Representing Georgia
The 2023-24 Georgia general assembly was described as the most diverse ever, with 83 blacks among the 236 members. That includes over a dozen first- and second-generation immigrants — and of those, at least 10 have just been elected, the vast majority of them Democrats. Presented by ACC x 285 South.
The Georgia General Assembly can seem like an exclusive club closed to the public — but contacting your representatives to lobby for (for or against!) legislation on issues important to you is easier than you might think .
The General Assembly, also known as the Georgia Legislature, just called its annual meeting on January 9th to set the state’s 2023-2024 annual budget and pass new legislation — so now’s a great time to get involved.
Some of these proposed new laws may affect you. In this session, the state legislature will consider, for example, bills affecting student loans, computer privacy and data leakage, public school security, and open gun carry laws.
Georgia has a part-time legislature that meets for 40 workdays each year at the State Capitol in downtown Atlanta. The 236 elected members of the House of Representatives and Senate are traveling to Atlanta from across the state to attend the legislative session, which is scheduled to last until March 30 this year.
We’ve put together this short guide to give you a basic understanding of how the legislature works in Georgia, with links to contact legislators, find out about bills you’re interested in and livestream legislative sessions.
How do I contact my legislator?
First, you need to know the names of your state representative and senator. Find out here on the OpenStates.org website. You can find their phone numbers and email addresses here.
How do I find out which invoices I’m interested in?
You can search for Georgia bills here, or browse them and see where they are right now. You can find out what committee meetings are scheduled and watch the live streams on the Under the Gold Dome General Assembly dashboard.
How does the legislative period work?
The Georgia Legislature meets each year for 40 business days spread over approximately 90 calendar days. Georgia actually has a two-year legislature, which means that bills that don’t pass the first year can be reviewed and put to a vote again the next year.
The current session is the first year of the biennial cycle. During this period, each of the 236 elected members of Georgia’s House of Representatives and Senate can table bills in their respective chambers.
Here’s a brief overview of how legislation works: In both the House and Senate, each bill is assigned to specialized committees of lawmakers for consideration. If all relevant committees approve a bill, it goes to a so-called ballot before full membership of that chamber. Otherwise it dies in scrap, as the saying goes.
If one chamber approves a bill that requires a simple majority, it goes to the other chamber, which repeats the process.
How long does it take?
There are two key dates lawmakers must keep in mind when attempting to pass legislation. The first is Crossover Day, the 28th day of the session. The House and Senate each have until crossover day to approve a proposed “transition” bill — or submit it to the other house for consideration. Otherwise, the bill dies in the chamber.
If the governor vetoes a bill in the first year of session, the Legislature can override the veto by a two-thirds majority in the second year. But if he vetoes a bill in the second year of session, the bill is null.
Would you like to contact a committee chair?
The Georgia House of Representatives has elected Jon Burns (R-Newington) Speaker of the House. As Speaker of the House of Representatives, he has the power to schedule or skip votes on legislation. The state Senate is led by Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, also a Republican.
The State House and Senate each have specialized standing committees, study committees, and subcommittees that review and decide whether to approve bills. The House of Representatives has 38 Standing Committees and the Senate has 28 on issues such as: banking and finance; agriculture and consumer protection; Economic development; education and youth; and insurance and work.
Republicans currently control every chamber in the Georgia Legislature because a majority of the 180 state representatives in the House of Representatives and the 56 senators in the Senate are Republicans. That means the chairs of all standing committees are Republicans.
Here are the names of all the new House Committee Chairs and new Senate Committee Chairs for the 2023 term. You can contact them about bills their committees are considering.
PARTICIPATION IN THE GEORGIAN LEGISLATION: A QUICK SUMMARY
- Click here to find out the names of your state representative and senator.
- Click here to get their contact phone numbers and email addresses.
- You can easily search or search bills in both the Georgia House and Senate LegiScan websitewhich states that it “gets people involved in the process”.
- Check the General Assembly Under the Gold Dome dashboard for a daily schedule of which committees meet in each chamber and to follow the sessions live. You can also find individual bills and check the status of a bill in either the House or Senate – and also search for legislators.
- Attend the General Assembly in person at the Georgia Capitol, 434 Capitol Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30312. The main phone number is: (404) 656-1776. The Capitol is open to the public, but visitors are not permitted on the House or Senate floors. There are public galleries where you can watch lawmakers discuss draft legislation in the chambers and boardrooms, but space is limited. Offices for legislators are located in the Capitol and in the adjacent Legislative Office buildings.
Adam Hayes is a multimedia intern at Vox Atlanta and an aspiring creative writer