HR 659: House Study Committee on Insurance Market Reform; create

This resolution sets up the House Study Committee on Insurance Market Reform, made up of eight House members appointed by the Speaker plus three nonlegislative members chosen for their expertise. Two legislative members will serve as chairperson and vice chairperson. The committee's job is to study the conditions and problems described in the resolution's preamble, which cites rising premiums, record insurance company profits, reduced coverage options, and limited market competition. It can recommend legislation based on what it finds. The chairperson calls all meetings, and funding for legislative members' allowances comes from money already appropriated to the House of Representatives. Nonlegislative members who are not state officials or employees get a daily expense allowance and mileage reimbursement. Any report with legislative recommendations must be approved by a majority vote of a quorum before the committee is abolished on December 1, 2025.

• Creates the House Study Committee on Insurance Market Reform, made up of eight House members and three nonlegislative experts appointed by the Speaker.
• Directs the committee to study insurance rate-setting, profit margins, claims processing, and regulatory compliance and recommend possible legislation.
• Sets allowances and reimbursement rules for legislative members (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8), state employee members, and outside members (O.C.G.A. § 45-7-21).
• Requires any approved report with legislative recommendations to be filed with the Clerk of the House before the committee's abolishment.
• Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2025, regardless of whether it produces a final report.

The resolution directly affects House members appointed to the committee, nonlegislative experts chosen by the Speaker, and House administrative staff who manage funding and filings. Indirectly, it concerns Georgia insurance consumers, insurance companies, and businesses whose rates and coverage the committee will examine.

The committee itself changes no insurance rules, but its findings could shape future legislation on premium increases, insurer profits, and market competition. Georgians who buy insurance, and the companies that sell it, could eventually be affected by whatever reforms the committee recommends to lawmakers.

• Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on Insurance Market Reform.
• Paragraph (2) sets membership at eight House members plus three nonlegislative members, all appointed by the Speaker, who also names the chairperson and vice chairperson.
• Paragraph (3) gives the committee power to study insurance market conditions and recommend legislation it deems necessary.
• Paragraph (5) details allowances: legislative members get standard legislative allowances for up to five days unless more are authorized, funded through the House's existing budget; nonlegislative, non-state-employee members get a daily expense allowance and mileage reimbursement.
• Paragraph (6) requires a majority vote of a quorum to approve any report, which is then filed with the Clerk of the House.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-27House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-03-25House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-03-21House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-03-20House Hopper (House)

• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-12)Primary sponsor
• Jon Burns (R, HD-159)

• insurance premiums
• insurance regulation
• consumer protection
• legislative study committee