Latest news with #HB428
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Kemp signs several healthcare bills in Savannah
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Governor Brian Kemp campaigned on quality healthcare for Georgians, and he says that was delivered Thursday with six bills signed into law. 'Protecting the health and wellbeing of Georgians isn't something that we take lightly,' Kemp said. Issues addressed in those bills: Maternal, mental, and physical health. One of the bills signed, SB 55, aims to make sure everyone, regardless of if they have a disability or not, earns at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Senator Billy Hickman from Statesboro sponsored the legislation. Hickman said there are about 10 community rehabilitation centers across the state now paying people with disabilities below minimum wage, in some cases only 22 cents an hour. Hickman told WSAV, he became passionate about this issue when it became personal. 'I lost 60 percent of my hearing in one of my ears and 40 percent of my hearing in the other. So it really has caused me to understand more about people who have disabilities; how it affects them,' Hickman said. Another bill with personal ties to many is HB 428. The bill is sponsored by Representative Lehman Franklin. The bill provides more access to IVF procedures. 'A modern miracle for many families who yearn for the blessing of a child,' Kemp said. Senator Ben Watson sponsored the bill in the senate. He told News 3 about the IVF journey Representative Franklin and his wife, Laurie, have endured. 'They had tried unsuccessfully for years, and she is due here in about three weeks as a result of in vitro fertilization. So, basically what we wanted to ensure was that all Georgians had that access and had the right to have that,' Watson said. Other bills addressed maternal mortality and drug abuse treatment. Kemp also signed 17 local legislative bills for communities from Tybee island to Long and Bryan County. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill to protect IVF passes unanimously in Georgia House, now heads to Senate
In vitro fertilization is one step closer to being protected under Georgia law. A bill to do that passed the Georgia House unanimously on Thursday. Both sides, Republican and Democrat, wanted to pass the bill to protect in vitro fertilization in Georgia law, no one more so than Statesboro Republican Lehman Franklin. After eight years of trying, his wife just became pregnant thanks to IVF. House Speaker Jon Burns asked him to carry the bill. 'It's been a beautiful thing to be a process, be in the process of, and I'm just thankful to do it,' Franklin said. Democrats and Republicans all chimed in with their support. RELATED STORIES: Lawmaker's journey with IVF leads to new bill in Georgia House of Representatives House Speaker Jon Burns says he's still committed to supporting IVF treatment in Georgia Trump has signed an executive order on IVF. Here's what you should know about the procedure 'Every family deserves the opportunity to bring life into this world when they are ready,' state Rep. Esther Panitch said. 'I think it is critical that legally we protect this right in Georgia as a part of law,' state Rep. Deborah Silcox said. The law codifies IVF protection in Georgia law to avoid what happened in Alabama, where its Supreme Court declared it illegal under that state's abortion law. It was almost unanimous, save for one holdout Woodstock Republican Charlice Byrd, but Democrats and Republicans finally convinced her to vote with the majority and it passed without a single no vote. 'Under the protection of HB 428, every Georgian who faces a challenge, the challenge of infertility, will have access to IVF which has made it possible for thousands of families to realize the dream of parenthood,' Burns said. Passing the bill was one of Burns' legislative priorities. It now heads to the senate.
