from the 39th District in 1996 and has been

reelected seven times. He represents parts of the

city of Atlanta and East Point.

Sen. Fort serves on the Appropriations, Judiciary,

Judiciary Non-Civil, Education and Youth, Reapportionment

and Redistricting, Interstate Cooperation

and Urban Affairs Committees. Sen. Fort

has chaired the Retirement Committee, Interstate

Cooperation Committee and the Fulton County

Senate Delegation.

Sen. Fort authored the first hate crimes law in

2001. This legislation was designed to provide for

enhanced penalties for defendants who intentionally

select their victim due to bias or prejudice

such as crimes based on race, religion, ethnicity,

disability and sexual orientation.

In 2001, Sen. Fort authored a predatory lending

law, which was the basis for the strongest predatory

lending law of its kind, passed in 2002. Since

then, he has become nationally recognized as a

leader in the fight against predatory lending.

Sen. Fort also authored a law which increases disabled

access to housing.

Sen. Fort is responsible for securing $20 Million in

funding for buildings at Atlanta Technical College

and Atlanta Metropolitan College. As a member of

the Education Committee, Sen. Fort has been on

the forefront for protecting public education.

Sen. Fort has been recognized by several organizations

such as the National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Georgia

Council on Aging, the American Association of Retired

Persons (AARP) and The Georgia Commission

on the Holocaust. He has been recognized

as legislator of the year by the Georgia Association

of Educators and the National Association of

Consumer Advocates. He has also received the

Senator Vincent Fort

Senate District 39

Unsung Hero award from the Anti-Defamation League

Sen. Fort has appeared on numerous local national and international media outlets including

CNN, Fox News, New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, The Nation

Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, HDNet with Dan Rather and Financial

Times.

-January 2013, Senate Press Office