HB 1350: Georgia Medical Freedom Act; enact

Georgia law currently lets the Department of Public Health and county boards of health require people to be vaccinated against contagious diseases, especially during outbreaks or public health emergencies. House Bill 1350 would reverse that. It creates a new article in Title 31 of Georgia law called the "Georgia Medical Freedom Act" that broadly bars businesses, schools, employers, ticket sellers for events, and government entities from denying someone access to services, jobs, education, or venues because that person refused a "medical intervention," a term defined broadly to include vaccines, tests, masks, drugs, and monitoring devices. The bill lets employers still require personal protective equipment tied to occupational safety rules, but not equipment tied only to an FDA emergency use authorization. It authorizes the Attorney General or local prosecutors to sue over violations. It also repeals the current authority of the Department of Public Health and county boards of health to mandate vaccination or other disease-prevention measures, replacing that Code section with the word "Reserved." These changes would take effect once the bill becomes law, with no separate effective date stated.

• Creates a new article in Title 31 banning businesses from denying services, jobs, education, or transportation to people who refuse a medical intervention such as a vaccine, test, or mask.
• Bars schools at every level, from day care through college, from requiring medical interventions for attendance, enrollment, employment, or extracurricular activities.
• Prohibits government entities and officials from requiring medical interventions as a condition of government services, licenses, permits, public facility use, or employment.
• Bans employers from giving different pay or benefits based on whether an employee accepted or declined a medical intervention, though employees can still take time off to get one.
• Repeals the Department of Public Health's and county boards of health's current legal authority (O.C.G.A. § 31-12-3) to require vaccination or other measures against contagious disease.
• Authorizes the Attorney General or local prosecutors to sue in superior court to enforce the new rules, with courts able to issue injunctions and award attorney's fees.

Businesses, employers, schools and colleges, ticket sellers for events, government agencies and officials, and individual employees or students are all directly covered. The Department of Public Health and county boards of health lose their current vaccination-mandate authority, which also affects how the state could respond to future disease outbreaks.

If enacted, employers, schools, and event venues in Georgia could no longer require vaccination, testing, or masking as a condition of participation, even during a declared disease outbreak or public health emergency, and the state's public health agencies would lose their power to order vaccination against contagious diseases.

• Section 2 adds new Code sections (O.C.G.A. §§ 31-2A-80 through 31-2A-84) defining "medical intervention," "business entity," "government entity," "school," and "ticket issuer" broadly.
• Section 2 (§31-2A-81) prohibits businesses, schools, ticket issuers, employers, and government entities from denying access, employment, or benefits based on refusal of a medical intervention.
• Section 2 (§31-2A-81(h)) allows employers to require personal protective equipment under occupational safety standards but bars compelling equipment authorized only under an FDA emergency use authorization.
• Section 2 (§31-2A-82) lets the Attorney General or local prosecutors bring civil enforcement suits, with courts able to grant injunctions and attorney's fees.
• Section 2 (§31-2A-83) states these protections cannot be suspended during any declared emergency or public health crisis and cannot be overridden by conflicting state or local rules.
• Section 3 strikes the existing text of O.C.G.A. § 31-12-3, which currently empowers the Department of Public Health and county boards of health to require vaccination, and replaces it with "Reserved," eliminating that authority.
• Section 4 repeals all conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-19House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-17House Hopper (House)

• Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-081)Primary sponsor
• Charlice Byrd (R, HD-020)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• David Clark (R, HD-100)
• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)
• Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-031)

• vaccine mandates
• medical freedom
• public health law
• school policy
• employment rights