SB 555: War Veterans Home; the admission of eligible nonveteran residents to a Georgia War Veterans' Home under certain circumstances; authorize

Currently, admission to the Georgia War Veterans' Nursing Home and the Georgia State War Veterans' Home is limited to war veterans who meet residency requirements. This bill creates a new category called 'eligible nonveteran resident,' covering a veteran's spouse or a parent whose child died while serving in the armed forces. These nonveteran residents could be admitted, but veterans keep first priority for beds, and nonveteran admissions are capped (generally 25 percent of beds) and cannot displace an admissible veteran. Nonveteran residents would generally pay their own way at full cost of care. The bill separately changes several other Georgia laws (powers of attorney, guardianship, conservatorship, health care advance directives, and administrative hearing procedures) so that an agent, guardian, conservator, or health care agent can keep limited authority after the person they represented dies, specifically to finish a public benefits application and handle related hearings or appeals. That authority ends once a formal representative or estate administrator is appointed. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.

• Creates a new 'eligible nonveteran resident' category allowing spouses of war veterans and parents of veterans killed in service to be admitted to a Georgia War Veterans' Home under specific conditions.
• Requires that veterans keep first priority for admission, waitlisting, and bed assignment, and bars nonveteran admissions that would displace an admissible veteran.
• Caps the total number of nonveteran residents at no more than 25 percent of operational beds, or a lower percentage if needed to keep federal certification or funding.
• Requires nonveteran residents to pay privately at full cost of care unless they qualify for other coverage, with rates set annually by the Department of Veterans Service.
• Extends the authority of powers of attorney, guardians, conservators, and health care agents to continue after a person's death solely to complete public benefits applications and handle related hearings or appeals, until a formal representative is appointed.
• Sets the effective date of the entire Act as July 1, 2026.

War veterans and their spouses seeking housing at a Georgia War Veterans' Home, parents of service members who died on active duty, the Georgia Veterans Service Board and Department of Veterans Service, and holders of powers of attorney, guardians, conservators, and health care agents who handle public benefits claims for people who have died.

Spouses and grieving parents could gain access to veterans' home housing they currently cannot get, though veterans still get priority and bed caps limit how many nonveterans can be admitted. Families and caregivers would also gain a clearer, time-limited path to finish a deceased person's benefits paperwork without waiting for a court-appointed estate representative.

• Section 1-1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 38-4-55 to define 'eligible nonveteran resident' as a war veteran's spouse or a parent of a veteran who died in service.
• Section 1-1 requires veterans to retain first priority for admission and bars nonveteran admissions that would displace or delay an admissible veteran.
• Section 1-1 lets the Veterans Service Board admit a spouse for co-occupancy with the veteran spouse, subject to occupancy targets set by board rule.
• Section 1-1 caps aggregate nonveteran census at 25 percent of beds or lower if needed for VA certification, and requires nonveteran residents to pay full cost of care set annually by the Department of Veterans Service.
• Section 2-1 amends O.C.G.A. § 10-6B-53 so a power of attorney survives the principal's death solely to complete public benefits applications and related hearings or appeals.
• Sections 2-2 through 2-4 make similar changes for guardianships (O.C.G.A. § 29-4-42), conservatorships (O.C.G.A. § 29-5-72), and health care agents under advance directives (O.C.G.A. § 31-32-7).
• Section 2-5 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. § 50-13-13 confirming this post-death representative authority applies in administrative hearings and contested cases.
• Section 3-1 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-03-18House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2026-03-12House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
4. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
5. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
6. 2026-03-06Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
7. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   54 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 0 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #648

• veterans affairs
• nursing home admissions
• power of attorney
• guardianship and conservatorship
• public benefits applications