--- title: SR 100. Fort, Honorable Vincent D.; condolences collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr100 cite_as: SR 100, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr100 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr100.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr100/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69801 date: 2025-02-04 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr99.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr101.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr100.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 100 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-04 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Nan Orrock - Gail Davenport - Harold Jones - Kay Kirkpatrick - Kim Jackson - David Lucas - Jason Esteves - Larry Walker - Michael Rhett - Lee Anderson - Russ Goodman - Josh McLaurin - Bo Hatchett - Derek Mallow - Billy Hickman - Blake Tillery - Sonya Halpern - Timothy Bearden - Greg Dolezal - Nabilah Islam Parkes - Nikki Merritt - Freddie Sims - Jason Anavitarte - Ricky Williams - Chuck Payne - Mike Hodges - John Kennedy - Brian Strickland - Elena Parent - Carden Summers - Kenya Wicks - Bill Cowsert - Brandon Beach - Matt Brass - John Albers - Ed Harbison - Drew Echols - Colton Moore - RaShaun Kemp - Steve Gooch - Max Burns - Ed Setzler - Ben Watson - Sam Watson - Chuck Hufstetler - Shawn Still - Sally Harrell - Tonya Anderson - Frank Ginn - Clint Dixon text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR100/2025 upstream_id: 1952982 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia Senate - legislative tribute - Vincent D. Fort - civil rights history --- # SR 100. Fort, Honorable Vincent D.; condolences ## Text Senate Resolution 100 By: Senators Orrock of the 36th, Davenport of the 17th, Jones II of the 22nd, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Jackson of the 41st and others A RESOLUTION Honoring the life and memory of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort on December 22, 2024; and WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was born on April 28, 1956, in New Britain, Connecticut, a beloved son of Charles Fort Sr. and Clara Hutchinson Fort; and WHEREAS, after completing his higher education, he settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where he became a respected historian, taught at Morehouse College and Morris Brown College, and served as assistant director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project; and WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort further served as a Georgia State Senator for the 39th District from 1996 to 2017, representing parts of Atlanta, East Point, College Park, Union City, and unincorporated Fulton County as well as consistently advocating for justice and equity; and WHEREAS, in 2001, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort authored Georgia's first hate crimes law, ensuring harsher penalties for crimes motivated by bias, followed by the passage of the Georgia Fair Lending Act in 2003, which stood as the strongest anti-predatory lending legislation in the nation at the time and protected consumers from abusive practices; and WHEREAS, from 2011 to 2017, he served as the Minority Whip of the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus, during which time he championed legislation against discrimination, racial profiling, environmental racism, and labor injustices while supporting fair wages, labor unions, and stronger community protections; and WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was named "Legislator of the Year" in 2017 by the Georgia Association of Educators for his advocacy of Senate Bill 30, which aimed to improve public education funding and enhance community schools; and WHEREAS, he was united in love and marriage to his wife, Cheryl, and the two were blessed with three remarkable children, Nyahuma, Clara-Faith, and Zoë, as well as three wonderful grandchildren, Gizelle, Chloe, and Sunday; and WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was a powerful voice for economic and racial equality, and his commitment to the people will leave a lasting impact on the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body join in honoring the life and memory of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort and express their deepest and most sincere regret at his passing. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the family of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution honors the life of former state Senator Vincent D. Fort, who died on December 22, 2024, and directs that a copy be sent to his family. ### Plain-language summary This resolution is a formal statement from the Georgia Senate marking the death of Vincent D. Fort, who represented the 39th Senate District from 1996 to 2017 and authored Georgia's first hate crimes law and the Georgia Fair Lending Act. It recounts his career as a historian, professor, and legislator, and his advocacy on civil rights, lending protections, and public education funding. The resolution does not change any Georgia law. It simply expresses the Senate's condolences and grief over his passing, and it directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to his family. ### What it does - Formally expresses the Georgia Senate's condolences on the death of former Senator Vincent D. Fort. - Recounts his legislative record, including authoring Georgia's first hate crimes law and the Georgia Fair Lending Act. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to his family. - Creates no new statutory requirements, funding, or penalties, since it is a commemorative resolution rather than a law. ### Who it affects This resolution primarily affects the family of Vincent D. Fort, who will receive a copy, and the members of the Georgia Senate who are recording their tribute. It does not impose obligations on the general public, agencies, or businesses. ### Why it matters While the resolution has no legal effect on Georgians generally, it serves as an official public record of the Senate's recognition of a legislator whose work included Georgia's hate crimes law and predatory lending protections, preserving that history in the state's legislative record. ### Key provisions - The resolution recites Vincent D. Fort's biography, career, and family, and states the Senate's regret at his passing. - The resolving clause has the Senate join in honoring his life and memory. - A further clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy available for distribution to his family. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-04) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-02-04) - Sponsors: Nan Orrock, Gail Davenport, Harold Jones, Kay Kirkpatrick, Kim Jackson, David Lucas, Jason Esteves, Larry Walker, Michael Rhett, Lee Anderson, Russ Goodman, Josh McLaurin, Bo Hatchett, Derek Mallow, Billy Hickman, Blake Tillery, Sonya Halpern, Timothy Bearden, Greg Dolezal, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Nikki Merritt, Freddie Sims, Jason Anavitarte, Ricky Williams, Chuck Payne, Mike Hodges, John Kennedy, Brian Strickland, Elena Parent, Carden Summers, Kenya Wicks, Bill Cowsert, Brandon Beach, Matt Brass, John Albers, Ed Harbison, Drew Echols, Colton Moore, RaShaun Kemp, Steve Gooch, Max Burns, Ed Setzler, Ben Watson, Sam Watson, Chuck Hufstetler, Shawn Still, Sally Harrell, Tonya Anderson, Frank Ginn, Clint Dixon - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69801 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr100.md?full=1