OTHER LEGISLATIVE
UPDATES

June 2024 

As we reach the midpoint of the year, our attention has been focused across both the end of our 2024 Southern legislative sessions as well as on the still-closing Supreme Court term. Key decisions have been announced recently that stand to impact and reshape the landscape in which we operate and the strength of our democracy. We are monitoring these decisions and preparing to assist our partners and stakeholders with better understanding how these decisions may affect them and looking ahead at how state legislatures may respond in upcoming sessions to recent rulings to ensure that our efforts remain robust and responsive to the outcomes and potential consequences of these crucial cases.

In addition to watching the Supreme Court, we continue to digest and evaluate the legislative sessions from across the South in 2024. This has been a particularly active year, with numerous bills proposed and passed that touch on our core areas of interest. Unfortunately, not all of these efforts have been ones that positively advance equity in the South. From regressions in the criminal legal system to changes in economic policy, the legislative landscape is rapidly evolving. Our team is working diligently to analyze these changes, assess their implications, and develop strategies to advance our mission in light of new legislative realities. We look forward to coming to you later in the year with our 2024 Legislative Summary, providing a more in-depth analysis of these changes and their implications and our outlook for 2025.

We have also continued to focus on how these matters impact the already perilous state of American democracy. Voter suppression, and the erosion of voting rights are pressing issues that threaten the integrity of our democratic institutions. Efforts to prevent and suppress the teaching of the true history of this country position us to repeat the harder lessons of the past. These challenges disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income populations, undermining their political power and ability to participate in a just and equitable society. Our organization is committed to continuing the conversations about these anti-democratic practices and educating others on the importance of advancing courageous change to ensure that every citizen has an equal voice in our democracy. The fight for race and class equity is linked to the health of our democracy. Without a robust and fair democratic process, marginalized communities will continue to face systemic barriers to equality. We must remain vigilant and proactive in defending democratic norms and principles, ensuring that our efforts are grounded in the pursuit of a more just, equitable, and inclusive South.

To better inform our stakeholders and guide our policy efforts, we have recently published our first set of 16 policy priority briefs. These briefs cover our 2024 priorities regarding the Criminal Legal System, Democracy & Voting, Economic Equity, and Health. Each brief answers the question of what this priority means to us, what the current landscape across the country and/or in the South is for that priority, how policy changes in these areas can advance equity in the South, and provides a brief overview of the legislative measures we’ve seen related to these priorities in recent legislative sessions. We encourage our partners and supporters to review these briefs to better understand our strategic priorities and to join us in advocating for these critical issues.

Highlighting our commitment to nurturing courageous leaders in the South, we are proud to call attention to a few of the legislative measures brought forward by some of the members of Cohort Two of our Unum Fellows Leadership Excelerator. These Southern state legislators have introduced innovative and impactful proposals aimed at addressing systemic inequities in their states. Though often met with political challenges to advancing these measures, we applaud them for keeping these issues at the forefront and persevering and pressing forward to a better South. Their efforts exemplify the transformative potential of dedicated advocacy.



Senate Bill 509 (Enacted) – With the legislature declaring that violence must be recognized and addressed as a public safety and health crisis, this law utilizes a public safety and health data-based approach and will require the Louisiana Department of Health to conduct a review of violence prevention factors, activities, and strategies and to submit a report to the legislature providing information and strategies regarding violence prevention. 

Why this is important: As recently stated by the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy upon the release of the recent Firearm Violence Advisory, violence “is an urgent public health crisis that has led to loss of life, unimaginable pain, and profound grief for far too many Americans”. Quite often, this violence disproportionately affects marginalized and low-income communities, particularly in the South. Louisiana ranks as the second most dangerous state in the United States with a crime rate of 492 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Addressing this pressing issue with a data-based approach is a great stride toward implementation of meaningful and positive change supported by data instead of being driven by rhetoric and implementation of solutions that don’t solve the root problems.

House Bill 392 (Enacted) – With the enactment of this bill, both Medicaid and private insurance in Louisiana now cover both inpatient and outpatient menopause and perimenopausal care, with no prior authorization needed from a physician. 

Why this is important: Health insurance companies and public health care coverage plans often refuse to cover hormonal treatment for menopause and perimenopause, including estrogen and progesterone supplements. Paying for these treatments out of pocket can be very expensive. This bill will remove a financial barrier for many women to ensure that they can get the treatment and care that they need to treat symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.

House Bill 2224 (Enacted through companion Senate Bill 1931) – This bill will now require the Department of Education to notify local education agencies in writing each year of all state and federal grant programs available to assist in the expansion of mental health services and resources in schools.

Why this is important: As mentioned above, untreated or inadequately treated mental illness can lead to high rates of school dropout, unemployment, substance abuse, arrest, incarceration, and early death. Increasing the awareness of the availability by mandating notice of availability of grant funding to schools is a great step to ensure that these services can be made available to our youth.

