SB449: SB449 Regulation of Hospitals; certain long-term care facilities to acquire and maintain sufficient emergency and standby power systems; require

Georgia law currently does not require long-term care facilities to have backup power systems for extended outages. This bill would change that for a specific category of facilities: skilled nursing homes, intermediate care homes, assisted living communities, and personal care homes that are two or more stories tall and have at least 25 beds. Starting January 1, 2027, these facilities would have to acquire and maintain an emergency and standby power system, meaning an on-site generator with enough fuel or another approved alternate power source, capable of keeping the facility running for at least 96 hours. That power must support safe evacuation routes, emergency lighting, life support equipment, and temperature control. The Department of Community Health and the office of Safety Fire Commissioner would coordinate inspections and enforcement, and the department would set up a grant program, funded if the General Assembly appropriates money, to help facilities pay for the equipment, with priority given to facilities in rural counties. The bill would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Requires long-term care facilities that are two or more stories tall with at least 25 beds to install a backup power system able to run for 96 hours starting January 1, 2027.
• Defines an emergency and standby power system as an on-site generator with sufficient fuel, or another power source approved by the Department of Community Health.
• Directs the Department of Community Health and the office of Safety Fire Commissioner to jointly inspect facilities and enforce the new requirement.
• Creates a grant program, dependent on state funding, to help long-term care facilities pay to buy or install the required power systems.
• Instructs the department to prioritize grant applications from facilities located in rural counties, defined as counties with fewer than 50,000 residents.

Skilled nursing homes, intermediate care homes, assisted living communities, and personal care homes housed in buildings of two or more stories with at least 25 beds, along with their residents. It also affects the Department of Community Health, the office of Safety Fire Commissioner, and facilities in rural counties seeking grant priority.

Residents of larger, multi-story long-term care facilities would gain a guaranteed source of power for safety systems, medical equipment, and climate control during extended outages such as those caused by storms. Facilities would face new equipment costs, offset in part by a state grant program if it receives funding.

• Amends O.C.G.A. § 31-7-3 by adding subsection (e), defining 'emergency and standby power system,' 'long-term care facility,' and 'rural county.'
• Subsection (e)(2) sets a January 1, 2027 deadline for covered facilities to maintain a power system that sustains operations for at least 96 hours.
• Subsection (e)(3) requires the Department of Community Health and the office of Safety Fire Commissioner to coordinate inspection and enforcement.
• Subsection (f) creates a grant program, subject to legislative appropriations, to help facilities acquire or install the required systems, with priority for rural counties.
• Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2026-02-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-02Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)Primary sponsor
• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)

• nursing home safety
• emergency preparedness
• long-term care regulation
• rural health care
• hospital regulation