Georgia Additional Penalties for Sex Crimes to Fund Services for Sexually Exploited Children, Amendment 2 (2016)
| Georgia Amendment 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
| 2016 measures |
|---|
 |
| November 8 |
Amendment 1  |
| Amendment 2 |
| Amendment 3 |
| Amendment 4 |
| Polls |
| Voter guides |
| Campaign finance |
| Signature costs |
The Georgia Additional Penalties for Sex Crimes to Fund Services for Sexually Exploited Children, Amendment 2 was on the November 8, 2016, ballot for voters in Georgia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. It was approved.
| A "yes" vote supported providing penalties for court cases involving certain sex crimes in order to allocate the generated revenue for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund. |
| A "no" vote opposed providing penalties for court cases involving certain sex crimes in order to allocate the generated revenue for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund. |
Election results
| Amendment 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 3,314,355 | 83.3% | ||
| No | 664,248 | 16.7% | ||
- Election results from Georgia Secretary of State
Overview
Amendment design
Amendment 2 triggered the implementation of Senate Resolution 7 and allowed the state legislature to provide for additional penalties or fees to a court case in which a person is found guilty "of keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, pandering, pandering by compulsion, solicitation of sodomy, masturbation for hire, trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, or sexual exploitation of children." It also allowed the legislature to impose assessments on adult entertainment establishments. Revenue from these penalties, fees, and assessments will be allocated to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ |
Authorizes penalties for sexual exploitation and assessments on adult entertainment to fund child victims' services.[4] |
” |
Ballot question
The proposed ballot question was as follows:[1][3]
| “ | Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow additional penalties for criminal cases in which a person is adjudged guilty of keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, pandering, pandering by compulsion, solicitation of sodomy, masturbation for hire, trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, or sexual exploitation of children and to allow assessments on adult entertainment establishments to fund the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund to pay for care and rehabilitative and social services for individuals in this state who have been or may be sexually exploited? ( ) Yes ( ) No[4] |
” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was as follows:[3]
| “ |
This proposal authorizes the General Assembly to provide for additional penalties for various criminal sexual exploitation offenses and assessments on adult entertainment establishments and to dedicate revenue derived therefrom to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund for the purpose of providing care and rehabilitative and social services to sexually exploited persons. It amends Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI of the Georgia Constitution. A copy of this entire proposed amendment is on file in the office of the judge of the probate court and is available for public inspection.[4] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article III, Georgia Constitution
| Georgia Constitution |
|---|
|
| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI |
The proposed amendment would added Subparagraph (o) to the end of Paragraph 6, Section 9 of Article III of the Georgia Constitution. The following text was added by the measure's approval:[1][3]
Full text
The full text of SR 7, Amendment 2's corresponding legislation, was available here.
Support
SafeHarborYes led the support campaign for Amendment 2.[5]
Supporters
Officials
The following legislators sponsored Amendment 2's corresponding legislation, Senate Resolution 7:[2]
- Senator Renee S. Unterman (R-45)
- Senator Gloria S. Butler (D-55)
- Senator Butch Miller (R-49)
- Senator Judson Hill (R-32)
Organizations
- Georgia Catholic Conference[6]
The SafeHarborYes campaign website listed the following statewide partners for Amendment 2:[7]
Partners
- Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way of Greater Atlanta
- International Human Trafficking Institute[8]
- Interfaith Children's Movement[9][10]
- Center for Civil and Human Rights
- CommunityBuild Ventures
- End Human Trafficking Now
- Freedom Coalition
- Georgia Cares
- Georgia Academy of Family Physicians
- The Junior League of Atlanta
- Wellspring Living
- Richmont Graduate University
- She is Safe
- StreetGrace
- United Way of Greater Atlanta
- Voices for Georgia's Children
- Youthspark
- YWCA
- Covenant House Georgia
- Georgia Family Connection Partnership
- Outdoor Advertising Association of America
- Richmont Graduate University
Arguments
Following the pre-filing of Senate Bill 8, Senator Renee Unterman stated in a press release,[11]
| “ |
This has been a long four-year journey of advocacy, education, and sincere determination of explaining to Georgia citizens exactly what is happening to vulnerable children in the child sex trafficking trade. Georgia is a state that deeply cares about the children who are being sold for a profit in the sex trade industry, and this legislation is meant to send a clear message that we do not tolerate these actions and believe in severe punishments for profiteers.[4] |
