---
title: HB 607. Public Health, Department of; two-year pilot program for home visiting in homes of children with asthma; provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb607
cite_as: HB 607, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb607
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb607.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb607/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70735
date: 2025-02-27
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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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb607.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 607
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-24
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Marvin Lim
- Karen Lupton
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB607/2025
upstream_id: 1982208
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- asthma
- public health
- home visiting programs
- children's health
- Department of Public Health
---
# HB 607. Public Health, Department of; two-year pilot program for home visiting in homes of children with asthma; provisions
## Text
House Bill 607
By: Representatives Lim of the 98th and Lupton of the 83rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Public Health, so as to provide for a two-year pilot program for home visiting
in homes of children with asthma to help families identify and reduce exposure to asthma
triggers; to provide for training of home visitors; to provide for assessments of the home
environment; to provide for administrative and technical assistance for the pilot program; to
provide for evaluation of the pilot program; to provide for reporting; to provide for
termination of the pilot program and automatic repeal; 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 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department
of Public Health, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"31-2A-19.1.
(a) The Department of Public Health shall develop, implement, and conduct a two-year
pilot program to provide home visiting in homes of children with asthma to assess and
provide education about the home environment and potential asthma triggers and make
recommendations to reduce exposure to such triggers, with emphasis on environmental risk
factor management.
(b) The department shall establish procedures and promulgate rules and regulations for the
establishment and operation of the pilot program, including:
(1) Establishing training requirements for home visitors and minimum requirements for
supervision of such home visitors;
(2) Developing assessments of home environments for use by home visitors to identify
common asthma triggers in the home and document discussion and implementation of
methods to reduce and remove asthma triggers;
(3) Providing administrative and technical assistance to the program, including assistance
in data collection and other activities related to the evaluation of the pilot program; and
(4) Establishing measures to determine the impact of family home visits and conducting
ongoing evaluations of the pilot program using qualitative goals and quantitative outcome
and performance measures.
(c) No later than June 30, 2026, and annually for the duration of the pilot program, the
department shall submit a detailed written report to the Governor, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the chairpersons of the House
Committee on Public Health and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on the
implementation and effectiveness of the pilot program. The final report shall include
recommendations as to the expansion or permanency of the pilot program and changes to
state law or policy relative to such recommendations.
(d) The pilot program created by this Code section shall terminate on June 30, 2028, and
this Code section shall stand repealed on such date."
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 Georgia House bill would create a two-year state pilot program sending trained home visitors into homes of children with asthma to spot and reduce asthma triggers, then automatically end in 2028.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law does not currently run a state program that sends visitors into homes to check for asthma triggers. This bill would add a new section to the state's public health code (O.C.G.A. ยง 31-2A-19.1) directing the Department of Public Health to create a two-year pilot program of home visits for families with children who have asthma. Visitors would assess the home environment, educate families about common asthma triggers, and recommend ways to reduce exposure, with a focus on managing environmental risk factors.
The department would set training rules for the home visitors, build home-assessment tools, provide technical and data-collection support, and track outcomes to measure the program's impact. Starting no later than June 30, 2026 and every year after, the department must report to the Governor, legislative leaders, and relevant House and Senate committees on how the program is working. The pilot program, and the law creating it, would automatically end and repeal on June 30, 2028 unless lawmakers act to extend or make it permanent.
### What it does
- Creates a new two-year pilot program within the Department of Public Health to send home visitors into homes of children with asthma.
- Requires the department to set training and supervision standards for the home visitors conducting these visits.
- Requires development of home environment assessments to identify asthma triggers and document steps to reduce them.
- Directs the department to provide data collection support and ongoing evaluation of the program's impact using both qualitative and quantitative measures.
- Requires annual written reports to the Governor, legislative leaders, and health committees starting no later than June 30, 2026.
- Automatically terminates the pilot program and repeals the authorizing law on June 30, 2028.
### Who it affects
Families with children who have asthma who participate in the home visits, the Department of Public Health staff who design and run the program, the home visitors who must meet new training requirements, and state lawmakers who will receive the department's reports on the program's results.
### Why it matters
Families in the pilot could get direct, in-home guidance on reducing things like mold, dust, or smoke that trigger asthma attacks, potentially improving children's health. Because the program and law expire in 2028, its long-term future depends on what the department's reports recommend and whether lawmakers choose to extend it.
### Key provisions
- Adds new Code Section 31-2A-19.1 directing the Department of Public Health to develop, implement, and conduct a two-year home visiting pilot program for homes of children with asthma.
- Subsection (b)(1) requires the department to set training requirements and minimum supervision standards for home visitors.
- Subsection (b)(2) requires development of home environment assessments to identify triggers and document trigger-reduction efforts.
- Subsection (b)(3) requires administrative and technical assistance, including help with data collection for evaluating the program.
- Subsection (b)(4) requires measures to track the impact of home visits and ongoing evaluation using qualitative and quantitative outcomes.
- Subsection (c) requires an annual written report to the Governor, House Speaker, Senate President, and relevant committee chairs, starting no later than June 30, 2026, with a final report including recommendations on expanding or making the program permanent.
- Subsection (d) sets the pilot program and the Code section itself to terminate and repeal on June 30, 2028.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-24)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-27)
- Sponsors: Marvin Lim, Karen Lupton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70735
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb607.md?full=1