Georgia House bill by Rep. Petrea requiring background checks for mental health facility workers passes House and Senate

Newly passed bill authored by State Rep. Jesse Petrea aims to expand background check requirements and define disqualifying offenses for employees and owners of certain mental health facilities, according to the Georgia State House.

It passed both chambers as of Friday, March 27, clearing the House by a vote of 160-2 and the Senate by a vote of 44-0.

The bill, introduced as HB1097 on Thursday, Jan. 29 during the 2026 regular session of the 158th General Assembly, was formally described as: ’Mental health; criminal background, license status, and registry checks for owners, applicants, and employees of certain mental health facilities; provide’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill expands Georgia’s mental health code to require registry, license status and fingerprint-based state and national criminal background checks for owners, license applicants and direct-access employees of specified community living, drug treatment and adult residential mental health facilities. It defines disqualifying crimes, “eligible” and “ineligible” determinations, and “direct access,” mandates maintenance of personnel files documenting checks, and bars employment or licensure when an ineligible determination or certain registry findings occur. The bill authorizes license revocation, administrative review and appeals, civil fines up to $10,000 for facilities that retain ineligible employees, and grants civil immunity and negligent-hiring protections for good-faith compliance.

In the House, 64 Democrats and 96 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while two Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 18 Democrats and 26 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Cameron (Republican-1st), Rep. Katie Dempsey (Republican-13th), and Rep. Scott Hilton (Republican-48th), along with two other co-sponsors.

Petrea graduated from Armstrong State College in 1989 with a BS.

Petrea, a Republican, was elected to the Georgia State House in 2015 to represent the state’s 166th House District, replacing previous state representative Ben Watson.

The bill was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday, May 11.

In Georgia, the legislative process begins when a lawmaker, often at a constituent’s request, works with the Office of Legislative Counsel to draft a bill. After filing with the Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate, the bill receives its first reading and is sent to a committee, where most of the debate and fact-finding takes place. If approved, it advances to the floor for a third reading, debate, and a vote. To become law, the bill must pass both chambers, sometimes through a conference committee if versions differ, before being sent to the governor. The governor then has six days during session—or 40 days after adjournment (Sine Die)—to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without a signature. The Georgia General Assembly meets annually for a 40-day session beginning the second Monday in January.

Information in this article was obtained from the Georgia State House. The source data can be found here.