---
title: SB 500. Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base; expand to include data from licensed health care professionals
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb500
cite_as: SB 500, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb500
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb500.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb500/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73166
date: 2026-05-12
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb499.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb501.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1192
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb500.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 500
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-12
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- Mike Hodges
- Ben Watson
- Kay Kirkpatrick
- Larry Walker
- Sally Harrell
- Billy Hickman
- Carden Summers
- Chuck Hufstetler
- Bo Hatchett
- Ricky Williams
- Rick Townsend
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB500/2025
upstream_id: 2116165
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- health care workforce
- medical licensing
- behavioral health
- data collection
- Georgia health boards
---
# SB 500. Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base; expand to include data from licensed health care professionals
## Text
Senate Bill 500
By: Senators Hodges of the 3rd, Watson of the 1st, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Walker III of the
20th, Harrell of the 40th and others
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 10 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce, so as to expand the Behavioral Health Care
Workforce Data Base to include data from licensed health care professionals; to revise
definitions; to rename such data base as the Health Care Workforce Data Base; to provide
for conforming changes; 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 10 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia
Board of Health Care Workforce, is amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) and
paragraph (9) of subsection (d) of Code Section 49-10-5, relating to Behavioral Health Care
Workforce Data Base, as follows:
"(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Addictive disease' has the same meaning as in Code Section 37-1-1 Reserved.
(2) 'Behavioral health care provider' 'Health care professional' means any health care
provider professional regulated by a licensing board who primarily provides treatment
or diagnosis of mental health or substance use disorders.
(3) 'Licensing board' means:
(A) Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and
Marriage and Family Therapists;
(B) Georgia Board of Nursing;
(C) Georgia Composite Medical Board;
(D) State Board of Examiners of Psychologists; and
(E) State Board of Pharmacy;
(F) Georgia Board of Dentistry;
(G) Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
(H) State Board of Optometry;
(I) State Board of Occupational Therapy;
(J) State Board of Physical Therapy;
(K) State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology;
(L) State Board of Podiatry Examiners;
(M) Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians;
(N) Department of Public Health; and
(O) Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board.
(4) 'Mental health or substance use disorder' means a mental illness or addictive disease.
(5) 'Mental illness' has the same meaning as in Code Section 37-1-1.
(b) The board shall create and maintain the Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base
for the purposes of collecting and analyzing minimum data set surveys for behavioral
health care professionals. To facilitate such data base, the board shall:
(1) Enter into agreements with entities to create, house, and provide information to the
Governor, the General Assembly, state agencies, and the public regarding the state's
behavioral health care workforce;
(2) Seek federal or other sources of funding necessary to support the creation and
maintenance of a Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base, including any necessary
staffing;
(3) Create and maintain an online dashboard accessible on the board's website to provide
access to the Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base; and
(4) Establish a minimum data set survey to be utilized by licensing boards to collect
demographic and other data from behavioral health care providers professionals which
are licensed by such boards."
"(9) Types of insurance accepted and whether the provider health care professional
accepts Medicaid and Medicare; and"
SECTION 2.
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.
Senate Bill 500 expands Georgia's Behavioral Health Care Workforce Data Base into a broader Health Care Workforce Data Base covering licensed professionals in many more fields, not just mental health and substance abuse treatment.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. ยง 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.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-12)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-12)
- Sponsors: Mike Hodges, Ben Watson, Kay Kirkpatrick, Larry Walker, Sally Harrell, Billy Hickman, Carden Summers, Chuck Hufstetler, Bo Hatchett, Ricky Williams, Rick Townsend
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73166
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,192 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb500.md?full=1