--- title: HR 593. House Study Committee on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and Funding; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr593 cite_as: HR 593, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr593 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr593.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr593/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71357 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced 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/hr592.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr594.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 235 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr593.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 593 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-03-13 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Mark Newton - Darlene Taylor - Gerald Greene - Lee Hawkins - Al Williams text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR593/2025 upstream_id: 2006951 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - maternal health - pediatric care - rural hospitals - health care funding - legislative study committee --- # HR 593. House Study Committee on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and Funding; create ## Text 25 LC 60 0139 House Resolution 593 By: Representatives Newton of the 127th, Taylor of the 173rd, Greene of the 154th, Hawkins of the 27th, and Williams of the 168th A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and1 Funding; and for other purposes.2 WHEREAS, maternal, prenatal, and pediatric care is critical to the health of mothers and the3 health and development of infants; and4 WHEREAS, Georgia currently ranks forty-ninth in maternal deaths in the United States; and5 WHEREAS, prenatal care can help prevent complications and inform pregnant women about6 steps they can take to protect their infant and ensure a healthy pregnancy; and7 WHEREAS, significant variability in funding capacity of healthcare facilities and providers8 across regions of the state affects access to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric healthcare; and9 WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to conduct a study to evaluate maternal, prenatal, and10 pediatric healthcare in this state, identify any barriers that may exist to access such11 healthcare, explore potential additional sources of funding to improve access, identify any12 workforce and infrastructure needs that may exist, and identify potential solutions.13 H. R. 593 - 1 - 25 LC 60 0139 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:14 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee15 on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and Funding.16 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the17 House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of18 Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson19 of the committee.20 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,21 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or22 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.23 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee24 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or25 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and26 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. No fewer than two meetings27 shall be conducted in a county with a rural hospital organization, as such term is defined28 in Code Section 31-8-9.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.29 (5) Allowances and funding. The legislative members of the committee shall receive30 the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Offic ial Code of Georgia31 Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any32 member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. 33 Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds34 appropriated to the House of Representatives.35 (6) Report.36 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that37 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the38 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to39 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.40 H. R. 593 - 2 - 25 LC 60 0139 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for41 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report subject to subparagraph (C)42 of this paragraph.43 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of44 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.45 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with46 the Clerk of the House of Representatives.47 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the48 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu49 thereof.50 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.51 H. R. 593 - 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 Georgia House resolution would create a study committee to examine access to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric health care and how it is funded across the state, with a report due by December 1, 2025. ### Plain-language summary This resolution creates the House Study Committee on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and Funding. The preamble notes that Georgia ranks 49th in the nation in maternal deaths and that funding for health care facilities and providers varies significantly by region, affecting access to care for mothers, infants, and children. The five-member committee would be appointed by the Speaker of the House, who also names its chairperson. The committee is directed to study barriers to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric care, look for additional funding sources, identify workforce and infrastructure needs, and recommend solutions or legislation. It must hold at least two meetings in a county with a rural hospital organization. Members can receive standard legislative allowances for up to five days of work, paid from House funds. The committee must file any approved report before it is abolished on December 1, 2025. ### What it does - Creates the House Study Committee on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and Funding, made up of five House members appointed by the Speaker. - Directs the committee to study barriers to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric health care access and explore new funding sources. - Requires at least two committee meetings to take place in a county with a rural hospital organization as defined in O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1. - Allows legislative members to receive standard daily allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five days, funded through the House of Representatives' budget. - Requires any approved findings or legislative recommendations to be filed as a report with the Clerk of the House before the committee dissolves. - Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2025. ### Who it affects The resolution affects House members appointed to the study committee, the Speaker of the House who selects them, and indirectly Georgia mothers, infants, children, health care providers, and rural hospitals whose funding and access challenges the committee would examine. ### Why it matters The committee's findings could shape future legislation on funding and access to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric care in Georgia, especially in rural areas where hospital resources are limited. No new laws or funding are created now, only a process for studying the issue. ### Key provisions - Paragraph (1) formally creates the House Study Committee on Maternal, Prenatal, and Pediatric Care Access and Funding. - 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 access barriers, funding sources, and workforce and infrastructure needs, and recommending action or legislation. - Paragraph (4) requires at least two meetings in a county with a rural hospital organization, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1. - Paragraph (5) sets member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless extended, funded from House appropriations. - Paragraph (6) requires any approved report or recommendations to be filed with the Clerk of the House before abolishment, or meeting minutes if no report is approved. - Paragraph (7) sets the committee's abolishment date as December 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-13) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Mark Newton, Darlene Taylor, Gerald Greene, Lee Hawkins, Al Williams - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71357 > The history, votes, and amendments (235 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr593.md?full=1