Across the country, communities are coming together to organize Hands OFF! for a national mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover and the assault on our freedoms and our communities. This is a demand, a warning, and a rallying cry that responds to the primary reasons for
HB 397 PASSED the Senate Chamber, and is now headed back to the House chamber for an agree/disagree vote. This is our LAST chance to stop this dangerous bill and PROTECT voting rights. We need you to take action once again. If we don’t act NOW, it will strip
Call to Action: HB 291 Community Health Worker Certification Bill is eligible for a vote in the Senate this week. Contact Senate leadership (below) to ask them to please support these vital frontline health workers by voting yes on HB 291. Call to Action HB 79 Gun and Gun
Last week, Georgians were denied the chance for public comment against the newly stripped HB 127, originally a teacher sick leave bill period now, the bill would ban diversity, equity, and inclusion at our K through 12 and higher Ed schools on threat of defunding them. HB 127 is
Again, we are here with calls to action to the Gold Dome. So many of our rights and freedoms are decided here. Please take some time to make these calls, send some emails. Each one truly makes a difference, or quite honestly, we wouldn’t ask you to do so.
There are several calls to action today that can happen quickly. If you want to group the emails together, that’s fine to do. Please for the sake of everyone use a BCC if you choose to use group emails. If you can be there in person, please see the
We are grateful to Georgians for a Healthy Future for this list of bills below and their dedicated work to represent the best interests of Georgians on issues related to healthcare. First of all, we appreciate that this is a lot of information to process and we appreciate how
Please check back in with us a couple of times a day during this final week of the state legislative session. Things move quickly. We will share as soon as we are able and appreciate all of you who are making the calls. SB 74 Returns Please use the
The train will pick up speed as we go through the coming three final weeks of the Georgia General Assembly. We will do our best to keep up with bills that are most impactful. We hope you will check back daily. Remember to use the bill number when you
On February 25th, the U.S. House narrowly passed a budget resolution that would drastically cut funding to programs that support children and families. A budget resolution is the first step Congress is supposed to take each year in order to pass the budget. Although a budget resolution does not
Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program, known as “Georgia Pathways” – Many thanks to Georgians for a Healthy Future and the Cover Ga Coalition for continuing to lift up the work needed to cover Georgia. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) has reopened the public comment period for the
Please check back in with us several times over the coming hours before midnight March 6th. This blog post will be updated with newer C2As (calls to action) at the top). First thing today is a call from the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and Project South. The
Vote No On SB 74- Please act quickly using the tool linked below. Georgia legislators exempted librarians from prosecution under Georgia state code on materials harmful to minors for good reason but SB 74 threatens to subject Georgia librarians to unwarranted attacks and threats of jail time. Please contact
On March 5th, bills cross over from one house to the other to be voted on by the other house, from senate to house, from house to senate. This will be a bit of a wild week as legislators negotiate and horse trade bills bills and sections of bills
Please contact your state senator and members of the Higher Education Committee in the senate regarding this proposed bill that will affect funding for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility enables institutions to more effectively provide support and needed services for students who may face unfair disadvantages, for example –
From the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence:an exciting update about the Survivor Justice Initiative – we have a bill number and are starting on the hearing process! Representative Stan Gunter filed the Georgia Survivor Justice Act (now HB 582) on February 21, 2025. This bill has been assigned to
If you take a look at the truly terrible bills that have been introduced by the majority party in the Georgia General Assembly this year, you can only be left with one conclusion about their purpose. Perhaps as a fail-safe for the national right-wing agenda, state lawmakers have been
10 days until sine die, the end of the session on March 28th. We can say without any hesitation that this session has shown the true colors of some of our legislators and frankly our governor. For those of us who grew up in Georgia, we can remember a
Shenanigans. Games. Back door deals. All of this at the state house where some legislators are merely being “politicians” and not legislating for the people but for special interests, selling off our public land and common good. Shame on them. See this list of calls to action for Thursday,
There has been a campaign to reframe vouchers as “scholarships” and that is very misleading. Be aware of this effort. These voucher bills are coupons for the wealthy. All children in Georgia, whether they live on a farm, live in a small town on the coast, or the mountains,
Each year we begin the session watching to see where the bills that harm our democracy will land, We see bills being proffered by the legal and advocacy teams of ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council, a right-wing think tank). We see Laboratories of Autocracy in our state capitol.
