Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB222: SB222 Commission for the Blind and the Visually Impaired; create

Last action February 21, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would create a new Commission for the Blind and the Visually Impaired, moving programs like Georgia Industries for the Blind and vending facility licensing out of the state's vocational rehabilitation agency and into the new commission.

In plain language

Right now, services for blind and visually impaired Georgians, including the Georgia Industries for the Blind and licensing of vending facilities on state and federal property, are run by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. This bill creates a new, separate Commission for the Blind and the Visually Impaired and transfers those functions, staff duties, and authority to it starting July 1, 2025. The commission would still be attached to the Department of Human Services for administrative purposes only. The bill sets up an 8 member commission (a chairperson plus seven members) appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President, with most members required to be blind or visually impaired and at least one deaf-blind. It creates an executive director position, spells out the commission's duties (vocational rehabilitation, independent living services, business enterprise licensing, library coordination, technology access, and deaf-blind services), requires an annual report, and sets up a complaint and arbitration process for people dissatisfied with services. Corresponding changes are made to the vocational rehabilitation agency's laws to reflect the transfer.

What the bill does

Creates the Commission for the Blind and the Visually Impaired as a new state body and transfers oversight of the Georgia Industries for the Blind to it from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, effective July 1, 2025.
Establishes an 8 member commission (chairperson plus seven members) appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate, with most members required to be blind or visually impaired.
Creates an executive director position to run the commission's day to day operations and hire staff.
Gives the commission authority to license blind persons to operate vending facilities on state, county, municipal, federal, and private property.
Transfers responsibility for deaf-blind services (helping people with both hearing and vision loss gain independence and employment) from the vocational rehabilitation agency's law to the new commission.
Requires an annual report and creates a complaint, mediation, and arbitration process for people dissatisfied with commission services.

Who it affects

Blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind Georgians who rely on rehabilitation, independent living, and vending facility licensing services; employees and leadership of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and Georgia Industries for the Blind; the Department of Human Services; and organizations that contract to provide deaf-blind services.

Why it matters

Georgians who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind would get services from a newly created, dedicated commission led largely by people with those disabilities rather than from within the broader vocational rehabilitation agency, changing who sets policy, licenses vending operators, and handles service complaints.

Key provisions

Section 1 through 3 revise O.C.G.A. §§ 30-2-3, 30-2-4, and 30-2-7 to replace the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency with the new commission as the supervising body for Georgia Industries for the Blind.
Section 4 adds a new Chapter 11 to Title 30 creating the commission, defining 'blind or visually impaired,' setting its purpose and guiding principles, and transferring the agency's blind-related duties to it as of July 1, 2025 (O.C.G.A. § 30-11-4).
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-5) sets commission membership at a chairperson plus seven members appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President, with staggered three-year terms and a requirement that a majority be blind or visually impaired and at least one member be deaf-blind.
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-7) lists the commission's duties, including running a state vocational rehabilitation plan, business enterprise licensing under the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, and coordinating with the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Section 4 (Code Section 30-11-9) requires the commission to oversee deaf-blind services, including retaining a qualified organization to provide training, subject to legislative funding.
Section 4 (Code Sections 30-11-10 and 30-11-11) require an annual report and create a complaint, mediation, and arbitration process for dissatisfied service recipients.
Sections 5 through 7 amend Chapter 9 of Title 49 to update the vocational rehabilitation agency's vending facility statutes so the new commission licenses blind vendors while the agency continues licensing other disabled vendors.
Section 6 repeals O.C.G.A. § 49-9-21, the prior law on deaf-blind services, since that role moves to the new commission.

Status timeline

2025-02-21Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-20Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

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