Senate Bill 188
By: Senators Esteves of the 35th, Jones II of the 22nd, Islam Parkes of the 7th, Jackson of
the 41st, Kemp of the 38th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions relative to services for the aging, so as to create the Georgia
Adult and Aging Services Agency; to provide for definitions; to provide for the creation of
the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Board; to provide for membership, powers, and duties;
to provide for an agency executive director; to provide for executive personnel; to provide
for transfer of property, personnel, and funding from the Department of Human Services and
the Division of Aging Services; to provide for further authorizations; to provide for receipt
of funds and appropriations; to provide for an annual report; to provide for related matters;
to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions relative to services for the aging, is amended by repealing said article in
its entirety and enacting a new Article 1 to read as follows:
<ins>"ARTICLE 1
49-6-1.
(a) The constantly increasing proportion of older people within the population of this state
and the increasing gravity of the human distress and the loss accruing to the entire society
as a result of the limitations and disadvantages confronting older people in maintaining
their economic self-sufficiency and personal well-being and realizing their maximum
potential as contributors to their community, state, and nation are matters of profound
import and concern for all the people of this state.
(b) It is, therefore, necessary and of the utmost importance to encourage the development
and maintenance within this state of a comprehensive and coordinated network of public
and private facilities for the alleviation or correction of these limitations and disadvantages
and to encourage the conducting of continuous study and research into the needs and
problems of older people under present and future economic and social conditions because
it is essential for the prevention of dependency and the conservation of human values and
a necessity in safeguarding and fostering the general welfare.
(c) It is, therefore, declared to be the intent of the General Assembly by the passage of this
article to provide for encouragement of the development, maintenance, and coordination
of the aforementioned facilities.
49-6-2.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Adult guardianship services' means the services provided by the agency to adults
when the local probate court has determined that the adult needs a guardian and appoints
the agency as the guardian of last resort.
(2) 'Adult services' means programs and services for adults, including but not limited to
programs and services authorized by the federal Older Americans Act of 1965 and other
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<ins>state and federal laws, regulations, grants, initiatives, demonstration programs, and pilot
programs or supported through private initiatives that are provided by the agency, that are
in addition to aging services.
(3) 'Agency' means the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency.
(4) 'Aging services' means those programs and services for older adults and persons with
disabilities that are principally focused on home and community based services, including
but not limited to programs and services authorized by the federal Older Americans Act
of 1965 and other state and federal laws, regulations, grants, initiatives, demonstration
programs, and pilot programs or supported through private initiatives that are provided
by the agency.
(5) 'Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan' shall have the same meaning as 'state
plan' as set forth in Code Section 49-6-91.
(6) 'Board' means the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Board.
(7) 'Director' means the executive director of the agency selected by the board.
(8) 'Older adult' means an individual who is 60 years of age or older or who otherwise
qualifies for aging services by the terms of the program, grant, or initiative under which
the individual is being served.
(9) 'Person with disabilities' means an individual having a physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities.
(10) 'Regulations' means regulations made by the director with the approval of the board
and promulgated in the manner prescribed by law.
49-6-3.
(a) There is created the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Board. The board shall consist
of seven members who work or have worked in the area of adult or aging services, who are
recipients of adult or aging services, or who are eligible to receive services provided by the
agency; provided, however, that two members shall be older adults.
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<ins>(b) The members of the board shall be appointed as follows: two members shall be
appointed by the Governor, two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, two members shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and one
member shall be appointed by the director. The first members shall be appointed to take
office on July 1, 2025, for initial terms as follows: three such members shall be appointed
for terms of one year, two such members shall be appointed for terms of two years, and two
such members shall be appointed for terms of three years. Thereafter, the successors shall
be appointed by the respective appointing authority upon the expiration of the respective
terms of office for terms of three years. All such members shall serve until their successors
are appointed and qualified. Such members shall be eligible for reappointment to
successive terms of office as members of the board.
(c) Vacancies in office shall be filled by appointment by the respective appointing
authority in the same manner as the appointment to the position on the board. An
appointment to fill a vacancy other than by expiration of a term of office shall be for the
balance of the unexpired term. If a vacancy remains unfilled for six months, the board
shall be authorized to fill the vacancy in accordance with the process described in this Code
section.
