State Representative Eddie Lumsden of Armuchee, who represents Chattooga County and parts of Floyd County, reported a highly productive fifth week of the 2026 Georgia legislative session as lawmakers returned to the Capitol on February 9. Over four legislative days, the Georgia House passed and adopted 23 bills and resolutions as momentum continues to build toward Crossover Day, the key deadline that determines which legislation remains eligible for passage this session.

Among the most significant actions was the passage of House Bill 657, bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening mental health and substance use recovery services by formally recognizing and certifying peer specialists and establishing statewide standards for recovery community organizations. Lawmakers also unanimously approved Senate Bill 162 to modernize and streamline medical licensing and credentialing, helping physicians and other medical professionals enter Georgia’s workforce more quickly, particularly benefiting rural areas facing provider shortages. Additional measures addressed public health, including Senate Bill 195, which expands access to HIV prevention medications through trained pharmacists.

Education and accountability were also major focuses during the week. The House passed House Bill 383 to regulate Name, Image, and Likeness compensation for high school student athletes, creating protections against exploitation while allowing opportunities. Lawmakers also approved House Bill 907 to improve graduation outcomes through updates to Georgia’s completion special schools, along with House Bill 903 to strengthen transparency in state rulemaking. Rep. Lumsden said the House will return to session following the President’s Day holiday and encouraged constituents to stay engaged as legislative work intensifies.

Complete report:

My colleagues and I returned to the Georgia State Capitol on Monday, February 9, to kick off the fifth week of the 2026 legislative session. This week, we were in session for four legislative days, and the House Rules Committee remained busy throughout the week, placing several bills on the Rules Calendar each day for consideration on the House floor. As a result, we were highly productive, passing and adopting a total of 23 bills and resolutions. As the legislative session continues, our days on the House floor will get busier and longer as we work toward the critical deadline of Crossover Day—Legislative Day 28—which marks the final opportunity for bills and resolutions to pass out of their originating chamber and remain eligible to be signed into law during this legislative session. 

On Monday, the Georgia House passed House Bill 657—a meaningful step toward enhancing mental health and substance use recovery services in our state. This bipartisan bill would formally define certified peer specialists in state law as those who have live experience and are trained to provide ongoing support to individuals and families receiving mental health or substance use recovery services. HB 657 would require peer specialists to be certified through the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), helping to ensure consistency and quality of care statewide. HB 657 would also establish standards and requirements for recovery community organizations (RCOs)—nonprofit organizations led and governed by local communities that support individuals, families and communities affected by substance use disorders by increasing access to peer support services, advocacy efforts for recovery and community education around addiction and recovery. Under the bill, RCOs would be required to have a mission focused on recovery, operate as nonprofit entities, maintain a governing board with a majority of members in recovery, provide nonclinical peer support services and employ certified peer specialists. While RCOs currently operate independently to meet the unique needs of their communities, this legislation seeks to strengthen and standardize peer support by setting clear training requirements and operational guidelines. Importantly, HB 657 would require RCOs to support all pathways to recovery, including medication-assisted treatment and harm reduction strategies. This bill is particularly important because Georgia has the second-largest number of RCOs in the nation. By creating these standards, the bill would ensure that individuals have access to treatments that best meet their needs and support their recovery journey, while also protecting the integrity of these vital community-based programs. 

Modernizing and streamlining the licensing and credentialing process for Georgia’s medical professionals was also a priority this week as we unanimously passed Senate Bill 162. The bill would require the Georgia Composite Medical Board to implement an automated licensing data management software system for physicians, physician assistants and anesthesiologist assistants, with the goal of getting qualified providers into Georgia’s workforce much faster. The system would organize, verify and store healthcare providers’ licenses to establish a single verification process for statewide authorization. By allowing a medical professional’s credentialed status to apply across all healthcare facilities in Georgia, the system would help eliminate duplicative credentialing requirements and reduce administrative backlogs to improve overall efficiency in delivering care. The need for this legislation emerged after a clinical training program at the Northwest Campus of Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia developed a one-time credentialing model to address the high costs and delays medical students faced when obtaining separate credentials for each facility where they trained. SB 162 would mirror that approach and extend it to licensed medical professionals, including physicians, physicians’ assistants and anesthesiologist assistants, and would be fully operational by January 1, 2027. By streamlining credentialing and removing barriers to practice, the system would enable Georgia’s medical workforce to reach patients more quickly, especially in rural Georgia where a critical shortage of healthcare professionals continues to limit access to necessary care.

On Wednesday, we unanimously passed House Bill 383, bipartisan legislation that would regulate Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation for prospective and current Georgia high school student athletes. Currently in Georgia, high school student athletes can earn compensation through NIL opportunities, and this bill would provide clarity to high schools and establish guardrails to protect these students from exploitation. The bill would provide for the automatic expiration of NIL contracts once a student athlete graduates from or is no longer enrolled in a participating high school. Without this automatic expiration, these minors could be at risk of agreeing to a long-term, binding contract that could later impact their eligibility for collegiate NIL opportunities. Furthermore, the bill would also allow current and prospective high school student athletes to obtain professional representation and would require schools to provide written notice explaining how receiving money or other forms of compensation could impact future eligibility for intercollegiate athletics. Notably, HB 383 would prohibit student athletes from receiving NIL compensation as an incentive to attend or compete for a specific school, wearing school logos or references in NIL-related activities, promoting brands during games or endorsing restricted or adult products such as alcohol, tobacco and other items. This bill seeks to expand opportunities for high school student athletes, while providing clear guidance to students, their families, their high schools and high school associations and also protecting young athletes from long-term exploitation. 

