---
title: HB 298. Health; requirements for nurse staffing in hospitals; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb298
cite_as: HB 298, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb298
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb298.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb298/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69972
date: 2026-03-03
status: introduced
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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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 319
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb298.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 298
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-05
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Trey Kelley
- Lee Hawkins
- Angie O'Steen
- James Hatchett
- Derrick McCollum
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB298/2025
upstream_id: 1958440
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- hospital staffing
- nurse staffing ratios
- health care regulation
- patient safety
- nursing
---
# HB 298. Health; requirements for nurse staffing in hospitals; provide
## Text
The House Committee on Health offers the following substitute to HB 298:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 7 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
regulation and construction of hospitals and other health care facilities, so as to provide
requirements for nurse and ancillary personnel staffing in hospitals; to provide for
definitions; to require a written nurse services staffing plan that includes ancillary personnel;
to provide for the establishment of nurse staffing committees; to provide for annual reports
of staffing information to the Department of Community Health; to provide for anonymous
reports and investigations of unsafe staffing conditions; to establish an advisory commission;
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 7 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to regulation and
construction of hospitals and other health care facilities, is amended by revising Article 2,
which is reserved, as follows:
"ARTICLE 2
31-7-24.
Reserved.
31-7-30.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Ancillary personnel' means unlicensed hospital staff who support the diagnosis,
treatment, or care of a patient.
(2) 'Hospital' means a hospital which is permitted to operate by the department pursuant
to Article 1 of this chapter, including a hospital maintained or operated by a hospital
authority; provided, however, that this shall not include a state owned or operated
hospital.
(3) 'Nurse services staffing plan' means the written staffing plan required to be
established by a hospital pursuant to Code Section 31-7-31.
(4) 'Nurse staffing committee' or 'committee' means the standing committee established
by a hospital pursuant to Code Section 31-7-32.
(5) 'Patient care unit' means a hospital's emergency department and any unit or
department of a hospital in which registered nurses provide direct patient care to
inpatients.
31-7-31.
(a) The governing body of a hospital shall adopt and implement a written nurse services
staffing plan to provide that an adequate number and skill mix of nurses and ancillary
personnel consistent with the guidelines of the hospital's accrediting entity are available.
Such plan shall include a process for:
(1) Requiring the hospital to give significant consideration to the nurse services staffing
plan recommended by the hospital's nurse staffing committee and to that committee's
evaluation of any existing plan;
(2) Adopting and implementing a nurse services staffing plan that is based on an
assessment of the needs of each patient care unit and shift, including evidence relating
to patient care needs of each patient care unit at the hospital;
(3) Considering the nurse services staffing plan as a component in setting the nurse and
ancillary hospital staffing budget;
(4) Encouraging nurses and ancillary personnel to provide input to the committee
relating to nurse and ancillary personnel staffing concerns, respectively;
(5) Protecting nurses and ancillary personnel who provide input to the committee from
retaliation; and
(6) Monitoring compliance with any rules and regulations adopted by the department
relating to nurse and ancillary personnel staffing.
(b) The nurse services staffing plan adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section
shall:
(1) Consider the nurse and ancillary personnel staffing standards established by the Joint
Commission or other nationally recognized accreditation organizations, by the
department, or by nationally recognized hospital associations;
(2) Set minimum staffing levels for patient care units:
(A) Based on multiple nurse and ancillary personnel training and experience and other
administrative considerations, as well as, patient considerations; and
(B) Determined by the nursing assessment and in accordance with evidence based safe
nursing standards;
(3) Include a method for periodically adjusting the nurse services staffing plan for each
patient care unit to address significant changes in utilization or other circumstances that
impact nurse and ancillary personnel staffing and require staffing flexibility to meet
patient needs; and
(4) Include a contingency plan when patient care needs unexpectedly exceed direct
patient care staff resources.
(c) A hospital shall:
(1) Consider the nurse services staffing plan:
(A) As a component in setting the nurse and ancillary personnel staffing budget; and
(B) To guide the hospital in assigning nurses and ancillary personnel to patient care
units; and
(2) Make readily available to nurses and ancillary personnel on each patient care unit at
the beginning of each shift the nurse and ancillary personnel services staffing plan levels
and current staffing levels for that unit and that shift.
31-7-32.
(a) A hospital shall establish a nurse staffing committee as a standing committee of the
hospital.
(b) The committee shall be composed of members who are representative of the types of
nursing services provided in the hospital's patient care units.
(c) The chief nursing officer of the hospital shall be a voting member of the committee.
(d) At least 75 percent of the members of the committee shall be registered nurses who:
(1) Provide direct patient care during at least 50 percent of their work time; and
(2) Represent different patient care units provided by the hospital.
(e) The committee shall meet at least quarterly.
