The state Senate on Thursday voted 46-7 in favor of a bill to create a new Georgia Department of Public Health.
Supporters said House Bill 214 would help the state address its wide-ranging and costly health challenges by elevating public health to a Cabinet-level post.
"Public health in this state is a mess," Rep. Mickey Channell, R-Greensboro, told a committee of legislators when testifying about the bill.
Channell's bill does not call for an increase in state money for public health. It would shift current public health operations and their current budgets into the new department.
The state's public health programs include delivering immunizations at local health departments, inspecting restaurants and septic tanks, and responding to infectious disease outbreaks and major disasters such as hurricanes and terrorist attacks.
Public health is also responsible for education campaigns that push Georgians to do what they can to improve their own health.
The House later approved the Senate version of the proposal, 142-18, with the only difference being the establishment of an advisory council on hemophilia. The matter now heads to Gov. Nathan Deal.
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