Georgia Senate unveils new mental health bill at late hour

The Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Committee didn’t take a vote on a mental health reform bill and didn’t schedule another meeting before a Thursday deadline for bills to advance out of Senate committees.

Jason Getz / Associated Press file

An effort to make more changes to Georgia’s mental health system could stall in the closing days of the 2023 legislative session even though a Senate committee on Wednesday unveiled a rewritten bill that House sponsors and advocates found broadly acceptable.

That’s because the Senate Health and Human Services Committee didn’t take a vote on House Bill 520 and didn’t schedule another meeting before a Thursday deadline for bills to advance out of Senate committees.

Committee Chairman Ben Watson, a Savannah Republican, said that means a two-thirds vote of the Senate would be required to set aside normal rules and vote on the bill after the deadline. When asked whether he would seek that move, Watson said “That’s probably not my question to answer.”