Georgia Nurses Association

2023 Legislative Session Wrap Up

 

The 2023 Georgia State Legislative Session adjourned, Sine Die, early Thursday morning on March 30, 2023. Legislators spent the entire day and all the night until after midnight on Wednesday working through their final priorities.

As you may know, the General Assembly is constitutionally required to annually appropriate certain state and federal funds necessary to operate all the various departments and agencies. Several items pertinent to Nursing were included for the first time ever in the FY24 State Budget, most notedly, funds for loan repayment for Nursing faculty at state schools of Nursing and funds for an increase in man-power for the Georgia Board of Nursing.

Several bills were passed this session that have a direct impact to nurses. A top GNA priority has been to ensure the safety of practice environments for nurses within our state. HB 383, Sponsored by Representative Matt Reeves, puts into place enhanced punishment for aggravated assault and aggravated battery committed against ALL healthcare workers anywhere in a hospital or healthcare facility and, additionally, empowers hospitals to create their own internal police force to employ law enforcement officers with the power to make arrests and file reports. We also introduced HB745 (Kelley, 16th), which will be the state’s first attempt to ensure buy-in and input from nurses at the bedside with respect to the staffing of hospital units. This bill remains alive for the 2024 Legislative Session. Additionally, Georgia will now join 40 other states in granting Advance Practice Registered Nurses a license to practice that is separate from the RN license (SB 164).

The Governor has 40 days post Sine Die, or until May 8, 2023, to decide whether to sign, veto, or allow bills to become law without further action.

The General Assembly meets in a biennial session, meaning all business pending in either chamber at the adjournment of the first year of the biennium carries over to the second year for reconsideration at the point to which the measure progressed. The General Assembly will convene for the second year of this biennium on the second Monday in January. Specifically, the 2024 Legislative Session will begin on Monday, January 8, 2024. 

The Georgia Nurses Association is working to advance the priorities highlighted within our 2023-2024 Legislative Platform.

Nursing related bills from the 2023 Legislative Session are highlighted below. Don’t forget that you can track the status of all our legislation via the “Bills” section in the GNA Advocacy Tool.

GNA Legislative Priorities

• Safe Staffing
  • HB745 (Kelley, 16th) – This legislation would create staffing committees, comprised mostly of nurses working at the bedside, in all Georgia Hospitals.
    • Assigned to House Health Committee, available for consideration next session.
  • Workplace Violence
    • HB 383 (Reeves, 99th) - This legislation would expand enhanced punishment for aggravated assault and aggravated battery committed upon emergency healthcare workers to ALL healthcare workers in a hospital or healthcare facility and empowers hospital to employ law enforcement officers with the power to make arrests and file reports.
      • Passed Full House 170/5.
      • Passed full Senate 46/2.
• APRN Scope
  • HB 557 (Stephens, 164th) – This legislation would authorize ARPNs and PAs to prescribe schedule II’s under certain conditions. CMB Protocol.
    • Passed full House 136/38.
    • Passed Senate Regulated Industries via Substitute:
      • Hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds in emergent situations for 5-day supply.
      • Added disability placards.
      • Passed full Senate as amended on Senate Floor 53/1:
        • Added Hospital Non-compete language.
        • Added HB455 Language.
        • Was not agreed to ultimately prior to Sine Die, available for consideration next session.
      • SB 164 (Hufstetler, 52nd) - This legislation would create a separate license for APRNs:
        
        • Passed full Senate 53/0.
        • Passed House Health Committee via substitute.
        • Passed full House via substitute 166/0.
        • Senate Agreed to House substitute 47/0.
• Midwifery
• SB106 (Walker, 20th) – Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Act – This legislation provides for a pilot program for home visiting in at-risk and underserved rural communities during pregnancy and early childhood to improve birth outcomes, it also provides for Medicaid coverage for remote maternal health clinical services.
  • Passed full Senate 54/1.
  • Passed full House via Substitute 168/1.
  • Senate Agreed to House Substitute 53/1.

• Nursing Workforce
  • HB455 (Lahood, 175th) - This legislation provides that professional programs that are established to address career fatigue and wellness in healthcare professionals are not obligated to report to licensing boards except in certain circumstances.
    • • Passed Full House 174/0.
      • Passed Senate Regulated Industries.
      • Did not receive final passage, available for consideration next session.
• HB520 (Jones, 25th) – Mental Health Omnibus Bill – ATD Language.
  • • • Passed full House 163/3.
      • Assigned to Senate Health and Human Services.
      • Did not receive final passage, available for consideration next session.
• HB308 (Newton, 127th) – This Legislation tax credit for certain medical preceptor rotations; to add dentistry; to increase the value of the tax credit; to revise definitions; to extend the sunset provision for such tax credit.
  • • • Passed full House 169/1.
      • Passed Senate Finance as amended.
      • Did not receive final passage, available for consideration next session.
      • Sunset Language was added to SB56 and passed at the 11th hr of session.
• HB493 (Hatchett, 155th) – This Legislation relates to the restoration of registered professional nursing licenses and continuing competency requirements, to revise a provision regarding verification of competency.
  • • • Passed full House 175/0.
      • Passed Senate 50/0.
• SB246 (Hodges, 3rd) – This legislation authorizes the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce, to provide for student loan repayment for certain nursing faculty and sets criteria for qualifications and applications.
  • • • Passed full House 55/1.
      • Passed full Senate 49/1.
• HB19 (Burns, 159th) – FY 24’ State budget.
  • • • $440,000 – Increase funds for additional loan repayments for 5 PAs and 39 APRNs.
      • $250,000 – Provide funds to establish a nursing faculty loan repayment program.
      • $129,196 – Provide funds for two nursing analysts and one full time educator for the Georgia Board of Nursing.