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House committee approves bill moving mental‑health and disability program licensure from DCH to DBHDD
Summary
A committee voted to give a due‑pass recommendation to a bill that reassigns licensure and programmatic oversight for mental‑health, substance‑use and developmental‑disability facilities from the Department of Community Health to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and shifts related appropriations.
A House committee gave a due‑pass recommendation to a bill that would transfer licensure authority for mental‑health, substance‑use treatment and certain developmental‑disability residential programs from the Georgia Department of Community Health to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Representative Petrie introduced House Bill 584 (LC 570238) as a departmental alignment measure, saying the change is intended to “align programs to where we have federal and state in the same place.”
The bill edits existing statutes to remove references to the Department of Community Health for programs that primarily serve people with mental illness, substance‑use disorder or intellectual and developmental disabilities and adds those programs to DBHDD’s statutory responsibilities. Joe Hood, chief operating officer for the Department of Community Health, told the committee the change is largely administrative and described the bill as a “find and replace” that removes duplicative audits and regulatory overlap.
“We align state and federal together,” Hood said, adding the two departments had calculated staffing and operational costs and included an appropriations shift in both departments’ budgets. The bill includes a transition window through the end of calendar year 2025 to move rules, staff and funding.
Committee members who spoke favorably said the measure builds on prior work to reduce duplication. Representative Oliver cited earlier reviews of overlapping regulation and said the bill “represents real progress in helping the providers comply.”
The committee voted by voice vote to give the bill a due‑pass recommendation. The motion received a second; committee members responded “aye” and no opposition was recorded in the transcript.
What the bill does not do: it does not change Medicare or Medicaid program eligibility rules, and the committee record did not show changes to federal grant awards. The committee discussion and Hood’s remarks framed the measure as aligning state licensure with DBHDD’s federally related program responsibilities.
Next steps: with the committee’s due‑pass recommendation the bill moves to the next step in the legislative process. The transcript does not record final floor action or a signed enrollment.
