Rep. Alan Powell – 2023 Legislative Newsletter – Week Seven

By State Representative Alan Powell, HD 33

Tuesday, the Georgia General Assembly returned to the State Capitol for Legislative Day 21.

We only have 20 legislative days left to complete our business, and the “Crossover Day” deadline, March 6, is rapidly approaching. With that in mind, my colleagues and I voted on many bills on the House floor that aim to better the lives of each and every Georgian, including legislation that would directly serve the citizens in our House district:

House Bill 129 would improve the maternal health of extremely low-income pregnant women, and would expand the eligibility criteria for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits to pregnant women.

House Bill 85 would require health insurance benefit policies in Georgia to cover biomarker testing for the diagnosis, treatment, management, or ongoing monitoring of a disease or condition, such as cancer.

House Bill 143 would require the Georgia Department of Community Health to cover continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) as a pharmacy benefit through Medicaid.

House Bill 81 to revise the qualifications and implementation of grant funding opportunities for low-wealth K-12 school systems to help build and maintain their schools. This legislation would update the eligibility criteria for existing project-specific capital outlay grants, which fund school construction and maintenance projects.

House Bill 87 the “Completion Special Schools Act,” to create additional educational pathways for at-risk students to earn their high school diplomas. HB 87 would authorize the State Board of Education (BOE) to adopt policies to allow the establishment, funding, and operation of “completion special schools.” These completion special schools would allow students who are behind on high school credits, at-risk of dropping out of high school or have already dropped out to enroll in these non-traditional schools to earn their diplomas with greater flexibility through online instruction or night classes.

House Bill 76 would revise the licensing requirements for an associate marriage and family therapist to allow the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education to set coursework requirements, minimum training hours and the type of clinical experience applicants must have; this bill would also update the clinical experience requirements for associate marriage and family therapists that are already licensed and/or hold a qualifying master’s or doctorate degree;

House Bill 91 would require a personal estate representative to notify all beneficiaries about a will and file such notices with the probate court within a certain timeframe; this bill also includes a citation process if the personal estate representative fails to comply;

House Bill 132 would allow the use of ungraded lumber to build non-habitable accessory structures on property zoned or primarily used for residential or agricultural purposes;

House Bill 139 would restrict the disclosure of the home address, date of birth and home phone number of a non-sworn employee of a law enforcement agency if he or she testifies for the prosecution in a criminal case and would instead allow the disclosure of the employee’s current work location/phone number;

House Bill 193 would increase the public works construction contract value amount from $100,000 or less to $250,000 or less if the contract is exempt from specific contracting and bidding requirements;

House Bill 215 would create licensure requirements for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and would define APRNs as persons registered with the Georgia Board of Nursing as a certified nurse midwife, certified nurse practitioner, certified nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric/metal health or a recognized APRN before June 2006; this bill would also make practicing as an APRN without licensure a misdemeanor and allow APRNs and physician assistants to prescribe handicap stickers to patients.

This week will be a busy week and I look forward to keeping you updated on the 2023 legislative session through these newsletters.

I encourage you to visit me at my capitol office or call me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the state budget bills, the legislative process, or any other measures considered under the Gold Dome. My capitol office number is 404-463-3793. My email is [email protected]. As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative.