25 LC 59 0070
House Bill 367
By: Representatives Holly of the 116
th
, Gilliard of the 162
nd
, Bazemore of the 69
th
, Clark of
the 108
th
, and Jackson of the 68
th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 12 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
1
commissions and other agencies, so as to create the Georgia Equity and Fairness2
Commission; to provide for members and officers; to provide for meetings, quorum, and3
compensation; to provide for the commission's duties and powers; to provide for reporting;4
to provide a definition; to provide a short title; to provide legislative findings; to provide for5
automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other6
purposes.7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:8
SECTION 1.9
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Equity and Fairness Commission10
Act."11
SECTION 2.12
The General Assembly finds and declares the following:13
H. B. 367
- 1 - 25 LC 59 0070
(1) Millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the 13 American
14
colonies and the United States, including the Georgia colony and the State of Georgia,15
from 1619 through 1865;16
(2) The institution of chattel slavery was constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned by17
the United States government from 1789 through 1865;18
(3) The chattel slavery that flourished in Georgia and the United States constituted an19
immoral and inhumane deprivation of each African's life, liberty, African citizenship20
rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor;21
(4) A preponderance of scholarly, legal, community evidentiary documentation, and22
popular culture markers constitute the basis for inquiry into the ongoing effects of the23
institution of chattel slavery and its legacy of persistent systemic structures of24
discrimination on the living descendants of chattel slavery and society in Georgia and the25
United States;26
(5) Following the abolition of chattel slavery, governments at the federal, state, and local27
levels continued to perpetuate, condone, and often profit from practices that continued28
to brutalize and disadvantage the descendants of chattel slavery, including sharecropping,29
convict leasing, Jim Crow laws, redlining, unequal education, and disproportionate30
treatment at the hands of the criminal justice system; and31
(6) As a result of historical and continued discrimination, the descendants of chattel32
slavery continue to suffer debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships,33
including having a high level of incarceration, a disproportionate unemployment rate, and34
an average of less than one-sixteenth of the wealth, a disparity which has worsened, not35
improved, over time.36
SECTION 3.37
Chapter 12 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to commissions38
and other agencies, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:39
H. B. 367
- 2 - 25 LC 59 0070
"ARTICLE 940
50-12-150.41
(a) There is created the Georgia Equity and Fairness Commission for examining the42
impact of chattel slavery on the descendants of chattel slavery and recommending43
appropriate remedies therefor.44
(b) As used in this article, the term 'commission' means the Georgia Equity and Fairness45
Commission.46
(c) The commission is assigned to the Department of Administrative Services for47
administrative purposes only as prescribed in Code Section 50-4-3.48
50-12-151.49
(a) The commission shall be composed of 11 members who are citizens of this state and50
shall be appointed as follows:51
(1) Three members appointed by the Governor, one of whom the Governor shall select52
as chairperson;53
(2) Two members appointed by the President of the Senate;54
(3) Two members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;55
(4) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and56
(5) Two members appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.57
(b) Members of the commission shall be appointed from persons recommended by58
organizations concerned with the issues of civil rights; human rights; racial, social, and59
economic justice and equality; reparations; and other issues concerning the60
African-American community.61
(c) Members of the commission shall serve for the duration of the commission. Any62
vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.63
(d) The commission may elect officers, other than the chairperson, as it deems necessary.64
H. B. 367
- 3 - 25 LC 59 0070
50-12-152.65
(a) The commission may conduct meetings at such places and times as it deems necessary66
or convenient to enable it to fully and effectively exercise its powers, perform its duties,67
and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this article. The commission shall hold68
meetings at the call of the chairperson.69
(b) A quorum for transacting business shall be a majority of the members of the70
commission.71
(c) Legislative members of the commission shall receive the allowances provided for in72
Code Section 28-1-8. Nonlegislative members shall receive a daily expense allowance in73
the amount specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 as well as the mileage or74
transportation allowance authorized for state employees. Members of the commission who75
are state officials, other than legislative members, or state employees shall receive no76
compensation for their services on the commission, but shall be reimbursed for expenses77
incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members of the commission in the78
same manner as they are reimbursed for expenses in their capacities as state officials or79
state employees. The funds necessary for the reimbursement of the expenses of state80
officials, other than legislative members, and state employees shall come from funds81
appropriated to or otherwise available to their respective departments. All other funds82
necessary to carry out the provisions of this article shall come from funds appropriated to83
the commission.84
50-12-153.85
(a) The commission shall:86
(1) Examine the extent to which the State of Georgia supported the institution of chattel87
slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions;88
H. B. 367
- 4 - 25 LC 59 0070
(2) Examine the state's laws that discriminated against chattel slaves and their89
descendants from the end of the Civil War, through the era of Jim Crow laws, to the90
present;91
(3) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of chattel slavery on the92
descendants of chattel slavery in Georgia;93
(4) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the public on the commission's findings;94
and95
(5) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the commission's findings. In96
making such recommendation, the commission shall address the form, amount, and97
eligibility for any restitution.98
(b) The commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to99
the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and100
the minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives no later than three months101
after the date of the last meeting of the commission. The commission shall also make such102
report available to the public.103
50-12-154.104
(a) The commission shall have the following powers:105
(1) To accept public or private grants, devises, and bequests;106
(2) To authorize entering into contracts or agreements through the commission's107
chairperson necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties;108
(3) To establish rules and procedures for conducting the business of the commission;109
(4) To hold public hearings; and110
(5) To request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such111
documents as the commission deems necessary to fulfill its duties.112
(b) The commission may request and receive information from appropriate state agencies113
which the commission deems useful in fulfilling its duties. Such agencies shall cooperate114
H. B. 367
- 5 - 25 LC 59 0070
with the commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information115
requested by the commission to the extent permitted by law.116
50-12-155.117
The commission shall be abolished and this article shall stand repealed on June 30, 2027."118
SECTION 4.119
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.120
H. B. 367
- 6 -