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GEORGIA'S SHARED PARENTING LEGISLATION
HB96
On March 9, 2020, Rep. Jasmine Clark (D-108, Lilburn), along with Reps. Chuck Effstration (R-104, Dacula), Rhonda Burnough (D-77, Riverdale), John Carson (R-46, Marietta), & Todd Jones (R-25, Cumming) introduced Georgia's first equal shared parenting bill on the floor of the Georgia House of Representatives to update the custody laws to be in line with the overwhelming research that shows that such an arrangement is in the best interests of the children.
Unfortunately, the bill was introduced too late in the session and with the subsequent problems created by the COVID-19 outbreak, it died. However, the bill was given a sub-committee hearing before the Judiciary Sub-Committee on December 16, 2021, where experts on divorce, child custody, fatherhood, child support, and mental health testified in favor of the bill.
The bill was reintroduced on January 14, 2021 as HB96 for the 2021/2022 legislative session. Reps. Jasmine Clark (D-108, Lilburn), Chuck Effstration (R-104, Dacula), and Rhonda Burnough (D-77, Riverdale) sponsored again, joined by Reps. Micah Gravley (R-67, Douglasville), Wes Cantrell (R-22, Woodstock), and Philip Singleton (R-71, Sharpsburg). The bill has been assigned to the Juvenile Justice Committee. At this point, we have not been given a hearing by Chairman Ballinger.
House Bill 96 creates a legal presumption that equal shared parenting is in the child's best interests unless there is evidence that it is not in a particular case. The bill also requires that judges who determine that equal shared parenting is not in the child's best interest explain why in their order. Finally, the bill gives the judge more discretion on the age at which to consider the desires of the child.
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GEORGIA'S CHILDREN NEED YOUR HELP!
The success of this bill is dependent upon people like you! Whether you can volunteer your time, donate money, or even just call your legislator, anything that you can do to protect the rights of our children is needed & appreciated
Call your Legislators
There are 237 state legislators in the State of Georgia and they want to hear from their constituents.
Call and let your legislators know that you want them to support shared parenting legislation. They may have questions and that is where we come in. We are happy to meet with you and your legislator in person or via conference call or Zoom to explain the benefits of this legislation. We are here to support you and provide the details.
Donate Money
Working for change costs money. Legislators are used to professional lobbyists with seemingly unlimited budgets. When we ask for their attention, we have to approach them with the same professionalism and literature that they are accustomed to receiving.
While we do have the benefit of volunteer lobbyists, we still have tremendous overhead costs. When you donate to GPKR, you can rest assured that we will stretch your dollars as far as possible.
Volunteer
We rely on the support of volunteers like you for a wide variety of tasks, such as:
Social Media
Lobbying
Event Planning
Research
Public Relations
Video Recording
Outreach
We can use all the help we can get! We will train you and you will be making a true difference in the lives of children.
Send us an email and tell us what you can do.