2020 Policy Agenda

2020 Policy Agenda

The YWCA of Greater Atlanta will pursue the following priorities to improve the health and safety and advance the economic empowerment of all women and girls in Georgia in the 2020 state legislative session. Sign up for our action alerts for real-time updates and opportunities to make your voice heard!

The Georgia Women's Policy Institute, YWCA's signature advocacy training program, will focus on the following policy priorities this legislative session:

  • Eliminate the discriminatory state sales tax on menstrual products, to ensure the products are exempted just like other medical necessities.
  • Take proactive and significant steps to reduce the high maternal mortality rate in Georgia, including extending Medicaid coverage for women to 12 months postpartum, to ensure that women who experience complications post-birth are able to receive necessary health care.
  • Clarify that law enforcement should arrest the dominant aggressor when responding to family violence calls, to reduce instances of unnecessary dual arrests.

The YWCA of Greater Atlanta will also collaborate with partners and other advocates on the following issues:

  • Allow someone who is in an abusive dating relationship to ask for a temporary protective order, regardless of whether they are married or have lived together.
  • Align state law with existing federal law to prohibit those convicted of misdemeanor crimes of family violence from receiving, possessing, or transporting a firearm. 
  • Prevent the indiscriminate shackling of children in juvenile court, to ensure a trauma-informed approach for young people in our juvenile justice system.
  • Require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, such as water breaks or the ability to sit down.
  • Enact a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit, family-friendly tax reform that can empower more women to move into the middle class.
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GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATE: CROSSOVER DAY

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How Menstrual Products are Taking Georgia Public Policy by Storm