--- title: SR 927. Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr927 cite_as: SR 927, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr927 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr927.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr927/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73941 date: 2026-03-31 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/sr926.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr928.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 469 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr927.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 927 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-31 last_action: Senate Passed/Adopted sponsors: - Bo Hatchett - Blake Tillery - Brian Strickland - Randy Robertson - Russ Goodman - John Albers - Sam Watson - Ben Watson - Timothy Bearden - Billy Hickman - Ricky Williams - Freddie Sims - Carden Summers - Nikki Merritt - Chuck Hufstetler - Mike Hodges - Larry Walker - Sonya Halpern - Sally Harrell - RaShaun Kemp - Max Burns - Kenya Wicks - Chuck Payne - Drew Echols - Steven McNeel - Nan Orrock - Marty Harbin - Jason T. Dickerson text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR927/2025 upstream_id: 2130719 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - prescription drug prices - pharmacy benefits managers - rural pharmacy access - health care policy - Georgia Senate study committee --- # SR 927. Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee; create ## Text Senate Resolution 927 By: Senators Hatchett of the 50th, Tillery of the 19th, Strickland of the 42nd, Robertson of the 29th, Goodman of the 8th and others ADOPTED SENATE A RESOLUTION Creating the Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, according to the United States Office of Health Policy, the cost of prescription drugs has increased at rates exceeding the rate of inflation each year since 2016; and WHEREAS, pharmacy benefits managers administer prescription drug insurance benefits, negotiate with drug manufacturers and pharmacies, and establish drug formularies and pharmacy networks; and WHEREAS, pharmacy benefits managers undertake practices that have been criticized and investigated by industry stakeholders, including health policy experts, state attorneys general, and the Federal Trade Commission; and WHEREAS, such policies include leveraging vertical integration to steer patients to pharmacy benefits manager affiliate pharmacies, marking up the cost of medications at pharmacy benefits manager owned pharmacies, manipulating pharmacy reimbursement rates, and engaging in other unfair practices that harm patients, retail pharmacies, payers, and employers; and WHEREAS, in 2019, Georgia passed the first pharmacy benefits manager steering laws in the nation but many believe that pharmacy benefits managers continue to steer patients to pharmacy benefits manager affiliate pharmacies within this state; and WHEREAS, Georgia law requires that pharmacy benefits managers publicly report drug prices that are greater than 10 percent over the national average drug acquisition costs and such reports have revealed markups for some medications for commercial and government payers and markups of thousands of percent above the national average drug acquisition costs for medications used to treat multiple sclerosis, cancer, and kidney disease, among other medications; and WHEREAS, a recent study by the Georgia Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College indicates that pharmacy benefits manager practices pose risks to patients and independent pharmacies, including increasing the number of counties in Georgia without a single pharmacy. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE: (1) Creation of Senate study committee. There is created the Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee. (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of the following members: (A) The chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee; (B) The chairperson of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee; (C) Three other members of the Senate or experts on pharmacy benefits managers or consumer access to prescription medication to be appointed by the President of the Senate; and (D) The President of the Senate shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee. (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate. (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. (5) Allowances, expenses, and funding. (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. (B) Members of the committee who are state officials, other than legislative members, or state employees shall receive no compensation for their services on the committee, but they may be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members of the committee in the same manner as they are reimbursed for expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees. (C) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state officials, or state employees shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same as that specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state employees. (D) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the Senate; except that funds for the reimbursement of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative members, and for the reimbursement of the expenses of state employees shall come from funds appropriated to or otherwise available to their respective agencies. (6) Report. (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with the Secretary of the Senate. (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Secretary of the Senate a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof. (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026. ## 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 creates a study committee to examine how pharmacy benefits managers affect drug pricing and patients' access to pharmacies and prescription medications across the state. ### Plain-language summary Pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) are companies that administer prescription drug insurance benefits, negotiate with drug makers and pharmacies, and decide which drugs are covered and which pharmacies patients can use. This resolution creates the Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee to look into PBM practices in Georgia, including concerns that PBMs steer patients to pharmacies they own, mark up drug prices, and squeeze independent pharmacies out of business, especially in rural counties. The committee will have five members: the chairs of the Senate Appropriations and Health and Human Services committees, plus three more senators or outside experts appointed by the President of the Senate. It can hold meetings, study the issues, and recommend legislation. Legislative members get standard travel and expense allowances, and any report must be filed before the committee is abolished on December 1, 2026. ### What it does - Creates the Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee to investigate PBM practices in Georgia. - Sets the committee's membership at five people: two Senate committee chairs and three additional senators or experts appointed by the President of the Senate. - Authorizes the committee to study drug pricing, pharmacy access, and related problems and to recommend legislation. - Provides standard legislative travel and expense allowances to committee members, capped at five days unless additional days are approved. - Requires any approved findings or recommendations to be filed as a report with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee ends. - Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026. ### Who it affects Georgia senators and the President of the Senate, who will appoint and serve on the committee; pharmacy benefits managers and the insurance and pharmacy industries whose practices will be studied; independent and rural pharmacies; and patients who rely on prescription drug coverage, especially in counties with few or no pharmacies. ### Why it matters The committee itself changes no law, but its recommendations could shape future legislation on drug pricing, pharmacy reimbursement, and patient access, particularly in rural Georgia counties where pharmacy closures have become more common. ### Key provisions - Paragraph (1) formally creates the Senate Pharmacy Benefits Managers and Consumer Access to Prescription Medications Study Committee. - Paragraph (2) sets membership: the Senate Appropriations Committee chair, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee chair, three additional senators or experts appointed by the President of the Senate, and a chairperson chosen by the President. - Paragraph (3) directs the committee to study PBM-related issues and recommend action or legislation it finds necessary. - Paragraph (5) sets allowances for legislative members under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8 and for non-legislator members under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-21, capped at five days absent further authorization. - Paragraph (6) requires any approved report or recommended legislation to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee is abolished. - Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-31) - Last action: Senate Passed/Adopted (2026-03-31) - Sponsors: Bo Hatchett, Blake Tillery, Brian Strickland, Randy Robertson, Russ Goodman, John Albers, Sam Watson, Ben Watson, Timothy Bearden, Billy Hickman, Ricky Williams, Freddie Sims, Carden Summers, Nikki Merritt, Chuck Hufstetler, Mike Hodges, Larry Walker, Sonya Halpern, Sally Harrell, RaShaun Kemp, Max Burns, Kenya Wicks, Chuck Payne, Drew Echols, Steven McNeel, Nan Orrock, Marty Harbin, Jason T. Dickerson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73941 > The history, votes, and amendments (469 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr927.md?full=1