# Georgia HB 943: Social services; establish a pilot program for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care; provide

Georgia HB 943, Social services; establish a pilot program for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Sharon Cooper (Republican), Lehman Franklin (Republican), Lee Hawkins (Republican) and 2 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-11 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB943-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 943
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Social services; establish a pilot program for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care; provide
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-07-11, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Sharon Cooper (Republican), Lehman Franklin (Republican), Lee Hawkins (Republican), Kim Schofield (Democrat), Deborah Silcox (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Judiciary Juvenile, Children and Families, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (211 yes, 2 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New autism support for Georgia foster children: benefit, medium. The law creates a five-year autism pilot for children in Georgia foster care, subject to state funding. Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services must provide screenings and clinical evaluations for diagnosis and treatment planning. The pilot covers autism spectrum disorder and related dis…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Sharon Cooper (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Lehman Franklin (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Lee Hawkins (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Kim Schofield (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Deborah Silcox (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Blake Tillery (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 46 | 0 | 3 |
| 2026-02-18 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 165 | 2 | 4 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-11: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 477
- 2026-04-07: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-18: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- 2026-02-12: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- 2026-01-14: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-01-13: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-01-12: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 943/AP* (v6): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248540)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 943/AP* (v6) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248540)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB943-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).