Georgia
Georgia Senate passes certificate of need reform measure – Washington Examiner
(The Center Square) — The Georgia Senate has passed a measure to reform Georgia’s certificate of need laws.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 1339 by a 43-11 margin. The House overwhelmingly passed the measure last month, and the amended version returns to the House for consideration.
State lawmakers considered removing the mandate last year but didn’t act, and the House and Senate established study committees to explore possible changes to the CON mandate. The Senate study committee recommended lawmakers repeal the mandate, while a House version offered more measured recommendations.
“In Georgia, your zip code should not determine your access to quality healthcare; that includes areas like South Fulton and Cuthbert,” Lt. Governor Burt Jones, a Republican, said in a statement. “The Senate passed a measure today that would ensure that every Georgian, regardless of where they live, would have an opportunity to access quality care in their community. I urge the House to take swift action on this measure.”
CONs have been in place since the 1970s, and according to the Georgia Department of Community Health, CONs “measure and define” the need for a facility, aim to control costs and ensure Georgians have access to healthcare. The measure includes more exemptions from the CON mandate but does not outright eliminate it.
“Lawmakers can do more to help and protect Georgians. They can close the coverage gap at a time that expanding health care access has unprecedented, bipartisan support across the state. We urge lawmakers to find a Georgia-specific solution to close the health care coverage gap now,” John Hoctor, managing director of advocacy for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Georgia, said in a statement.
It also creates a Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission to advise elected officials and policymakers on opportunities to improve healthcare for the state’s low-income and uninsured populations.
“Certificate of Need laws in our state have created unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that limit access to health care and increase costs,” Americans for Prosperity – Georgia State Director Tony West said in a statement. “…This bill would no longer require Certificate of Need for perinatal services, in hospital settings and non-hospital settings, including birthing centers.”
Separately, Georgia Democrats continue their push to expand Medicaid in the state. Instead of expanding Medicaid, the state launched the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program in July 2023, which provides Medicaid to Georgians between 19 and 64 in households with incomes up to the federal poverty level but are not eligible for regular Medicaid.
“House Bill 1339 as amended in the Senate will hurt rural hospitals, because the bill does little to address the economic hardships caused by large numbers of uninsured and under-insured patients, which not-for-profit hospitals are required to treat without regard to their ability to pay,” Monty Veazey, president and CEO of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, said in a statement to The Center Square. “Short of Medicaid expansion, hospitals will continue to run operating deficits, and we will continue to lose rural hospitals.
“Certificate of Need helps ensure lower patient costs and protects hospitals’ financial stability, but the increased exemptions in the Senate version of HB 1339 will put additional pressure on already suffering hospitals,” Veazey added. “Increasing the cap on the successful rural hospital tax credit helps, but is not enough to stem the tide of financially-troubled rural hospitals.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that he plans to join U.S. Senate candidate Derek Dooley on a campaign tour Thursday in northeast Georgia.
Dooley, a Republican candidate who describes himself as a “political outsider,” has a series of five stops. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp plan to support the candidate, who, like Kemp, grew up in Athens.
Dooley, the son of University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, and himself a former college and NFL coach, is running against GOP candidates Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, and others. Carter and Collins are members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republican primary is on May 19.
Dooley’s tour begins at 9 a.m. at the McEachin Farm, 600 U.S. 29, Danielsville, followed by a stop at the Franklin Springs Public Safety Building at 10:30 a.m. on 2525 West Main St.
The next stops are 12:30 p.m. at the Crossroads Café, 4654 Ga. Highway 115, Demorest; 2 p.m. at Linda’s Place, 66 Doyle St., Toccoa; and 3:30 p.m. at the Homer Fire Department, 243 Sycamore St., Homer.
Dooley, who has a law degree from UGA, will also make stops on Friday in Fannin, Hall, and Morgan counties.
Starting next year, Georgia high school students won’t be allowed to access personal electronic devices during the school day after Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill extending the cellphone ban into law.
On Tuesday, Kemp signed House Bill 1009 as part of a ceremony where the governor signed nine pieces of legislation dealing with education.
The law will ban the use of cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, and headphones from the start of the school day until dismissal.
Students whose Individualized Education Program (IEP), Section 504 Plan, or medical plan requires the use of a device would still be permitted to access it as necessary.
“Here in the No. 1 state for business and opportunity, our classrooms must be safe learning environments that serve as launching pads for success in the workforce,” Kemp said. “The bills I signed today implement proven strategies to improve literacy and math scores, reduce distractions in the classroom, expand pathways to graduation, and further support hardworking educators and families. These are just the latest steps we’ve taken to create opportunity for all Georgians, no matter their zip code.”
The bill, designated a top priority of House Speaker Jon Burns, passed both chambers of the Georgia Legislature with overwhelming support earlier this year.
In 2025, lawmakers passed similar restrictions for Georgia elementary and middle school students. Since then, some educators say they’ve seen improvements in student focus, classroom behavior, and teacher stress.
While parents raised concerns over how they can be in touch with their children in case of emergencies, Burns argued that increased communication could cause issues during serious situations.
“What we’ve seen is, and what we’ve learned from some of the tragic situations we’ve had, like in Barrow County, that some of that communication certainly is good for the parent to understand that the child is safe, but it also interferes with the safety protocols in the school. So we believe that that’s a part of the whole discussion,” he said.
Along with the cellphone ban, Kemp also signed into law revisions to how literacy is taught across Georgia, new core math requirements for fourth and fifth graders, expanded childcare options for parents of pre-K students, and more.
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