---
title: HB 262. Community Health, Department of; grant program for purpose of acquiring and installing backup generators; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb262
cite_as: HB 262, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb262
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb262.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb262/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69881
date: 2025-03-04
status: engrossed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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: 635
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb262.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 262
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-03
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Angie O'Steen
- James Burchett
- Joe Campbell
- John Corbett
- John LaHood
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB262/2025
upstream_id: 1955597
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- rural hospitals
- emergency preparedness
- backup generators
- state grants
- health care funding
---
# HB 262. Community Health, Department of; grant program for purpose of acquiring and installing backup generators; provide
## Text
House Bill 262 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives O’Steen of the 169th, Burchett of the 176th, Campbell of the 171st,
Corbett of the 174th, and LaHood of the 175th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Community Health, so as to provide for a grant program for the purpose of
providing funding to certain rural hospitals for acquiring or installing backup generators to
ensure continuity of operation during a state of emergency; to provide that the department
shall consult with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in
establishing grant criteria; to provide for the department to establish grant amounts; to
provide for definitions; 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.
Chapter 2 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department
of Community Health, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"31-2-20.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Affected rural hospital' means an acute care hospital located in a rural county that
contains fewer than 100 beds and is located in any region of the state in which the
Governor declared a state of emergency after July 1, 2024.
(2) 'Rural county' means a county in this state that has a population of less than 50,000
according to the United States decennial census of 2020 or any future such census;
provided, however, that for counties which contain a military base or installation, the
military personnel and their dependents living in such county shall be excluded from the
total population of such county for purposes of this definition.
(b) Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly or other available funding, the
department shall establish a grant program to provide funding to affected rural hospitals
for the purpose of acquiring, installing, or both acquiring and installing backup generators
to ensure continuity of operation during a state of emergency. The department, in
consultation with the director of emergency management and homeland security shall
establish grant criteria and make award decisions; provided, however, that the department
and the director of emergency management and homeland security shall, to the greatest
extent possible, prioritize the approval of applications of those affected rural hospitals
lacking backup generators and the means by which to install them. The department shall
be authorized to establish the grant amount awarded to each recipient on a case-by-case
basis."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 3.
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.
A Georgia House bill would create a state grant program to help small rural hospitals buy and install backup generators, so they can keep running during declared emergencies.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law does not currently include a dedicated grant program to help rural hospitals pay for backup power. This bill adds a new section to the Department of Community Health's chapter of Georgia law (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 2) creating one.
The grant program would target 'affected rural hospitals,' defined as acute care hospitals with fewer than 100 beds located in counties under 50,000 people (excluding military personnel from that count) that sit in a region where the Governor declared a state of emergency after July 1, 2024. The Department of Community Health, working with the director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, would set the criteria for awarding grants and would prioritize hospitals that currently lack backup generators or the means to install them. Grant amounts would be decided case by case, and the whole program depends on the General Assembly actually funding it. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature.
### What it does
- Creates a new grant program inside the Department of Community Health to fund backup generators for qualifying rural hospitals.
- Defines which hospitals qualify: acute care hospitals with fewer than 100 beds in rural counties under 50,000 people that were in a state-of-emergency region declared after July 1, 2024.
- Requires the department to consult with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency when setting grant rules and deciding awards.
- Directs the department to prioritize hospitals that currently have no backup generators or no way to install them.
- Gives the department authority to set grant amounts individually for each hospital rather than a fixed statewide amount.
- Makes the whole program dependent on the General Assembly actually appropriating money or other funding becoming available.
### Who it affects
Small rural hospitals with fewer than 100 beds in low-population Georgia counties, especially those in areas the Governor has declared a state of emergency since mid-2024, along with the Department of Community Health and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, which would jointly run the program.
### Why it matters
Rural hospitals often struggle to fund infrastructure like backup generators, and losing power during storms or other emergencies can force them to shut down or transfer patients. This program could help those hospitals stay open, though it only takes effect if lawmakers actually provide funding.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 31-2-20 to Title 31, Chapter 2, establishing the grant program and its definitions.
- Defines 'affected rural hospital' by bed count, county population, and location in a region with a post-July 2024 emergency declaration.
- Defines 'rural county' as under 50,000 residents per the 2020 census, excluding military personnel and dependents from the count in counties with a base.
- Requires the department, in consultation with the state's emergency management director, to set grant criteria and prioritize hospitals lacking generators.
- States the program is 'subject to appropriations by the General Assembly or other available funding,' meaning it isn't automatically funded.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as upon the Governor's approval or the bill becoming law without his signature.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-03)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-04)
- Sponsors: Angie O'Steen, James Burchett, Joe Campbell, John Corbett, John LaHood
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69881
> The history, votes, and amendments (635 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb262.md?full=1