---
title: HR 1204. United States and the State of Georgia; burden of lung cancer; recognize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr1204
cite_as: HR 1204, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1204
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1204.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1204/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72775
date: 2026-02-19
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: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1204.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 1204
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-02-03
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
  - Lee Hawkins
  - Mark Newton
  - Sharon Cooper
  - Rick Jasperse
  - Carolyn Hugley
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1204/2025
upstream_id: 2106777
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - lung cancer
  - public health
  - cancer screening
  - veterans health
  - health disparities
---

# HR 1204. United States and the State of Georgia; burden of lung cancer; recognize

## Text

House Resolution 1204
By: Representatives Hawkins of the 27th, Newton of the 127th, Cooper of the 45th, Jasperse
of the 11th, and Hugley of the 141st
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the burden of lung cancer in the United States and the State of Georgia;
supporting prevention, early detection, and timely intervention to improve patient outcomes;
addressing disparities in care; and encouraging expanding access to Georgians to
cutting-edge technology to support lung cancer prevention, early detection, and timely
intervention; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States,
taking the lives of nearly 361 Americans each day and accounting for approximately 125,070
deaths annually-nearly as many deaths as colorectal (53,010), breast (42,780), and prostate
(32,520) cancers combined; and
WHEREAS, about every two minutes someone in the United States is diagnosed with lung
cancer, and close to 227,000 people were expected to be diagnosed in 2024; and
WHEREAS, there are a variety of risk factors associated with lung cancer, including
smoking, exposure to radon gas, air pollution, secondhand smoke and military service-related
exposure; and
WHEREAS, even non-tobacco users get lung cancer, with approximately 20 percent of new
cases occurring in people who have never smoked; and
WHEREAS, veterans have a higher rate of lung cancer and are 25 percent more likely to
receive a lung cancer diagnosis compared to the general population; and
WHEREAS, the burden of lung cancer is not distributed equally: people of color, particularly
Black and Indigenous Americans, are less likely to be diagnosed early, less likely to receive
surgical treatment, and face significantly lower survival rates compared to white Americans;
and
WHEREAS, lung cancer has one of the lowest five-year survival rates of all major cancers,
largely because cases are frequently diagnosed at later stages, when effective treatment
options are limited; and
WHEREAS, the national five-year survival rate after a lung cancer diagnosis is only 29.7
percent, and in Georgia is 26.2 percent, ranking Georgia 30th among 39 states with available
data and placing it in the below average tier; and
WHEREAS, only 28.1 percent of lung cancer cases nationally are diagnosed at an early
stage, when the five-year survival rate rises to 65 percent; unfortunately, 43.1 percent of
cases are diagnosed at a late stage, when survival drops to just 10 percent; and
WHEREAS, in Georgia, only 26.9 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed early, which
is lower than the national rate and ranks Georgia 38th among the 50 states, placing it in the
average tier for early diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, the rate of new lung cancer cases in Georgia is 55.7 per 100,000, higher than
the national rate of 52.8 per 100,000 and placing Georgia 29th among all states; and
WHEREAS, surgery is the most effective treatment for early-stage lung cancer that has not
spread, yet only about 20.7 percent of cases nationally undergo surgery, with rates similarly
low in Georgia, partly due to late diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, early-stage lung cancers present unique clinical challenges, with over 70
percent located in the outer third of the lung, 64 percent in the upper lobes, and 51 percent
lacking a leading airway, making them very difficult to reach and biopsy using traditional
technology; and
WHEREAS, expanding access to cutting-edge technology is beneficial to support Georgia
healthcare teams, including those serving active military and veterans, in their fight against
lung cancer, benefits patients regardless of risk factors, and aligns with statewide
commitments to elevate patient care and address health disparities; and
WHEREAS, for example, Intuitive's Ion robotic endoluminal system is designed with the
smallest outer diameter in its class, maximizing physician reach into the lung periphery and
enabling minimally invasive biopsies of small, hard-to-reach nodules, thereby empowering
clinicians to overcome anatomical challenges and achieve more accurate, earlier diagnoses;
and
WHEREAS, Ion has the potential to improve survival rates and reduce overall healthcare
costs by increasing the number of patients who can be diagnosed at an early and treatable
stage.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that
the members of this body recognize lung cancer as a critical public health concern; support
efforts to improve prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and intervention, while addressing
disparities in care and outcomes; and encourage expanding access to Georgians to
cutting-edge technology to support lung cancer prevention, early detection, and timely
intervention.
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 recognizes lung cancer as a major public health burden in the state and nation, and encourages wider access to advanced technology for earlier detection and diagnosis.

### Plain-language summary

This resolution does not change any Georgia law. Instead, it is a formal statement from the House of Representatives recognizing lung cancer as a leading cause of cancer death and highlighting statistics showing Georgia lags behind national averages in early diagnosis and survival rates.
The resolution cites data on lung cancer's toll, including disparities affecting veterans and people of color, and points to the difficulty of biopsying hard-to-reach tumors with traditional tools. It specifically references a robotic biopsy device made by Intuitive as an example of technology that could help. The resolution concludes by having the House support prevention and early detection efforts and encourage expanding access to such technology, and directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.

### What it does

- Formally recognizes lung cancer as a critical public health concern in the United States and Georgia, without creating any new law or funding.
- States House support for improving prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer and addressing disparities in care.
- Encourages expanding Georgians' access to advanced medical technology, citing a specific robotic biopsy device as an example.
- Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies of the resolution available to the public and press.

### Who it affects

Georgia residents at risk of or living with lung cancer, including veterans and people of color who the resolution says face worse outcomes, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers involved in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment across the state.

### Why it matters

While the resolution carries no legal force or funding, it signals House recognition of gaps in Georgia's lung cancer early-detection and survival rates compared to national figures, and puts on record support for wider use of advanced diagnostic technology in hospitals statewide.

### Key provisions

- The whereas clauses lay out statistics showing Georgia's lung cancer five-year survival rate (26.2 percent) trails the national rate (29.7 percent), ranking Georgia 30th among 39 states.
- The resolution notes only 26.9 percent of Georgia lung cancer cases are caught early, ranking the state 38th among 50 states for early diagnosis.
- The resolving clause has the House recognize lung cancer as a public health concern and support prevention, early detection, and intervention efforts.
- The resolution encourages expanding access to cutting-edge technology, naming Intuitive's Ion robotic endoluminal system as an example.
- The final clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-02-03)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-19)
- Sponsors: Lee Hawkins, Mark Newton, Sharon Cooper, Rick Jasperse, Carolyn Hugley
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72775

> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1204.md?full=1