Legislators proposed over 2,000 bills this year. How did new laws affect Black Georgians?

The impending presidential election in November is the U.S.’s biggest news , but Georgians don’t need to look nationally for politics.

All 236 seats across Georgia’s state Senate and House of Representatives are on the ballot this November, and a research group is raising concerns about how new state legislation affects minority residents.

Staff at Clark Atlanta University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy released their Georgia Legislative Review Monday, analyzing some of the most important bills proposed and passed by the legislature each session and their impact on Black Georgians in areas such as voting districts, taxes and health care.

Voting rights

While state lawmakers had to reassess voting districts because a federal judge ruled that a prior voting map unlawfully discriminated against Black voters, the legislative review found that the state’s 2023 special session devoted to redistricting the state still negatively impacted Black voters.

The composition of the new map attained federal approval, but Nykia Greene-Young, the domestic policy coordinator for the Du Bois Center and co-editor of the Georgia Legislative Review, said it still left Black voters at a disadvantage.

“Georgia has been a hotbed for voter suppression and gerrymandering for a long time,” she said. “During the special session, while Blacks did gain a major victory in gaining a congressional district that is majority Black, the way that they were drawn, Blacks actually lost power.”

Greene-Young said other districts, especially those in predominantly Black areas of Georgia, were redrawn to pit Democrat politicians against each other.

Greene-Young also highlighted HB 1207 , a bill passed in May implementing several new guidelines for elections, as a potentially harmful tool for voter suppression.

“That policy gave provision for election superintendents to have greater discretion in determining the number of voting booths needed,” she said. “If there are insufficient resources in predominantly African American precincts, then they won’t get as many voters.”

Greene-Young said the bills passed follow an established pattern of gerrymandering to discriminate against Black voters.

“’We’ve seen this before,” she said. “Voter suppression will be caused.”

Health care

The review addressed five bills introduced to expand Medicaid and increase health care coverage for uninsured Georgians, all five of which failed to pass.

“Without Medicaid, we see hospitals closing. We see lack of access,” she said. “If we expand Medicaid, it will help address access to maternal health and reproductive health. That’s a huge issue in the quality of life of Black Georgians.”

Greene-Young said the legislature heard two bills designed to address the Black maternal mortality rate , which is more than double the non-Black maternal mortality rate. Neither of those passed either.

“There are so many health disparities when it comes to Black women in Georgia and across the country,” she said. “Black women are suffering. Black children are suffering. Black Georgians are suffering.”

Budgeting and taxes

A proposed bill that would have created a state-level income tax credit and enhancing dependent tax credits was part of why the writers of this legislative review felt that Georgia lawmakers helped Black Georgians with budgeting and taxes this year.

Joseph Jones, executive director of the Du Bois Center and co-editor of this legislative review, said the budget and taxation areas saw some advancement this year.

“The earned income tax is primarily for those who are under the poverty line,” Jones said. “They are able to get their tax burden reduced, which will increase their tax refund.”

The bill, which was introduced in both the House and Senate, didn’t end up passing into law, but Jones said it would have major potential to help low-income families, like the nearly 40,000 Columbusites living below the poverty line.

“If they did pass, I think it would have been really, really beneficial for Black Georgians,” he said. “And particularly for Black Georgians who are on the margins, because it would increase the amount of money that they would get in return for the work that they provide.”

Another financial bill proposed in the session that ended up passing had a markedly worse impact on Black Georgians, according to Jones. He said Senate Bill 63, a cash bail bill that requires people to pay jail bonds in cash, can keep people in jail much longer than they should be.

“There has been a movement over the past 10 years to remove cash bail from local systems because of the very fact that it is damaging,” he said. “It has a ripple effect. Not only are you putting people in debt, but people can lose their job. If they can’t go to work for two or three days, when they come out, they’ve lost a job.”

The future of politics for Black Georgians

The Georgia Legislative Review identified eight bills passed by the legislature this year that were beneficial for Black Georgians.

• SB 366, Joint Committee on Taxation and Economic Development: Establishes a committee on taxation and economic development that will uplift Black communities through targeted development projects
• SB 533, Mental Incompetency: Provides appropriate mental health treatment for people in jail
• HB 1010, Paid Parental Leave: Expands paid parental leave for public employees
• HB 916, Appropriations Bill 2024-2025: Ensures state-funded programs in health care, education and more receive necessary funding
• HB 1021, Increase of Dependent Exemptions: Directly reduces the tax burden on families
• HB 404, Safe at Home Act: Requires landlords to maintain proper living conditions
• HB 1410, Housing Accountability Program: Improves housing conditions and sets a minimum standard for safe, affordable housing
• HB 926, Expulsion and Pardon Bill: Provides certificates of rehabilitation to help formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society

Jones said those bills have potential, but it will take consistent work to make tangible change.

“There are some pockets that will benefit, but I’m not certain it will be significant,” he said. “I’m not certain any one session is going to actually move the needle in a way that is really going to vastly improve the lives of communities.”

Despite reservations about the laws, Jones said he considers it essential to share this legislative review and educate as many people as possible.

“We worked really, really hard to make this as legible and accessible as possible because we don’t want this to sit on the shelf,” he said. “We want average, everyday people to look at this and learn about what’s happening here in Georgia.”