Private Cities: A couple of years ago we were pleased to have a conversation with Donald Cohen about his book, “The Privatization of Everything.” The book is worth reading to understand the workings of local government, including how privatization works. The desire for a city needs to come from
It is impossible to monitor and take action on all the multitude of bills that are introduced into the General Assembly each year, and 2024 is no exception to that rule. In fact, it seems that we are being bombarded with an even larger number of bills, mostly bad,
These two bills could use your attention over the next couple of days. Please continue writing and calling about them into the beginning of the week. NOW and COMP Waivers should have been fully funded long ago as promised. Sen. Harrell has proposed a commission to serve the affected
Our take: the bail bond industry must have some big money floating around down at the Georgia Gold dome these past few weeks. They have been big mad since poor people won a few years ago and have been pushing their weight around since then. This is another way
Please note: Link to bills has been repaired. Also see link to education policy maker’s emails to copy and paste. The Georgia Legislature is on a roll during this election year session. We would love to see more bills that solve actual problems in education such as equalizing funding,
CALL ON STATE HOUSE TO REMOVE REQUIREMENT FOR STONE MOUNTAIN PARK TO OPERATE AS A CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL Thanks to the Stone Mountain Action Coalition for this call to action and their advocacy to move the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to change this monument to tell the entire truth of
ACLU responds to SB 359—making protest(s) a RICO violationSummary: This bill seeks to make various disfavored protest activities, irrespective of their constitutionally protected status, prosecutable under Georgia’s RICO statute by greatly expanding the scope of Georgia’s hate crime law and making any violation of that statute a violation of
The Indivisible Georgia Coalition has a new voter registration interface! What does that mean? The purging of voter rolls is not always a clean, no mistake process. People who should not be removed are too frequently removed. That’s why you and everyone you know should check your voter registration
You may have seen the sharing of calls to action in protest of Cop City in Atlanta. Below you will find information that explains our position, a website with information about the actions you can take, and a resource document with background information. – Bookmark this website to keep
This week the former MAGA president was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. We await the decision of the grand jury in Atlanta. As Americans, we deserve leaders who follow the law, act honorably in our interests and govern in our name. A Grand Jury of everyday
Quick calls this final day of the session. A few national calls to action will come out on Thursday. The senate has tabled this bill, the House passed a version, however, please do write IN FAVOR of the bill. In it’s current form, HB 404: Click here to find your state Senator.
The last three days of the Georgia Assembly are action packed but not always for the good of the people of Georgia. Some lawmakers may feel pressure to push for terrible bills by people or by contributors to their campaign. We make no secret of our concern about the
Today’s civic actions:Save the Okefenokee, Expiring SNAP Benefits, SB140 Criminalizing Medical Treatment for Transgender Children, The People’s CDC, and Public School Teachers and Social Security, and an additional to our C2A for SB140. HB71 Save the Okefenokee From Mining OperationsPlease send your comments here via Protect Georgia.On March 14th,
Monday promises to be a big day at the Georgia legislature. It is incumbent upon us to do our civic duty by letting our voices be heard by Monday morning. In addition, if you have time on Monday morning, please again. We ask that you be respectful. Remember to
Check in on Saturday for our Civic Saturday action list both local and national. They are quick but needed actions. In the meantime we need to spend today, Friday and the weekend, contacting senators who need to hear from their constituents about SB140. March 16th was the thirty-fifth day
The Pediatric Health Safe Storage Bill, HB 161, actually has a hearing scheduled March 16 at 8 am, 506 Coverdell Legislative Office Building. This bill establishes the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child and requires safe storage of firearms, among other things. The bill has six
Today we have three bills for your consideration and for action. The future of our state, our young people, their health and education is at great risk. Our prosecutorial system faces a threat and a thwarting of the will of the people. These actions will take about 10 minutes
Senate Set to Vote on Vouchers on Monday! Lawmakers have added Senate Bill 233 to the calendar to be voted on by the full Senate chamber on Monday. If enacted this bill would represent the largest voucher expansion in Georgia and it only passed out of committee by one
Ah yes, the week leading up to Crossover Day at the state capitol is one of the most dangerous weeks of the year only to be outdone the week before sine die, the end of the legislative session. In an unsurprising but still confounding act, senate Republicans passed #SB221