(f) The committee shall:
(1) Develop and recommend to the hospital's governing body a nurse services staffing
plan that meets the requirements of Code Section 31-7-31;
(2) Review, assess, and respond to staffing concerns expressed to the committee;
(3) Identify the nurse and ancillary personnel-sensitive outcome measures the committee
will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the nurse services staffing plan for the patient
care units;
(4) Evaluate, at least semiannually, the effectiveness of the nurse services staffing plan,
including the reasons for any significant variations between the plan and the actual
staffing; and
(5) Submit to the hospital's governing body, at least semiannually, a report on nurse and
ancillary personnel staffing and outcomes on the nurse and ancillary personnel-sensitive
outcome measures reviewed by the committee, including the committee's evaluation of
the effectiveness of the nurse services staffing plan and aggregate variations between the
nurse services staffing plan and actual staffing.
(g) In evaluating the effectiveness of the nurse services staffing plan, the committee shall
consider, but is not limited to considering, patient needs, workforce shortages and
availability, the nurse and ancillary personnel-sensitive outcome measures reviewed by the
committee, any nurse and ancillary personnel satisfaction measures collected by the
hospital for the patient care units, and any nationally recognized, written, evidence based
nurse staffing benchmarks.
(h) All proceedings, records, and reports of the committee shall be deemed confidential
review organization records under Code Section 31-7-133 and shall not be subject to
Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspection of public records. The nurse
staffing plan adopted by a hospital shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into
evidence in any civil action; and no person who was in attendance at the proceeding of
such committee shall be permitted or required to testify in any such civil action as to any
evidence or other matters produced or presented during the proceedings or activities of the
committee or as to the findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions, or other actions
of such committee or any members thereof. Information, documents, or records otherwise
available from original sources, however, are not to be construed as immune from
discovery or use in any such civil action merely because they were presented during
proceedings of such committee or contained in the hospital's nurse services staffing plan;
nor should any person who participates in the committee's proceedings or who is a member
of such committee be prevented from testifying as to matters within such person's
knowledge, but such witness cannot be asked about such witness's discussions during
committee proceedings or about opinions formed by such witness as a result of committee
proceedings. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Department of Community Health may
inspect and copy committee records and the nurse services staffing plan when it is
determined by the department to be necessary in the performance of the department's
licensure and certification responsibilities under Code Section 31-7-15; provided, however,
that such inspection and copying shall not waive or abrogate the confidentiality of such
committee materials.
31-7-33.
(a) A hospital shall annually report to the department, and the department shall include as
a confidential addendum to the annual hospital questionnaire, the following information:
(1) Whether the hospital's governing body has adopted a nurse services staffing plan as
required by Code Section 31-7-31;
(2) Whether the hospital has established a nurse staffing committee as required by Code
Section 31-7-32 that meets the membership requirements of such Code section;
(3) Whether the nurse staffing committee has evaluated the hospital's nurse services
staffing plan as required by Code Section 31-7-32 and has reported the results of the
evaluation to the hospital's governing body as provided by such Code section; and
(4) The nurse and ancillary personnel-sensitive outcome measures the committee
adopted for use in evaluating the hospital's nurse services staffing plan.
(b) To the extent possible, the department shall collect the information required pursuant
to subsection (a) of this Code section in conjunction with surveys or other data required to
be submitted to the department under other laws or regulations.
(c) The reports provided by the hospitals under subsection (a) of this Code section shall
not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspection of public
records.
31-7-34.
(a) The department shall maintain a secure online portal for the submission by hospital
staff members of anonymous reports of unsafe staffing conditions in any hospital patient
care unit, provided that the forms for reporting shall require specificity, including the
patient care unit; the date, time, and description of the conditions deemed unsafe; and any
supporting information.
(b) Upon receipt of a report that complies with subsection (a) of this Code section, the
department shall forward such report to its Healthcare Facility Regulation Division for
possible investigation and to the nurse staffing committee of the hospital that is the subject
of the report.
(c) If the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division determines that a patient care unit
identified in a report made under subsection (a) of this Code section failed to comply with
nurse staffing requirements established by the department or violated any rule or regulation
relating to the licensing of hospitals on the date identified in the complaint or during an
on-site investigation, the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division is authorized to take
appropriate actions under the provisions of Code Section 31-2-8.
(d) The reports provided by hospital staff members under subsection (a) of this Code
section shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspection of
public records.
31-7-35.
(a) There is hereby established an advisory commission, composed of 12 members as
follows:
(1) The following members appointed by the Governor:
(A) An expert in nursing practice, quality of nursing care, or patient care standards;
(B) A representative of an association representing nurses; and
(C) Two representatives of an association representing hospitals;
(2) The following members appointed by the President of the Senate:
(A) An expert in nursing practice, quality of nursing care, or patient care standards;
(B) A registered nurse who provides direct patient care at a hospital at least 50 percent
of the work time; and
(C) Two representatives of a hospital in a rural county; and
(3) The following members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives:
(A) An expert in nursing practice, quality of nursing care, or patient care standards;
(B) A representative of an association representing nurses; and
(C) Two representatives of a hospital.
