State Legislature Begins Final 6 Days of Session 

State Legislature Update

April 24, 2025

On Friday, April 4, the Georgia General Assembly adjourned its 2025 session “sine die”.  As we say nearly every year it seems, the results of the session were a mixed bag for the Georgia AAP and our members and their patients.  We’re start with reviewing the Chapter priorities going into the session and how they fared when the legislators returned home.  (Also note, that April 4 is not necessarily the end of it.  Per our state Constitution, the Governor has 40 days to either sign, or veto all bills.  Or he can let them become law by neither signing nor vetoing them.  That date is May 14.)

Here are the Chapter’s Legislative priorities for the 2025 session: 

1. Protect current Georgia laws on child immunizations, particularly current law re requirement for school attendance. 

Result: No bills were introduced on this issue, thankfully.

2. Support injury prevention legislation to protect children and youth, especially on firearm safety. 

Result: Several gun safety bills were introduced, all by Democrats; but none even received a committee hearing.  Even a House bill to provide tax credit if a safe storage device was purchased did not pass the Senate.

3. Support the Georgia Medicaid program which is a vital part of Georgia’s healthcare infrastructure and serves nearly 2 million children, from newborns to 18 years old. 

Result: The Chapter, along with our PCP Coalition partners, sought an increase in CPT codes 99213 and 99214 of 11%. This would have taken these codes to 100% of 2024 Medicare rates.  The final FY 2026 budget bill included only enough funds to raise these rates to 2.75%.

4. Protect the Medical home and oppose unwise attempts at scope of practice expansions by non-physicians. 

Result: No “expansion of scope” bills passed during the session; although a few were introduced.

5. Improve the availability and accessibility of mental health services for children/youth. 

Result: The only movement on this front was in the budget, where the state APEX program, which provides for psychological counseling in schools was restored to the Dept. of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities budget, after the Senate wanted to transfer it to the Dept. of Education.

6. Support legislation on tort reform as advanced by Governor Kemp. 

Result: A clear win!  Both bills, SB 68 and SB 69, were passed and have been signed by Governor Kemp. We thank him for advocating for this important reform bill which makes Georgia’s tort laws fairer and more reasonable for all parties.

Here are some other bills that we followed and/or engaged in and how they came out this session.

PANDAS/PANS:  SB 5 would require state employee insurance plans to cover this condition.  Passed.

Flu immunization:  HB 645 would lower the age from 50 to 18 years old in which hospitals shall offer pts flu vaccine prior to discharge. Passed.

Medical Cannabis: Two bills, one House and one Senate, would have made changes to the state’s “low THC oil” law. The House version would have permitted it’s use in minors for treatment of ASD and PTSD—currently forbidden by state law.  Both bills failed.

Safe Schools: HB 258, by a representative from Winder (home of Apalachee HS) sponsored this bill which makes several technical changes for schools to detect threats and threat management.  But nothing about gun safety or restrictions. Passed.

Gender-affirming care:  SB 30 and SB 39.  SB 30 would have banned the use of puberty blockers in GAC for minors; and SB 39 would have banned GAC in the state health benefit plan and the state’s Medicaid program.  Both failed.

Finally, we were pleased to have introduced and passed Resolutions in both chambers to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the nationwide polio vaccination campaign–launched by President Eisenhower at the White House on April 12, 1954.  The resolutions noted that this immunization campaign, which brought polio to near-eradication in the U.S., was the great public health achievement of the 20^th century.  Thank you to Rep. Debbie Buckner and Sen. Randy Robertson, both of the Columbus area, for sponsored these wonderful resolutions.

Thanks to the many members who contacted their representatives during the Session.  But please maintain that contact with your state senator and state representative, especially during the “off-season” during summer and into next fall.  That’s where your relationships can be built that will make you a trusted voice to that representative when they return to Atlanta next January.

And thanks to the members of the Chapter Legislative Committee for your diligence and conscientious attendance at our Committee meetings during the session.

The Committee is open to all Chapter members. Just contact Joanna Caceres-Aponte at the chapter office to join.

Melinda Willingham, MD

Chair