GEORGIA CONSTITUTION OF 1945

(text as ratified by Georgia voters on Aug. 7, 1945)

ARTICLE III.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION I.

Paragraph I. Power Vested in General Assembly. The legislative power of the State shall be vested in a General Assembly which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

SECTION II.

Paragraph I. Number of Senators and Senatorial Districts. The Senate shall consist of not more than fifty-four members and there shall be not more than fifty-four Senatorial Districts with one Senator from each District as now constituted, or as hereafter created. The various Senatorial Districts shall be comprised of the Counties as now provided, and the General Assembly shall have authority to create, rearrange and change these Districts within the limitations herein stated.

SECTION III.

Paragraph I. Number of Representatives. The House of Representatives shall consist of representatives apportioned among the several counties of the State as follows: To the eight counties having the largest population, three representatives each; to the thirty counties having the next largest population, two representatives each; and to the remaining counties, one representative each.

Paragraph II. Apportionment Changed, How. The above apportionment shall be changed by the General Assembly at its first session after each census taken by the United States Government in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph I of Section III of this article.

SECTION IV.

Paragraph I. Term of Members. The members of the General Assembly shall be elected for two years, and shall serve until the time fixed by law for the convening of the next General Assembly.

Paragraph II. Election, When. The first election for members of the General Assembly, under this Constitution shall take place on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1946, and subsequent elections biennially, on that day, until the day of election is changed by law.

Paragraph III. Meeting of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall meet in regular session on the second Monday in January 1947, and biennially thereafter on the same day until the date shall be changed by law. By concurrent resolution, adopted by a majority of members elected to both Houses, the General Assembly may adjourn any regular session to such later date as it may fix for reconvening in regular session, but shall remain in regular session no longer than seventy (70) days, in the aggregate, during the term for which the members were elected. If it shall adjourn the first regular session before the expiration of seventy (70) days without fixing a date for reconvening, the General Assembly shall reconvene in regular session on the second Monday in January of the next year unless it shall have adjourned sine die. All business pending in the Senate or House at the adjournment of any regular session may be considered at any later regular session of the same General Assembly as if there had been no adjournment. Nothing herein shall be construed to affect the power of the Governor to convoke the General Assembly in extraordinary session, or the duty of the Governor to convene the General Assembly in extraordinary session upon the certificate of three-fifths of the members elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives, as provided in Article V, Section I, Paragraph XII of this Constitution. If an impeachment trial is pending at the end of any regular or extraordinary session, the Senate may continue in session until such trial is completed. The provisions of Paragraph III, Section IV of Article III of the Constitution which this Constitution supersedes which apply to the meetings of the General Assembly shall continue in force until the second Monday in January, 1947.

Paragraph IV. Quorum. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to transact business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the presence of its absent members, as each house may provide.

Paragraph V. Oath of Members. Each Senator and Representative, before taking his seat, shall take the following oath, or affirmation, to-wit: "I will support the Constitution of this State and of the United States, and on all questions and measures which may come before me, I will so conduct myself, as will, in my judgment, be most conducive to the interests and prosperity of this State."

Paragraph VI. Eligibility; Appointments Forbidden. No person holding a military commission, or other appointment, or office, having any emolument, or compensation annexed thereto, under this State, or the United States, or either of them except Justices of the Peace and officers of the militia, nor any defaulter for public money, or for any legal taxes required of him shall have a seat in either house; nor shall any Senator, or Representative, after his qualification as such, be elected by the General Assembly, or appointed by the Governor, either with or without the advice and consent of the Senate, to any office or appointment having any emolument annexed thereto, during the time for which he shall have been elected, unless he shall first resign his seat, provided, however, that during the term for which he was elected no Senator or Representative shall be appointed to any civil office which has been created during such term.

Paragraph VII. Removal From District or County, Effect of. The seat of a member of either house shall be vacated on his removal from the district or county from which he was elected.

SECTION V.

