HR 757: House Study Committee on Civil Rights Protections; create

Georgia currently has no broad state civil rights law banning discrimination in areas like employment, housing, public accommodations, and public services, unlike many other states. This resolution creates the House Study Committee on Civil Rights Protections to look into that gap and recommend whether and how Georgia should act. The Speaker of the House would appoint five House members to the committee and name one as chairperson. The committee would review Georgia's existing anti-discrimination laws, study discrimination data, look at other states' and federal civil rights laws, examine enforcement options such as state agency roles and private lawsuits, and weigh the impact on businesses and government. Members get standard legislative daily allowances for up to five meeting days unless more are approved, funded through the House's existing budget. The committee must file any report and recommendations before it is abolished on December 1, 2025.

• Creates the House Study Committee on Civil Rights Protections, made up of five House members chosen by the Speaker.
• Directs the committee to review Georgia's current anti-discrimination laws and identify gaps in protections against discrimination.
• Requires the committee to study enforcement options, including state agency roles, private lawsuits, and remedies for victims of discrimination.
• Instructs the committee to compare Georgia's laws with other states' and federal civil rights statutes for best practices.
• Sets a hard deadline: the committee is automatically abolished on December 1, 2025, and any report must be filed before then.

The five House members appointed to the committee, who will study the issue and may propose legislation. More broadly, the findings could eventually affect employers, landlords, businesses open to the public, government agencies, and Georgians who could be protected by any future anti-discrimination law.

Georgia currently lacks a broad state civil rights law addressing discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. This committee's work could lead to new legislation affecting how businesses, landlords, and government agencies handle discrimination complaints, though the resolution itself creates no new legal protections.

• Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on Civil Rights Protections.
• Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at five House members appointed by the Speaker, who also names the chairperson.
• Paragraph (3) lists the committee's duties, including reviewing existing law, analyzing discrimination data, comparing other states' laws, and assessing enforcement mechanisms and business impacts.
• Paragraph (5) sets member pay under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five allowance days unless more are authorized, funded from the House's existing budget.
• Paragraph (6) requires any approved findings or recommendations to be filed as a report with the Clerk of the House before the committee is abolished.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.

1. 2025-03-31House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-27House Hopper (House)

• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)Primary sponsor
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-57)
• Marvin Lim (D, HD-98)
• Imani Barnes (D, HD-86)

• civil rights
• anti-discrimination law
• housing discrimination
• employment discrimination
• legislative study committees