Georgia CommonsHB 1250: Daniel Waters Act; enact
Last action February 25, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
House Bill 1250, the Daniel Waters Act, would require certain Georgia hospitals to offer perinatal bereavement counseling and cooling devices to families after a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth, but only if the legislature funds it.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia hospitals currently have no statewide requirement to offer specific bereavement support after a baby dies before, during, or shortly after birth. House Bill 1250, named the Daniel Waters Act, would add a new section to Georgia law directing the Department of Public Health to run a perinatal bereavement care initiative. Hospitals that receive funding through the initiative would have to offer expectant parents and family members counseling resources and, if available, a perinatal bereavement device (a device that can slow tissue deterioration for up to 72 hours) following a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth. The department would prioritize hospitals that lack a bereavement device, treat more high-risk pregnancies, or handle more births than other hospitals. It could also accept outside gifts and grants for the program and would work with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative to recognize hospitals that provide this care. The whole Act only takes effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates money for it, and it would be automatically repealed if no funds are appropriated by July 1, 2029.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21) requiring funded hospitals to offer bereavement counseling and any available bereavement device after a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth.
- Establishes a perinatal bereavement care initiative inside the Department of Public Health to fund training, devices, and other resources for hospitals.
- Directs the department to prioritize hospitals lacking bereavement devices, treating more high-risk pregnancies, or handling relatively more births.
- Allows the department to accept gifts, grants, or donations to support the initiative.
- Requires the department to work with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative to create a recognition program for hospitals offering this care.
- Makes the entire Act contingent on a specific legislative appropriation and automatically repeals it if no funds are appropriated by July 1, 2029.
Who it affects
Georgia hospitals licensed to provide basic perinatal services or that are children's hospitals, their maternal and neonatal care staff, expectant parents and family members who experience a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth, and the Department of Public Health, which would administer the funding and training program.
Why it matters
Families experiencing the loss of a baby at qualifying hospitals could gain access to counseling and devices that let them spend more time with their child before burial. Whether this happens depends entirely on the legislature setting aside specific funding, without which the requirement never takes effect and expires by 2029.
Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'Daniel Waters Act.'
- Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21, defining terms like 'perinatal bereavement care,' 'perinatal bereavement device,' 'fetal death,' 'neonatal death,' and 'stillbirth.'
- Subsection (b) requires funded hospitals to offer counseling resources and available bereavement devices to parents and family members for the length of stay recommended by the attending physician.
- Subsection (c) creates the department's bereavement care initiative, letting it fund staff training, devices, device maintenance, and other resources, and accept outside gifts or grants.
- Subsection (c)(3) sets priority criteria for which hospitals receive resources first, based on device access, high-risk pregnancy volume, and birth volume.
- Subsection (d) directs the department to create a hospital recognition program with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative.
- Section 3 makes the Act effective only upon a specific appropriation and repeals it automatically if funds are not appropriated by July 1, 2029.
From the bill
“'Perinatal bereavement device' means a device with technology capable of delaying for bereavement purposes the deterioration of human tissue for up to 72 hours following a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth.”
“This Act shall become effective only if funds are specifically appropriated for purposes of this Act in an appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly.”
“If funds are not appropriated by July 1, 2029, as described herein, this Act shall stand repealed.”
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
- Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
- Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
- Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)
- Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)
- Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)
Topics
- stillbirth and infant loss
- hospital care
- perinatal bereavement
- public health funding
- maternal health