--- title: HR 304. House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr304 cite_as: HR 304, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr304 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr304.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr304/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70508 date: 2025-04-04 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hr303.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr305.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 453 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr304.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 304 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-04-04 last_action: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute sponsors: - Michelle Au - Sharon Cooper - Lee Hawkins - Ron Stephens - Debbie Buckner text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR304/2025 upstream_id: 1976372 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - smoking and tobacco - public health - legislative study committee - Medicaid and Medicare - secondhand smoke --- # HR 304. House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking; create ## Text LC 39 4817S The House Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to HR 304: A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking; and for other1 purposes.2 WHEREAS, smoking leads to disease and disability and harms near ly every organ of the3 body; and4 WHEREAS, more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking;5 and6 WHEREAS, for every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a7 serious smoking related illness; and8 WHEREAS, smoking causes cancer, heart disease, vascular disease, lung diseases, diabetes,9 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic10 bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems11 of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis; and12 WHEREAS, secondhand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 41,000 deaths among13 nonsmoking adults and 400 deaths in infants each year. Secondhand smoke causes stroke,14 - 1 - LC 39 4817S lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and reproductive health co mplications in adults. 15 Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death16 syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, middle ear disea se, more severe asthma,17 respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth; and18 WHEREAS, smoking related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion each19 year, including more than $225 billion for direct medical care for adults and more than $15620 billion in lost productivity, including $5.6 billion in lost pr oductivity due to secondhand21 smoke exposure; and22 WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to examine the cost of smoking, including short-term and23 long-term health care costs, the impact on Medicaid and Medicar e, childhood health costs24 resulting from secondhand smoke exposure, and the loss of worker productivity attributed25 to smoking.26 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:27 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee28 on the Costs and Effects of Smoking.29 (2) Members and officers.30 (A) The committee shall be composed of five members of the Hou se of31 Representatives.32 (B) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint a ll members of the33 committee and shall designate one of such members as chairperson.34 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,35 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or36 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.37 - 2 - LC 39 4817S (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee38 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or39 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and40 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.41 (5) Allowances and funding. The members of the committee shall receive the42 allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia43 Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any44 member of the committee for more than three days unless additional days are authorized. 45 Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds46 appropriated to the House of Representatives.47 (6) Report.48 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that49 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the50 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to51 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.52 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for53 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)54 of this paragraph.55 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of56 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. 57 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairpersons and filed with the Clerk of the58 House of Representatives.59 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the60 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu61 thereof.62 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.63 - 3 - ## 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 House resolution would create a five-member House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking to examine smoking's health and economic toll on Georgians and recommend possible legislation. ### Plain-language summary This resolution sets up a temporary study committee in the Georgia House of Representatives focused on smoking and its costs. The preamble cites the toll of smoking-related disease, secondhand smoke exposure, and the billions of dollars in medical costs and lost productivity nationwide. The committee would have five House members, all appointed by the Speaker of the House, who would also name the chairperson. The committee's job is to study smoking-related health and economic issues, including impacts on Medicaid and Medicare, and to recommend legislation if it sees fit. Members would receive standard legislative allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, funded through the House's existing budget, capped at three days of allowances unless more are approved. The committee must file any report before it is abolished on December 1, 2025. ### What it does - Creates the House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking, made up of five House members. - Gives the Speaker of the House sole authority to appoint all committee members and designate the chairperson. - Directs the committee to study the health and economic costs of smoking, including Medicaid, Medicare, and lost worker productivity, and recommend legislation if warranted. - Sets committee member pay using existing legislative allowance rules (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8), capped at three days unless additional days are authorized. - Funds the committee from money already appropriated to the House of Representatives rather than new funding. - Abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025, requiring any report to be filed and approved before that date. ### Who it affects This resolution directly affects members of the Georgia House of Representatives who may be appointed to the study committee. Indirectly, its findings could eventually touch public health agencies, Medicaid and Medicare programs, and Georgians affected by smoking or secondhand smoke, if the committee's recommendations lead to future legislation. ### Why it matters The resolution itself does not change any law or fund any program beyond the study; it simply directs a small group of legislators to gather information on smoking's health and financial costs in Georgia. Any real-world effect on smokers, health care costs, or Medicaid depends on legislation the committee might recommend later. ### Key provisions - Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking. - Paragraph (2) sets the committee at five House members, all appointed by the Speaker, who also names the chairperson. - Paragraph (3) charges the committee with studying smoking-related costs and problems and recommending action or legislation. - Paragraph (5) ties member pay to O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8 allowances, limited to three days unless extended, funded from existing House appropriations. - Paragraph (6) requires any approved report to be filed with the Clerk of the House before the committee is abolished. - Paragraph (7) sets the committee's abolishment date as December 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-04) - Last action: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Michelle Au, Sharon Cooper, Lee Hawkins, Ron Stephens, Debbie Buckner - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70508 > The history, votes, and amendments (453 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr304.md?full=1