Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB158: SB158 Commission for Blind and Visually Disabled Persons; create

Last action February 13, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would create a new Commission for Blind and Visually Disabled Persons and shift oversight of the Georgia Industries for the Blind and related programs to it from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.

In plain language

Currently, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency directs the Georgia Industries for the Blind and runs vocational, independent living, and vending facility licensing programs for blind and visually impaired Georgians. This bill would create a new state body, the Commission for Blind and Visually Disabled Persons, and transfer those functions to it starting July 1, 2025. The commission would be assigned to the Department of Human Services for administrative purposes only. The bill sets up an eight member commission (a chairperson plus seven members appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President), most of whom must be blind or visually impaired, with at least one deaf-blind member. It creates an executive director position, spells out the commission's duties (vocational rehabilitation, independent living services, vending facility licensing, deaf-blind services, an instructional media center, and more), requires an annual report, and sets up a complaint and arbitration process for dissatisfied service recipients. It also updates Georgia's vending facility law (O.C.G.A. Title 49, Chapter 9, Article 2) to reflect the commission's new licensing role.

What the bill does

Creates the Commission for Blind and Visually Disabled Persons and transfers direction of the Georgia Industries for the Blind to it from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, effective July 1, 2025.
Establishes an eight-member commission (chairperson plus seven members) appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President, with most members required to be blind or visually impaired.
Creates an executive director position to run day-to-day operations and hire staff.
Authorizes the commission to license blind persons to operate vending facilities on state, county, municipal, federal, and private property.
Transfers oversight of deaf-blind services (communication access, interpreter support, adaptive technology) to the new commission and repeals the old Code Section (O.C.G.A. § 49-9-21) that handled this.
Requires the commission to publish an annual report and creates a complaint, mediation, and arbitration process for people dissatisfied with services.

Who it affects

Blind and visually impaired Georgians who use vocational rehabilitation, independent living, or vending facility licensing services; deaf-blind individuals who rely on specialized communication and support services; employees of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and Georgia Industries for the Blind; and state agencies that host vending facilities on their property.

Why it matters

Blind and visually impaired Georgians would get a dedicated state body, led mostly by people who are themselves blind or visually impaired, overseeing their services instead of sharing an agency with broader vocational rehabilitation programs. This could change how vending licenses, job training, and deaf-blind services are administered and who decides disputes over them.

Key provisions

Section 1 and 3 replace the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency with the new commission as the body directing the Georgia Industries for the Blind (O.C.G.A. § 30-2-3, § 30-2-7).
Section 4 adds a new Chapter 11 to Title 30 creating the commission, defining 'blind or visually impaired,' and stating the commission's purpose of promoting independence and self-sufficiency.
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-5) sets commission composition: a chairperson and seven members with staggered three-year terms, appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President.
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-7) lists 14 specific duties, including running a business enterprises program under the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, an industries for the blind program, and coordination with the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-9) transfers responsibility for deaf-blind services to the commission, which must retain a qualified organization to provide them once state funding is available.
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-11) creates a complaint process allowing mediation and, if unresolved, a three-member arbitration panel to decide disputes over services.
Section 6 repeals the prior deaf-blind services law (O.C.G.A. § 49-9-21) since those duties move to the new commission.
Section 7 rewrites the vending facilities article (O.C.G.A. §§ 49-9-40 through 49-9-42) to reflect the commission's role in licensing blind vendors on state property, alongside the agency's role for other people with disabilities.

Status timeline

2025-02-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

disability services
vocational rehabilitation
blind and visually impaired Georgians
state agency reorganization
vending facility licensing