” |
Frank Mulcahy, executive director of the Georgia Catholic Conference, said the following:[6]
| “ |
This constitutional amendment establishes a fund to help rehabilitate minors who have become victims of sex trafficking so that they can regain their self-respect and live a life consistent with their dignity as children of God. [...] In the Year of Mercy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assure funding for rehabilitation of children who have been preyed upon by unscrupulous traffickers who destroy children’s lives for monetary gain. We must support these children.[4] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
Legislators
The following legislators voted "nay" on Senate Resolution 7 during the last reading before its passage in the Georgia State Senate:[12]
- Senator Bill Heath (R-31)
- Senator Hunter Hill (R-6, Majority Caucus Vice Chair)
- Senator Joshua McKoon (R-29)
The following legislators voted "nay" on Senate Resolution 7 during the last reading before its passage in the Georgia House of Representatives:[13]
- Representative Stephen Allison (R-8)
- Representative Timothy Barr (R-103)
- Representative Michael Caldwell (R-20)
- Representative David Casas (R-107)
- Representative Heath Clark (R-147)
- Representative David Clark (R-98)
- Representative Kevin Cooke (R-18)
- Representative Geoff Duncan (R-26)
- Representative Dustin Hightower (R-68)
- Representative LaDawn Jones (D-62)
- Representative Trey Kelley (R-16)
- Representative E. Culver "Rusty" Kidd (I-145)
- Representative John Pezold (R-133)
- Representative Regina Quick (R-117)
- Representative Dale Rutledge (R-109)
- Representative David Stover (R-71)
- Representative Steve Tarvin (R-2)
- Representative Earnest "Coach" Williams (D-87)
Individuals
- Doug Craig, Libertarian 2018 candidate for Georgia governor[14]
Organizations
Arguments against
The following arguments in opposition to Amendment 2 were submitted to Ballotpedia:[16]
| “ |
1. Although it is sold as protecting children from sex trafficking it actually does little and guarantees nothing. It is essentially blue laws on steroids. Although I morally disagree with the oldest profession I do not think it should be criminal if consenting. This Amendment beefs up the punishment. |
” |
Doug Craig, a Libertarian candidate for Georgia governor in 2018, told 11Alive the following:[17]
| “ |
There’s no evidence in Georgia that shows the strip clubs have anything to do with the sex trafficking going on. There’s no convictions. There’s no evidence of that. [...] So what we’re trying to do is find a type of business that people don’t like and and tax them for something that we would like to help.[4] |
” |
Background
Senate bill 8
Senate Bill 8, or Safe Harbor/Rachel's Law Act, was introduced in the Georgia State Legislature on December 12, 2014, and was signed into law on May 5, 2015. The bill called for the creation of the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund as well as the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission and stipulated that its conditions would not take effect without passage of a constitutional amendment that provided a funding mechanism for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund in the legislature as well as ratification of the amendment by voters during the November 2016 election. This companion amendment legislation was Senate Resolution 7.[18][5]
Fund
According to the text of Senate Bill 8, The Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund is a separate fund in the Georgia State Treasury and its primary purpose "is to disburse money to provide care and rehabilitative and social services for sexually exploited children."[19]
Media editorials
Support
The Augusta Chronicle editorial board wrote the following in support of Amendment 2:[20]
| “ |
We also recommend voting “yes” on Amendments 1 (see editorial, this page), 2 and 4. Amendment 2 would increase penalties and fees in sexual exploitation cases, and allow those and other assessments to be allocated to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund.[4] |
” |
Opposition
Ballotpedia has not yet found any editorial board endorsements in opposition to Amendment 2. If you know of one, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
SafeHarborYes registered to support the measure. The committee raised $568,064.93.[21]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $368,349.50 | $199,715.43 | $568,064.93 | $354,374.85 | $554,090.28 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $368,349.50 | $199,715.43 | $568,064.93 | $354,374.85 | $554,090.28 |
Support
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee(s) supporting the measure.[21]
| Committees in support of Amendment 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| SafeHarborYes | $368,349.50 | $199,715.43 | $568,064.93 | $354,374.85 | $554,090.28 |
| Total | $368,349.50 | $199,715.43 | $568,064.93 | $354,374.85 | $554,090.28 |
Donors
The following were the top donors to the support committee(s).[21]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melt | $0.00 | $100,000.00 | $100,000.00 |
| The United Way of Greater Atlanta | $69,864.00 | $0.00 | $69,864.00 |
| The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation | $25,000.00 | $0.00 | $25,000.00 |
| Southern Company Gas | $20,000.00 | $0.00 | $20,000.00 |
| The Georgia Power Foundation | $20,000.00 | $0.00 | $20,000.00 |
Opposition
There were no committees registered to oppose the amendment.
