---
title: HB 612. Behavioral Health Coordinating Council; add member
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb612
cite_as: HB 612, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb612
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb612.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb612/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70742
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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next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb613.md
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 464
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb612.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 612
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:
  - Katie Dempsey
  - Karen Mathiak
  - Todd Jones
  - Mary Oliver
  - Sharon Cooper
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB612/2025
upstream_id: 1982042
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - mental health parity
  - health insurance regulation
  - behavioral health policy
  - state government boards
---

# HB 612. Behavioral Health Coordinating Council; add member

## Text

House Bill 612
By: Representatives Dempsey of the 13th, Mathiak of the 82nd, Jones of the 25th, Oliver of the
84th, and Cooper of the 45th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions regarding the administration of mental health, developmental
disabilities, addictive diseases, and other disability services, so as to add a member to the
Behavioral Health Coordinating Council; to establish a parity compliance review panel; to
provide for its composition and duties; to require health care providers to report suspected
mental health parity violations to the panel; to provide for evaluation of complaints; to
provide for recommendations for punitive actions; to provide for definitions; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding the administration of mental health, developmental disabilities,
addictive diseases, and other disability services, is amended in Code Section 37-2-4, relating
to the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council and its membership, meetings, and
obligations, by revising subsections (a) and (c.1) and by adding a new subsection to read as
follows:
"(a) There is created the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council. The council shall
consist of the commissioner of behavioral health and developmental disabilities; the
commissioner of early care and learning; the commissioner of community health; the
commissioner of public health; the commissioner of human services; the commissioner of
juvenile justice; the commissioner of corrections; the commissioner of veterans service; the
commissioner of community supervision; the commissioner of community affairs; the
commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia; the Commissioner of Labor;
the State School Superintendent; <ins>the Insurance Commissioner;</ins> the chairperson of the State
Board of Pardons and Paroles; a behavioral health expert employed by the University
System of Georgia, designated by the chancellor of the university system; two members,
appointed by the Governor; the ombudsman appointed pursuant to Code Section 37-2-32;
the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children; an expert on early childhood mental
health, appointed by the Governor; an expert on child and adolescent health, appointed by
the Governor; a pediatrician, appointed by the Governor; an adult consumer of public
behavioral health services, appointed by the Governor; a family member of a consumer of
public behavioral health services, appointed by the Governor; a parent of a child receiving
public behavioral health services, appointed by the Governor; a member of the House of
Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and a member
of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate."
"(c.1) The commissioner of behavioral health and developmental disabilities, the
commissioner of early care and learning, the commissioner of community health, the
commissioner of public health, the commissioner of human services, the commissioner of
juvenile justice, the commissioner of corrections, the commissioner of veterans service, the
commissioner of community supervision, the commissioner of community affairs, the
commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, the Commissioner of Labor,
the State School Superintendent, <ins>the Insurance Commissioner,</ins> and the chairperson of the
State Board of Pardons and Paroles shall each be authorized to be represented by a delegate
or agent at any meeting of the council or subcommittee meeting. Any such delegate or
agent shall be counted toward a quorum, shall have all voting privileges as the member's
delegate or agent, and shall not be considered an absence of the member."
<ins>"(j) The council shall serve in an advisory role for the parity compliance review panel
established pursuant to Code Section 37-2-12."
</ins> SECTION 2.
Said article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"37-2-12.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Health care provider' means any health care professional licensed under Title 43 or
any hospital or other health care facility licensed or regulated under Chapter 7 of Title 31
or under this title.
(2) 'Panel' means the parity compliance review panel established pursuant to this Code
section.
(b) There is established a parity compliance review panel within the council to be
composed of:
(1) The following members of the council:
(A) The commissioner of community health, or his or her designee;
(B) The commissioner of behavioral health and developmental disabilities, or his or her
designee;
(C) The commissioner of human services, or his or her designee; and
(D) The Insurance Commissioner, or his or her designee; and
(2) The following appointed members:
(A) Two mental health clinicians, appointed by the Governor;
(B) Two senior executives of facilities or systems providing mental health care,
appointed by the Governor;
</ins>
<ins>(C) One mental health advocate, appointed by the President of the Senate; and
(D) One mental health advocate, appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
(c) Health care providers shall be required to report suspected violations by health insurers
of the mental health parity requirements contained in Code Sections 33-1-27 and
33-21A-13.
(d) The panel shall establish a simple and intuitive process to receive complaints reported
by health care providers pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section. The panel shall
evaluate submitted complaints to determine whether a health insurer is in violation of
mental health parity laws. Based on such evaluation, the panel shall make
recommendations as to appropriate punitive actions, if any, that may be warranted for a
health insurer to the Commissioner of Insurance for violations of Code Section 33-1-27 and
to the commissioner of community health for violations of Code Section 33-21A-13.
(e) The panel shall be authorized to:
(1) Receive and analyze required reports from insurance companies and health care
providers;
(2) Request additional information from health insurers regarding potential mental health
parity violations, including determinations of medical necessity;
(3) Create and review educational materials for consumers and health care providers
relating to compliance with mental health parity laws. Such educational materials shall
include information on the concept of mental health parity, individuals' rights, and the
complaint processes established pursuant to subsection (e) of Code Section 33-1-27,
subsection (e) of Code Section 33-21A-13, and subsection (d) of this Code section. All
such educational materials shall be culturally and linguistically sensitive, to the extent
practicable; available in multiple languages; widely distributed; and offered in various
formats, such as on a public website, in a brochure, and in written documentation; and
</ins>
<ins>(4) Consult and coordinate with the Governor's office, the Department of Community
Health, and the office of the Commissioner of Insurance to establish criteria and
procedures for the panel in formulating recommendations relating to punitive action for
insurance companies that are not compliant with mental health parity laws.
(f) Subject to available funds, the panel shall establish a team to support the work of the
panel, including, but not limited to, research, report preparation, and creation of educational
materials."
</ins> 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.

