03 Nov 2025

Legislative Update Week 9:
Hot Crossed Bills

From Ben Ross, PharmD
President, GPhA Board of Directors

Welcome to our ninth weekly Legislative Update Newsletter of the 2025-2026 Georgia General Assembly Legislative Session.

We'll start once again with a look at key events this week:

Monday, March 10, is Legislative Day 29. The Senate gavels in at 11am and the House will come in after lunch at 1pm. The Senate has one bill on the Rules calendar. Expect light floor session this week as legislators, lobbyists and most importantly, legislative staff catch up with all the action the previous week.

Tuesday, March 11 is Legislative Day 30; Wednesday, March 12 is a committee working day; and Thursday, March 13 takes us to Legislative Day 31.

Legislators will go home for the weekend or to Savannah to attend the 200th St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday, March 17.

As reported, SB 195, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), received a vote on the Senate floor last Monday, passing 55-1. There was a floor amendment which will clarify the term “board” means the Georgia Board of Pharmacy in several places throughout the bill. Before dispensing or administering PrEP or PEP medication to a patient, a pharmacist will need to complete a training program accredited by ACPE and approved by the Georgia Board of Pharmacy.

The following day the Senate also passed SB 91 with a 52-2 vote. SB 91, sponsored by Chairman Blake Tillery (R- Vidalia), would prohibit the Department of Community Health from contracting with a PBM that owns or has ownership interest in a retail pharmacy. While presenting the bill, Chairman Tillery expressed his desire to break up the vertical integration of PBM with insurance companies and pharmacies so that PBMs cannot pay their own pharmacies a higher reimbursement rate than they pay to other pharmacies. Chairman Larry Walker (R-Perry) and Majority Whip Randy Robertson (R- Cataula) were the two votes against the bill and highlighted their concerns during the debate.

Across the hallway in the House, HB 473, sponsored by Chairman Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), passed on Monday,170-0. Known as the annual dangerous drug update bill, HB 473 adds 61 additional drugs to the Schedule I controlled substance list. You can view these drugs and the bill here.

One of the last bills to pass on Crossover Day was HB 291, sponsored by Rep. Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville). HB 291 would create a Georgia Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification Committee under the Department of Public Health. The committee would be charged with developing a certification program and require CHWs to have 45 hours of training, including 16 hours on specific health topics. The Committee would handle disciplinary action against any CHW violating rules and standards. Community Health Worker Certification Committee will “sunset” or dissolve on June 30, 2029. HB 291 passed 169 – 4.

Amended Budget Signed by the Governor

The first bill to Governor’s Kemp’s pen was HB 67, the Supplemental Budget for FY 2024-2025. Included in the amended budget is funding for:

New licensing software for the Board of Pharmacy
Mailing Low THC Oil Patient registry cards (SB 495 from 2024)
One-time additional funding to 45 rural hospitals for Hurricane Helene Relief
Additional Hurricane relief funding for agricultural and timber industry

Hamburglar and Grimace were reported running amok on Crossover Day and eventually escorted out of the capitol by the state patrol. We don’t know if they attended the Governor’s press conference along with Lt. Governor Jones, Speaker Burns and members of the general assembly. You can watch it here.

Two bills that made it out of committee but not on the House Rules calendar are HB 101 and HB 419. HB 101, sponsored by Rep. Demeterius Douglas (D-Stockbridge), received a do pass recommendation by the Insurance committee. HB 101 would require an annual report of drug rebates and other price concessions designed to lower insurance premiums for the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP). As discussed in committee the current process is not transparent nor is it bringing down the cost of insurance premiums.

Over in House Education Committee, HB 419, received a do pass recommendation as a rewrite to clarify responsibilities. HB 419, sponsored by Chairman Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), would require all Georgia University and Technical schools to have opioid antagonist available on campus. The rewrite made this clear this was dependent on availability of funding from community sources and supply of the antagonist. While these bills did not crossover they may have a second life somewhere along the process.

Two things can and will happen to bills that have not crossed over. First, since we are in the first year of a two-year term, every bill is still “alive” for next year and will continue its journey from wherever it was left on LD 28. Second, parts or the whole of bills that did not make the cut off can be added to existing bills that have already crossed over. To use a “vehicle,” in legislative parlance, it must be in the same code section as the underlying original bill. Bills left behind can and will “grow legs,” “find a vehicle,” and become “Frankenbills”.

You’ll see some new bills and bills that did not crossover on our list for these reasons.

HB 89 Public Health, Department of; require healthcare providers, facilities, and pharmacies to provide the Maternal Mortality Review Committee with psychiatric or other clinical records 
Sponsor Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) 
Status: Passed House; In Senate Health and Human Services
The Georgia Department of Public Health collects information and records to provide information to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee. The records and information are collected from all healthcare providers, including pharmacists, to obtain information around a maternal death. This bill will add psychiatric records to the requirements and create a Regional Perinatal Center Advisory Committee. This bill passed the House 168-7.

HB 101 State employees; annual public report on the amount of prescription drug rebates and other price concessions applied to premium reductions; provide
Sponsor Demetrius Douglas (D-Stockbridge)
Status: Passed House Health; In House Rules
This would require an annual report on the impact prescription drug rebate programs have on the SHBP. Did not make it passed Crossover Day.

