Georgia CommonsHR 1049: Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day; last Wednesday of October each year; designate
Last action March 12, 2026 · House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
A Georgia House resolution designates the Wednesday of the last week in October each year as Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day, aiming to raise attention to fentanyl and opioid overdoses statewide.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives creates a symbolic day, the Wednesday of the last week in October each year, called Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day. It cites Georgia Department of Public Health figures showing opioid-related overdose deaths rose from 853 in 2019 to 1,718 in 2021, with more than half linked to fentanyl, and notes fentanyl's potency and low cost make it especially dangerous. The resolution does not create new programs, funding, or legal requirements. It simply designates the awareness day and directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. It also references the idea that schools could provide educational materials and overdose prevention kits, but does not mandate this.
What the bill does
- Designates the Wednesday of the last week in October each year as Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day in Georgia.
- Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies of the resolution available to the public and press.
- States that Georgia policymakers should encourage students to live drug-free lives by providing educational materials and overdose prevention kits, without requiring any agency to act.
Who it affects
The resolution primarily affects how the state marks a day of awareness; it references Georgia students, middle and high schools, colleges and universities, and the Georgia Department of Public Health, though it imposes no binding duties on any of them.
Why it matters
While the resolution creates no new law, funding, or school requirement, it publicly highlights Georgia's rising fentanyl-related overdose deaths and signals legislative attention to student drug education and naloxone access, which could inform future policy debates.
Key provisions
- The resolving clause designates the Wednesday of the last week in October each year as Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day in Georgia.
- A further resolution directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.
- The preamble cites Georgia Department of Public Health data showing opioid overdose deaths rose from 853 in 2019 to 1,718 in 2021.
From the bill
“the members of this body designate the Wednesday of the last week in October of each year as Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day in Georgia.”
“fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, and is inexpensive, widely available, and highly addictive”
Status timeline
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Postponed (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Postponed (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
- Floyd Griffin (D, HD-149)
- Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
- Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
- Anissa Jones (D, HD-143)
Votes
- House voteMarch 12, 2026
159 yea, 0 nay (10 not voting, 7 absent)
Topics
- opioid crisis
- fentanyl awareness
- public health
- school drug education