--- title: SR 207. General Assembly; appropriate an additional $2 million annually to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; urge collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr207 cite_as: SR 207, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr207 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr207.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr207/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70475 date: 2025-02-20 status: introduced 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/sr206.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr208.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr207.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 207 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-19 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Nan Orrock - Harold Jones - Elena Parent - Sonya Halpern - Kim Jackson - Nikki Merritt - Kenya Wicks - Josh McLaurin - Gail Davenport - Tonya Anderson - Michael Rhett - Randal Mangham - Nabilah Islam Parkes - Sheikh Rahman - Ed Harbison - David Lucas - Emanuel Jones text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR207/2025 upstream_id: 1976320 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - maternal health - crisis pregnancy centers - state budget - infant mortality - reproductive health policy --- # SR 207. General Assembly; appropriate an additional $2 million annually to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; urge ## Text Senate Resolution 207 By: Senators Orrock of the 36th, Jones II of the 22nd, Parent of the 44th, Halpern of the 39th, Jackson of the 41st and others A RESOLUTION Urging the General Assembly to appropriate an additional $2 million annually to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, in lieu of all moneys currently being appropriated to fund crisis pregnancy centers; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, this resolution shall be named the "Fund Healthy Pregnancy and Parenting Resolution"; and WHEREAS, in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, the Governor has supported adding $2.98 million to increase funds to expand a pilot program to provide in-home visits for at-risk and underserved rural communities during pregnancy and early childhood to improve birth outcomes, reduce preterm deliveries, and decrease infant and maternal mortality rates; and WHEREAS, this program shall be referred to as the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; and WHEREAS, this program as administered by the Department of Public Health has produced positive outcomes and is worthy of increased support; and WHEREAS, there are approximately 89 crisis pregnancy centers in this state; and WHEREAS, crisis pregnancy centers are often fronts for antiabortion activities; and WHEREAS, the main purpose of these centers is often to coerce pregnant populations, especially those having unintended pregnancies, into not having an abortion rather than providing them with comprehensive, fact based reproductive care; and WHEREAS, because these centers are sometimes mistaken for actual clinics providing abortion services, the state's support of their activities puts pregnant populations at greater risk; and WHEREAS, no further taxpayer money should be appropriated to such centers; and WHEREAS, even if Georgians did receive some benefit from such centers, abortion rights are currently restricted in this state beyond six weeks, except in special situations; therefore, there should be less need for such centers; and WHEREAS, consequently, if the number of abortions occurring in this state are decreasing due to that law, the need for any services provided by such centers should also be decreasing; and WHEREAS, the most recent budget appropriated approximately $2 million to fund crisis pregnancy centers; and WHEREAS, this year's budget should provide funding to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program by such amount in lieu of appropriating such moneys to crisis pregnancy centers; and WHEREAS, this proposal would not cost taxpayers any additional moneys; and WHEREAS, this proposal would better allocate the resources of this state to meet the needs of its residents. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that members of this body urge the General Assembly to appropriate an additional $2 million annually to the Georgia Home Visiting program to improve birth outcomes, reduce preterm deliveries, and decrease infant and maternal mortality rates, in lieu of appropriating such moneys to fund crisis pregnancy centers. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the General Assembly's legislative leaders. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution urges lawmakers to redirect about $2 million a year from crisis pregnancy centers to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which sends nurses or visitors to at-risk families. ### Plain-language summary This resolution, named the "Fund Healthy Pregnancy and Parenting Resolution," does not change any law on its own. Instead, it formally urges the General Assembly to shift funding priorities in the state budget. It asks lawmakers to add $2 million annually to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, a Department of Public Health program that sends home visitors to at-risk and rural families during pregnancy and early childhood to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant and maternal deaths. The resolution proposes taking that $2 million from money currently appropriated to crisis pregnancy centers, of which the text says there are about 89 in Georgia, rather than adding new taxpayer spending. Because it is a resolution rather than a bill, it carries no binding legal force; it simply expresses the Senate's position and directs that copies be shared with legislative leaders. ### What it does - Urges the General Assembly to add $2 million a year in state funding to the Georgia Pregnancy and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. - Urges that this new funding come in place of, not in addition to, roughly $2 million currently appropriated to crisis pregnancy centers. - States a goal of improving birth outcomes, reducing preterm deliveries, and decreasing infant and maternal mortality rates through the home visiting program. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the General Assembly's legislative leaders. - Does not itself appropriate money or amend any Georgia statute, since a resolution only expresses the Senate's position. ### Who it affects The Department of Public Health, which runs the home visiting program; pregnant people and families in at-risk and rural communities who could receive in-home visits; and the roughly 89 crisis pregnancy centers in Georgia that currently receive state funding, which the resolution proposes to redirect. ### Why it matters If the General Assembly follows this urging in the actual budget bill, funding would shift from crisis pregnancy centers to a state-run home visiting program aimed at reducing infant and maternal deaths, without adding new taxpayer costs, though the resolution itself does not force this change. ### Key provisions - The resolution's title names it the 'Fund Healthy Pregnancy and Parenting Resolution.' - It notes the Governor's Fiscal Year 2026 budget already proposed adding $2.98 million to expand the pilot home visiting program. - It states the most recent budget appropriated approximately $2 million to crisis pregnancy centers, which is the amount proposed for redirection. - The resolving clause urges an additional $2 million annually for the home visiting program 'in lieu of' funding crisis pregnancy centers. - The final clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to legislative leaders. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-19) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-20) - Sponsors: Nan Orrock, Harold Jones, Elena Parent, Sonya Halpern, Kim Jackson, Nikki Merritt, Kenya Wicks, Josh McLaurin, Gail Davenport, Tonya Anderson, Michael Rhett, Randal Mangham, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Sheikh Rahman, Ed Harbison, David Lucas, Emanuel Jones - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70475 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr207.md?full=1