SB 411: Professions and Businesses; dry needling to be performed by certain licensed professionals; provide

This bill, despite its title referencing dry needling, actually does two unrelated things. First, it amends O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1, which governs which hospitals qualify as 'rural hospital organizations' eligible for Georgia's rural hospital tax credit program. It expands eligibility to rural freestanding emergency departments, lowers the required share of indigent or charity care revenue from 10 percent to 5 percent (or allows qualification through maternal and newborn licensing), and removes a requirement that hospitals maintain a patient margin below a statewide average. Second, the bill creates a brand-new Chapter 31 in Title 31 of Georgia law establishing a certification system for community health workers, frontline public health workers who provide outreach and support in communities. It creates an 11-member Georgia Community Health Worker Certification Committee, appointed by the commissioner of public health, to set training and certification standards, review applications, run background checks, and discipline certified workers. The hospital tax credit change takes effect July 1, 2026; the community health worker chapter only takes effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funding for it.

• Expands the definition of 'rural hospital organization' under O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1 to include rural freestanding emergency departments, not just acute care hospitals.
• Lowers the indigent/charity care revenue threshold hospitals must meet from 10 percent to 5 percent, or lets hospitals qualify instead by being licensed for maternal and newborn services.
• Removes the requirement that a qualifying hospital's three-year patient profit margin stay below a statewide average, eliminating that eligibility test entirely.
• Creates a new Georgia Community Health Worker Certification Committee to set standards for training programs and certification of community health workers.
• Requires community health workers to complete an approved 45-hour training program, pass a criminal background check, and log 2,000 hours of work experience to be certified.
• Makes the community health worker certification chapter effective only if the General Assembly appropriates specific funding for it in a future budget act.

Rural and critical access hospitals and rural freestanding emergency departments seeking the state's rural hospital tax credit, community health workers currently or newly working in Georgia communities, training program providers, the Department of Public Health, and Georgians who rely on rural hospital care or community health outreach services.

More rural hospitals and emergency departments could qualify for donor tax credit funding under the eased criteria, potentially expanding financial support for struggling rural facilities. Meanwhile, community health workers would gain formal state certification and training standards for the first time, though that entire program only launches if lawmakers separately fund it.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1(a)(3) to add rural freestanding emergency departments, cut the indigent care threshold to 5 percent (or substitute maternal/newborn licensing), and delete the patient-margin comparison requirement.
• Section 2 creates new Code Sections 31-31-1 through 31-31-5, defining terms like 'certified community health worker' and 'core competencies.'
• Code Section 31-31-2 establishes an 11-member Georgia Community Health Worker Certification Committee appointed by the commissioner of public health, with the committee set to be abolished June 30, 2030 and its duties transferred to the Department of Public Health.
• Code Section 31-31-4 requires training programs to include 45 hours of core competency training, 16 of which cover specific health topics, and sets a biennial renewal cycle for program approval.
• Code Section 31-31-5 sets certification requirements for community health workers, including age 18+, a high school diploma, criminal background checks, and 2,000 hours of relevant work experience.
• Section 3 makes the hospital tax credit changes effective July 1, 2026, but makes the community health worker chapter effective only if the General Assembly appropriates funding for it.

1. 2026-04-02House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-04-02House Third Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
4. 2026-03-16House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
5. 2026-03-10House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
6. 2026-02-11House Second Readers (House)
7. 2026-02-10House First Readers (House)
8. 2026-02-09Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Primary sponsor
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 9, 2026

   49 yea, 2 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #530

2. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   166 yea, 5 nay (3 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #855

• rural hospitals
• health care funding
• community health workers
• public health certification
• tax credits