HB 1446: Health; transfer responsibility for oversight of emergency medical services from Department of Public Health to Georgia Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Council

Right now the Department of Public Health regulates ambulance providers, certifies EMS personnel like paramedics and cardiac technicians, designates stroke centers, and runs the Office of Cardiac Care. This bill rewrites Chapter 11 of Title 31 of Georgia's code to shift almost all of that authority to the Georgia Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Council, a body made up of regional EMS representatives and gubernatorial and legislative appointees. The council would take over licensing ambulance providers, certifying EMTs and paramedics, designating EMS regions, overseeing regional advisory councils (REMSACs), certifying stroke centers, and absorbing the Office of Cardiac Care and its staff. The bill transfers existing contracts, employees, property, rules, and pending licenses from the Department of Public Health to the new council so nothing lapses during the changeover. It also updates terminology throughout Georgia law, replacing "ambulance service" with "ambulance provider" in multiple code sections, and revises rules on automated external defibrillators and appeals procedures. Most provisions take effect January 1, 2028, except the section establishing the council itself, which takes effect July 1, 2027 so appointments can happen first.

• Creates the Georgia Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Council and transfers the Department of Public Health's authority over ambulance licensing and EMS personnel certification to it, effective January 1, 2028.
• Moves responsibility for designating and certifying stroke centers, and for the Office of Cardiac Care and its staff, from the Department of Public Health to the new council.
• Shifts responsibility for designating and contracting with regional EMS advisory councils (REMSACs) from the Board of Public Health to the Board of Community Health.
• Transfers existing employees, contracts, leases, agreements, and state property related to EMS functions from the Department of Public Health to the council so services continue without interruption.
• Revises rules for automated external defibrillators, including removing outdated department-run training requirements and instead recommending nationally recognized training providers.
• Updates appeal procedures for license suspensions or revocations, directing appeals to superior court under a new Code section instead of the old administrative process.

Ambulance providers and their owners, EMTs, paramedics, cardiac technicians, and first responders; hospitals seeking stroke center or cardiac care center designation; regional EMS advisory councils; the Department of Public Health and Department of Community Health; and patients who rely on 911 ambulance response and stroke or cardiac emergency care.

Georgians who call 911 for an ambulance, stroke, or cardiac emergency would still get the same basic system, but the agency setting rules, issuing licenses, hearing appeals, and certifying hospitals as stroke or cardiac centers would change, potentially altering how quickly rules, complaints, or hospital certifications get handled.

• Section 1-1 repeals and replaces Article 1 of Chapter 11, Title 31 with new definitions, legislative findings, and the council's structure, powers, and meeting requirements (new Code Sections 31-11-1 through 31-11-21).
• New Code Section 31-11-5 sets the council's membership: one member from each REMSAC, one private ambulance provider representative, and three members appointed respectively by the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate President; effective July 1, 2027.
• New Code Section 31-11-9 has the council establish EMS regions succeeding the Department of Public Health's former health districts starting January 1, 2028.
• New Code Section 31-11-14 lets the council impose fines for noncompliance and treats enforcement actions as contested cases under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.
• New Code Section 31-11-17 creates a unified appeals process to superior court for council decisions, replacing older separate appeal procedures scattered across the chapter.
• Part VI transfers stroke center identification, certification, and grant programs (Code Sections 31-11-112 through 31-11-119) from the department to the council.
• Part VII moves the Office of Cardiac Care and its designation criteria for Level I, II, and III cardiac care centers (Code Section 31-11-132) into the council.
• Section 9-1 sets the Act's effective date as January 1, 2028, except the council's creation under Code Section 31-11-5, which takes effect July 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-06House Reconsidered (House)
2. 2026-03-06House Third Reading Lost (House)
3. 2026-03-06House Third Readers (House)
4. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
5. 2026-02-25House Second Readers (House)
6. 2026-02-24House First Readers (House)
7. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)Primary sponsor
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)
• Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)

1. FailedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   52 yea, 114 nay (4 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #655

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   107 yea, 62 nay (2 not voting, 6 absent)

   Reconsider: House Vote #656

• emergency medical services
• ambulance regulation
• stroke centers
• cardiac care
• state agency reorganization