HB298: HB298 Health; requirements for nurse staffing in hospitals; provide

Georgia law currently has no detailed staffing standards for hospital nurses and support staff. This bill would fill that gap by adding a new article to the state's hospital regulation law (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 7). Each hospital's governing body would have to adopt a written nurse services staffing plan covering both nurses and unlicensed ancillary personnel, based on the needs of each patient care unit and shift. Hospitals would also have to set up standing nurse staffing committees, made mostly of registered nurses who provide direct patient care, to develop and evaluate these plans. Hospitals would report staffing information annually to the Department of Community Health, and the department would run an anonymous online portal for reports of unsafe staffing conditions. The bill also creates a 12 member advisory commission appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker to review the program each year and recommend further legislative action. State owned or operated hospitals are excluded from these requirements.

• Requires every private and hospital authority operated Georgia hospital to adopt a written nurse services staffing plan covering nurses and unlicensed ancillary personnel.
• Requires hospitals to create a standing nurse staffing committee, at least 75 percent of which must be registered nurses providing direct patient care.
• Requires hospitals to annually report staffing plan and committee information to the Department of Community Health as part of the hospital questionnaire.
• Directs the department to maintain a secure anonymous online portal for hospital staff to report unsafe staffing conditions, which can trigger an investigation.
• Creates a 12 member advisory commission to evaluate staffing committees annually and report recommendations to legislative leaders.
• Exempts state owned or operated hospitals from the new requirements and shields committee proceedings and staffing plans from public records requests and most civil litigation discovery.

Registered nurses and unlicensed ancillary hospital staff, hospital governing bodies and administrators, the Department of Community Health and its Healthcare Facility Regulation Division, and members of the newly created advisory commission appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker.

Hospitals would face new, ongoing paperwork and committee obligations meant to keep staffing levels matched to patient needs, and nurses would gain a formal channel, including an anonymous state portal, to flag unsafe staffing without fear of retaliation. Patients could see more consistent staffing oversight, though state owned hospitals are not covered.

• New Code Section 31-7-30 defines key terms including 'ancillary personnel,' 'hospital' (excluding state owned or operated hospitals), and 'nurse staffing committee.'
• New Code Section 31-7-31 requires a written nurse services staffing plan addressing minimum staffing levels, periodic adjustments, and contingency plans for unexpected patient care demands.
• New Code Section 31-7-32 requires a nurse staffing committee that meets at least quarterly, evaluates the staffing plan at least semiannually, and reports to the hospital's governing body.
• Committee proceedings and staffing plans are made confidential and generally shielded from open records requests and civil discovery under subsection (h) of Section 31-7-32.
• New Code Section 31-7-33 requires hospitals to annually report staffing plan compliance information to the Department of Community Health as a confidential addendum.
• New Code Section 31-7-34 requires the department to run a secure online portal for anonymous unsafe staffing reports, which can lead to investigation and enforcement action under Code Section 31-2-8.
• New Code Section 31-7-35 establishes a 12 member advisory commission appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker to annually review staffing committee effectiveness and recommend legislative action.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2025-02-26House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
4. 2025-02-10House Second Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-06House First Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)Primary sponsor
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
• James Hatchett (R, HD-155)
• Derrick McCollum (R, HD-030)

• nurse staffing
• hospital regulation
• health care workforce
• patient safety
• Department of Community Health