Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1430: Community Health, Department of; license supportive senior housing communities; provide
Last action February 26, 2026 · House Second Readers
House Bill 1430 would create a new licensed category called supportive senior housing communities in Georgia, letting facilities house older Medicaid recipients with medication aide support and setting staffing, financial, and Medicaid waiver rules for them.
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 the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia currently licenses personal care homes and assisted living communities for seniors and people with disabilities, but has no license category for supportive senior housing communities. HB1430 fills in a reserved section of state law (O.C.G.A. § 31-7-12.6) to create this new type of facility: buildings with 25 to 150 units where residents have their own leased apartments and where more than half the residents receive Medicaid. The bill lets these communities employ certified medication aides to handle medications, requires written care plans for each resident, sets minimum staffing ratios and nursing hours, and requires financial stability affidavits and advance notice before bankruptcy, eviction, or ownership changes. The bill also updates dozens of other Georgia laws, covering consumer protection, elder abuse, fire safety, pharmacy licensing, hospice care, background checks, and the long-term care ombudsman program, to include supportive senior housing communities alongside existing categories like assisted living communities and personal care homes. It directs the Department of Community Health to develop a Medicaid rate methodology and submit a federal waiver request by June 30, 2026, limited to Georgians 65 or older who meet income and nursing-level-of-care criteria. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
What the bill does
- Creates a new state license category, supportive senior housing communities, for buildings of 25 to 150 units serving mostly Medicaid-eligible seniors in their own leased apartments.
- Allows these communities to employ certified medication aides to administer specific medications, including limited hospice morphine use under strict conditions.
- Sets minimum staffing requirements, including at least two direct care staff on-site at all times and scaled nursing hours based on resident count.
- Requires financial stability affidavits from a certified public accountant and advance written notice to residents before bankruptcy, eviction, or ownership changes.
- Directs the Department of Community Health to develop a Medicaid rate methodology and submit a federal waiver request by June 30, 2026 for eligible seniors.
- Amends over 20 existing Georgia statutes across six titles to add supportive senior housing communities to definitions covering consumer protection, elder abuse, fire safety, pharmacy law, hospice care, and background checks.
Who it affects
Elderly Georgians who qualify for Medicaid and need housing with some personal care support, operators seeking to build or run these new facilities, certified medication aides and nursing staff, the Department of Community Health, the long-term care ombudsman program, and residents' families involved in care planning and financial notices.
Why it matters
Georgia seniors who need some help with daily activities but not full nursing home care would gain a new housing option combining private apartments with medication assistance, largely aimed at Medicaid recipients. Facility operators would face specific staffing, financial disclosure, and licensing rules, and the state would need federal approval to fund the program through Medicaid.
Key provisions
- Section 1-1 defines a supportive senior housing community as 25 to 150 units where more than half of residents receive Medicaid, and details what supportive senior care includes.
- Section 1-1 sets minimum staffing ratios: one direct care staff person per 25 residents during waking hours, one per 40 during nonwaking hours, plus scaled nursing hours based on facility size.
- Section 1-1 requires financial stability affidavits, 60 days' notice before bankruptcy or eviction risks, and 14 days' notice before ownership changes.
- Section 1-1(h) requires the Department of Community Health to submit a Medicaid waiver request to federal regulators by June 30, 2026, targeting residents 65 or older with limited income and nursing-level care needs.
- Sections 2-1 through 2-24 amend Titles 10, 16, 25, 26, 31, and 33 to insert 'supportive senior housing community' into existing definitions for consumer protection, elder fraud, fire safety, pharmacy licensing, hospice, palliative care, background checks, and the ombudsman program.
- Section 3-1 makes the law effective immediately upon the Governor's signature.
From the bill
“'Supportive senior housing community' means a facility with a minimum of 25 beds and a maximum of 150 units in which each resident has his or her own apartment that is leased under a separate agreement and where more than 50 percent of the resident population is composed of recipients of medical assistance”
“the supply of liquid morphine on-site at such community shall be limited to no more than 50 ml for each hospice patient in the assisted living community and shall only be administered under limited circumstances when a licensed hospice healthcare professional is not otherwise available”
“An average monthly minimum on-site staffing ratio of one direct care staff person for every 25 residents during all waking hours and one direct care staff person for every 40 residents during all nonwaking hours”
Discussed in meetings (3)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Public and Community Health Committee, March 10, 2026
From 0:39:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1430 would create a license category for supportive senior housing and an assisted living Medicaid waiver, offering an alternative to nursing homes. The sponsor said 117,000 Georgians age 65 or older live below the poverty line. A Silver Birch Living witness said eligible residents would be at least 65, qualify for Medicaid and meet nursing facility care criteria, but could receive medication help, meals and other support in apartments. The witness estimated savings of about $95 per resident daily compared with skilled nursing and said Georgia was one of 13 states without assisted living waiver access. Asked about funding, the sponsor said the proposal contained no appropriation and would require a later funding request. Asked about a proposed 50% Medicaid occupancy threshold, the witness said states use different mixes of private-pay and Medicaid residents, including people who become Medicaid-eligible after spending down their resources. Members also asked whether services could come to existing homes. Presenters distinguished this residential proposal from home-based care. The Department of Community Health's chief operating officer said Georgia's existing home and community services waiver does not cover its licensed assisted living category. The chair said this was a hearing only, with further development planned over the summer. No vote occurred.
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
- Katie Dempsey (R, HD-13)
- James Burchett (R, HD-176)
- Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
- Sharon Cooper (R, HD-45)
Topics
- senior housing
- assisted living regulation
- Medicaid waiver
- elder care licensing
- long-term care