Measure advances that would block deep cuts to police budgets

The Georgia House voted to bar local governments from substantially decreasing their funding for law enforcement.

Under House Bill 286, cities and counties would not be able to reduce their law enforcement budgets by more than 5% in one year or cumulatively across 10 years.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Houston Gaines, an Athens Republican, pointed to discussions in Athens and Atlanta to decrease spending on their police forces, although no cuts actually occurred.

After a summer of protests over racial injustice and police brutality, some activists in Georgia and across the country backed efforts that fell under a heading of “defund the police” that called for diverting money from law enforcement budgets to address issues such as mental health, addiction and homelessness.

“This is a dangerous idea that will harm those who most need protections and put victims at risk,” Gaines said.

But state Rep. Bee Nguyen, an Atlanta Democrat, made a case that police departments require accountability, saying the law is not enforced uniformly in all communities.

“If you are Black or brown, whether armed or unarmed, you are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than our (white counterparts),” she said.

A Yale University study found that people of color were killed by police at “significantly higher rates” than white people, whether or not the person was armed. For example, Black people who were armed were killed at 2.6 times the rate of white people who were carrying weapons.