---
type: "Bill"
title: "Speech-language pathologists and audiologists; revise licensing provisions"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 44 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state speech-language pathology and audiology licensing, so as to allow persons who are not licensed audiologists to use otoacoustic emissions or auditory brainstem response technology as part of a screening process for the initial identification of communication disorders in individuals up to age 22, subject to certain conditions; to provide for compliance with certain notifiable disease reporting requirements; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2021_22"
identifier: "HB 1186"
citation: "Georgia HB 1186 (2021_22)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Chris Erwin", "Jodi Lott", "Martin Momtahan", "Matt Dubnik", "Penny Houston", "Sharon Cooper"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 17
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2022-02-02"
last_action: "2022-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/10ea77b7-f5c0-4838-a013-7d106fd72c9a"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "7265b214a983c6930cd67330525d1efb3d9766611dfdd6dbaed2fd130c76d377"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 1186 (2021_22) — Speech-language pathologists and audiologists; revise licensing provisions

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 44 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state speech-language pathology and audiology licensing, so as to allow persons who are not licensed audiologists to use otoacoustic emissions or auditory brainstem response technology as part of a screening process for the initial identification of communication disorders in individuals up to age 22, subject to certain conditions; to provide for compliance with certain notifiable disease reporting requirements; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 1186/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/212179.pdf)
2. **LC 49 0774/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/204933.pdf)
3. **LC 49 0828S/hcs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/207574.pdf)
4. **LC 49 0828S/hs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/206856.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **156–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Chris Erwin — primary (person)
- Jodi Lott — primary (person)
- Martin Momtahan — primary (person)
- Matt Dubnik — primary (person)
- Penny Houston — primary (person)
- Sharon Cooper — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-02-02** House Hopper
- **2022-02-03** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2022-02-07** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2022-02-17** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-02-24** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2022-02-24** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2022-02-28** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2022-03-17** Senate Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-03-18** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2022-04-01** Senate Tabled
- **2022-04-04** Senate Taken from Table
- **2022-04-04** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2022-04-04** Senate Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2022-04-06** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2022-05-09** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2022-05-09** Act 838 `executive-signature`
- **2022-07-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/10ea77b7-f5c0-4838-a013-7d106fd72c9a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).