Georgia CommonsSB 170: Georgia Interagency Council for the Homeless; create
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-05-11
A Georgia Senate bill would create a grant program at the Department of Community Health to help small rural hospitals in disaster areas buy or install backup generators, though the bill's official title references a homelessness council unrelated to this text.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This bill amends Georgia's health code (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 2) to add a new grant program run by the Department of Community Health. The program would help pay for backup generators at certain rural hospitals so they can keep operating during declared states of emergency. To qualify, a hospital must be a nonprofit acute care facility with fewer than 100 beds, located in a rural county (population under 50,000 by the 2020 census, not counting military personnel), and in a region where the Governor declared a state of emergency after July 1, 2024. The hospital cannot already have a backup generator or have received federal funding for one. The department must consult with the state's emergency management agency to set grant criteria and can decide funding amounts case by case. Funding depends on money being appropriated by the General Assembly or coming from other sources like federal funds. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
What the bill does
- Creates a new grant program inside the Department of Community Health to fund backup generators for eligible rural hospitals during emergencies.
- Limits eligibility to nonprofit acute care hospitals with under 100 beds in rural counties under 50,000 population that were in a state of emergency declared after July 1, 2024.
- Excludes hospitals that already have a backup generator or have already received federal money for one.
- Requires the department to consult with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency when setting grant rules and awarding funds.
- Gives the department authority to set grant amounts individually for each hospital rather than a fixed statewide amount.
- Makes the program dependent on funding being appropriated by the General Assembly or coming from other available sources, including federal funds.
Who it affects
Small rural hospitals in Georgia counties with fewer than 50,000 residents, particularly those without backup power and located in areas that have had a state of emergency since mid-2024; the Department of Community Health, which runs the program; and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, which helps set criteria.
Why it matters
If enacted, rural hospitals that currently lack backup power could get state funding to install generators, helping them stay open during hurricanes, storms, or other emergencies when the power grid fails. This targets hospitals that have not already received federal help for the same purpose.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 31-2-20, defining 'affected rural hospital' and 'rural county' for purposes of the grant program.
- Section 1 requires the hospital to be nonprofit, have fewer than 100 beds, and be in a region under a gubernatorial emergency declaration after July 1, 2024.
- Section 1 excludes counties' military personnel and dependents when calculating whether a county qualifies as rural under the 50,000-population threshold.
- Section 1 directs the Department of Community Health to consult with the director of emergency management and homeland security to set grant criteria and make award decisions.
- Section 1 restricts funding to hospitals without an existing backup generator that have not received prior federal assistance for one.
- Section 1 makes the grant amount for each hospital a case-by-case decision by the department.
- Section 1 conditions the whole program on funding being appropriated by the General Assembly or available from other sources such as federal funds.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.
From the bill
“'Affected rural hospital' means a non-profit or not for profit acute care hospital located in a rural county that contains fewer than 100 beds and is located in any region of the state in which the Governor declared a state of emergency after July 1, 2024.”
“the department and the director of emergency management and homeland security shall only provide funding to those affected rural hospitals that do not have a backup generator as of the effective date of this Act and have not received any federal assistance for the purpose of acquiring or installing a backup generator.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-05-11
- Act 487
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
Show full history (19 actions)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
- Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2025
50 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)
- House voteMarch 31, 2025
165 yea, 3 nay (3 not voting, 9 absent)
- Senate voteJanuary 28, 2026
27 yea, 22 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)
- Senate voteFebruary 9, 2026
50 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)
- House voteMarch 20, 2026
158 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 11 absent)
Topics
- rural hospitals
- emergency preparedness
- hospital funding
- state grants
- disaster response