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Haters gonna hate

A funny thing happened on Friday. Republicans stalled their own hateful bill by trying to add in a questionable “anti-terrorism” measure. This time of year, legislators have a habit of amending bills on the floor just before a vote, sometimes by adding in whole other bills. In the state Senate, if a long enough “amendment” is added, the bill has to go back a few steps in the process, before it can come back up

Rigged Maps on the Better Georgia Podcast
2017 Legislative Session

Map-rigging bill defeated!

The defeat of map-rigging bill, HB 515 is proof that organized action works. Thanks to everyone who made phone calls, signed the petition, shared information on social media, and took action at the Capitol racial map rigging was defeated for now. The decision to drop map-rigging from HB 515 comes after national attention from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee as well as pressure from a coalition of left-leaning organizations. But the issue is still alive

Rigged Maps on the Better Georgia Podcast
2017 Legislative Session

An accused sexual predator is trying to silence African American voters

Disgraced former judge and current lawmaker Johnnie Caldwell is pushing a bill that would silence thousands of African American voters. Better Georgia and a coalition of progressive groups fighting against Caldwell’s map rigging bill believe the legislation is likely illegal.  As egregious as it is for a lawmaker to try to stand in the way of Georgians’ voting rights, we’re not surprised, considering that the source is Johnnie Caldwell. Amongst other things, Caldwell is an accused sexual predator who

2017 Legislative Session

Eric Holder calls new Ga. bill “political map-rigging at its worst”

The map rigging bill that’s pending in the Georgia Senate is so flagrantly unethical that former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke out against it —  his first time weighing in on a state redistricting fight since founding National Development and Reform Commission. “Voters should choose their elected representatives, not the other way around,” Holder said recently. The proposed maps threaten to carve out African-American and minority voters from blue-trending districts. When these districts were

2017 Legislative Session

Trump, state leaders promote anti-immigrant policies

Immigrants and refugees are facing some ugly battles on both the state and federal level. The newest round of executive orders from Donald Trump shows a continued interest in anti-immigrant policies, while state policymakers seem intent to likewise press xenophobic policies. This has culminated in multiple protests from immigrants, their families and supporters. Most recently a group gathered outside the ICE office in Atlanta, posting to the event: “We all recognize that we must stand together

2017 Legislative Session

Coal ash regulations stall while Georgians and environment suffer

While dangerous bills like ‘Campus Carry,’ School Takeover 2.0 and the campus rape cover-up bill are still moving forward, two promising coal ash regulations bills failed to survive a key legislative deadline. Coal ash, the nasty waste product of coal-fired power plants, contains heavy metals that can leach into the environment, contaminating wildlife and getting into the water system. The disposal of coal ash, also called coal combustion residuals or CCRs, has caused quite a