Floyd killing has prompted state reforms, but not everywhere
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — George Floyd’s killing last year and the protests that followed led to a wave of police reforms in dozens of states, from changes in use-of-force policies to greater accountability for officers. At the same time, lawmakers in a handful of states have had success addressing racial inequities.
But those changes mask a more complicated legislative legacy to a movement that many hoped would produce generational change: Other states have done little or nothing around police and racial justice reforms, and several have moved in the opposite direction.
In Texas, where Floyd was raised and laid to rest, state Sen. Royce West this year helped introduce the “George Floyd Act” to overhaul policing. But the bill has languished for weeks after getting one hearing, and West, one of the state’s most prominent Black lawmakers, acknowledges it faces long odds in the Republican-dominated Legislature.
“We have members of the Senate that just refuse to pass a bill with his name on it,” he said.
https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-legislature-bills-police-racial-injustice-95d3c4db293fa4992afb56497e370961
