Action Alert: NO on HB 534

House Bill 534, the Governor’s overly punitive street racing legislation, has been scheduled for a hearing in the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee tomorrow, March 2 at 11:30am. We are asking our network to contact the members of the committee to ask them to vote NO on HB 534. 

As a reminder, HB 534 is an effort to increase penalties for people who participate in street racing events, which will cause harm to Black and Brown communities by: 

·       Creating new criminal offenses,  

·       Declaring certain vehicles to be contraband and requiring forfeiture, and  

·       Requiring the suspension of driver’s licenses for convictions of reckless stunt driving. 

While HB 534 may be intended to deter unsafe conduct, the punitive approach upon which it relies will have no deterrent effect and instead will result in greater rates of incarceration, an especially harmful outcome during the current pandemic. Moreover, the penalties imposed by HB 534 for the new crime of reckless stunt driving are harsher than the penalties for driving under the influence, despite the fact that 1 in 4 car-related deaths in Georgia involve a DUI and no data exists to suggest that reckless stunt driving is nearly as dangerous.  

Please call or email the committee members in the list below and ask them to vote NO on HB 534. There is a suggested script that you can work from below.

Chairman	J. Collins	404.657.1803	[email protected]
Vice Chairman	Danny Mathis	404.656.0152	[email protected]
Secretary	Jodi Lott	404.651.7737	[email protected]
Member	Becky Evans	404.656.0109	[email protected]
Member	Gloria Frazier	404.656.0265	[email protected]
Member	Mike Glanton	404.657.1803	[email protected]
Member	Scott Holcomb	404.656.6372	[email protected]
Member	Mack Jackson	404.656.0314	[email protected]
Member	Yasmin Neal	404.656.6372	[email protected]
Member	Heath Clark	404.656.0213	[email protected]
Member	Micah Gravley	404.656.5025	[email protected]
Member	Gerald Greene	404.656.9210	[email protected]
Member	Rick Jasperse	404.656.7153	[email protected]
Member	Eddie Lumsden	404.656.7850	[email protected]
Member	Darlene Taylor	404.656.7857	[email protected]
Member	Bill Werkheiser	404.656.5943	[email protected]
Member	Clint Crowe	404.656.0325	[email protected]
Member	David Jenkins	404.656.0188	[email protected]
Member	Jesse Petrea	404.656.7857	[email protected]
Member	Alan Powell	404.463.3793	[email protected]
Member	Rick Williams	404.656.0254	[email protected]

“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME]. I’m calling/emailing with a message for [NAME OF COMMITTEE MEMBER]. 

I’m calling/emailing to demand that the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee vote NO on House Bill 534, which increases penalties for street racing activity. We of course all want solutions that will make our communities safer, but this legislation does not provide any. In fact, there’s been no evidence offered to suggest that increased jail time will have any deterrent effect on car events. Instead, this response – which imposes harsher penalties than those that exist for DUIs – will only lead to more young Black and Brown people in jail. Lawmakers should explore less harmful and more effective solutions to deter this activity as well as engage the car enthusiast community to find new and safe spaces for car-related activity. We need real solutions, not more punishment. Thank you.”