HB46: HB46 Public Health, Department of; Maternal Mortality Review Committee; provide composition

Georgia already has a Maternal Mortality Review Committee inside the Department of Public Health that studies maternal deaths and recommends ways to prevent them. This bill rewrites the law governing that committee (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-16) to spell out its makeup, membership rules, and confidentiality procedures in more detail. The bill says the committee must be multidisciplinary, including people with healthcare and mental health expertise, representatives from community advocacy groups, and other members the department chooses. It sets removal of members to the same grounds used for professional licensing boards, requires vacancies to be filled as soon as practical, and requires the department to investigate and report to the General Assembly and the Attorney General if confidential committee information is improperly disclosed. It also keeps the committee's records shielded from open records and open meetings laws and requires an annual report to the Office of Health Strategy and Coordination by October 1 each year.

• Defines the Maternal Mortality Review Committee as multidisciplinary, requiring members with healthcare and mental health expertise plus representatives from community advocacy organizations.
• Limits removal of committee members to the same causes used for professional licensing boards under O.C.G.A. § 43-1-17.
• Requires any vacancy on the committee to be filled as soon as practicable, rather than leaving the timeline unspecified.
• Requires the Department of Public Health to investigate and report to the General Assembly and the Attorney General if confidential committee information is disclosed without authorization.
• Requires the committee to comply with federal and state privacy laws, including HIPAA, and keeps its records exempt from Georgia's open records and open meetings laws.
• Requires a detailed annual report on maternal death data to be submitted to the Office of Health Strategy and Coordination by October 1 each year.

The Department of Public Health and the Maternal Mortality Review Committee it runs, healthcare providers, healthcare facilities, and pharmacies that must give the committee access to medical records, and community advocacy organizations that may be represented on the committee.

The bill clarifies who can serve on the committee, how members can be removed, and what happens if confidential case files leak, which affects how thoroughly and transparently Georgia investigates maternal deaths and develops prevention strategies used by hospitals, doctors, and lawmakers.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-16(b) to require the committee to include members with healthcare and mental health expertise and community advocacy representatives.
• Section 1 limits the department's authority to remove committee members to the causes listed in O.C.G.A. § 43-1-17 and requires prompt filling of vacancies.
• Subsection (c) lists the committee's duties, including identifying maternal death cases, reviewing records, consulting experts, and disseminating findings to policymakers and the public.
• Subsection (d) requires healthcare providers, facilities, and pharmacies to give the committee access to relevant medical records within 30 days and shields them from liability for good-faith compliance.
• Subsection (e) requires the department to investigate and report to the General Assembly and the Attorney General if confidential committee information is disclosed without authorization.
• Subsection (f) keeps committee proceedings, opinions, and records confidential and exempt from Georgia's open meetings and open records laws and from subpoena or discovery.
• Subsection (g) requires a detailed annual report on aggregated, non-identifiable maternal death data to be submitted to the Office of Health Strategy and Coordination by October 1.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-16House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-15House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-14House Hopper (House)

• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)Primary sponsor
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)

• maternal mortality
• public health
• medical privacy
• Department of Public Health
• women's health