ATLANTA – State Representative Mesha Mainor (D-Atlanta) today announced that Governor Brian Kemp has signed House Bill 142 into law. Aimed to support the Atlanta University Center Consortium’s (AUCC) member institutions, HB 142 will allow colleges and universities in Georgia to unify their police units to protect students across campuses.
“I want to thank the governor for prioritizing the safety of our historically Black colleges and universities in Atlanta,” said Rep. Mainor. “I also appreciate the AUCC’s public safety leaders for bringing this measure forward and allowing me to carry this bill on the consortium’s behalf. HB 142 will allow the Atlanta University Center Consortium to utilize public safety officers across neighboring campuses, which will greatly improve police response times to potentially dangerous situations.”
House Bill 142 provides for the establishment of unified campus police forces through agreements entered into by colleges and universities. Until now, an officer on one campus could not perform their public safety tasks at a neighboring campus under the consortium.
“This legislation will not increase the number of police on campuses but rather will allow more than one campus to use officers from another campus within the agreement,” added Rep. Mainor.
Rep. Mainor and the chiefs of police from each AUCC campus attended the governor’s bill signing ceremony on Wednesday morning.
The AUCC is recognized as the world’s oldest and largest consortium of historically Black colleges and universities. Originally formed in 1929, the consortium is currently comprised of four member institutions: Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College.
Representative Mesha Mainor represents the citizens of District 56, which includes portions of Fulton County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Education, Governmental Affairs, Regulated Industries and State Planning & Community Affairs committees.
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