SB188: SB188 Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency; create

Georgia currently runs services for older adults and people with disabilities through the Division of Aging Services inside the Department of Human Services. This bill would rewrite that part of state law (O.C.G.A. Title 49, Chapter 6, Article 1) to create a standalone Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency. The agency would take over all the powers, programs, staff, property, and funding of the old Division of Aging Services starting July 1, 2025. The bill creates a seven-member Georgia Adult and Aging Services Board, appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Lieutenant Governor, and the agency director, to oversee the new agency. The board would select a director with home and community based services experience. The agency stays administratively attached to the Department of Human Services but submits its own budget directly to the Governor and General Assembly. It also runs Georgia's Alzheimer's and dementia state plan, adult guardianship services, and the long-term care ombudsman program, and must file an annual report starting in 2026.

• Repeals the current law on aging services and replaces it with a new article creating the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency separate from the Department of Human Services.
• Creates a seven-member Georgia Adult and Aging Services Board appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, Lieutenant Governor, and the agency director to set policy and hire a director.
• Transfers all Division of Aging Services staff, property, records, and funding from the Department of Human Services to the new agency on July 1, 2025.
• Lets the new agency submit its budget directly to the Governor and General Assembly instead of through the Department of Human Services.
• Requires the agency to oversee the state's long-term care ombudsman program, adult guardianship services, and the Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan.
• Requires the agency to file an annual report to the Governor and notify the General Assembly of it starting in 2026.

Older adults and people with disabilities who receive state aging or adult services, employees of the current Division of Aging Services who would transfer to the new agency, the Department of Human Services, the state long-term care ombudsman, and probate courts that rely on the agency for adult guardianship services.

Georgians who depend on state aging programs, guardianship services, or the long-term care ombudsman would be served by a newly independent agency rather than a division inside a larger department, which could change how budgets, staffing, and oversight for these services work day to day.

• Section 1 repeals and rewrites O.C.G.A. Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 49, replacing it with new Code Sections 49-6-1 through 49-6-12.
• Code Section 49-6-3 creates the seven-member Georgia Adult and Aging Services Board with staggered one, two, and three year initial terms starting July 1, 2025.
• Code Section 49-6-4 gives the board-selected director authority to set agency policy, hire executive staff including a deputy director and chief financial officer, and submit budget and program plans.
• Code Section 49-6-5 transfers all Division of Aging Services functions, employees, property, and funds to the new agency on July 1, 2025, while keeping employee pay, benefits, and leave intact.
• Code Section 49-6-5 assigns the agency to the Department of Human Services for administrative purposes only, letting it submit its budget directly to the Governor and General Assembly.
• Code Section 49-6-5 makes the agency responsible for the Older Americans Act programs, the Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan, adult guardianship services, and the long-term care ombudsman program.
• Code Section 49-6-10 requires the agency to submit an annual report to the Governor and notify the General Assembly of it by January 1 each year starting in 2026.
• Section 2 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-02-19Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-18Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)

• aging services
• state government reorganization
• adult guardianship
• long-term care
• disability services