(d) Members of the board may be removed from office under the same conditions for
removal from office of members of professional licensing boards provided for in Code
Section 43-1-17.
(e) There shall be a chairperson of the board elected by and from the membership of the
board who shall be the presiding officer of the board. The term of the chairperson shall be
established by rules of the board.
(f) A quorum for transacting business shall be determined by the members of the board.
(g) The members of the board shall receive a per diem allowance and expenses as shall be
set and approved by the Office of Planning and Budget in conformance with rates and
allowances set for members of other state boards.
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<ins>(h) In addition to the powers and duties set forth in this article, the board shall recommend
to the Governor and the General Assembly changes in state programs, statutes, policies,
budgets, and standards relating to aging services, the improvement of coordination among
state and local agencies that provide aging services, and the improvement of the condition
of citizens who are in need of the services of the agency.
49-6-4.
(a) The board shall select a director. The director shall have experience with adult or
aging services provided by the agency with particular, demonstrated experience with home
and community based services. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the board.
(b) In carrying out his or her duties under this article, the director shall:
(1) Be authorized to convene one or more panels of experts to address various adult and
aging issues, including but not limited to health, employment, volunteering, long-term
care, home and community based services, protective services, caregiver support, adult
education, transportation, and housing, and may consult with experts on aging issues;
(2) Establish policies and procedures for the operation of the agency as the director finds
necessary for the purposes of this article, including appropriate subordinate
administrative units within the agency;
(3) Establish personnel requirements and hire executive personnel, including a deputy
director, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer, and other personnel as the
director deems necessary for the efficient performance of all functions of the agency;
(4) Prepare and submit to the board:
(A) An annual Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan;
(B) Annual reports of activities and expenditures;
(C) Such plans for restructuring of the agency as the director determines appropriate
for action by the board;
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<ins>(D) Estimates of sums required for carrying out this article and the proposed budget
request for comment by the board prior to the director's presentation to the Governor
and General Assembly for their action;
(E) Such other actions as the director believes necessary for board approval;
(F) Prepare and present to the Governor, General Assembly, and their respective
designees the agency's budget reports, requests, and any other financial information
requested by the Governor, General Assembly, or their respective designees; and
(G) Prepare and submit certification for disbursement, in accordance with regulations,
of funds available for carrying out the purposes of this article; and
(5) Delegate to any executive officer or other employee of the agency such of the
director's powers and duties, except the making of regulations and the appointment of
executive personnel, as he or she finds necessary to carry out the purposes of this article.
49-6-5.
(a)(1) The Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency is created and established to
perform the functions and assume the duties, powers, and authority exercised by the
Division of Aging Services within the department on June 30, 2025. The agency
established by this Code section shall have the functions, duties, powers, and
responsibilities assigned by the board and the commissioner and as assigned by or as
provided by law.
(2) The agency shall be assigned to the department for administrative purposes only, as
prescribed in Code Section 50-4-3, except that the agency shall not be subject to
paragraph (2) of subsection (a) and paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of said Code section
providing for budget submission through the department. The agency shall submit its
budget separately and directly to the Governor and the General Assembly.
(3) On July 1, 2025, the powers, functions, duties, programs, institutions, and authority
of the agency relating to the former Division of Aging Services within the department
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<ins>shall be transferred to the agency pursuant to this article. The agency shall take all
necessary steps to ensure continuity of services for the older adults and persons with
disabilities the agency serves during such transfer. The policy-making functions which
were vested in the department as they pertained to the Division of Aging Services shall
be vested in the agency effective July 1, 2025.
(b) The agency shall be administered by a director appointed pursuant to Code
Section 49-6-4.
(c) Any proceedings or other matters pending before the Division of Aging Services of the
department on June 30, 2025, which relate to the functions transferred to the agency shall
be transferred to the agency on July 1, 2025.
