Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed House Bill 451, also known as the Ashley Wilson Act, into law Wednesday, which will provide insurance coverage to help first responders manage their job-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The bill is named after Gwinnett County Police Officer Ashley Wilson, who has been advocating for the legislation as she reportedly deals with her own PTSD after witnessing her partner, Officer Antwan Toney, shot and killed in the line of duty in 2018.
The Ashley Wilson Act was part of a series of bills Kemp signed, including the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act (House Bill 1105), which requires police and sheriff’s departments to identify illegal aliens who commit crimes and detain them for deportation by federal immigration authorities.
Kemp also signed Senate Bill 37, which reportedly makes it so that applicants would need a certification as a peace officer in order to apply for a sheriff or jailer position in the state of Georgia, and Senate Bill 63, which will require cash bail for 30 additional crimes.
The package of bills signed will also force municipalities to enforce state immigration laws.
The governor’s actions come in the wake of the death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. The murder suspect, 26-year-old Venezuelan native Jose Ibarra, is not a U.S. citizen.
