---
title: HB 1250. Daniel Waters Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1250
cite_as: HB 1250, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1250
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1250.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1250/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73017
date: 2026-02-25
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1250.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1250
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-09
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Scott Hilton
- Lee Hawkins
- Darlene Taylor
- Katie Dempsey
- Jesse Petrea
- Sharon Cooper
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1250/2025
upstream_id: 2112279
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- stillbirth and infant loss
- hospital care
- perinatal bereavement
- public health funding
- maternal health
---
# HB 1250. Daniel Waters Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 1250
By: Representatives Hilton of the 48th, Hawkins of the 27th, Taylor of the 173rd, Dempsey of
the 13th, Petrea of the 166th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions concerning the Department of Public Health, so as to require
certain hospitals to offer perinatal bereavement care counseling options and any available
perinatal bereavement devices; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to
provide for contingent effectiveness upon appropriation of funds; to provide for a repealer
clause; to provide for a short title; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Daniel Waters Act."
SECTION 2.
Article 1 of Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions concerning the Department of Public Health, is amended by adding a new
Code section to read as follows:
"31-2A-21.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Basic perinatal services' means providing basic inpatient care for pregnant women
and newborns without complications; managing perinatal emergencies; consulting with
and referring to specialty and subspecialty hospitals; identifying high-risk pregnancies;
providing follow-up care for new mothers and infants; and providing public and
community education on perinatal health.
(2) 'Family members' means the parents, siblings, and children of the expectant parents.
(3) 'Fetal death' means the definition of such process as described in Code Section
31-10-1.
(4) 'Hospital' means a hospital licensed by the Department of Community Health as a
children's hospital or to provide basic perinatal services and shall also include children's
hospitals.
(5) 'Initiative' means the perinatal bereavement care initiative established under
subsection (c) of this Code section.
(6) 'Neonatal death' means the death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days
following birth.
(7) 'Perinatal bereavement care' means the provision of supportive care following a fetal
death, neonatal death, or stillbirth.
(8) '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.
(9) 'Stillbirth' means the definition provided in Code Section 31-10-1.
(b) A hospital that has been provided funding for perinatal bereavement care under
subsection (c) of this Code section shall, following a fetal death, neonatal death, or
stillbirth, make available to the expectant parents and family members for a period equal
to the length of stay recommended by the attending physician for a birth:
(1) Perinatal bereavement care counseling resources; and
(2) Any available perinatal bereavement device.
(c)(1) The department shall establish and administer a perinatal bereavement care
initiative to improve access to and quality of perinatal bereavement care in this state.
(2) The department may, upon appropriation, provide to hospitals the following
resources for the hospital's provision of perinatal bereavement care:
(A) For hospital personnel who provide maternal care or neonatal care, training on
interacting with parents and family members in a considerate and respectful manner
following a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth;
(B) A perinatal bereavement device, including:
(i) Training for personnel on the use of the device; and
(ii) Support to maintain the device; and
(C) Any other resources necessary for providing perinatal bereavement care.
(3) In providing resources to hospitals under the initiative, the department shall prioritize
hospitals that:
(A) Lack access to a perinatal bereavement device;
(B) Treat a greater number of high-risk pregnancies; and
(C) Facilitate a comparatively high number of births relative to other hospitals in this
state.
(4) The department may accept gifts, grants, or donations from any source for the
purposes of the initiative.
(d) The department, in consultation with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative, shall
develop and implement a program to award recognition to hospitals that provide perinatal
bereavement care."
SECTION 3.
(a) 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.
(b) If funds are so appropriated, then this Act shall become effective on the later of:
(1) The date on which such appropriations Act becomes effective; or
(2) The beginning date of the fiscal year for which such appropriations are made.
(c) If funds are not appropriated by July 1, 2029, as described herein, this Act shall stand
repealed.
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.
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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-09)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-25)
- Sponsors: Scott Hilton, Lee Hawkins, Darlene Taylor, Katie Dempsey, Jesse Petrea, Sharon Cooper
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73017
> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1250.md?full=1