On Tuesday, Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill aimed at getting more businesses to post required human trafficking notices.
“It takes all of us to end trafficking, and I am proud our elected leaders from both parties have stood strong and supported our legislation,” said first lady Marty Kemp, who has pushed to end human trafficking in the state, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Since September 2013, Georgia state law has required certain businesses to post a notice that contains phone numbers for national and Georgia human trafficking hotlines.
According to Mrs. Kemp, the fines violating the law could be as little as $1. The new law raises that fine to between $500 and $1,000 for the first offense and between $1,000 and $5,000 for any subsequent offense.
“It may not sound like much, but the reality is this simple step could save lives if the notice reaches the right person,” said Mrs. Kemp.
“The bill signing coincided with a meeting of the first lady’s GRACE Commission, a group of advocates, business leaders, and state and local officials focused on ending human trafficking,” Fox 5 Atlanta reported. “Hannah Palmquist is the lead human trafficking prosecutor for the Georgia Attorney General’s Office. She updated GRACE Commission members on the recent prosecutions by her unit, including a man in Clayton County sentenced to 70 years.”
Palmquist reportedly said the new law will help spread awareness about human trafficking.
“Our hope is actually that victims will see this posted, that while they may not have thought of themselves as victims of human trafficking, this alerts them that somebody is out there who could potentially help them, and we are hopeful that could generate more leads to investigations,” said Palmquist.