The Watcher
 News from Georgia Watch
February 2024
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Updates on the 2024 Legislative Session!
Georgia Watch has been busy advocating for several key bills in the Georgia legislature that aim to protect our communities and promote equity. From regulating predatory car title lenders to increasing access to healthcare and ensuring fair consideration for vulnerable populations, these bills address crucial issues facing Georgian consumers.

This session, Georgia's Crossover Day is February 29–the date by which bills generally must pass their originating chamber (House or Senate) to be considered by the opposite chamber in order to become law. Since we're in the second year of Georgia's 2-year cycle, any bills that don't pass both chambers and become law will have to start the legislative process over again next year.

We are actively working to support the passage of:
  • House Bill 342 to regulate car title lenders, protecting Georgians from predatory lending practices. This bill had a hearing in the House Banking Committee last year, but no vote was taken. To date, a hearing hasn’t been scheduled this session.
  • House Bill 1339 to increase access to affordable, quality healthcare in Georgia. The bill passed the House (adopted by substitute) on 2/27/2024 and moved to the Senate for consideration! We will continue to work towards this important bill being signed into law.
  • Senate Bill 524 to establish a state certification process for Community Health Workers, improving access to care and recognizing their contributions. SB 524 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously, but did not pass the Rules Committee in time for a vote by the full Senate before Crossover Day.
  • Senate Bill 505 to increase hospital and health system reporting standards, and require increased community benefit and indigent care spending to justify nonprofit tax exempt benefits. An amended version of the bill passed the Senate unanimously and now moves to the House for consideration. We strongly support passage of this legislation to hold health systems accountable!
  • Senate Bill 552 to implement the use of an "equity impact tool" to assess the impact of proposed legislation on vulnerable communities. Senator Sonya Halpern introduced SB 552 on 2/21/24.
We are actively working to oppose the passage of:
  • Senate Bill 254, which authorizes earned wage access (EWA) providers to operate in the state without predatory lending protections.The bill passed the House Banking Committee on 2/21/2024. We are working diligently to prevent it from moving further.
  • Senate Bill 452, which would weaken regulations on car title lenders, allowing them to continue predatory practices. Fortunately, the bill failed to pass the Senate Finance Committee.

Download our 2024 Policy Priorities and keep up-to-date on all the bills we’re following on our Take Action page.

Please be on the lookout for action alerts from us throughout the session as we call on you to contact your legislators to amplify consumer concerns on the issues that matter most to you. Our success depends on your voice!
Liz Coyle,
Executive Director
2024 Community Health Worker Awareness Day Recap
Georgia Watch, along with our partners, successfully hosted our 2nd Annual Community Health Worker (CHW) Awareness Day at the Capitol. Over 150 Community Health Workers (CHWs), advocates, and volunteers gathered on February 12th for a powerful event that highlighted the critical role CHWs play in building healthier communities and empowered attendees to advocate for CHW workforce development and sustainability. Our innovative approach, pairing CHWs with student guides, proved remarkably effective. The guides worked seamlessly with the Capitol "pages" to secure meetings with legislators, ensuring attendees' voices were heard. The impact of this strategy went beyond our event, as Georgia Watch was invited back by the Senate page desk to share our unique method to help make the legislative engagement process smoother for future visiting organizations.

CHW Awareness Day 2024 served as a powerful platform for advocacy and collaboration. Georgia Watch and our partners remain committed to:
  • Elevating awareness about the invaluable work of CHWs.
  • Advocating for policies that support CHW workforce development and sustainability.
  • Empowering CHWs to advocate for themselves and their communities.

If you missed CHW Awareness Day and would like to continue to support this workforce visit our website using the link below.
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Georgia Watch
55 Marietta Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
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