This week, we also unanimously passed legislation that seeks to improve educational outcomes and graduation rates in Georgia. House Bill 907 would make several updates to the Completion Special Schools Act by revising certain procedures for Georgia’s completion special schools—formerly known as alternative schools. These public, non-traditional schools are designed to help students in grades nine through 12 who have dropped out, or are at risk of dropping out, earn their high school diploma. These schools provide supportive programs and offer flexible, self-paced learning options, including evening and weekend classes, to meet students where they are. HB 907 would require completion special schools to partner with local school systems and provide those school systems with updated descriptions of their programs by June 1 and December 1 of each year. Resident school systems would then be required to share this information with all students and their parents or guardians both electronically and by posting it at each high school in prominent locations. In addition, resident school systems would be allowed to share contact information for students who stop attending or withdraw, giving completion special schools the opportunity to connect with at-risk students and their families and help provide pathways to complete their education. HB 907 would also give a parent or guardian the ability to directly register their student in a completion special school’s credit recovery, dropout prevention or academic intervention programs. HB 907 would help ensure continuity of services for students as Georgia’s network of completion special schools continues to expand—an effort reflected in the House’s version of the Amended Fiscal Year 2026 (AFY 2026) budget, House Bill 973, which includes $1.7 million to support the creation of a new completion special school in the Columbus region. As new completion schools come online, the bill would direct the State Board of Education to establish a reasonable transition period to allow students to transfer to the new completion special school. This would apply when a new schoolopens in an area that previously did not have one but had been served by a neighboring completion special school. During the transition, the neighboring completion special school couldcontinue serving students until the new school is fully operational in that area, ensuring there is no disruption in services.

Senate Bill 195 also passed out of the House Chamber this week to modernize and increase access to HIV prevention medications by allowing pharmacists to dispense preexposure (PrEP) and postexposure (PEP) prophylaxis under certain conditions. PrEP is preventative HIV medication taken before potential exposure, while PEP is medication taken after possible exposure. Current Georgia law does not allow pharmacists to dispense PrEP and PEP independently, and this bill would be an important step toward HIV prevention by allowing pharmacists to administer these medications, while adhering to clinical guidelines and oversight requirements. Under SB 195, a pharmacist would be authorized to dispense a 30-day supply, with the ability to provide up to 90 days of medication after completing a training program from the State Board of Pharmacy. Alternatively, for patients seeking long-acting injectables for HIV treatment, pharmacists would be required to operate under a formal protocol agreement with a physician, and no physician could oversee more than 10 pharmacists at onetime. Pharmacists would also be required to notify a patient’s primary care provider before administering any of these HIV treatments—or provide a list of available physicians if the patient does not have one—and document all services to ensure quality of care. These guardrails are designed to protect patients by maintaining physician oversight, while expanding access to essential prevention services. Pharmacists who fail to comply with certain requirements could face fines of up to $2,500 and be prohibited from administering long acting injectables in the future. Georgia continues to experience high HIV rates, making expanded access to prevention tools both urgent and necessary. By allowing trained pharmacists to administer these medications, the bill would reduce barriers to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to medical care and physicians is limited.

The House took additional steps this week to strengthen transparency and accountability in state government by passing House Bill 903 with bipartisan support. HB 903 updates existing law to clarify that all executive branch agencies must follow the Georgia Administrative Procedures Act (APA) when adopting certain rules. The APA governs how state agencies propose and issue regulations and allows for judicial review of final agency decisions in Georgia. Specifically, state boards, commissioners, departments and public authorities with rulemaking authority would be subject to the same public notice, comment and procedural requirements that govern formal rulemaking. By reaffirming that these standards apply broadly across the executive branch, the bill would ensure consistency andtransparency in the rulemaking process, while preserving the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches and safeguarding the General Assembly’s legislative oversight.

We also gave final passage to two measures this week by agreeing to Senate substitutes, sending both bills to the governor’s desk for consideration. House Bill 117 would require food service establishments that serve imported foreign shrimp to clearly disclose that information on menus or place cards visible to the public. The bill reflects Georgia’s continued commitment to supporting its coastal economy and seafood heritage. During the 2024 legislative session, we reinforced that priority by passing House Bill 1341, which designated white shrimp—harvested along Georgia’s coast—as the official state crustacean. White shrimp are central to coastal culture and typically make up about 80 percent of the seafood caught in Georgia each year. In addition, House Bill 414 also received final passage. This measure would allow the State Ethics Commission to request documentation or information related to government transparency and campaign finance from an individual located outside of Georgia. If that person refuses to comply, the commission would be authorized to petition a superior court to obtain the requested materials. 

The following House bills and resolutions were also passed and adopted during the fifth week of session:

On Tuesday, February 17, we will return to the Georgia State Capitol following the President’s Day holiday. In the coming weeks, the House’s work will be fast-paced and consequential as we approach our Crossover Day deadline. I will be sure to keep you updated with our progress in the coming weeks. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me regarding issues that are being considered under the Gold Dome, and I encourage you to stay connected with our work at the Capitol as we move through the remainder of the 2026 legislative session.

You may contact me by email at Eddie.Lumsden@house.ga.govor by phone at 404-656-7850. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your state representative for the 2025–2026 legislative term.

Eddie Lumsden