NB: As volunteers in the Georgia civic space, we try to pull together actions that will have impact based on conversations with partner organizations, elected officials, and others as well as the time we have to volunteer to do this work. That which we share is our best understanding
No matter where we live in Georgia, we should be able to live free of fear that our children and teenagers do not have easy access to guns. We should have the freedom from fear that comes with knowing that a person with a mental illness or an unexpected
HB3: Support for Students Experiencing Homelessness We know the last few years have hit working families very hard, often disproportionately more than families with more resources. And although federal funds provided short term help, those programs will not outlast the pervasive concerns around child poverty. Georgia counted 41,600 students
As we’ve said before, this is the bill that never dies. We will refer you to a recent article by In The Public Interest about school voucher bills and why we oppose them. HB 54 would raise the dollar amount of the tax credit voucher to private school scholarships
Mining proposal adjacent to Okefenokee Swamp (from Georgia Audubon Society) This issue has been an action items at several points in the past. However, no firm decision has been made on whether to allow this mining to go forward. This may be our last opportunity to make our voices
CALL THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY! Stop Biden from nominating an anti-abortion judge. It’s being reported that Biden plans on nominating Kentucky’s former solicitor general Chad Meredith, an anti-abortion advocate, to a federal judgeship in a bid to secure Mitch McConnell’s support for future Biden nominees. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-biden-mcconnell-deal-to-make-an-anti-abortion-advocate-a-federal-judge-is-still-on/ar-AAZ5pkM This is an
Call your senators and contact your representative today – you’ll be making a few quick calls using our patch through number and one link for your representative. First call is a demand to end a racist and elitist senate rule: The filibuster has long kept the people’s voice from
Unfortunately, over the last few years, some of our institutions have come under attack and struggled to survive. Historian Timothy Snyder in his book, “On Tyranny: 20 Lessons From the 20th Century” which is essentially a guidebook on pushing back against authoritarians, discusses the need to protect our institutions.
As we careen toward sine die, the end of the 2022 Georgia legislative session, we see that legislators are rushing to get their pet bills in under the wire so some have something to run on for this election year. None of these bills do anything for hardworking Georgians.
From Southern Center for Human Rights:Over the objections of the community, criminal legal reform and constitutional rights advocates, and local governments, the Senate passed SB 171, a bill that targets lawful protest in violation of the First Amendment. Tell the members of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee that this
It is our job to refute the lies. Timothy Snyder writes: To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet
Increasingly, state legislatures have passed extreme laws circumventing traditional standards of lawmaking. What caused this change? How can the average citizen participate to strengthen these institutions? Our guest, David Pepper, has written a book “Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-up Call From Behind the Lines” that will answer many of
We have two asks today on education and vouchers. The state senate is poised to vote on House Bill 517 on Frida . What began as a bill offering minimal accountability to the state’s tax-credit voucher was amended in the House to raise the amount of public funds that
Medicaid Expansion Virtual Advocacy DayMarch 10, 2022 Join Cover Ga for a virtual advocacy day for Medicaid expansion! Going on all day, join for as much time as you are able! Cover Georgia is urging elected officials to take action to expand Medicaid immediately to protect and improve the
When people with developmental disabilities “age out” of public special education, they confront a lack of services and positive alternatives for community living and engagement. Many continue to live at home where their parents provide supervision and support, often at great sacrifice, and languish in the absence of meaningful
Georgia-grown and Georgia-owned farms keep food on our tables. And since 1989, Georgia has had some of the strongest protections for existing farmers and property rights in the U.S. Our local Georgia farmers are already protected from frivolous nuisance lawsuits. These good neighbor laws also protect rural Georgians’ property
Many thanks to our member group Avondale ACTion for these 3 calls to action. 1. Advocate for protection of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. A bipartisan group of state legislators has filed House Bill 1289, which prohibits the Environmental Protection Division from issuing permits to mine on Trail Ridge,
CALL TO ACTION: Oppose Dangerous Gun Legislation: SB 319 Monday morning, we expect a slate of pro-gun bills will be scheduled for a vote by the Georgia Senate. The most dangerous bill in this group is SB319 which would allow gun owners to carry concealed firearms without having a
Are private entities better at managing the functions of government? What does the “public good” mean? What do we sacrifice in public/private partnerships? What’s really behind school vouchers? Will the free market take care of our communities equitably? Join us on March 7th at 7:00pm, when we speak with
