--- title: SR 243. Franklin, Reverend Lee C.; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr243 cite_as: SR 243, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr243 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr243.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr243/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70704 date: 2025-02-24 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/sr242.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr244.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr243.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 243 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-24 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Ed Harbison text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR243/2025 upstream_id: 1980042 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - ceremonial resolution - Atlanta community leaders - faith leaders - Georgia Senate honors --- # SR 243. Franklin, Reverend Lee C.; recognize ## Text Senate Resolution 243 By: Senator Harbison of the 15th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the Reverend Lee C. Franklin; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Reverend Lee C. Franklin is Senior Pastor of the Mount Ephraim Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves as the second pastor in the church's history following the founding Pastor, the Late Dr. R. L. White Jr., who pastored for 53 years; and WHEREAS, Pastor Franklin was licensed to preach in 1996 and ordained in 1999, and he has since served in various spiritual capacities including Minister for Bereaved Families, Associate Minister, Musician, Young Adult Pastor, Director of the Psalms 150 Choir (the church's young adult choir), Youth Minister, Bible Study Leader, and Vacation Bible School Teacher; and WHEREAS, Pastor Franklin's Kingdom-building efforts extend beyond the four walls of the church, and as a Carver Bible graduate, he has served as a civic leader in key social action dimensions such as the National NAACP Religious Affairs Liaison and as the Fulton County Government Chaplain; and WHEREAS, he has further ministered for over 30 years at the grassroots level to the homeless community, individuals serviced through the Atlanta Drug Courts, and to ranking governmental officials; and WHEREAS, seeing a need to address the social ills of the community, he launched a self-help network, the Greater Atlanta Congress of Black Men, which brings Black men in the Atlanta metro area together to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to create a better tomorrow for Atlanta; and WHEREAS, in 2024, the first annual conference of the network was held, successfully engaging local and state elected officials, civil rights leaders, law enforcement, financial empowerment, social justice, and issues of military veterans to forge a path towards strategizing for sustainable community upliftment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize and commend the Reverend Lee C. Franklin for his ecumenical leadership, civic affairs, and social action excellence in the State of Georgia. 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 Reverend Lee C. Franklin. ## 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 Reverend Lee C. Franklin, senior pastor of Mount Ephraim Baptist Church in Atlanta, for decades of ministry and community leadership work. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia Senate recognizes Reverend Lee C. Franklin, the senior pastor of Mount Ephraim Baptist Church in Atlanta, for his religious and civic work. It describes his path from being licensed to preach in 1996 to serving in numerous roles within his church and community, including as a chaplain for Fulton County government and a liaison for the NAACP's religious affairs efforts. The resolution highlights his outreach to homeless individuals and people in the Atlanta Drug Courts system, as well as his creation of the Greater Atlanta Congress of Black Men, a network aimed at bringing Black men together to address community challenges. The Senate resolves to commend Franklin for his leadership and directs the Secretary of the Senate to provide him with a copy of the resolution as a formal record of this recognition. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and commends Reverend Lee C. Franklin for his religious leadership and civic contributions in Georgia. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute an official copy of the resolution to Reverend Franklin. - Creates no new law, funding, or regulatory requirement; it is a ceremonial statement by the Senate. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names and honors Reverend Lee C. Franklin. It has no regulatory or legal effect on other Georgians, though it reflects on institutions he has worked with, including Mount Ephraim Baptist Church, Fulton County government, and the Atlanta Drug Courts. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or financial effect on Georgians. Its significance is symbolic: it places an official Senate record honoring Franklin's decades of ministry and community organizing work, including founding a network aimed at addressing social issues among Black men in metro Atlanta. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses detail Franklin's background, including his licensing to preach in 1996, ordination in 1999, and various ministerial roles. - It notes his civic roles as National NAACP Religious Affairs Liaison and Fulton County Government Chaplain. - It describes his founding of the Greater Atlanta Congress of Black Men and its first annual conference held in 2024. - The resolving clause formally commends Franklin for his ecumenical leadership, civic affairs, and social action excellence. - The final clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute a copy of the resolution to Franklin. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-24) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-02-24) - Sponsors: Ed Harbison - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70704 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr243.md?full=1