House Bill 612 would expand Georgia's Behavioral Health Coordinating Council and create a new panel to review complaints that health insurers are violating mental health parity laws, meaning they must cover mental health care the same way they cover physical health care.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law already sets up a Behavioral Health Coordinating Council made up of state agency heads and appointed experts who advise on mental health, developmental disability, and addiction services. This bill rewrites part of that law (O.C.G.A. § 37-2-4) to add a state senator and a state representative to the council's membership, alongside the existing commissioners and appointees.
The bill also creates a new parity compliance review panel inside the council (O.C.G.A. § 37-2-12). The panel would include several commissioners or their designees plus mental health clinicians, executives, and advocates appointed by the Governor, the Senate President, and the House Speaker. Health care providers would be required to report suspected violations of Georgia's mental health parity laws to this panel. The panel would set up a complaint process, evaluate reports, and recommend punishment to the Insurance Commissioner or the Department of Community Health. The council would advise the panel, and the panel could build a support team if funding allows.

### What it does

- Adds a member of the House of Representatives and a member of the Senate to the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council's membership.
- Creates a new parity compliance review panel made up of state commissioners or their designees, clinicians, health system executives, and advocates.
- Requires licensed health care providers to report suspected mental health parity violations by health insurers to the new panel.
- Directs the panel to build a complaint process, evaluate complaints, and recommend punitive action to the Insurance Commissioner or the Department of Community Health.
- Authorizes the panel to request more information from insurers, create consumer education materials, and coordinate with the Governor's office and state agencies.
- Allows the panel to build a support team for research and report writing if funding is available.

### Who it affects

The bill affects members of the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, including numerous state commissioners; the legislature (which gains two new appointees to the council); health care providers licensed under Title 43 or regulated hospitals and facilities, who must now report suspected violations; and health insurance companies subject to Georgia's mental health parity laws.

### Why it matters

By requiring providers to report suspected parity violations and giving a panel authority to recommend penalties, the bill creates a more formal mechanism for catching and addressing cases where insurers cover mental health care less generously than physical health care.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 37-2-4 to add a House member appointed by the Speaker and a Senate member appointed by the President of the Senate to the coordinating council.
- Section 1 also states the council will serve in an advisory role to the new parity compliance review panel.
- Section 2 creates O.C.G.A. § 37-2-12, establishing the parity compliance review panel with four ex officio commissioner seats and six appointed seats (clinicians, executives, and advocates).
- Section 2 requires health care providers to report suspected insurer violations of mental health parity requirements found in O.C.G.A. §§ 33-1-27 and 33-21A-13.
- Section 2 directs the panel to create a complaint intake process, evaluate complaints, and recommend punitive actions to the Insurance Commissioner or the commissioner of community health.
- Section 2 authorizes the panel to request more data from insurers, produce educational materials in multiple languages and formats, and coordinate with state agencies on enforcement criteria.
- Section 2 allows the panel, subject to available funding, to establish a support team for research and report preparation.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-03)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-04)
- Sponsors: Katie Dempsey, Karen Mathiak, Todd Jones, Mary Oliver, Sharon Cooper
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70742

> The history, votes, and amendments (464 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb612.md?full=1