HB367: HB367 Georgia Equity and Fairness Commission Act; enact

This bill would add a new article to Georgia law creating an 11-member Georgia Equity and Fairness Commission, housed administratively within the Department of Administrative Services. The Governor, the Senate's President and minority leader, and the House Speaker and minority leader would each appoint members from people recommended by civil rights, human rights, and racial and economic justice organizations. The commission would study how Georgia's laws supported chattel slavery and later discriminatory practices such as Jim Crow laws, examine the lingering effects of slavery on its descendants, and recommend ways to educate the public. It would also recommend remedies, including the form, amount, and eligibility for restitution. The commission must report its findings to state leaders within three months of its last meeting, and the law creating it would automatically repeal on June 30, 2027.

• Creates the 11-member Georgia Equity and Fairness Commission within the Department of Administrative Services to study the effects of chattel slavery on its descendants.
• Sets appointment rules giving the Governor, Senate leaders, and House leaders authority to name members from civil rights and justice organizations.
• Directs the commission to examine Georgia's historical laws supporting slavery and discrimination and recommend remedies, including restitution amounts and eligibility.
• Gives the commission power to hold public hearings, subpoena witnesses and documents, accept grants, and request information from state agencies.
• Requires a written public report to the Governor and legislative leaders within three months after the commission's last meeting.
• Automatically abolishes the commission and repeals the new law on June 30, 2027.

The bill primarily affects state government, creating new duties for the Department of Administrative Services and appointment powers for the Governor and legislative leaders. It also directly concerns descendants of chattel slavery in Georgia, whose history and potential remedies the commission would study.

If enacted, Georgia would formally study how slavery and later discriminatory laws affected Black Georgians and consider concrete remedies, including restitution. The commission's findings and recommendations could shape future legislation, though the commission itself would dissolve automatically in mid-2027.

• Section 2 lays out legislative findings describing the history of chattel slavery in Georgia and the United States and its lasting economic, educational, and health effects on descendants.
• Section 3 adds Code Section 50-12-150 creating the commission and assigning it to the Department of Administrative Services for administrative purposes only.
• Code Section 50-12-151 sets the commission's 11 members, appointed by the Governor, Senate leaders, and House leaders, drawn from civil rights and justice organizations' recommendations.
• Code Section 50-12-152 sets quorum and meeting rules and compensation, including legislative allowances and expense reimbursement for nonlegislative members.
• Code Section 50-12-153 directs the commission to examine Georgia's history of slavery-related laws and recommend remedies, including the form, amount, and eligibility for restitution, and requires a public report within three months of its last meeting.
• Code Section 50-12-154 grants the commission power to accept grants, sign contracts, hold public hearings, and subpoena witnesses and documents.
• Code Section 50-12-155 abolishes the commission and repeals the article on June 30, 2027.

1. 2025-02-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-11House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-10House Hopper (House)

• El-Mahdi Holly (D, HD-116)Primary sponsor
• Carl Gilliard (D, HD-162)
• Debra Bazemore (D, HD-069)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)
• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)

• reparations
• civil rights
• racial equity
• state commissions
• Georgia history