(d) The agency shall assume possession and control of all records, papers, equipment,
supplies, office space, and all other tangible property possessed and controlled by the
department as of June 30, 2025, in the department administration of the Division of Aging
Services. All funds attributable to the Division of Aging Services and its programs from
state, federal, and any other public or private source shall be transferred to the agency on
July 1, 2025.
(e) On July 1, 2025, the agency shall receive custody of any state owned property in the
custody of the department on June 30, 2025, which pertains to the functions transferred
from the Division of Aging Services to the agency.
(f) Prior to July 1, 2025, the Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate, in consultation
with the department and the Division of Aging Services, the amount of all funds of, or
attributable to, the Division of Aging Services and its programs from any source that is
used to provide administrative or other services within the department. The amount
calculated shall be transferred to the agency on July 1, 2025.
(g) All officers, employees, and agents of the Division of Aging Services who, on June 30,
2025, are engaged in the performance of a function or duty which shall be vested in the
agency on July 1, 2025, by this article, shall be automatically transferred to the agency on
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<ins>July 1, 2025. An equivalent number of positions or funds of the department which provide
administrative support to the Division of Aging Services shall be transferred to the agency
on July 1, 2025. Such persons shall be subject to the employment practices and policies
of the agency on and after July 1, 2025, but shall receive compensation and benefits
consistent with the compensation and benefits of other employees of the department
holding positions substantially the same as the transferred employees; the compensation
and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced. Employees who are
subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the agency shall
retain all existing rights under such rules. Accrued annual and sick leave shall be retained
by such employees as employees of the agency. The department shall be responsible for
payment of the accrued Fair Labor Standards Act compensatory time possessed by such
employees. Such accrued compensatory time shall be used by or paid to such employees
prior to July 1, 2025.
(h)(1) The agency is the designated state unit for purposes of administering the Older
Americans Act of 1965 and related programs and services, the Alzheimer's and Related
Dementias State Plan, long-term services and supports, adult guardianship services
provided by the Division of Aging Services, all other services provided by the Division
of Aging Services, and all other programs and services appropriate to the agency.
(2) The agency shall conform to federal standards in all respects necessary for receiving
federal grants, and the director is authorized and empowered to effect such changes as
may, from time to time, be necessary in order to comply with such standards.
(3) The agency shall take all necessary steps to secure at a minimum the same level of
benefits provided pursuant to relevant federal statutes and appropriations received by the
Division of Aging Services of the department prior to June 30, 2025. The department
shall also amend the Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan if necessary to meet
federal funding requirements.
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<ins>(4) The agency is authorized to employ, on a full-time or part-time basis, such medical,
psychiatric, social work, supervisory, institutional, and other professional personnel and
such clerical and other employees as may be necessary to discharge the duties of the
agency under this article. The agency is also authorized to contract for such professional
services as may be necessary.
(5) Classified employees of the agency under this article shall in all instances be
employed and dismissed in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel
Board.
(i) The agency shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and
administrative orders of the department which are in effect on June 30, 2025, and which
relate to the functions of the Division of Aging Services. Such rules, regulations, policies,
procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed,
superseded, or nullified by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law.
(j) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases,
agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2025, by the department or
the Division of Aging Services pertaining to the Division of Aging Services shall continue
to exist, and none of such rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or
diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the agency provided for in this
article. In all such instances, the agency shall be substituted for the department or the
Division of Aging Services, and the agency shall succeed to the rights, privileges,
entitlements, and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions.
(k) The agency shall design service delivery regions as appropriate to the programs and
services it administers and shall be exempt from Code Section 50-4-7.
(l)(1) The agency shall oversee the independent operation of the long-term care
ombudsman program through the office of the state long-term care ombudsman.
(2) The long-term care ombudsman shall be hired by the director and shall act
independently of the director, agency, and board.
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<ins>(3) The agency shall support the office of the state long-term care ombudsman with
administrative functions.
(4) Determination and implementation of policies and procedures and other substantive
operations of the long-term care ombudsman program shall be the responsibility of the
office of the state long-term care ombudsman and shall be separate and independent of
the director, agency, and board.
49-6-6.
(a) The agency shall constitute the designated state agency to handle all programs of the
federal government relating to the aging and requiring acts within this state which are not
the specific responsibility of another state agency under provisions of federal or state law.
