Category: Policy
Legislative Update: Crossover Day Recap and Key Bills to Watch
We have officially crossed over! March 6th was Crossover Day—the deadline for bills to pass from one chamber to the next to remain eligible for passage this session. The remaining 12 legislative days will be used to consider bills still viable for passage.
READ MORE >The Georgia House Unanimously Passes Bill to Protect People with Intellectual Disability from the Death Penalty
With a standing ovation from House members, HB 123 moves to the Senate for consideration with a vote of 172-0.
READ MORE >Help Advance Justice in Georgia: 2025 Legislative Priorities
The 2025-2026 biennial Georgia legislative session has officially begun! The Southern Center for Human Rights is committed to decriminalizing race and poverty in America’s Deep South. Our policy priorities this session reflects that commitment.
READ MORE >United Nations Forum Shines Spotlight on People of African Descent
Director of Public Policy Tiffany Roberts took the stage for the third time, representing the Southern Center for Human Rights and the JUSTGeorgia coalition.
READ MORE >Human Rights Groups Ask International Commission to Investigate Police Killing of U.S. Environmental Activist
Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, The Southern Center for Human Rights, and the University of Dayton Human Rights Center filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights requesting a Department of Justice investigation into the 2023 murder of Manuel Esteban Páez Terán (known as “Tortuguita”), an environmental activist who was killed by police while peacefully protesting the construction of Atlanta’s “Cop City” facility.
READ MORE >Sine Die: Georgia’s 2023/2024 Legislative Biennial Ends
On Thursday, March 28, the Georgia General Assembly officially adjourned!
READ MORE >Legislative Update – Day 39
Today marks Legislative Day 39, which means we are two days away from Sine Die, the final day of the 2023-2024 biennial legislative session, which concludes months of debate and decision-making on legislation that will continue to shape the future of Georgia’s criminal legal system.
READ MORE >Legislative Update – Day 27
Tomorrow will mark Legislative Day 28, Crossover Day. This is this session’s deadline for legislators in each chamber to pass legislation from one chamber to the next.
READ MORE >Legislative Update – Day 21
Today marks Legislative Day 21, which means we are more than halfway through the legislative session! As we approach Crossover Day in two weeks (February 29), legislators will work to pass legislation from one chamber to the next. Your representatives have voted on promising proposals as well as some extremely harmful ones.
READ MORE >Southern Center for Human Rights Hosts Pain & Power Part II on February 22, 2024
Please join the Southern Center for Human Rights on February 22, 2024 at the Auburn Avenue Research Library for Pain and Power Part II.
READ MORE >SCHR Statement on Senate Bill 63
On the first day of Black History Month, the Georgia State Senate passed SB 63, which is an unconstitutional abridgment of the right to free speech, the presumption of innocence and the prohibition against unreasonable bail.
READ MORE >Georgia Senate Passes Regressive Bill Targeting Cash Bail and Community Support
On February 1, 2024, the Georgia Senate passed Senate Bill 63. This bill, sponsored by Senator Randy Robertson, raises numerous concerns at the Southern Center and among our organizational partners for its potential to negatively impact criminal legal reform efforts throughout Georgia, specifically within the City of Atlanta and Fulton County.
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