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Path to the ballot
- A two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Georgia Legislature was required to refer this amendment to the ballot. Georgia is one of sixteen states that requires a two-thirds supermajority.
- The Georgia Senate approved the amendment on February 12, 2015, with 53 senators voting "yea" and 3 voting "nay."
- On March 31, 2015, the Georgia House of Representatives approved a substitute version of the bill. The Senate approved the House's substitute bill on April 2, 2015.[1]
Senate vote
February 12, 2015
| Georgia SR 7 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 53 | 94.65% | ||
| No | 3 | 17.86% | ||
House vote
March 31, 2015
| Georgia SR 7 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 151 | 83.89% | ||
| No | 18 | 1.00% | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Georgia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Georgia | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 10,199,398 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 57,513 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 60.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 30.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,620 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.1% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia
Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[22]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia
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- Public policy in Georgia
- Endorsers in Georgia
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- More...
Related measures:
Related measures
Recent news:
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Georgia Amendment 2 safe harbor trafficking 2016. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Georgia Legislature, "Senate Resolution 7," accessed March 23, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Open States, "SR 7," accessed May 5, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Georgia Secretary of State, "Proposed Constitutional Amendments General Election November 8, 2016," accessed September 28, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 5.0 5.1 SafeHarborYes, "Home," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Georgia Bulletin, "Fund to help sex trafficking victims on Georgia ballot Nov. 8," October 20, 2016
- ↑ SafeHarborYes, "Safe Harbor Yes Statewide Partners," accessed September 1, 2016
- ↑ International Human Trafficking Institute, "Campaign to Pass the Safe Harbor Amendment," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Interfaith Children's Movement, "Gov. Deal signs anti-child sex trafficking bills," May 5, 2015
- ↑ Interfaith Children's Movement, "Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Senate Press, "Sen. Renee Unterman Champions 'Safe Harbor' Legislation with Candlelight Vigil and Press Conference," December 12, 2014
- ↑ Georgia General Assembly, "2015-2016 Regular Session SR 7 Senate Vote #349 (AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE)," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Georgia General Assembly, "2015-2016 Regular Session SR 7 House Vote #351 (ADOPT)," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Doug Craig for Governor - Libertarian," accessed October 26, 2016
- ↑ The Champion, "NAACP formally opposes three Georgia amendments," November 8, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff writer, "Email correspondence with Amendment 2 opponents," October 20, 2016
- ↑ 11Alive, "'Pole tax' in Amendment 2 would assess strip clubs," October 24, 2016
- ↑ Open States, "SB 8," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Georgia State Legislature, "Senate Bill 8," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Augusta Chronicle, "Reject changes to judicial commission; support proposed fund allocations," October 29, 2016
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Georgia Ethics, "SafeHarborYes," accessed February 19, 2025
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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