Georgia Senate panel calls for abolishing state permits for health facilities

Georgia Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, speaks in the Senate chambers of the state Capitol, March 6, 2023, in Atlanta. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, a committee led by Dolezal adopted a report calling for lawmakers to abolish government permits for health facilities. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, File)

A Georgia Senate committee recommended on Tuesday that the state abolish its requirements for permits to build health facilities, setting up a renewed push on the issue after a debate in the 2023 legislative session mushroomed into a House-Senate standoff.

The conclusion was little surprise after Republican Lt. Gov Burt Jones appointed many committee members who wanted a full or partial repeal of Georgia’s certificate of need rules.

“What we heard pretty consistently in our work around the state was that access to health care is being constricted by these existing laws,” state Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Cumming Republican and Jones ally, said after the special committee adopted its final report on a 6-2 vote.