Veteran Service Foundation.
The bill passed committee.
HB 308
This bill, previously discussed (see HERE), 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. Any mini truck more than 25 years old will be considered an antique for tax purposes.
The bill passed committee.
HB 368
This bill requires officers to inform individuals why they have been pulled over after receiving the individual’s license.
This bill was only heard and will return to committee at a later date.
HB 393
This allows bicyclists approaching a four-way stop sign to yield rather than stop if no pedestrian or vehicle is approaching the intersection. It also requires cyclists to use hand signals no less than 50 feet prior to completing a turn and requires cyclists to yield to both cars and pedestrians at intersections.
The bill passed committee.
HB 461
This bill aims to amend code focused on motor vehicles and traffic and introduces revisions to definitions and guidelines for the safe operation of motorcycles and bicycles at inoperative traffic signals. It mandates motor vehicle drivers to stop at activated crosswalks and removes some specifications about motorcycle handlebar height.
The bill was only heard and will return to committee at a later date.
Education
HB 267
This legislation requires separate changing areas for males and females. If a student is not comfortable in one or the other, there must be a single occupancy option available. These requirements also apply to overnight trips.
The bill requires teams to be designated as male, female, or co-ed and mandates that birth certificates are used to determine a child’s eligibility for the teams.
It is a run-of-the-mill anti-trans bill.
The bill passed committee.
