--- title: SB 233. Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission; revise the subcommittees collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb233 cite_as: SB 233, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb233 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb233.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb233/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70644 date: 2025-05-14 status: passed 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/sb232.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb234.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 996 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb233.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 233 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 sponsors: - Matt Brass - Sharon Cooper text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB233/2025 upstream_id: 1980000 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - behavioral health policy - addiction recovery - intellectual and developmental disabilities - state commissions - mental health --- # SB 233. Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission; revise the subcommittees ## Text 25 SB 233/AP Senate Bill 233 By: Senator Brass of the 6th AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 6 of Chapter 1 of Title 37 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commiss ion, so as to revise the2 composition of the commission; to revise the subcommittees; to extend the automatic repeal3 date; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effecti ve date; to repeal conflicting4 laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Article 6 of Chapter 1 of Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the8 Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, is amended by revising subsection9 (a) of Code Section 37-1-112, relating to the members, terms, o fficers, and operational10 matters of the commission, as follows:11 "(a) The commission shall be composed of 24 30 members as follows:12 (1) The following members appointed by the Governor:13 (A) A chairperson;14 (B) A psychiatrist who specializes in children and adolescents;15 (C) A psychiatrist who specializes in adults;16 S. B. 233 - 1 - 25 SB 233/AP (D) A health care provider with expertise in traumatic brain injuries;17 (E) A state education official with broad experience in education policy;18 (F) A chief executive officer of a mental health facility;19 (G) A forensic psychologist;20 (H) A local education official; and21 (I) A professional who specializes in substance abuse and addiction;22 (J) An individual with lived experience having survived the disease of addiction who23 is a certified addiction recovery specialist; and24 (K) An intellectual and developmental disabilities provider;25 (2) The following members appointed by the President of the Senate:26 (A) Two members of the Senate;27 (B) A sheriff;28 (C) A licensed clinical behavioral health professional;29 (D) A behavioral health advocate; and30 (E) A representative of a community service board;31 (F) An individual who has lost a member of his or her immediat e family to drug32 overdose or fentanyl poisoning; and33 (G) A leader of an intellectual and developmental disabilities advocacy organization;34 (3) The following members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives:35 (A) Two members of the House of Representatives;36 (B) A police chief;37 (C) A licensed clinical behavioral health professional;38 (D) A behavioral health advocate; and39 (E) A judge who presides in an accountability court, as define d in Code Section40 15-1-18; and41 (F) A professional who is an executive director of an accredit ed Georgia nonprofit42 organization focused on addiction and recovery; and43 S. B. 233 - 2 - 25 SB 233/AP (G) The parent of an individual with intellectual and developmental disabilities or an44 individual with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and45 (4) The following members appointed by the Chief Justice of th e Supreme Court of46 Georgia:47 (A) One Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia; and48 (B) Two judges."49 SECTION 2.50 Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 37-1-1 15, relating to51 subcommittees, as follows:52 "37-1-115.53 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, the T h e chairperson of the54 commission shall appoint members of the following subcommittees from among the55 membership of the commission and may also appoint up to two oth er56 noncommission-member persons as he or she may determine to be necessary as relevant57 to and consistent with this article:58 (1) Children and Adolescent Behavioral Health;59 (2) Involuntary Commitment Addictive Diseases;60 (3) Hospital and Short-Term Care Facilities;61 (4) Mental Health Courts and Corrections; and62 (5) Workforce and System Development Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.63 (b) The chairperson, at his or her discretion, may designate a nd appoint other64 subcommittees from among the membership of the commission and may also appoint up65 to two other noncommission-member persons as he or she may determine to be necessary66 as relevant to and consistent with this article."67 S. B. 233 - 3 - 25 SB 233/AP SECTION 3.68 Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 37-1-116, relating to abolishment69 and termination, as follows:70 "37-1-116.71 The commission shall be abolished and this article shall stand repealed on June 30, 202572 December 31, 2026."73 SECTION 4.74 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law75 without such approval.76 SECTION 5.77 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.78 S. B. 233 - 4 - ## 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. Senate Bill 233 expands Georgia's Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission from 24 to 30 members, changes its subcommittees, and pushes back the date the commission would automatically dissolve. ### Plain-language summary The Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission is a state body created in Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 37-1-112) to study and shape behavioral health policy. This bill grows the commission from 24 to 30 members by adding new appointees focused on addiction recovery and intellectual and developmental disabilities, including a certified addiction recovery specialist, a family member of someone lost to overdose or fentanyl poisoning, a nonprofit addiction and recovery executive director, and representatives connected to intellectual and developmental disabilities. The bill also rewrites the commission's subcommittee structure (O.C.G.A. § 37-1-115), replacing the old Workforce and System Development subcommittee with one focused on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, while letting the chairperson add other subcommittees as needed. It extends the commission's scheduled repeal date from June 30, 2025 to December 31, 2026. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law. ### What it does - Increases the commission's membership from 24 to 30 people, adding new appointee categories for addiction recovery and intellectual and developmental disabilities. - Adds a certified addiction recovery specialist and an intellectual and developmental disabilities provider to the Governor's list of appointees. - Adds a family member of a fentanyl or overdose victim and an intellectual and developmental disabilities advocacy leader to the Senate President's appointees. - Adds an addiction and recovery nonprofit executive director and a parent or self-advocate for intellectual and developmental disabilities to the House Speaker's appointees. - Replaces the Workforce and System Development subcommittee with an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities subcommittee among the commission's five standing subcommittees. - Extends the commission's automatic repeal date from June 30, 2025 to December 31, 2026, keeping it operating longer. ### Who it affects The change affects the members and future appointees of the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, including the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, and Chief Justice who make appointments, as well as advocacy groups for addiction recovery and intellectual and developmental disabilities that gain new seats. ### Why it matters By adding voices from addiction recovery and intellectual and developmental disabilities communities and extending its life to December 2026, the commission continues shaping behavioral health policy recommendations that could later influence state laws, programs, and funding affecting Georgians with mental illness, addiction, or disabilities. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 37-1-112(a) to expand the commission from 24 to 30 members and specifies new appointee categories from the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker. - Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 37-1-115 to restructure the five subcommittees, swapping Workforce and System Development for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and lets the chairperson appoint additional subcommittees. - Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 37-1-116 to move the commission's automatic repeal date from June 30, 2025 to December 31, 2026. - Section 4 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature. - Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Matt Brass, Sharon Cooper - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70644 > The history, votes, and amendments (996 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb233.md?full=1