Health Policy

The 2024 Legislative Session of the Georgia General Assembly has begun.

Throughout the legislative session, our liaison Scott Maxwell provided a weekly report on bills and any other legislative activity related to public health. Reports are posted below.


Review the weekly updates from the 2024 legislative session below:

Looking for a recap of previous legislative sessions? Click here to view an archive of legislative reports for 2018 – 2023.


2023 Policy Positions

GPHA supports programs and funding to protect and promote the public’s health throughout the state, including:

  • Maintaining sufficient funding of county health departments through the Grants-to-Counties formula.
  • Salary enhancements to promote recruitment, retention, and succession efforts for public health staff.
  • Financial incentives for primary care professionals to practice in Georgia, especially in rural areas.
  • Opposition to legislation that weakens food safety laws and DPH rules for restaurants and mobile food vehicles.
  • Support of telehealth, telemedicine, and teledentistry initiatives that improve public health.
  • Support of adding a significant excise tax to the sale of tobacco products.
  • Support of legislation to revise the Smoke Free Air Act to include vaping.
  • Legislation updating the definition of sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Georgia law.