---
title: HB 1262. Insurance; increase amount of monetary penalties authorized to impose for certain violations of the Georgia Insurance Code
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1262
cite_as: HB 1262, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1262
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1262.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1262/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73055
date: 2026-03-03
status: engrossed
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: 465
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1262.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1262
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-26
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Eddie Lumsden
- Matt Reeves
- Darlene Taylor
- Matthew Gambill
- Bruce Williamson
- Mark Newton
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1262/2025
upstream_id: 2113660
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- insurance regulation
- mental health parity
- surprise billing
- insurance penalties
- prepaid legal services
---
# HB 1262. Insurance; increase amount of monetary penalties authorized to impose for certain violations of the Georgia Insurance Code
## Text
House Bill 1262
By: Representatives Lumsden of the 12th, Reeves of the 99th, Taylor of the 173rd, Gambill of
the 15th, Williamson of the 112th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, so as to
increase the amount of monetary penalties the Commissioner of Insurance is authorized to
impose for violations of the Georgia Insurance Code relative to mental health parity, general
enforcement authority, surprise billing, and prepaid legal services plans; to provide for
related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, is amended in
Chapter 1, relating to general provisions, by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (i) of Code
Section 33-1-27, relating to insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse
disorders, compliance with mental health parity requirements, complaints and violations, and
appointment of mental health parity officer, as follows:
"(i)(1) If the Commissioner determines that a health insurer failed to submit a timely
or sufficient report required under paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of this Code section
or failed to submit timely and sufficient data pursuant to a data call conducted pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this Code section, the Commissioner may impose
a monetary penalty of up to $2,000.00 $10,000.00 for each and every act in violation,
unless the insurer knew or reasonably should have known that he or she was in
violation, in which case the monetary penalty may be increased to an amount of up to
$5,000.00 $25,000.00 for each and every act in violation."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 2, relating to Department and Commissioner, by
revising subsection (g) of Code Section 33-2-24, relating to enforcement of title and rules,
regulations, and orders, issuance of orders without hearings, civil actions, criminal violations,
and penalties, as follows:
"(g) In addition to all other penalties provided for under this title, the Commissioner shall
have the authority:
(1) To place any person duly licensed under this title on probation for a period of time
not to exceed one year for each and every act in violation of this title or of the rules,
regulations, or orders of the Commissioner; and
(2) To subject any person duly licensed or that should be licensed under this title to a
monetary penalty of up to $2,000.00 $10,000.00 for each and every act in violation of this
title or of the rules, regulations, or orders of the Commissioner, unless such person knew
or reasonably should have known he or she was in violation of this title or of the rules,
regulations, or orders of the Commissioner, in which case the monetary penalty provided
for in this paragraph may be increased to an amount up to $5,000.00 $25,000.00 for each
and every act in violation."
SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 20E, relating to the "Surprise Billing Consumer
Protection Act," by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 33-20E-26, relating to
enforcement and monetary penalties, as follows:
"(a) For each and every act in violation of Code Section 33-20E-24, the Commissioner
may impose a monetary penalty of up to $2,000.00 $10,000.00, unless the insurer knew or
reasonably should have known of the violation, in which case the monetary penalty
imposed may be up to $5,000.0 $25,000.00 for each and every act in violation."
SECTION 4.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 35, relating to prepaid legal services plans, by
revising subsection (c) of Code Section 33-35-7, relating to grounds and procedure for
revocation, suspension, or refusal to renew licenses, imposition of probation or fine, and
review, as follows:
"(c) In lieu of revoking, suspending, or refusing to renew the license for any of the causes
enumerated in subsection (a) of this Code section, after any hearing as provided in this
subsection the Commissioner may place the sponsor on probation for a period of time not
to exceed one year or may fine the sponsor not more than $2,000.00 $10,000.00 for each
offense, or do both, when, in the Commissioner's judgment he or she finds that the public
interest would not be harmed by the continued operation of the sponsor. The amount of
any penalty shall be paid by such sponsor to the Commissioner for the use of the state."
SECTION 5.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 6.
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 1262 would raise the maximum fines Georgia's Insurance Commissioner can impose on insurers and licensees for violations involving mental health parity, general insurance law, surprise billing, and prepaid legal services plans.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently caps most monetary penalties the Commissioner of Insurance can impose at $2,000 per violation, rising to $5,000 if the violator knew or should have known they were breaking the rules. This bill increases those caps significantly across four areas of the Georgia Insurance Code (Title 33): mental health parity reporting requirements, the Commissioner's general enforcement authority over licensees, the Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act, and prepaid legal services plan licensing.
Under the bill, the base penalty amounts rise from $2,000 to $10,000 per violation, and the enhanced penalty for knowing or reasonable-should-have-known violations rises from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation. These changes apply uniformly to health insurers that fail to report mental health parity data, licensees who violate Title 33 or Commissioner orders, insurers that violate surprise billing rules, and prepaid legal services plan sponsors subject to disciplinary action. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without signature.
### What it does
- Raises the base penalty for health insurers that fail to submit required mental health parity reports or data from $2,000 to $10,000 per violation.
- Raises the enhanced penalty for knowing mental health parity violations from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation.
- Increases the Commissioner's general penalty authority against any licensee violating Title 33 or Commissioner orders from $2,000/$5,000 to $10,000/$25,000 per violation.
- Raises penalties under the Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act (O.C.G.A. § 33-20E-26) from $2,000/$5,000 to $10,000/$25,000 per violation.
- Increases the maximum fine the Commissioner can impose on prepaid legal services plan sponsors from $2,000 to $10,000 per offense.
### Who it affects
Health insurers subject to mental health parity reporting rules, any person or company licensed under Georgia's insurance code, insurers covered by the surprise billing law, and sponsors of prepaid legal services plans all face higher potential fines from the Commissioner of Insurance under this bill.
### Why it matters
Insurers and licensees who violate these insurance rules would face fines up to five times larger than current law allows, which could increase the financial consequences of noncompliance with mental health parity reporting, surprise billing protections, and general licensing rules enforced by the Commissioner of Insurance.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 raises mental health parity reporting penalties under O.C.G.A. § 33-1-27 from $2,000 to $10,000 (base) and $5,000 to $25,000 (knowing violation).
- Section 2 raises the Commissioner's general enforcement penalties under O.C.G.A. § 33-2-24 against licensees to the same $10,000/$25,000 tiers.
- Section 3 raises surprise billing penalties under O.C.G.A. § 33-20E-26 to $10,000/$25,000 per violation.
- Section 4 raises the maximum fine for prepaid legal services plan sponsors under O.C.G.A. § 33-35-7 from $2,000 to $10,000 per offense.
- Section 5 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without signature.
- Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-02-26)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Eddie Lumsden, Matt Reeves, Darlene Taylor, Matthew Gambill, Bruce Williamson, Mark Newton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73055
> The history, votes, and amendments (465 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1262.md?full=1