On February 28, 2025, the following Georgia State Senate committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Children and Families voted on SB 245 and heard SB 259
- Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security heard SB 236
- Regulated Industries and Utilities voted on SB 194, SB 221, SB 239, and SB 256 and heard SB 142 and SB 229
- Economic Development and Tourism heard SB 251 and voted on SB 107 and SB 108
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Children and Families
SB 245
This bill amends the Georgia code to include grandparents within the category of who may seek to revoke or amend an existing grandparent’s visitation order. This code relates to when one of the child’s parents dies, is incapacitated, or incarcerated, allowing the parent of the deceased reasonable visitation during the child’s minority. SB 245 allows the grandparent to petition the court for a revocation or amendment of those rights for good cause; this cannot be done more than once in a 2-year period.
The bill passed committee.
SB 259
This bill states that when 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 to get 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.
This bill will return to committee at a later date.
Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security
SB 236
This is a quality basic education bill that helps service members when they have a change of station to be able to enroll their children into public schools without having a lease or a form of residency. It will allow them to use their orders as reference to register their children for schools.
The bill was tabled to determine the correct language.
Regulated Industries and Utilities
SB 142
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), offers a pathway for physicians trained internationally to earn a license to practice in Georgia, specifically in places where there are shortages, such as rural counties. A caveat was added that the foreign physician can work at an approved institution as long as the institution has the capacity, personnel, and experience to educate and assess the international medical graduates.
The bill was not voted on again and will likely not make it out of committee this session due to disagreements with the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
This bill restricts the amount of spirits that can be distilled at a private residence. A person can produce no more than 5 gallons per year if there is one person of legal drinking age in the home and no more than 10 gallons if there are two or more persons. The spirit may only be consumed at the residence unless it is transported in an amount no greater than 60 ounces, labeled with the name of the producer and address, and in a locked trunk, glove box, or behind the last upright seat if there is no trunk. The spirit shall not be sold or be made available for public consumption by the general public.
The bill passed committee.
SB 221
This bill would increase the number of hours to complete a board recognized massage therapy education program from 500 hours to 625 hours. The purpose of this bill is to bring our state licensing board to a national standard and make it harder for illicit massage parlors to traffic humans and obtain certifications for their victims.
The bill passed committee.
SB 229
This bill would prohibit the issuance of wholesale consumable hemp licenses to wholesale dealers of alcoholic beverages and prohibit wholesale dealers of alcoholic beverages from selling or otherwise distributing consumable hemp products. The sponsor of the bill is concerned about the impact the sale of these drinks will have on local breweries and believes alcohol distributors should not be in the business of hemp. Hemp beverages can still be purchased at other locations under this bill.
The bill was only heard at committee.
SB 239
This bill will remove the requirement that funeral directors must be an embalmer to receive their license. The bill would separate embalming and funeral directors into two separate licenses. The need in Georgia for embalming is dropping as more people are being cremated, and there are funeral directors who are not interested in being embalmers.
The bill passed committee.
This bill requires an Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) that has more than 15 percent net utility plant invested in, lent to, or secured for the benefit of its EMC gas affiliate, excluding electric generation and transmission assets, shall disclose to its members the annual cost of gas in aggregate that it sells. This disclosure would occur annually.
The bill passed committee.
Economic Development and Tourism
SB 251
This bill requires landlords to disclose any required fees that will be added to the overall rent, such as administrative and trash.
This bill was heard and will return to committee at a later date.
SB 107
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), provides for protections to members of community associations. Currently in GA, if you accumulate $2,000 worth of liens on your property, the community association can sell your house on the courthouse steps without notification. Often, the HOA is the one buying the house. This bill prohibits any current or former HOA board member from acquiring the property at foreclosure. It also only allows liens if the fines have reached 12 times the amount of the monthly HOA dues.
This version of SB 107 also increases the period of time called a right of redemption, in which the homeowner can pay off all HOA fees and retain ownership of the house, from four months to six months.
The bill passed committee.
SB 108
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), deals with property owner associations and would require that the POA gives a receipt or a certificate of good standing when a payment is made to them. It also requires that they participate in alternative dispute resolution prior to placing a lien on properties. Property owners may seek attorneys fees if the POA does not act in good faith.
The bill passed committee.
