HR753: HR753 House Study Committee on Improving Access to Internal Medicine in Rural Areas; create

LC 44 3208S The House Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to HR 753: A RESOLUTION SECTION 1.1 Creating the House Study Committee on Improving Access to Inter nal Medicine in2 Underserved Areas; and for other purposes.3 WHEREAS, 75 percent of Georgia counties are considered rural; and4 WHEREAS, rural Georgian communities often lack access to quality health care; and5 WHEREAS, as of 2022, one in ten Georgians live in a county with no more than a single6 physician; and7 WHEREAS, recent studies have reported that approximately 40 counties, making up roughly8 one-quarter of Georgia's total county count, have no internal medicine physician; and9 WHEREAS, Georgia ranked fortieth among all states in the ratio of active patient care10 physicians to the population, with one physician for every 480 people; and11 WHEREAS, as of last year, 142 of Georgia's 159 counties are hea lthcare professional12 shortage areas, meaning there are 3,500 or more patients for every one provider; and13 - 1 - LC 44 3208S WHEREAS, rural communities within the state are challenged with recruiting and retaining14 healthcare providers and staff; and15 WHEREAS, transportation is not always accessible in rural areas of the state; and16 WHEREAS, three out of four counties in Georgia are considered h ealth transportation17 shortage areas; and18 WHEREAS, health transportation shortage areas experience increa sed levels of19 transportation barriers to healthcare, such as public transport ation availability and high20 household poverty rates; and21 WHEREAS, a study committee is needed to thoroughly evaluate the most prudent and22 cost-effective ways to increase access to internal medicine in rural Georgian communities,23 with particular focus on those rural communities experiencing h ealth transportation24 shortages.25 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:26 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee27 on Improving Access to Internal Medicine in Underserved Areas.28 (2) Members and officers.29 (A) The committee shall be composed of eight members.30 (B) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint five members of the31 House of Representatives.32 (C) The Speaker shall also appoint an additional three nonlegislative members of the33 committee who are licensed healthcare providers in this state and who are familiar with34 the needs of rural Georgia.35 - 2 - LC 44 3208S (D) The Speaker shall also designate a legislative member of t he committee as36 chairperson of the committee.37 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,38 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or39 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.40 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee41 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or42 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and43 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.44 (5) Allowances, expenses, and funding.45 (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided46 for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.47 (B) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state of ficials, or state48 employees shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same as that49 specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Offi cial Code of Georgia50 Annotated, as well as the mileage or transportation allowance a uthorized for state51 employees.52 (C) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member53 of the committee for more than three days unless additional days are authorized. Funds54 necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds55 appropriated to the House of Representatives.56 (6) Report.57 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that58 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the59 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to60 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.61 - 3 - LC 44 3208S (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for62 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)63 of this paragraph.64 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of65 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.66 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with67 the Clerk of the House of Representatives.68 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the69 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu70 thereof.71 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.72 SECTION 2.73 Creating the House Study Committee on the Affordability and Acc essibility of Georgia's74 Legitimation Process; and for other purposes.75 WHEREAS, in Georgia, a biological father who is not married to the mother of his child at76 the time of such child's birth must file a separate legal petition in order to legitimate the child77 and obtain legal rights as a parent; and78 WHEREAS, the benefit of having two parents responsible for a ch ild is known to have a79 positive effect on a child's welfare; and80 WHEREAS, in Georgia, biological fathers who wish to obtain pare ntal rights to their81 children are discouraged from doing so, often due to a lack of resources or awareness of the82 costs associated with legitimation; and83 - 4 - LC 44 3208S WHEREAS, it is worth considering whether the legitimation proce ss in Georgia may be84 improved in a way that yields it more affordable and accessible , particularly for those85 biological fathers with limited financial resources.86 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:87 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee88 on the Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia's Legitimation Process.89 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the90 House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate91 a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.92 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,93 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or94 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.95 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee96 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or97 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and98 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.99 (5) Allowances and funding. The legislative members of the committee shall receive100 the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Offic ial Code of Georgia101 Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any102 member of the committee for more than three days unless additional days are authorized. 103 Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds104 appropriated to the House of Representatives.105 (6) Report.106 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that107 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the108 - 5 - LC 44 3208S same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to109 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.110 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for111 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)112 of this paragraph.113 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of114 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.115 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with116 the Clerk of the House of Representatives.117 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the118 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu119 thereof.120 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.121 SECTION 3.122 Creating the House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Ge orgia; and for other123 purposes.124 WHEREAS, the Georgia General Assembly has long considered multi ple legislative125 measures to permit the voters of Georgia to decide whether or not to allow the state and its126 counties to decide whether or not to authorize or opt in to lan d based destination resort127 casinos, pari-mutuel and fixed-odds horse racing, and whether or not to permit digital, retail,128 and on-premise sports betting; and129 WHEREAS, the General Assembly needs to determine how legalization of gaming in this130 state if approved by the people and enabled by the General Assembly would contribute to the131 economy and workforce development of this state as to revenue expectations and quality of132 - 6 - LC 44 3208S jobs being available when weighed against what social and societal ills may come to Georgia133 if gaming is approved by the citizens of this state; and134 WHEREAS, the General Assembly needs to determine if the legalization of gaming would135 also increase tax revenues for Georgia and aid in meeting the b udgetary demands of136 government; and137 WHEREAS, many of our citizens travel substantial distances to engage in gaming activities138 and enjoy the resort atmosphere in states such as Nevada, Missi ssippi, Alabama, North139 Carolina, and Massachusetts; and140 WHEREAS, if gaming was expanded in this state, the money spent in other states might141 remain with the industries and tax revenues of this state; and142 WHEREAS, the State of Georgia has a large agricultural industry that contributes143 significantly to the economy of this state and a portion of that industry is involved with the144 breeding, raising, and training of horses; and145 WHEREAS, the legalization of horse racing and pari-mutuel betting in this state could aid146 in the further development and expansion of Georgia's horse breeding and raising industry147 and foster its contribution to the economy of this state; and148 WHEREAS, the financial implications for the state of such potential legalization as well as149 previously considered measures by the General Assembly to impro ve Georgia's economy150 deserve to be further considered and studied along with the soc ial, fiscal, and economic151 impacts and the financial viability of such endeavors.152 - 7 - LC 44 3208S NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:153 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee154 on Gaming in the State of Georgia.155 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of seven members. The 156 members of the committee shall be the chairpersons of the House Committee on Ways157 and Means, the House Committee on Regulated Industries, and the House Committee on158 Economic Development and four other members of the House of Rep resentatives159 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one o f w h o m s h a l l b e160 designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to serve as chairperson of the161 committee.162 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,163 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or164 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.165 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee166 shall hold at least four public hearings at various locations t hroughout this state and at167 least one meeting to discuss and finalize findings. Such heari ngs and meeting shall be168 conducted at such places and at such times as deemed necessary or convenient to enable169 the committee to exercise fully and effectively its powers, per form its duties, and170 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.171 (5) Allowances and funding.172 (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided173 for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.174 (B) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member175 of the committee for more than three days unless additional days are authorized. Funds176 necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds177 appropriated to the House of Representatives.178 - 8 - LC 44 3208S (6) Report. The committee shall adopt specific findings or recommendation s that179 include proposed legislation, and the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to180 the date of abolishment specified in this resolution.181 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.182 - 9 -