---
type: "Bill"
title: "Health; use of certified medication aides in penal institutions; authorize"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 31 of the O.C.G.A., relating to health, so as to authorize the use of certified medication aides in penal institutions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2023_24"
identifier: "HB 497"
citation: "Georgia HB 497 (2023_24)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Hitchens", "Devan Seabaugh", "Eddie Lumsden", "John LaHood", "Noel Williams, Jr."]
version_count: 4
action_count: 17
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-02-21"
last_action: "2023-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6019cf72-0ccd-4191-bc70-82054fc73b50"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "b1b2e7cc0517bb8af45b3bb098f3f02a3061ff9be17e4995b783fec2681e3810"
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 497 (2023_24) — Health; use of certified medication aides in penal institutions; authorize

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 31 of the O.C.G.A., relating to health, so as to authorize the use of certified medication aides in penal institutions; 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 497/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/220371.pdf)
2. **LC 33 9425/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/215269.pdf)
3. **LC 33 9442S/hcs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/216386.pdf)
4. **LC 33 9442S/hs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/215764.pdf)

## Votes

- Senate Vote #376 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **51–0** (pass) · upper
- House Vote #107 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **167–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bill Hitchens — primary (person)
- Devan Seabaugh — primary (person)
- Eddie Lumsden — primary (person)
- John LaHood — primary (person)
- Noel Williams, Jr. — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-21** House Hopper `introduction`
- **2023-02-22** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2023-02-23** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2023-02-23** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-28** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2023-02-28** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2023-03-01** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-21** Senate Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-21** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2023-03-27** Senate Tabled
- **2023-03-29** Senate Taken from Table
- **2023-03-29** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2023-03-29** Senate Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2023-04-03** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-05-01** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-01** Act 69 `executive-signature`
- **2023-07-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6019cf72-0ccd-4191-bc70-82054fc73b50`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).