The second year of the 2023-2024 biennial legislative session in the Georgia General Assembly has officially kicked off! The Southern Center for Human Rights is committed to decriminalizing race and poverty in America’s Deep South and our policy priorities this session reflect that commitment. Read on to learn about our policy priorities, advocacy tools and community advocacy days.

Policy Priorities

Southern Center works to advance proactive and defensive strategies that protect marginalized communities. Every year, we identify discrete issues that will demand most of our attention.

Our 2024 policy priorities at the legislature will be:

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Last Year in Review

To learn more about where we left off in 2023, please take a look at our Sine Die Legislative Update.

Find Your Legislators

Your legislators want to hear from you on important issues! Find your legislators by entering your address here. The members of the committees in the Georgia House and Senate who usually vet bills related to the criminal legal system may be found here for the Senate and here for the House.

Advocacy Days 

Join the Justice Reform Partnership’s 2024 Talk Justice Tuesdays advocacy series. Topics this session will be:

• January 16: Advocacy Training 
• January 23: Youth Justice 
• February 6: Conditions of Confinement 
• February 20: Overcoming Barriers to Reentry 
• March 12: Legislative Action: Last Call 

Justice Day 2024: Justice is a Family Affair! 

Justice Day at the Capitol sponsored by the Justice Reform Partnership will take place Thursday, February 29, 2024 from 9 am – 3 pm ET at Central Presbyterian Church. Join Georgia’s leading advocates for the only annual comprehensive criminal legal reform advocacy day as we take action through the lens of protecting families from the ills of mass incarceration. All are welcome. Register here!

Local Policy Work 

Our policy advocacy is hyperlocal, local and statewide. On January 8, 2024, we presented recommendations from our Community Safety & Police Violence project during the first meeting of the Atlanta City Council. Access those resources here.

We also invited Atlanta’s leaders to Part 2 of our Pain & Power Stakeholder Symposium taking place on Thursday, February 22, 2024, 6 pm ET at Auburn Avenue Research Library. Mapping Police Violence found that 100% of unarmed people killed by Atlanta police are Black. Please join us to share your thoughts with elected officials about this disturbing fact and more. Register here to join the conversation.