Georgia Code
Chapter 12 - Control of Hazardous Conditions, Preventable Diseases, and Metabolic Disorders
§ 31-12-6. System for Prevention of Serious Illness, Severe Physical or Developmental Disability, and Death Resulting From Inherited Metabolic and Genetic Disorders; Establishment of Newborn Screening and Genetics Advisory Committee

History. Code 1933, § 88-1202, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 2262, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 369, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 31; Ga. L. 2006, p. 416, § 1/HB 1066; Ga. L. 2017, p. 479, § 2/HB 241; Ga. L. 2021, p. 419, § 2/HB 567.
The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, inserted “Krabbe disease,” in the middle of the first sentence of subsection (a); added “; provided, however, that screening for Krabbe disease shall be conducted separately at the option of the parent or parents” at the end of subsection (c); added “; provided, however, that the fees for screening for Krabbe disease shall be paid directly by the parents to the laboratory” at the end of the first sentence of subsection (f); and, in subsection (g), added “; provided, however, that the screening for Krabbe disease may be conducted by a laboratory located outside of Georgia if approved by the board” at the end of the first sentence, and inserted “, except for Krabbe disease,” in the second sentence.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: “The department shall promulgate rules and regulations creating a system for the prevention of serious illness, severe physical or developmental disability, and death caused by genetic conditions, such as phenylketonuria, galactosemia, homocystinuria, maple syrup urine disease, hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Krabbe disease, and such other inherited metabolic and genetic disorders as may be identified in the future to result in serious illness, severe physical or developmental disability, and death if undiagnosed and untreated. The system shall have five components: screening newborns for the disorders; retrieving potentially affected screenees back into the health care system; accomplishing specific diagnoses; initiating and continuing therapy; and assessing the program.”; substituted the present provisions of subsection (c) for the former provisions, which read: “The department shall be responsible for the screening of all newborns for the disorders enumerated and in a manner determined by the department pursuant to rules and regulations and shall be responsible for assessment of the program; provided, however, that screening for Krabbe disease shall be conducted separately at the option of the parent or parents.”; revised punctuation in subsection (d); deleted the proviso at the end of the first sentence of subsection (f), which read: “; provided, however, that the fees for screening for Krabbe disease shall be paid directly by the parents to the laboratory”; in subsection (g), in the first sentence, deleted “testing” following “perform screening” near the middle, deleted “for Krabbe disease” following “the screening” in the proviso, and substituted “as otherwise provided by the department” for “for Krabbe disease” in the middle of the second sentence; deleted former subsection (h), which read: “No later than January 1, 2007, the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts shall conduct an assessment evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the newborn screenings conducted by the Georgia Public Health Laboratory pursuant to this Code section. If it is determined that private laboratories can provide testing at a lower cost than the Georgia Public Health Laboratory, the department shall issue a request for proposals to qualified vendors including any private laboratory licensed in Georgia as established in subsection (g) of this Code section. The Georgia Public Health Laboratory shall be eligible to respond to such request for proposals.”; redesignated former subsection (i) as present subsection (h); and added subsection (i).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2017, p. 479, § 1/HB 241, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as ‘Cove’s Law.’ ”.
U.S. Code.
Title V of the Social Security Act, referred to in subsection (d) of this Code section, is codified as 42 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.
Law reviews.
For article, “Baby Doe Cases: Compromise and Moral Dilemma,” see 34 Emory L.J. 545 (1986).

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