---
title: SB 395. Department of Public Health; eligible for the Low THC Oil Patient Registry; require a physician to submit certain information to the Georgia Composite Medical Board
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb395
cite_as: SB 395, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb395
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb395.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb395/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72198
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
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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next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb396.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1397
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb395.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 395
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
  - Kay Kirkpatrick
  - Ben Watson
  - Chuck Hufstetler
  - Matt Brass
  - John Albers
  - Sonya Halpern
  - Bill Cowsert
  - Randy Robertson
  - Elena Parent
  - Mark Newton
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB395/2025
upstream_id: 2073972
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - medical cannabis
  - low THC oil registry
  - physician licensing
  - emergency medical services
  - ambulance services
---

# SB 395. Department of Public Health; eligible for the Low THC Oil Patient Registry; require a physician to submit certain information to the Georgia Composite Medical Board

## Text

Senate Bill 395
By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Watson of the 1st, Hufstetler of the 52nd, Brass of the
6th, Albers of the 56th and others
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Public Health, so as to authorize the Department of Public Health to disclose
certain information regarding the Low THC Oil Patient Registry to the Georgia Composite
Medical Board for certain purposes; to provide for annual reports by physicians; to restrict
the use of such reports; to amend Chapter 11 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to emergency medical services, so as to designate ambulance services as
an essential service in this state; to provide for statutory construction; to provide for the EMS
Interstate Compact; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department
of Public Health, is amended by revising subsections (e) and (f) of Code Section 31-2A-18,
relating to the Low THC Oil Patient Registry, registration cards, reports, waiver forms, and
annual review and recommendations, as follows:
"(e) The board shall require physicians to issue <del>semiannual</del> <ins>annual</ins> reports to the board.
Such reports shall require physicians to provide information, including, but not limited to,
dosages recommended for a particular condition, patient clinical responses, levels of
tetrahydrocannabinol or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid present in test results, compliance,
responses to treatment, side effects, and drug interactions. Such reports shall be used for
research purposes to determine the efficacy of the use of low THC oil as a treatment for
conditions. <ins>A physician's failure to submit such a report shall not serve as the basis for the
department to cancel or revoke a registration card.
</ins> (f) Information received and records kept by the department for purposes of administering
this Code section shall be confidential; provided, however, that such information shall be
disclosed, subject to the provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, P.L. 104-191, and any regulations promulgated thereunder:
(1) Upon written request of an individual or caregiver registered pursuant to this Code
section for information related to the individual or his or her caregiver;
(2) To peace officers and prosecuting attorneys for the purpose of:
(A) Verifying that an individual in possession of a registration card is registered
pursuant to this Code section; or
(B) Determining that an individual in possession of low THC oil is registered pursuant
to this Code section; <del>and
</del> (3) To government entities and other entities for statistical, research, educational,
instructional, drug abuse prevention, or grant application purposes after removing all
personal identifiers from the health information and removing all information that could
be used to identify <del>prescribers</del> <ins>physicians; and
(4) To the board for investigatory, compliance, or disciplinary purposes."
</ins>
SECTION 2.
Chapter 11 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to emergency
medical services, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"31-11-13.
(a) Ambulance services, whether provided by a public, private nonprofit, or private for
profit entity, are hereby declared to be essential services in this state.
(b) This Code section shall not be construed to:
(1) Revise or impact the provision of such services through local coordinating entities
within territorial zones and health districts in this state; nor
(2) Grant new or additional authority, oversight, or regulatory power to any state agency
or local government of this state.
(c) This Code section shall not conflict with or supplant Code Section 31-11-3, 31-11-4,
or 38-3-71 or Georgia's status as a member of the EMS Interstate Compact."
</ins> 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 changes how doctors report on medical cannabis oil patients, protects patients from losing their registry cards over paperwork, and declares ambulance services an essential service statewide.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's Low THC Oil Patient Registry lets people with certain medical conditions legally possess low-THC cannabis oil, and doctors who recommend it must file reports with the Department of Public Health. This bill changes that reporting requirement from twice a year to once a year, and it adds a new protection saying a physician's failure to file a report cannot be used as grounds to cancel or revoke a patient's registration card.
The bill also lets the Department of Public Health share registry information with the Georgia Composite Medical Board, the state agency that licenses and disciplines physicians, so the board can use it for investigations, compliance checks, or discipline. Separately, the bill declares all ambulance services in Georgia, whether run by public, nonprofit, or for-profit companies, to be essential services. It clarifies this does not give any state agency or local government new regulatory power and does not conflict with Georgia's participation in the multistate EMS Interstate Compact.

### What it does

- Changes the required physician reports to the Low THC Oil Patient Registry from semiannual to annual.
- Bars the Department of Public Health from canceling or revoking a patient's registration card just because a physician failed to submit a required report.
- Allows the department to disclose registry information to the Georgia Composite Medical Board for investigatory, compliance, or disciplinary purposes.
- Declares all ambulance services in Georgia, public, nonprofit, or for-profit, to be essential services in the state.
- Clarifies that declaring ambulance services essential does not grant new regulatory authority to any state agency or local government and does not conflict with Georgia's membership in the EMS Interstate Compact.

### Who it affects

Patients registered in Georgia's Low THC Oil Patient Registry and their caregivers, physicians who recommend low-THC oil treatment, the Department of Public Health, the Georgia Composite Medical Board, and ambulance providers, whether public, nonprofit, or for-profit, that operate in the state.

### Why it matters

Patients who rely on medically recommended low-THC oil would no longer risk losing their registration cards because a doctor missed a paperwork deadline, and doctors face a lighter annual reporting schedule. The essential-service label for ambulances could affect how those services are treated in state policy discussions going forward.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-18(e) to change physician reports on registry patients from semiannual to annual and lists what the reports must cover, such as dosages, clinical responses, and side effects.
- Section 1 adds language stating a physician's failure to submit a report cannot be used as a basis to cancel or revoke a patient's registration card.
- Section 1 amends subsection (f) to allow disclosure of registry information to the Georgia Composite Medical Board for investigatory, compliance, or disciplinary purposes.
- Section 1 also updates confidentiality language so identifying information removed for research or statistical use refers to 'physicians' rather than 'prescribers.'
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 31-11-13 declaring ambulance services, public, nonprofit, or for-profit, to be essential services in Georgia.
- Section 2 clarifies this new designation does not change local coordinating entity arrangements or grant new regulatory power to any state agency or local government.
- Section 2 states the new provision does not conflict with existing emergency medical services laws (O.C.G.A. §§ 31-11-3, 31-11-4, 38-3-71) or Georgia's status in the EMS Interstate Compact.
- Section 3 repeals all laws in conflict with the Act.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Kay Kirkpatrick, Ben Watson, Chuck Hufstetler, Matt Brass, John Albers, Sonya Halpern, Bill Cowsert, Randy Robertson, Elena Parent, Mark Newton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72198

> The history, votes, and amendments (1,397 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb395.md?full=1