Senate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SR 642: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week; recognize February 7-14, 2026

Last action January 29, 2026 · Senate Read and Adopted

A Georgia Senate resolution recognizes February 7-14, 2026 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week at the state capitol, drawing attention to birth defect screening and affected families.

Read the full resolution text

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The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

This is a ceremonial resolution passed by the Georgia Senate rather than a change to state law. It designates February 7-14, 2026 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week at the state capitol, citing statistics on how common congenital heart defects are and noting that many go undiagnosed until later in life, sometimes contributing to sudden cardiac death in young athletes. The resolution directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies available for distribution to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and its Kids at Heart program. It does not create any new requirement, funding, or screening mandate; it simply expresses the Senate's recognition of the awareness week.

What the bill does

Formally recognizes February 7-14, 2026 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week at the Georgia state capitol.
States legislative findings about the prevalence of congenital heart defects and gaps in newborn and athlete screening.
Directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and its Kids at Heart program.
Creates no new law, funding, or screening requirement; it is a symbolic statement of the Senate.

Who it affects

Families of children with congenital heart defects, health professionals who treat these conditions, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and its Kids at Heart program, and the general public who may see increased awareness efforts during the designated week.

Why it matters

While it carries no legal force, the resolution puts the Senate's attention on a common birth defect that often goes undiagnosed, potentially supporting public awareness campaigns and encouraging conversations about newborn and athlete heart screening in Georgia.

Key provisions

The resolving clause recognizes February 7-14, 2026 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week at the state capitol.
A further resolution clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute copies to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and its Kids at Heart program.
The whereas clauses cite that about 40,000 babies are born annually in the United States with congenital heart defects and that screening is not routine.

From the bill

“despite these alarming statistics, newborns and young athletes are still not regularly screened for congenital heart defects”
The resolution notes that routine screening for these heart defects is not standard practice.

“Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week provides an opportunity for families whose lives have been affected by congenital heart defects to celebrate life, remember the loved ones they have lost”
Explains the intended purpose of the awareness week.

Discussed in meetings (1)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

Senate floor session, February 11, 2026 (legislative day 17)
From 0:47:50 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate adopted SR 642, recognizing February 7-14, 2026, as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week at the Capitol, without objection. The sponsor welcomed representatives of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Heart Association, along with a family whose young child has a congenital heart defect. The sponsor said these defects affect about 40,000 babies annually in the United States and that some go undiagnosed until later in life. Sharing a family experience with the condition, the sponsor called for more work on detection and lifelong care.

Status timeline

2026-01-29Senate Read and Adopted (Senate)
2026-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

congenital heart defects
public health awareness
children's health
state capitol resolutions

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr642.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp