A slew of harmful bills were introduced and pushed through committees during Georgia’s legislative session this week. Lawmakers trying to pass these bills may present them as protective, but a closer look shows they actually would have cruel impacts on the state’s most vulnerable populations.
Some of Georgia’s politicians seem determined to create a state where they can make health and other personal decisions about our lives. Our legal and policy experts say many of these bills are for show. Legislators are campaigning for re-election despite having unfinished at the Capitol. Rather than chipping away at democracy, we’re urging them to instead protect the rights of all Georgians.
For example, on Tuesday, we spoke in opposition to two classroom censorship bills, Senate bills 154 and 365. SB 154 would subject educators to criminal charges for distributing what the legislation vaguely refers to as “harmful materials” to minors. SB 365 requires schools to notify parents on what books students check out from the library, specifically those aforementioned harmful materials. Threatening librarians and policing what students check out is nothing but an attempt to censor students’ right to learn.
We also partnered with our national ACLU colleagues to express our concerns about Senate Bill 523. If enacted, the bill would expand Georgia’s already misused terrorism laws and needlessly create two new felony crimes. Punishing political dissent is exactly the kind of overreach rights groups warned about when the legislature amended its domestic terrorism law in 2017. Lawmakers should reject these laws.
Let’s end this week’s recap with a bit of good news. We threw in our support for House Bill 853, which aims to give students solely convicted of drug offenses access to the HOPE Scholarship. Current law prohibits students with any criminal convictions from receiving the scholarship. “This bill will help out plenty of youth to get to college and an education, to ensure we’re stopping the cycle of recidivism,” said ACLU of Georgia Policy Director Christopher Bruce.
That’s just skimming the surface of this week’s legislative goings-on, so please watch the video below recapping our staff members’ testimonies. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Threads for timely updates.