HB 291 Health; certification of community health workers; provide
Sponsor Darlene Taylor (R - Thomasville)
Status: Passed House
This bill would create a Community Health Worker Certification Committee tasked with creating rules and standards for a Community Health Worker certification. This committee would also be tasked with establishing a process for handling complaints and revocation of such certificates. This bill passed the House 169-4. It will receive a Senate Committee assignment later today.

HB 419 Education; require possession of opioid antagonists by institutions within University System of Georgia
Sponsor Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville)
Status: Passed House Higher Education; In House Rules
All colleges in the University System of Georgia will be required to have opioid antagonist and defibrillators on campus. Allows for possession of opioid antagonists by student and faculty. Provides some protection from civil liability when acting in good faith in decisions to apply or not apply an opioid antagonist. Allows for community groups and grants to fund access to antagonists. Did not make it passed Crossover Day.

HB 473 Controlled substances; Schedule I; provide certain provisions
Sponsor Ron Stephens (R–Savannah)
Status: Passed House; In Senate Health and Human Services
It’s the annual update to the list of Schedule 1 drugs. From Acoramidis to Zolbetuximab-clzb there are 61 new dangerous drugs.

HB 690 Pharmacy benefits managers; duty of care to insureds, health plans, and providers; provide
Sponsor Mark Newton (R - Augusta)
Status: House Insurance
Bipartisan bill that would establish that a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) cannot operate or own a pharmacy. The Commissioner of Insurance will be responsible for enforcement of existing and new laws by creating regulations around utilization, steering, reimbursement, formulary, spread pricing and transparency in claims and pricing. While the bill will apply to relationships with all pharmacies, it is primarily focused on corporate pharmacies with shareholders or chain pharmacies. Mirror bill to SB 60.

SB 91 State Employees' Health Insurance Plan; Board of Community Health from entering into, executing, or renewing a contract with any pharmacy benefits manager that owns or has an ownership interest in any retail pharmacy; prohibit
Sponsor Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia)
Status: Passed Senate; In House Health
Prohibit Georgia’s state employees' health insurance plan from contracting with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that own or have an ownership interest in any retail pharmacy or any legal entity that contracts or uses a PBM that owns or has ownership interest in a retail pharmacy. This bill aims to prevent conflicts of interest and promote fair competition in prescription drug pricing and reimbursement.

SB 131 Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce; Georgia Health Care Professionals Data System; establishment
Sponsor Mike Hodges (R-Brunswick)
Status: Passed Senate; In House Regulated Industries
This bill would require the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to create and maintain a statewide database of health care workers including Pharmacist and Pharmacist Technicians. Fourteen different state licensing boards, including the Board of Pharmacy, would report into such a database.

SB 140 Optometrists; Doctor of Optometry to dispense and sell pharmaceutical agents to patients under certain conditions; provide
Sponsor Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming)
Status: Passed Senate
Scope of Practice bill to allow Optometrists to use, dispense and sell pharmaceutical drugs to treat eye conditions and diseases. This bill passed the Senate 54-1. It will receive a House Committee assignment later today.

SB 195 Pharmacies; pharmacists are authorized to dispense preexposure prophylaxis and postexposure prophylaxis under certain conditions; provide
Sponsor Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome)
Status: Passed Senate; In House Health
Bi-partisan bill allowing pharmacist to dispense PrEP and PEP treatment. Before dispensing or administering PrEP or PEP medication to a patient, a pharmacist will need to complete a training program accredited by ACPE and approved by the Georgia Board of Pharmacy. The Board of Pharmacy will need to approve the training program by January 1, 2026. The patient may present a negative HIV test taken within the previous seven days or the pharmacist may order and administer a CLIA-waived HIV test.

SB 220 Putting Georgia's Patients First Act; enact 
Sponsor Matt Brass (R-Newnan)
Status: Passed Senate
This bill would replace “Low THC Oil” with “Medical cannabis” throughout various code sections and renaming the “Low THC Oil Patient Registry” the “Medical Cannabis Patient Registry.” Similar language to HB 227. This bill passed the senate 38-17 with one amendment. It will receive a House Committee assignment later today.

SB 314 "Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Act"; enact
Sponsor Jason Esteves (D-Atlanta)
Status: In Senate Health and Human Services
Would require the Department of Community Health and the State Board of Pharmacy to create a program to import drugs from Canadian wholesalers following the federal regulations in 21 U.S.C. Section 384. DCH would report annually to the General Assembly about the program. Since this bill was introduced close to Crossover Day it did not receive committee consideration. Many other states have seen similar bills introduced this year and there is much concern about mail order requirements in a state employee benefit program.

About this newsletter:

These updates and alerts are a benefit of GPhA membership to keep our members in the know. There is a lot to read here, and we believe it is important information to help you be a better Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Pharmacy Owner.

You can find your representative at My Voter Page. Visit Legislative Website to find out more about your representative & senator. Check out the Committee meeting schedule here, and find a list of the Committees and their members here.

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Legislative Update 03/10/25

Legislative Update Week 9:Hot Crossed Bills

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Legislative Update Week 9:
Hot Crossed Bills