---
title: O.C.G.A. § 31-50-1. Legislative findings.
collection: code
id: 31-50-1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 31-50-1 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-50-1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-50-1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-50-1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t31-(v23)-2025-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=da7ded69_0#page=1080
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-50.md
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia
heading_path: HEALTH / RARE DISEASES
---

# O.C.G.A. § 31-50-1. Legislative findings.

The General Assembly finds that:

(1) A rare disease, sometimes called an orphan disease, is defined as a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States;

(2) There are more than 7,000 known rare diseases affecting approximately 25-30 million Americans, more than half of which are children;

(3) More than 90 percent of rare diseases do not have a federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatment;

(4) While the exact cause of many rare diseases remains unknown, many rare diseases are genetic in origin and can be linked to mutations in a single gene, or in multiple genes, which can be passed down from generation to generation;

(5) People with rare diseases face many challenges, including delays in obtaining an accurate diagnosis, finding a health care provider with expertise in their condition, and a lack of affordable access to therapies and medications used to treat rare diseases; and

(6) A state based advisory council composed of qualified professionals and persons living with rare diseases and their caregivers could educate medical professionals, government agencies, legislators, and the public about rare diseases as an important public health issue and encourage research into the development of new ways to diagnose and treat rare diseases.

## History

Code 1981, § 31-50-1, enacted by Ga. L. 2022, p. 250, § 1/HB 918.