SB 500: Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base; expand to include data from licensed health care professionals

Georgia currently keeps a Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base that tracks information about providers who treat mental health and substance use disorders, using licensing boards like the counseling and nursing boards. This bill broadens that system so it covers licensed health care professionals generally, renaming it the Health Care Workforce Data Base. The bill removes the old definitions tied specifically to addictive disease and mental illness, and replaces 'behavioral health care provider' with the broader term 'health care professional.' It adds many more licensing boards to the list that must participate, including dentistry, chiropractic, optometry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, podiatry, dietetics, the Department of Public Health, and behavior analysis. The Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce still must maintain a minimum data set survey, an online dashboard, and seek funding, but now for the whole health care workforce rather than only behavioral health providers.

• Renames the Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base as the Health Care Workforce Data Base, broadening its scope beyond mental health and substance use treatment.
• Replaces the term 'behavioral health care provider' with 'health care professional,' removing the requirement that the person primarily treat mental health or substance use disorders.
• Removes the definitions of 'addictive disease,' 'mental health or substance use disorder,' and 'mental illness' from this Code section.
• Adds nine more licensing boards, including dentistry, chiropractic, optometry, occupational and physical therapy, speech-language pathology, podiatry, dietetics, public health, and behavior analysis, whose licensees must be included in the data base.
• Requires the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to keep collecting minimum data set surveys, maintaining a public dashboard, and seeking funding, now for all covered health care professionals instead of only behavioral health providers.

Licensed health care professionals across many fields in Georgia, including nurses, physicians, psychologists, pharmacists, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, occupational and physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, podiatrists, dietitians, and behavior analysts, along with the licensing boards that oversee them and the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce.

State officials, researchers, and the public would gain access to workforce data covering a much wider range of health professions in Georgia, not just behavioral health. This could affect how the state tracks provider shortages, Medicaid and Medicare acceptance, and workforce planning across many licensed health fields.

• Section 1 revises subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 49-10-5, removing the definitions of 'addictive disease,' 'mental health or substance use disorder,' and 'mental illness.'
• Section 1 replaces 'behavioral health care provider' with 'health care professional,' dropping the requirement that the person primarily treat mental health or substance use disorders.
• Section 1 adds nine new licensing boards to paragraph (3), including dentistry, chiropractic, optometry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology and audiology, podiatry, dietetics, the Department of Public Health, and behavior analysis.
• Section 1 revises subsection (b) so the data base, dashboard, and minimum data set survey apply to 'health care' workforce data generally rather than only 'behavioral health' data.
• Section 1 revises paragraph (9) of subsection (d) to refer to 'health care professional' instead of 'provider' regarding Medicaid and Medicare acceptance data.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-12Act 629
3. 2026-05-12Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-23House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-23House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-18House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)Primary sponsor
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 26, 2026

   46 yea, 3 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #595

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 23, 2026

   164 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #749

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   45 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 5 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #839

• health care workforce
• medical licensing
• behavioral health
• data collection
• Georgia health boards