Georgias Legislative Branch The Georgia General Assembly Legislative

Georgia’s Legislative Branch The Georgia General Assembly

Legislative Branch Legislative branch makes the law; has law-making powers over all areas not specifically assigned to the US Constitution Legislative branch in GA is known as the Georgia General Assembly Bicameral body House of Representatives – 180 members State Senate— 56 members Each house or senate district has approx the same number of people Presiding officers in each house determine the order of business, control debate, enforce rules of procedure for the General Assembly, control meeting times and recesses, and order a roll call vote on any issue

Qualifications for Office in the GA General Assembly State Senate State House of Representatives 25 yrs old at the time of 21 yrs old at the time of election Citizens of the US Citizens of GA for at least 2 yrs Must be legal resident of the district they represent for at least 1 yr Serve 2 yr terms; no term limits

The Business of the Assembly Meets for 40 days each yr, beginning on the 2 nd Mon. of January Takes breaks during the 40 day period so the end of a session is usually mid. March Only the House can write appropriations (spending) bills Only the Senate can confirm appointments by the Gov All bills must approved by both houses and be in

The Committee System How GA legislature is organized All members serve on multiple committees Chairs decide when committees meet and when bills are discussed & voted on House or Senate committees must review bills before they can be brought up for debate or voted on Allows for members to closely study bills Committees: small working groups Some are permanent –called standing committees – last from one session to the next Others are appointed for a special task Others last only until their work is done

Committee System Cont. Types of committees: Interim Committee: one that works on assigned issues and concerns between sessions of the legislature Conference Committee: appointed when the house and senate pass different versions of a bill, takes the two bills and tries to write one that can be passed in both houses Joint Committee: made up of members of both houses and works on an assigned topic or issue Examples of standing committees include the Ways and Means (deals with taxes), Appropriations (deals with the budget), and the Judiciary Committee (deals with issues about state laws & the court system)

How a bill Becomes a law