The Georgia House and Senate have been busy this week discussing a myriad of different bills aimed at addressing all kinds of issues facing Georgians. Yesterday, the House committee of Human Relations and Aging deliberated over House Bill (HB) 645 that was targeted at the requirement and enforcement of Covid testing in long-term care facilities.
HB 645 seeks to repeal some provisions that require staff members to be tested in certain positions. The bill recognizes that these requirements are not enforced enough for them to be required anymore so it seeks to fix that disparity. The bill was passed to the Rules committee.
The House committee of Insurance considered an issue of transparency as it relates to insurance and prescription drug rebates. HB 101 is seeking to require state employees to publish an annual report on the amount of prescription drug rebates and other price concessions applied to premium reductions. The bill passed to the Rules committee.
The Insurance committee also discussed HB 649 that seeks to provide coverage for comprehensive maternal mental health screening and care. Specifically, the bill would provide coverage for mental health screenings of pregnant women and postpartum women for up to a year after birth. HB 649 passed to the Rules committee.
The Public Health and Community committee tackled the issue of the use of psychedelic substances in therapeutic treatment. HB 717, also known as the Medical Practice Act seeks to regulate the administration of psychedelic-assisted treatment and therapy. The administration of Ketamine in these instances was the main focus due to how potent it is as a hallucinogen.
The bill is concerned with preventing ketamine overdoses which can happen when it is administered intravenously. The bill was passed to the Rules committee.
Not every bill presented today was passed however. HB 344 was hotly contested in the Judiciary Non-Civil committee by its sponsors and opposition. The bill seeks to revise the penalty amount for violations captured on school bus cameras by decreasing the maximum fine to just $1,000.
The bill however acts against Addy’s Law which was passed a year ago and increased fines for violations caught on school bus cameras. The main point of Addy’s Law is to severely punish major violations like passing stopped school buses. HB 344 was tabled for further deliberation but is expected to fail.
