--- title: HR 1393. House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1393 cite_as: HR 1393, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1393 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1393.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1393/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73372 date: 2026-03-16 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1392.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1394.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 189 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1393.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1393 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-02-18 last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported sponsors: - L.C. Myles - Carolyn Hugley - Al Williams - Debbie Buckner - Gerald Greene - Robert Dawson text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1393/2025 upstream_id: 2119494 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - rural hospitals - healthcare access - legislative study committee - rural healthcare funding --- # HR 1393. House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals; create ## Text House Resolution 1393 By: Representatives Myles of the 126th, Hugley of the 141st, Williams of the 168th, Buckner of the 137th, Greene of the 154th, and others A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, far too many Georgians lack access to healthcare services; and WHEREAS, hospitals in rural communities are needed to provide area residents with access to healthcare services; and WHEREAS, the state of Georgia has one of the highest rates of rural hospital closures over the last ten years; and WHEREAS, the number of hospitals in rural communities in this state has been declining for many years; and WHEREAS, without at least one hospital in a rural community, area residents often must travel great distances to receive needed medical care; and WHEREAS, the presence of hospitals, doctors, nurses, medical technicians, administrative personnel, and other professionals in a rural community helps that community to thrive; and WHEREAS, Georgia needs hospitals in rural communities to meet the needs of patients, particularly in obstetrical, cancer, mental health, surgical, emergency care, and other types of healthcare; and WHEREAS, rural hospitals face an ongoing financial crisis; and WHEREAS, rural hospitals have numerous needs that should be examined including but not limited to the need for more physicians and other medical professionals as well as greater access to telemedicine and high speed internet connectivity; and WHEREAS, legislation addressing the needs of hospitals in rural communities should be recommended by a study committee and considered by the House of Representatives in the 2027 legislative session. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals. (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of nine members to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows: (A) Five members of the House of Representatives of whom at least three shall have active professional backgrounds in healthcare settings and at least two shall be from the minority party. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee; (B) One citizen representative who serves in an executive role in a rural hospital; (C) One citizen representative who practices medicine as a full-time employee of a rural hospital; (D) One citizen representative who does not practice medicine but provides other healthcare services in a rural hospital; and (E) One citizen representative who has expertise in healthcare costs and the operation of hospitals in a rural setting. (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate. (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. (5) Allowances and funding. (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. (B) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state officials, or state employees shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same as that specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state employees. (C) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives. (6) Report. (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof. (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026. ## 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 would create a nine-member study committee to examine the financial and staffing struggles of rural hospitals and recommend legislation for the 2027 session. ### Plain-language summary This resolution creates the House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals, a temporary panel of the Georgia House of Representatives. The committee would have nine members: five House members appointed by the Speaker (at least three with healthcare backgrounds and at least two from the minority party), plus four citizen members representing rural hospital executives, doctors, other healthcare workers, and cost experts. The committee's job is to study the problems facing rural hospitals in Georgia, including financial struggles, staffing shortages, and lack of telemedicine or high speed internet access, and to recommend legislation for the 2027 session. Legislative members get standard travel allowances under Georgia law, and citizen members get a daily expense allowance and mileage reimbursement, capped at five days unless extended. The committee must file any findings before it is abolished on December 1, 2026. ### What it does - Creates the House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals, made up of nine members appointed by the Speaker of the House. - Requires at least three of the five legislative members to have professional healthcare backgrounds and at least two to be from the minority party. - Adds four citizen members: a rural hospital executive, a rural hospital doctor, another rural hospital healthcare worker, and a rural healthcare cost expert. - Directs the committee to study rural hospital problems, including finances, staffing, telemedicine, and internet access, and recommend legislation. - Sets daily expense and mileage allowances for committee members, capped at five days unless additional days are authorized. - Abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026, requiring any approved findings to be filed with the Clerk of the House before that date. ### Who it affects Rural hospitals and their staff, including administrators, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers; residents of rural Georgia communities who rely on local hospitals for care; and members of the Georgia House of Representatives who will serve on or review the committee's recommendations. ### Why it matters Rural hospital closures have left many Georgians traveling long distances for care in obstetrics, cancer treatment, mental health, surgery, and emergencies. This study committee would gather information and propose legislative fixes, but it does not itself fund hospitals or change any law; any real change would depend on future legislation in 2027. ### Key provisions - Paragraph 1 creates the House Study Committee on Rural Hospitals. - Paragraph 2 sets membership at nine: five legislators (with healthcare and minority party representation requirements) and four citizen representatives tied to rural hospital roles. - Paragraph 3 directs the committee to study rural hospital conditions and recommend action or legislation. - Paragraph 5 sets member allowances under O.C.G.A. ยงยง 28-1-8 and 45-7-21, capped at five days of allowances unless extended. - Paragraph 6 requires any approved findings or recommendations to be filed as a report with the Clerk of the House before the committee is abolished. - Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-18) - Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-16) - Sponsors: L.C. Myles, Carolyn Hugley, Al Williams, Debbie Buckner, Gerald Greene, Robert Dawson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73372 > The history, votes, and amendments (189 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1393.md?full=1