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Action Alert: Oppose HB 534

House Bill 534, the Governor’s overly punitive street racing legislation, has been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee today, March 17 at 4:45pm. 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.  

Please call or email the committee members in the list below and ask them to vote NO on HB 534. Feel free to use the script. You can find more talking points below.  

Chairman  Brian Strickland 404.463.6598 [email protected] 
Vice Chairman Bill Cowsert 404.463.1366 [email protected] 
Secretary John Kennedy 404.656.0045 [email protected] 
Member Bo Hatchett 404.656.7454 [email protected] 
Member Kay Kirkpatrick 404.656.3932 [email protected]  
Member Ben Watson 404.656.7880 [email protected]  
Member Blake Tillery 404.656.5038 [email protected] 
Member Harold Jones 404.656.0036 [email protected]  
Member Elena Parent 404.656.5109 [email protected] 
Member Michael “Doc” Rhett 404.656.0054 [email protected]  

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

I’m calling to demand that the Senate Judiciary 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 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.”