HR 304: House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking; create

The House Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to HR 304:

A RESOLUTION

Creating the House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body; and

WHEREAS, more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking; and

WHEREAS, for every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking related illness; and

WHEREAS, smoking causes cancer, heart disease, vascular disease, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis; and

WHEREAS, secondhand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 41,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults and 400 deaths in infants each year. Secondhand smoke causes stroke, lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and reproductive health complications in adults. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth; and

WHEREAS, smoking related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion each year, including more than $225 billion for direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity, including $5.6 billion in lost productivity due to secondhand smoke exposure; and

WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to examine the cost of smoking, including short-term and long-term health care costs, the impact on Medicaid and Medicare, childhood health costs resulting from secondhand smoke exposure, and the loss of worker productivity attributed to smoking.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking.

(2) Members and officers.

(A) The committee shall be composed of five members of the House of Representatives.

(B) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint all members of the committee and shall designate one of such members as chairperson.

(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 and funding. The members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than three days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives.

(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 chairpersons and filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.

(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.