Georgia Governor Signs Bill Preventing ‘Defund the Police’
Georgia | May 11, 2021
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the “defund the police” movement would endanger Georgian communities and signed a bill into law on May 7, forbidding large budget cuts for local police.
“Today, I am proud to sign [HB] 286 to protect law enforcement budgets and ensure the safety of local communities across Georgia,” Kemp said in a statement.
HB 286 (pdf) prohibits county governing authorities from reducing the police budget by more than 5 percent a year or “during a rolling five-year period.” The Republican-led General Assembly passed the bill and sent it to Kemp in early April.
“Radical movements like the ‘defund the police’ movement seeks to vilify the men and women who leave their families every day and put their lives on the line to protect all Georgians,” Kemp said in a signing ceremony at the Barrow County Sheriffs Office gun range. “This far-left movement will endanger our communities and our law enforcement officers and leave our most vulnerable at risk.”…
(Excerpts from the Epoch Times)