ATLANTA – State Representative Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula), chairman of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, today announced that he will advocate for the passage of House Bill 426, also known as the “Georgia Hate Crimes Act,” when the 2020 legislative session resumes this year.
“For two years, I have been working to pass a hate crimes law in Georgia,” said Chairman Efstration. “Speaker David Ralston made this bipartisan bill a priority in the Georgia House of Representatives last year, and I am calling on the State Senate to pass House Bill 426 as soon as possible.”
According to recent reports, the death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot near Brunswick, has renewed calls for the passage of a hate crimes law in the state. The federal government and 46 other states currently have hate crime laws in place.
“Members of the Georgia House will be monitoring the Ahmaud Arbery case to see if we may need to review the law on ‘citizen arrests’ and other issues,” added Chairman Efstration. “It is now time for the Georgia Senate to do the right thing and pass the Georgia Hate Crimes Act without delay.”
Chairman Efstration says that the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) fully supported his efforts to pass HB 426 in the House during the 2019 legislative session. HB 426 has not yet received a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee and is available for consideration when the 2020 legislative session resumes in the coming weeks.
For more information on HB 426, please click here.
Representative Chuck Efstration represents the citizens of District 104, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2013 and currently serves as Chairman of the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Rules, Code Revision, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, Judiciary, Defense & Veterans Affairs, Insurance and Juvenile Justice committees.
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