Paragraph I. Qualifications of Senators. The Senators shall be citizens of the United States, who have attained the age of twenty- five years, and who shall have been citizens of this State for four years, and for one year residents of the district from which elected.

Paragraph II. President. The presiding officer of the Senate shall be styled the President of the Senate. A President Pro Tempore shall be elected viva voce from the Senators and shall act in case of the death, resignation or disability of the President, or in the event of his succession to the executive power.

Paragraph III. Impeachments. The Senate shall have the sole power to try impeachments.

Paragraph IV. Trial of Impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, the members shall be on oath, or affirmation, and shall be presided over by the Chief Justice or the Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court. Should the Chief Justice be disqualified, the Senate shall select a Justice of the Supreme Court to preside. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

Paragraph V. Judgments in Impeachments. Judgments, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, within this State; but the party convicted shall nevertheless, be liable, and subject, to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law.

SECTION VI.

Paragraph I. Qualifications of Representatives. The Representatives shall be citizens of the United States who have attained the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have been citizens of this State for two years, and for one year residents of the counties from which elected.

Paragraph II. Speaker. The presiding officer of the House of Representatives shall be styled the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and shall be elected viva voce from the body.

Paragraph III. Power to Impeach. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power to vote impeachment charges against all persons who shall have been or may be in office.

SECTION VII.

Paragraph I. Election, Returns, Etc.; Disorderly Conduct. Each House shall be the judge of the election, returns, and qualifications of its members and shall have power to punish them for disorderly behavior, or misconduct, by censure, fine, imprisonment, or expulsion; but no member shall be expelled, except by a vote of two-thirds of the House to which he belongs.

Paragraph II. Contempts, How Punished. Each House may punish by imprisonment, not extending beyond the session, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty of a contempt, by any disorderly behavior in its presence, or who shall rescue, or attempt to rescue, any person arrested by order of either House.

Paragraph III. Privilege of Members. The members of both Houses shall be free from arrest during their attendance on the General Assembly, and in going thereto, or returning therefrom, except for treason, felony, larceny, or breach of the peace; and no member shall be liable to answer in any other place for anything spoken in debate in either House.

Paragraph IV. Journals and Acts. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish it immediately after its adjournment. The General Assembly shall provide for the publication of the laws passed by each session.

Paragraph V. Where Journals Kept. The original journal shall be preserved after publication, in the office of the Secretary of State, but there shall be no other record thereof.

Paragraph VI. Yeas and Nays, When Taken. The yeas and nays on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of the members present, be entered on the Journal.

Paragraph VII. Bills To Be Read. Every bill, before it shall pass, shall be read three times, and on three separate days, in each House, unless in cases of actual invasion, or insurrection, but the first and second reading of each local bill, shall consist of the reading of the title only, unless said bill is ordered to be engrossed.

Paragraph VIII. One Subject Matter Expressed. No law shall pass which refers to more than one subject matter, or contains matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof.

Paragraph IX. General Appropriation Bill. The General appropriation bill shall embrace nothing except appropriations fixed by previous laws, the ordinary expenses of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments of the Government, payment of the public debt and interest thereon, and for support of the public institutions and educational interests of the State. All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject.

Paragraph X. Bills for Revenue. All bills for raising revenue, or appropriating money, shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose, or concur in amendments, as in other bills.

Paragraph XI. Public Money, How Drawn. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury except by appropriation made by law.

Paragraph XII. Bills Appropriating Money. No bill or resolution appropriating money shall become a law unless, upon its passage, the yeas and nays, in each house, are recorded.

Paragraph XIII. Acts Signed; Rejected Bills. All acts shall be signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and no bill or resolution, intended to have the effect of a law, which shall have been rejected by either house, shall be again proposed during the same session, under the same or any other title, without the consent of two-thirds of the House by which the same was rejected.

Paragraph XIV. Majority of Members to Pass Bill. No bill shall become a law unless it shall receive a majority of the votes of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, and it shall, in every instance, so appear on the Journal.

