---
title: SB 113. Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists; establish a professional health program; authorize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb113
cite_as: SB 113, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb113
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb113.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb113/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70009
date: 2025-02-06
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb113.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 113
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-05
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Clint Dixon
- Ben Watson
- Matt Brass
- Ricky Williams
- Jason Anavitarte
- Carden Summers
- Drew Echols
- Russ Goodman
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB113/2025
upstream_id: 1958406
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- healthcare licensing
- nursing regulation
- substance abuse treatment
- professional licensing boards
- open records exemptions
---
# SB 113. Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists; establish a professional health program; authorize
## Text
Senate Bill 113
By: Senators Dixon of the 45th, Watson of the 1st, Brass of the 6th, Williams of the 25th,
Anavitarte of the 31st and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and
businesses, so as to authorize the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors,
Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists to establish a professional health
program to provide for monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals;
to authorize the Georgia Board of Nursing to establish a professional health program to
provide for monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals; to provide for
definitions; to provide for funding or gifts in kind; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and businesses,
is amended in Chapter 10A, relating to professional counselors, social workers, and marriage
and family therapists, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"43-10A-24.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Entity' means an organization or medical professional association which conducts
professional health programs.
(2) 'Healthcare professional' means any individual licensed, certified, or permitted by the
board under this chapter.
(3) 'Impaired' means the inability of a healthcare professional to practice with reasonable
skill and safety to patients by reason of illness or use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics,
chemicals, or any other type of material, or as a result of any mental or physical
condition.
(4) 'Professional health program' means a program established for the purposes of
monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals.
(b) The board shall be authorized to conduct a professional health program to provide
monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals in this state. To this
end, the board shall be authorized to enter into a contract with an entity for the purpose of
establishing and conducting such professional health program, including, but not limited
to:
(1) Monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals for the purpose
of ensuring the fitness of each such healthcare professional to resume or continue the
practice of his or her healthcare profession while maintaining the safety of the public;
(2) Performing duties related to paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Code
Section 43-10A-17; and
(3) Performing such other related activities as determined by the board.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (k) of Code Section 43-1-2 and Code Section 43-10A-17,
the board shall be authorized to provide pertinent information regarding healthcare
professionals, as determined by the board and in its sole discretion, to an entity for its
purposes in conducting a professional health program pursuant to this Code section.
(d) All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other documents
furnished to an entity by the board or other source or produced by an entity and any
findings, conclusions, recommendations, or reports resulting from the monitoring or
rehabilitation of healthcare professionals pursuant to this Code section are declared to be
privileged and confidential and shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50,
relating to open records. All such records of an entity shall be confidential and shall be
used by such entity and its employees and agents only in the exercise of the proper function
of the entity pursuant to its contract with the board. Such information, interviews, reports,
statements, memoranda, or other documents furnished to or produced by an entity and any
findings, conclusions, recommendations, or reports resulting from the monitoring or
rehabilitation of healthcare professionals shall not be available for court subpoenas or for
discovery proceedings.
(e) An impaired healthcare professional who participates in a professional health program
conducted pursuant to this Code section shall bear all costs associated with such
participation.
(f) Any entity that contracts with the board pursuant to this Code section shall be immune
from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed for the
performance of any functions or duties under the contract, if performed in accordance with
the terms of such contract and the provisions of this Code section.
(g) This Code section shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. The
board may accept and solicit private funding, public grants, in-kind gifts, or any other
funding or donations that may be available to facilitate the purpose of conducting a
professional health program."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 26, relating to nurses, by adding a new article to read
as follows:
"ARTICLE 5
43-26-70.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Board' means the Georgia Board of Nursing.
(2) 'Entity' means an organization or medical professional association which conducts
professional health programs.
(3) 'Healthcare professional' means any individual licensed, certified, or permitted by the
board under this chapter.
(4) 'Impaired' means the inability of a healthcare professional to practice with reasonable
skill and safety to patients by reason of illness or use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics,
chemicals, or any other type of material, or as a result of any mental or physical
condition.
(5) 'Professional health program' means a program established for the purposes of
monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals.
43-26-71.
