---
title: HB 1167. Sleep Health Awareness Week; second week in March of each year; designate
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1167
cite_as: HB 1167, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1167
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1167.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1167/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72777
date: 2026-03-04
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1166.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1168.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 259
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1167.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1167
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-03
last_action: House Postponed
sponsors:
- Robert Dawson
- Lee Hawkins
- Gerald Greene
- Trey Kelley
- Lydia Glaize
- Jan Jones
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1167/2025
upstream_id: 2106774
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- sleep health
- public health awareness
- Department of Public Health
- daylight saving time
- suicide prevention
---
# HB 1167. Sleep Health Awareness Week; second week in March of each year; designate
## Text
House Bill 1167
By: Representatives Dawson of the 65th, Hawkins of the 27th, Greene of the 154th, Kelley of
the 16th, Glaize of the 67th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 4 of Title 1 and Article 1 of Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code
of Georgia Annotated, relating to holidays and observances and general provisions relative
to the Department of Public Health, respectively, so as to designate the second week in
March of each year as "Sleep Health Awareness Week" in Georgia; to encourage the
Department of Public Health to integrate sleep hygiene education; to provide for the
Department of Public Health to voluntarily exchange information regarding sleep hygiene
education; to provide for legislative findings and declarations; to provide for related matters;
to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Sleep is a fundamental pillar of health, as essential to human life and well-being as
proper nutrition and physical activity;
(2) Quality sleep is necessary for the body to repair itself, for the brain to process
information, and for the maintenance of long-term mental and physical health;
(3) Chronic lack of sleep is linked to a higher risk of serious health conditions, including
heart disease, diabetes, and a weakened immune system; and
(4) Increasing public awareness about the importance of restorative sleep can improve
the safety, productivity, and overall quality of life for all citizens of Georgia.
SECTION 2.
Chapter 4 of Title 1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to holidays and
observances, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"1-4-28.
(a) The second week of March of each year, commencing on the second Sunday of such
month to coincide with the historic onset of daylight savings time, is designated as 'Sleep
Health Awareness Week' in Georgia.
(b) This designation serves to promote public awareness regarding the physiological
effects of circadian disruption and the documented statistical increase in adverse
cardiovascular events associated with the annual loss of sleep."
SECTION 3.
Article 1 of Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions relative to the Department of Public Health, is amended by adding a new
Code section to read as follows:
"31-2A-21.
(a) The department is encouraged to integrate sleep hygiene education into existing public
health frameworks as a foundational component of chronic disease prevention and mental
health wellness.
(b) Pursuant to Code Section 1-4-28, during Sleep Health Awareness Week, the
department may facilitate the voluntary exchange of information and best practices in the
following strategic areas:
(1) Neurocognitive development: disseminating research on the impact of sleep on
adolescent learning, memory consolidation, and academic performance;
(2) Clinical practice and healthcare systems: encouraging the awareness of sleep
hygiene in primary care and the study of evidence based shift scheduling to reduce
diagnostic errors and promote sleep hygiene for healthcare providers with demanding
schedules;
(3) Workforce and economic policy: highlighting the correlation between sleep hygiene
and workplace safety, employee productivity, and the mitigation of sleep related
economic losses;
(4) Public safety and transportation: promoting awareness of the cognitive impairments
associated with drowsy driving;
(5) Chronic disease prevention: providing information on the causal relationship between
insufficient sleep and the prevalence of obesity, oncological risk, and neurodegenerative
disorders;
(6) Mental health and suicide prevention: promoting awareness of the clinical link
between sleep disruption and acute emotional dysregulation, emphasizing sleep hygiene
as a modifiable risk factor in suicide prevention frameworks and psychiatric stability; and
(7) Maternal and infant health: disseminating evidence based guidelines regarding the
critical role of safe sleep hygiene in reducing the incidence of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, emphasizing environmental risk
mitigation and the integration of caregiver sleep education into neonatal and postnatal
care frameworks."
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would officially designate the second week of March as 'Sleep Health Awareness Week' and encourage the Department of Public Health to share sleep hygiene information with the public.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently has no official observance dedicated to sleep health. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's holidays and observances law creating 'Sleep Health Awareness Week,' set for the second week of March each year, starting on the second Sunday of the month to coincide with the start of daylight saving time.
The bill also adds a new section to the law governing the Department of Public Health, encouraging it to weave sleep hygiene education into existing public health programs. During the designated week, the department may voluntarily share information and best practices on topics such as teen learning and sleep, healthcare worker scheduling, workplace safety, drowsy driving, chronic disease risk, suicide prevention, and safe infant sleep practices. The bill states legislative findings about the health importance of sleep and repeals any conflicting laws.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia Code section (O.C.G.A. § 1-4-28) designating the second week of March as 'Sleep Health Awareness Week.'
- Times the observance to start on the second Sunday of March, matching the historical start of daylight saving time.
- Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21) encouraging the Department of Public Health to build sleep hygiene education into its existing health programs.
- Allows, but does not require, the department to share sleep-related information and best practices in seven listed topic areas during the observance week.
- States legislative findings that link poor sleep to heart disease, diabetes, and weakened immunity, without creating any new enforceable health standard.
### Who it affects
The Department of Public Health, which gets an encouraged (not mandatory) role in sleep education, and the general public, including students, healthcare workers, drivers, employers, parents of infants, and people with mental health concerns, who are named as audiences for the department's optional outreach.
### Why it matters
The bill does not create funding, penalties, or mandatory programs; it mainly gives sleep health an official calendar designation and permission for the state health department to share information. Any real-world change depends on whether the department chooses to act on the encouragement.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 lists legislative findings on the health importance of sleep, including links to heart disease, diabetes, and weakened immune function.
- Section 2 creates O.C.G.A. § 1-4-28, designating the second week of March, starting the second Sunday, as 'Sleep Health Awareness Week.'
- Section 3 creates O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21, encouraging (not requiring) the Department of Public Health to integrate sleep hygiene education into existing public health frameworks.
- Section 3(b) lists seven optional topic areas the department may address during the week, including adolescent learning, healthcare scheduling, workplace safety, drowsy driving, chronic disease, suicide prevention, and infant sleep safety.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-03)
- Last action: House Postponed (2026-03-04)
- Sponsors: Robert Dawson, Lee Hawkins, Gerald Greene, Trey Kelley, Lydia Glaize, Jan Jones
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72777
> The history, votes, and amendments (259 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1167.md?full=1