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:
<ins>"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
</ins>
<ins>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."
</ins> SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.