--- title: HR 1049. Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day; last Wednesday of October each year; designate collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1049 cite_as: HR 1049, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1049 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1049.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1049/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72377 date: 2026-03-12 status: passed 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1048.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1050.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 703 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1049.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1049 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-12 last_action: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute sponsors: - Carolyn Hugley - Floyd Griffin - Bryce Berry - Samuel Park - Anissa Jones text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1049/2025 upstream_id: 2095084 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - opioid crisis - fentanyl awareness - public health - school drug education --- # HR 1049. Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day; last Wednesday of October each year; designate ## Text House Resolution 1049 (RULES COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE) By: Representatives Hugley of the 141st, Griffin of the 149th, Berry of the 56th, Park of the 107th, and Jones of the 143rd A RESOLUTION Designating the Wednesday of the last week in October of each year as Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day in Georgia; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Red Ribbon Campaign is the oldest, largest drug prevention program in the United States, and Red Ribbon Week, held annually October 23 through 31, is a time when schools and communities focus on young people living safe, healthy, and drug-free lives; and WHEREAS, the Georgia Department of Public Health reports that from 2019 to 2021, the total number of opioid-related overdose deaths increased from 853 to 1,718, and more than half were attributed to fentanyl; and WHEREAS, 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, and comes in a variety of colors, shapes, and forms; and WHEREAS, many colleges and universities are making naloxone, an antidote for opioid poisoning, accessible on campus at clinics and counseling centers, the campus police, or in vending machines in resident halls; and WHEREAS, fentanyl use and abuse are happening at middle schools and high schools, and the best way to protect students from substance use and abuse is having regular and open conversations to educate them about the risks, dangers, and effects of fentanyl use and abuse; and WHEREAS, fentanyl overdoses are happening at middle schools and high schools, and the best way to counter an overdose is raising awareness of the symptoms of an overdose, offering students a reliable space to seek help, and having naloxone readily available at the school nurse's office; and WHEREAS, on Fentanyl and Opioid Awareness Day and throughout the year, Georgia policymakers can and should make it their number one priority to encourage all Georgia students to live safe, healthy, and drug-free lives by providing educational materials and overdose prevention kits at middle schools and high schools. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that 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. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. 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. ### Plain-language summary 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 it 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. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-12) - Last action: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (2026-03-12) - Sponsors: Carolyn Hugley, Floyd Griffin, Bryce Berry, Samuel Park, Anissa Jones - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72377 > The history, votes, and amendments (703 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1049.md?full=1