(a) The board shall be authorized to conduct a professional health program to provide
monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals in this state. To this
end, the board shall be authorized to enter into a contract with an entity for the purpose of
establishing and conducting such professional health program, including, but not limited
to:
(1) Monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals for the purpose
of ensuring the fitness of each such healthcare professional to resume or continue the
practice of his or her healthcare profession while maintaining the safety of the public;
(2) Performing duties related to paragraph (2) of Code Section 43-26-11; and
(3) Performing such other related activities as determined by the board.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (k) of Code Section 43-1-2 and Code Section 43-26-11,
the board shall be authorized to provide pertinent information regarding healthcare
professionals, as determined by the board and in its sole discretion, to an entity for its
purposes in conducting a professional health program pursuant to this Code section.
(c) All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other documents
furnished to an entity by the board or other source or produced by an entity and any
findings, conclusions, recommendations, or reports resulting from the monitoring or
rehabilitation of healthcare professionals pursuant to this Code section are declared to be
privileged and confidential and shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50,
relating to open records. All such records of an entity shall be confidential and shall be
used by such entity and its employees and agents only in the exercise of the proper function
of the entity pursuant to its contract with the board. Such information, interviews, reports,
statements, memoranda, or other documents furnished to or produced by an entity and any
findings, conclusions, recommendations, or reports resulting from the monitoring or
rehabilitation of healthcare professionals shall not be available for court subpoenas or for
discovery proceedings.
43-26-72.
An impaired healthcare professional who participates in a professional health program
conducted pursuant to Code Section 43-26-71 shall bear all costs associated with such
participation.
43-26-73.
Any entity that contracts with the board pursuant to Code Section 43-26-71 shall be
immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed
for the performance of any functions or duties under the contract if performed in
accordance with the terms of such contract and the provisions of this article.
43-26-74.
This article shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. The board may
accept and solicit private funding, public grants, in-kind gifts, or any other funding or
donations that may be available to facilitate the purpose of conducting a professional health
program."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would let two licensing boards, the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists and the Georgia Board of Nursing, run confidential programs to monitor and rehabilitate impaired healthcare professionals.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law does not currently give the counseling and social work licensing board or the nursing board explicit authority to run their own programs to help impaired licensees get treatment while protecting patients. This bill adds new sections to Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated letting both boards create 'professional health programs' aimed at monitoring and rehabilitating healthcare professionals who cannot safely practice because of substance use or a mental or physical condition.
Each board could contract with an outside entity, such as a professional association, to run the program. Records generated through the program would be confidential and shielded from Georgia's open records law and from court subpoenas or discovery. Professionals who take part would have to pay their own costs, and contracted entities would get immunity from civil or criminal liability for work performed under the contract. Both new programs depend on the General Assembly appropriating funding, though the boards could also accept private donations, grants, or in-kind gifts.
### What it does
- Authorizes the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists to create a program monitoring and rehabilitating impaired licensees.
- Authorizes the Georgia Board of Nursing to create a similar program for impaired nurses.
- Lets each board contract with an outside organization to run the program and share professional information with that organization at the board's discretion.
- Makes program records, findings, and reports confidential, exempt from Georgia's open records law, and unavailable for court subpoenas or discovery.
- Requires impaired professionals who take part to pay all costs themselves.
- Gives contracted entities immunity from civil or criminal liability for work done under the contract, and makes both programs dependent on state funding or accepted donations.
### Who it affects
Licensed professional counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and nurses in Georgia; the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists and the Georgia Board of Nursing; and outside organizations or professional associations that might contract to run these monitoring programs.
### Why it matters
Professionals struggling with substance use or health conditions could get a confidential path to treatment and monitoring instead of facing immediate disciplinary exposure, while patients would still be protected through oversight of their fitness to practice. The confidentiality provisions mean these records would stay shielded from public records requests and legal discovery.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds Code Section 43-10A-24, letting the counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy board create a professional health program and contract with an outside entity to run it.
- Section 1 defines 'impaired' as being unable to practice safely due to illness, substance use, or a mental or physical condition.
- Section 1 declares program records confidential, exempt from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50), and unavailable for subpoena or discovery.
- Section 1 requires impaired professionals to bear all costs of participating and grants contracted entities immunity from civil or criminal liability.
- Section 2 adds a new Article 5 to Chapter 26 of Title 43 (Code Sections 43-26-70 through 43-26-74) creating a parallel program for the Georgia Board of Nursing with the same confidentiality, cost, and immunity terms.
- Both new programs are made subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, though the boards may accept private funding, grants, or in-kind gifts.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-05)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-06)
- Sponsors: Clint Dixon, Ben Watson, Matt Brass, Ricky Williams, Jason Anavitarte, Carden Summers, Drew Echols, Russ Goodman
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70009
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb113.md?full=1