Georgia CommonsHB 489: End Public Funding of Misinformation Act; enact
Last action February 20, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would eliminate the state's Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting grant program by repealing the law that created it, ending its public funding entirely.
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 LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia currently runs a grant program through the Department of Public Health called the Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting grant program, set up under Article 2 of Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. This bill would repeal that entire article, removing the program and its legal basis from state law. The bill is short: it names itself the 'End Public Funding of Misinformation Act,' repeals and reserves (removes but keeps the space for) Article 2 in its entirety, and repeals any other laws that conflict with this change. The bill text does not create a replacement program or redirect the funding elsewhere; it simply removes the existing grant program from Georgia law.
What the bill does
- Repeals Article 2 of Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which established the Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting grant program.
- Reserves the repealed article, meaning the section numbers remain empty rather than being deleted or reassigned.
- Gives the Act a short title, the 'End Public Funding of Misinformation Act,' for citation purposes.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.
Who it affects
The bill affects the Georgia Department of Public Health, which currently administers the grant program, and any organizations that receive or apply for grants under the Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting program, since that funding source would be eliminated.
Why it matters
If enacted, organizations that currently rely on this state grant program for pregnancy and parenting services would lose that funding source, and the Department of Public Health would no longer operate or oversee the program going forward.
Key provisions
- Section 1 establishes the short title of the Act as the 'End Public Funding of Misinformation Act.'
- Section 2 repeals and reserves Article 2 of Chapter 2A of Title 31, eliminating the Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting grant program in its entirety.
- Section 3 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act.
From the bill
“is amended by repealing and reserving Article 2, relating to positive alternatives for pregnancy and parenting grant program, in its entirety.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
- Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
- Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
- Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)
- Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
- Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
Topics
- pregnancy resources
- state grant funding
- public health policy
- reproductive health programs