The Nelson Mullins Georgia Government Relations Team hosted a reception to honor Georgia House of Representatives Speaker David Ralston, First Lady of the House Sheree Ralston, and other Georgia Mental Health Champions on the passage of House Bill 1013, Georgia's Mental Health Parity Act. The Act, which became effective on July 1, 2022, is the first comprehensive effort by the General Assembly to enhance mental health services for Georgians in decades.

HB 1013, authored by Speaker Ralston and carried by bipartisan “co-pilots” Representatives Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth) and Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), implements many of the recommendations of the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, chaired by former Representative Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville). Among other things, the legislation provides for the enforcement of parity for mental health coverage by health insurers, the creation of service-cancellable loans for students training in mental health fields, and the creation of a co-responder program and expansion of accountability courts to divert individuals suffering from mental illness to treatment rather than jail.

House Bill 1013 passed the General Assembly unanimously this past spring and was signed by Governor Brian Kemp in a ceremony gathering the myriad advocates who supported the legislation. The Nelson Mullins Georgia Government Relations Team, led by Stan Jones and his more than 40 years of experience in mental health policy, advised policymakers and represented several clients in efforts to perfect the bill.

View photo gallery here.