Authority is conferred upon the agency to accept and disburse any funds available or which
might become available pursuant to the purposes set out in this article.
(b) The agency shall study, investigate, promote, plan, and execute a program to meet the
present and future needs of older adults of this state, and it shall receive the cooperation of
all other state departments and agencies in carrying out a coordinated program.
(c) It shall also be the duty of the agency to encourage and assist in the development of
programs for older adults in the counties, towns, and cities of this state. The agency shall
consult and cooperate with public and private agencies, county and municipal officers and
agencies, and any federal or state agency or officer for the purpose of promoting
coordination between state and local plans and programs and between state and interstate
plans and programs for older adults.
(d) The agency shall provide such adult services as the Governor or General Assembly
shall determine appropriate to the agency, including adult guardianship services.
49-6-7.
The agency is authorized to:
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<ins>(1) Promote the health of and medical services for older adults by working with
professional associations, hospitals, and institutions;
(2) Promote the rehabilitation of incapacitated adults and older adults;
(3) Establish a state-wide coordinated program with participation of employers,
employee's organizations, and state and local agencies to promote greater and more
suitable employment opportunities for older adults;
(4) Establish a program of research and education on housing by either public or private
means as well as by the establishment of self-sustaining cooperative dwelling projects for
older adults;
(5) Plan and promote recreational facilities for older adults;
(6) Develop a program of education designed for older adults on subjects of particular
concern to them;
(7) Encourage further research in the colleges and universities of this state on problems
of older adults;
(8) Encourage training of personnel to handle problems of older adults;
(9) Promote community education in the problems of older adults through institutions,
publications, radio, television, and the press;
(10) Provide consultation to communities and groups developing state-wide or local
services for older adults;
(11) Provide consultation to the various departments of state government concerning
matters relating to older adults;
(12) Inquire into and make recommendations to the appropriate agencies, public or
private, on any matter affecting the behavior, care, or welfare of older adults;
(13) Enlist the aid of public and private agencies concerned with the welfare of older
adults and study and report on the functions and facilities of governmental agencies and
institutions charged with the care, control, protection, and rehabilitation of older adults;
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<ins>(14) Serve as a communications clearing-house for information in the large and complex
fields of human relationships with respect to older adults;
(15) Conduct or participate financially in conducting demonstration projects with
counties, municipalities, or public or private agencies concerned with problems of older
adults; and
(16) Appoint such committees as it deems necessary for carrying out the purposes of this
article. Members of such committees shall not be entitled to compensation.
49-6-8.
The agency is authorized to utilize funds made available from appropriations by Congress,
gifts or grants from private sources, appropriations by the General Assembly, or transfer
of funds from other state agencies or departments, including funds from the Home
Delivered Meals, Transportation Services for the Elderly, and Preschool Children with
Special Needs Fund provided for in Code Section 49-1-7, provided that such special
funding relates to providing adult and aging services.
49-6-9.
The agency may receive and accept on behalf of the state any grant or grant-in-aid from the
federal government or any grant, gift, bequest, or devise from any other source and title
shall pass to the state unless otherwise specified by the grantor.
49-6-10.
Beginning in 2026, it shall be the duty of the agency to submit an annual report to the
Governor and to notify the General Assembly of such report on or before January 1 of each
year. Such report shall set forth the results of the agency's studies, accomplishments, and
recommendations, if any, for legislation. The agency shall not be required to distribute
copies of the annual report to the members of the General Assembly but shall notify the
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<ins>members of the availability of the report in the manner which it deems to be most effective
and efficient.
49-6-11.
All expenses incurred in administering and carrying this article into effect shall be paid out
of funds appropriated by the General Assembly for such purpose or out of such other funds
as may be made available.
49-6-12.
The director is authorized and empowered, with the approval of the board, to accept and
use gifts made unconditionally, by will or otherwise, for carrying out the purposes of this
article. Gifts made under such conditions as are proper and consistent with this article may
be so accepted and shall be held, invested, reinvested, and used in accordance with the
conditions of the gift."
</ins> SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.