(b) The members of the advisory commission shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing
official. Members of the advisory commission shall keep confidential any information
received in the course of their duties and shall only use such information in the course of
carrying out their duties on the advisory commission, except those reports required to be
issued by the commission under this Code section, which shall only include de-identified
information that cannot reasonably be used to identify any person, hospital, or other entity.
(c) The advisory commission shall convene annually in order to evaluate the effectiveness
of the nurse staffing committees established pursuant to Code Section 31-7-32. Such
review shall evaluate quantitative and qualitative data, including, but not limited to,
whether staffing levels were improved and maintained, patient satisfaction, employee
satisfaction, patient quality of care metrics, workplace safety, and any other metrics the
advisory commission deems relevant.
(d) The advisory commission may collect and shall be provided all relevant information
necessary to carry out its functions from the department and other appropriate state
agencies. The commission may also invite testimony by experts in the field and from the
public. In making its recommendations pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section, the
advisory commission shall analyze relevant data provided by the department or other state
agencies, including data and factors contained in subsection (a) of Code Section 31-7-31
related to nurse services staffing plans. The advisory commission may also make
recommendations for additional or enhanced enforcement mechanisms or powers to
address hospital failure to comply with this article and recommend the appropriation of
funds for the department to enforce this article or to assist hospitals in recruiting or hiring
additional nursing staff.
(e) The advisory commission shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the President of the Senate, and the chairpersons of the House Committee on Health and
Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and make available to the public, a report
that may include recommendations for further legislative action, if any, in order to improve
nurse staffing in hospitals pursuant to the intent of this article.
(f) Any information collected pursuant to Code Section 31-7-33 and provided to the
advisory commission shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to
inspection of public records."
SECTION 2.
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 House committee substitute for HB 298 would require Georgia hospitals to adopt written nurse and ancillary staffing plans, create nurse staffing committees, and set up state reporting and an advisory commission to review staffing conditions.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently has no statewide requirement that hospitals maintain formal nurse staffing plans. This bill would add a new article to the state's hospital regulation law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 7 of Title 31) requiring every hospital, other than state owned or operated hospitals, to adopt a written nurse services staffing plan covering both nurses and unlicensed support staff called ancillary personnel. Hospitals would have to form a standing nurse staffing committee, made up mostly of registered nurses who provide direct patient care, to help develop and evaluate the plan and report to the hospital's governing board at least twice a year.
Hospitals would report staffing information annually to the Department of Community Health as part of their existing hospital questionnaire, and the department would run a secure online portal where hospital staff can anonymously report unsafe staffing conditions for possible investigation. The bill also creates a 12 member advisory commission, appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker, to evaluate staffing committees each year and report recommendations to legislative leaders.
### What it does
- Requires hospitals to adopt a written nurse services staffing plan covering minimum staffing levels for nurses and ancillary (unlicensed support) personnel in each patient care unit.
- Creates a standing nurse staffing committee at each hospital, at least 75 percent of which must be registered nurses providing direct patient care.
- Requires hospitals to report staffing plan and committee information annually to the Department of Community Health as a confidential addendum to the hospital questionnaire.
- Directs the department to build a secure online portal so hospital staff can anonymously report unsafe staffing conditions for investigation by the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division.
- Establishes a 12-member advisory commission appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker to evaluate staffing committees annually and recommend legislative changes.
- Makes committee proceedings, staffing plans, and anonymous reports confidential and exempt from Georgia's open records law.
### Who it affects
Georgia hospitals and their governing boards, registered nurses and unlicensed ancillary hospital staff, hospital patients, the Department of Community Health and its Healthcare Facility Regulation Division, and the members appointed to the new advisory commission. State owned or operated hospitals are excluded.
### Why it matters
Hospitals would face new legal obligations to plan and document nurse and support staff coverage, give staff a formal channel to raise staffing concerns without retaliation, and let the state investigate anonymous complaints about unsafe conditions, potentially affecting patient care levels and hospital budgets statewide.
### Key provisions
- New Code Section 31-7-30 defines key terms including ancillary personnel, hospital, nurse services staffing plan, nurse staffing committee, and patient care unit.
- Code Section 31-7-31 requires hospitals to adopt a staffing plan considering accreditation standards, patient needs, and staffing budgets, and to make current staffing levels visible to staff each shift.
- Code Section 31-7-32 requires each hospital to form a nurse staffing committee that meets quarterly, evaluates the staffing plan semiannually, and reports to the hospital's governing body; committee records are made confidential.
- Code Section 31-7-33 requires hospitals to report staffing plan and committee compliance information annually to the Department of Community Health as a confidential addendum.
- Code Section 31-7-34 requires the department to maintain an anonymous online reporting portal for unsafe staffing conditions and allows enforcement action under Code Section 31-2-8 for violations.
- Code Section 31-7-35 creates a 12-member advisory commission to evaluate staffing committees annually and submit public recommendations to legislative leaders.
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-05)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Trey Kelley, Lee Hawkins, Angie O'Steen, James Hatchett, Derrick McCollum
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69972
> The history, votes, and amendments (319 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb298.md?full=1