--- title: HR 1522. House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1522 cite_as: HR 1522, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1522 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1522.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1522/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73773 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/hr1521.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1523.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 185 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1522.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1522 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-03 last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported sponsors: - Darlene Taylor - Chuck Efstration - Mark Newton - Lee Hawkins - Sharon Cooper text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1522/2025 upstream_id: 2128670 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Medicaid - public health policy - Department of Community Health - state government study committees - healthcare funding --- # HR 1522. House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health; create ## Text House Resolution 1522 By: Representatives Taylor of the 173rd, Efstration of the 104th, Newton of the 127th, Hawkins of the 27th, and Cooper of the 45th A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Georgia's health security and financial well-being depend on a growing, efficiently operated, and adequately funded public health system; and WHEREAS, the Department of Community Health (DCH) is one of Georgia's four health agencies serving this state's growing population of over ten million people; and WHEREAS, DCH serves as the lead agency for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, and also oversees the State Health Benefit Plan, Healthcare Facility Regulation Division, and State Office of Rural Health, impacting one in four Georgians; and WHEREAS, DCH maintains six enterprise offices, with employees based in Atlanta, Cordele, and across this state; and WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to study the structure of Georgia's community health system and to evaluate DCH's current operations, functions, services, and funding, with an emphasis on Medicaid and any other health coverage and medical assistance programs administered by DCH; staffing needs; and whether any action by the state is warranted. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health. (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee. (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) 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; except that funds for the reimbursement of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative members, and for the reimbursement of the expenses of state employees shall come from funds appropriated to or otherwise available to their respective agencies. (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 five-member study committee to examine the Department of Community Health's operations, funding, and Medicaid programs, reporting findings by December 2026. ### Plain-language summary This resolution sets up the House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health to look closely at the Department of Community Health (DCH), the state agency that runs Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids, the State Health Benefit Plan, and other health programs affecting about one in four Georgians. The committee would review DCH's structure, operations, funding, and staffing, with special attention to Medicaid and other medical assistance programs, and decide whether the state should take any action or pass new legislation. The Speaker of the House would appoint five House members to the committee and name one as chairperson. The chairperson would call meetings, and members would receive standard legislative allowances for up to five days unless more are approved. The committee must file any findings or recommendations, or at least meeting minutes, before it automatically shuts down on December 1, 2026. ### What it does - Establishes the House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health to review DCH's operations, funding, and Medicaid programs. - Directs the Speaker of the House to appoint five House members to the committee and designate a chairperson. - Authorizes the committee to hold meetings, investigate DCH issues, and recommend legislation or state action. - Sets legislative expense allowances under O.C.G.A. ยง 28-1-8, capped at five paid days unless extended. - Requires a report or meeting minutes to be filed with the Clerk of the House before the committee ends. - Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026. ### Who it affects The Department of Community Health and its employees, Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids recipients, the State Health Benefit Plan, the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division, the State Office of Rural Health, and House members appointed to the new study committee. ### Why it matters Georgians who rely on Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids, or other DCH-administered health programs could eventually see changes if the committee's findings lead to new legislation affecting how the agency is funded, staffed, or structured. ### Key provisions - Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on Evaluating Community Health. - Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at five House members appointed by the Speaker, who also names the chairperson. - Paragraph (3) charges the committee with studying DCH's operations and recommending legislation or state action. - Paragraph (5) limits paid allowances to five days unless additional days are authorized, funded through House appropriations. - Paragraph (6) requires filing a report or, absent one, meeting minutes with the Clerk of the House. - Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-03-03) - Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-16) - Sponsors: Darlene Taylor, Chuck Efstration, Mark Newton, Lee Hawkins, Sharon Cooper - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73773 > The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1522.md?full=1