House Bill 1184 – This bill would create a privilege related to evidence for participation in a victim centered program, defined as a gathering in which parties gather to identify and respond to wrongdoing, repair harm, reduce the likelihood of further harm, and strengthen community ties by focusing on the  needs and obligations of all parties involved through a participatory process. The bill did not pass before the adjournment of the 2024 legislative session.

Why this is important: Providing additional protection for communications made in victim-offender dialogues would ensure that there can be full participation without fear of retribution for those participating in a process with the goal to repair harm and address trauma. Leaving these traumas unaddressed has the potential to create additional trauma and harms, perpetuating the cycle that needs to be broken in order for people to be able to contribute to a productive society.

House Bill 897– This bill sought to allocate funds to increase the mental health services available for students in the Jackson Public School District. The bill died in committee prior to the adjournment of the 2024 legislative session.

Why this is important: Untreated or inadequately treated mental illness can lead to high rates of school dropout, unemployment, substance abuse, arrest, incarceration, and early death. Ensuring that there are sufficient funds to address mental health issues in the place where students spend the majority of their day and prioritize the emotional and behavioral well-being of youth, playing a large role in the destigmatization and normalization of mental health care and access in underserved communities.

House Bill 1499 – This bill would have created the Maternal Mortality Prevent Grant Program to reduce maternal mortality by awarding grants to nonprofit organizations that provide products and services to pregnant women, postpartum women, and women within one year of the end of pregnancy to help them manage risk factors, conditions, and circumstances surrounding these stages in their maternal health. The bill did not pass before the adjournment of the 2024 legislative session.

Why this is important: As set forth in the preamble of the bill, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, with Georgia being among the states with the highest maternal mortality rates in the United States. Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee has previously determined that 85% of pregnancy related deaths in 2019-201 were preventable.This grant program would ensure that all women in Georgia have equitable access to health and healthcare before, during, and after pregnancy to eliminate preventable maternal deaths by providing funding to organizations that often meet the gap that exists in the provision of these services through innovative and free or lower cost services not often provided through the traditional health care system.

Senate Bill 899 – The Diagnostic Imaging Parity Act would expand coverage requirements for the screening of breast and cervical cancer beyond traditional methods such as pap smears and mammograms to include breast MRIs and breast ultrasounds. The bill is still active in the Senate with 29 days left in North Carolina’s legislative session.

Why is this important: This bill would ensure access to medically necessary diagnostic imaging by eliminating the burdensome out-of-pocket costs for these diagnostic tools.

House Bill 50 – This bill would provide for the sealing of certain criminal convictions automatically after the satisfaction of a criminal sentence and a required period of time has passed within which an individual has not been convicted of any additional criminal offenses. The bill did not pass before the adjournment of the 2024 legislative session.

Why this is important: Under existing law in Alabama, an individual charged with certain crimes may petition the court to have their records expunged. These petitions come with associated costs for filing, fees, etc., and can be financially burdensome to pursue. Providing for certain offenses to be automatically sealed would relieve many of this financial burden that often serves as a barrier to fully re-entering and becoming a productive and contributing member of society.

House Bill 1263 – This bill would create the Georgia Environmental Justice Act, requiring all state entities to consider the disproportionate effect of environmental hazards on people of color prior to taking certain state actions and create the Environmental Justice Commission. The bill did not pass before the adjournment of the 2024 legislative session.

Why this is important: Environmental justice is a public health and human rights issue. Marginalized communities are disproportionately at risk of exposure to lead, air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, hazardous waste, and other environmental effects. A bill like this one would ensure that there is an additional deliberative process that is in place before decisions are made that impact their lives and subject them to potential harmful exposure.

House Bill 1156 – This bill would prevent polling locations from being closed within 60 days before any election unless for exigent circumstances with provisions included for closing in such circumstances, including providing public notice posted at city hall, courthouses, registrar’s office, and the closed polling place, for example, as well as publishing in the newspaper if closed within three weeks of an election. The bill successfully passed in the House but died in the Elections Committee in the Senate before the adjournment of the 2024 legislative session.

Why this is important: Closing polling places hurts our democracy by making it more difficult for people to vote, particularly communities of color and low-income communities. It is well known that closing and consolidating polling sites are part of the voter suppression strategies that have advanced since they have been deregulated due to the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder. Ensuring that sufficient notice and proximity in time to the closing of a polling location is important to ensure that people know where to report on election day to ensure that they can cast their ballot and ensure that their voice is heard through the exercising of their right to vote.

As we navigate the complex and ever-changing political landscape, our resolve to advance race and class equity in the South remains steadfast. We are grateful for the continued support of our community and partners. Together, we can drive meaningful change and work towards a more just and equitable society. Stay engaged, stay informed, and join us in our mission to create lasting impact through strategic advocacy and action.