Paragraph XV. Notice of Intention to Ask Local Legislation Necessary. No local or special bill shall be passed, unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published in the newspaper in which the Sheriff's advertisements for the locality affected are published, once a week for three weeks during a period of sixty days immediately preceding its introduction into the General Assembly. No local or special bill shall become law unless there is attached to and made a part of said bill a copy of said notice certified by the publisher, or accompanied by an affidavit of the author, to the effect that said notice has been published as provided by law. No office to which a person has been elected shall be abolished, nor the term of the office shortened or lengthened by local or special bill during the term for which such person was elected unless the same be approved by the people of the jurisdiction affected in a referendum on the question. Where any local law shall add any member or members to any municipal or county governing authority, the members of which are elected by the people, such local law must provide that the member or members so added must be elected by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the political subdivision affected.

Paragraph XVI. Statutes and Sections of Code, How Amended. No law, or section of the code, shall be amended or repealed by mere reference to its title, or to the number of the section of the Code, but the amending, or repealing act, shall distinctly describe the law to be amended or repealed, as well as the alteration to be made.

Paragraph XVII. Corporate Powers, How Granted. The General Assembly shall have no power to grant corporate powers and privileges to private companies, to make or change election precincts, nor to establish bridges or ferries, nor to change names of legitimate children; but it shall prescribe by law the manner in which such powers shall be exercised by the courts; it may confer this authority to grant corporate powers and privileges to private companies to the judges of the superior courts of this State in vacation. All corporate powers and privileges to banking, trust, insurance, railroad, canal, navigation, express and telegraph companies shall be issued and granted by the Secretary of State in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; and if in any event the Secretary of State should be disqualified to act in any case, then in that event the legislature shall provide by general laws by what person such charter shall be granted.

Paragraph XVIII. Recognizances. The General Assembly shall have no power to relieve principals or securities upon forfeited recognizances, from the payment thereof, either before or after judgment thereon, unless the principal in the recognizance shall have been apprehended and placed in the custody of the proper officers.

Paragraph XIX. Yeas and Nays to be Entered, When. Whenever the Constitution requires a vote of two-thirds of either or both houses for the passage of an act or resolution, the yeas and nays on the passage thereof shall be entered on the Journal.

Paragraph XX. Powers of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall have the power to make all laws consistent with this Constitution, and not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, which they shall deem necessary and proper for the welfare of the State.

Paragraph XXI. Signature of Governor. No provision in this Constitution for a two-thirds vote of both houses of the General Assembly shall be construed to waive the necessity for the signature of the Governor as in any other case, except in the case of the two-thirds vote required to override the veto, to submit constitutional amendments, and in case of prolongation of a session of the General Assembly.

Paragraph XXII. Adjournments. Neither House shall adjourn for more than three days, or to any other place, without the consent of the other, and in case of disagreement between the two Houses, on a question of adjournment, the Governor may adjourn either, or both of them.

Paragraph XXIII. Zoning and Planning Laws. The General Assembly of the State shall have authority to grant the governing authorities of the municipalities and counties authority to pass zoning and planning laws whereby such cities or counties may be zoned or districted for various uses and other or different uses prohibited therein, and regulating the use for which said zones or districts may be set apart, and regulating the plans for development and improvements on real estate therein.

Paragraph XXIV. Civil ServiceEqual Preference to Veterans. Neither the State of Georgia, nor any political subdivision thereof, shall inaugurate or maintain any civil service scheme of any nature whatever which fails to provide for honorably discharged veterans of any war, and the said State of Georgia, or any political subdivision shall, if a civil service scheme is originated or is already in force, provide equal preferences accorded to such veterans as now exist under Federal Civil Service Laws.

Paragraph XXV. Street Railways. The General Assembly shall not authorize the construction of any street passenger railway, within the limits of any incorporate town or city, without the consent of the Corporate Authorities.

SECTION VIII.

Paragraph I. Officers of the Two Houses. The officers of the two Houses, other than the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, shall be a President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the Senate and Speaker Pro Tempore and Clerk of the House of Representatives, and such assistants as each House may provide for.

SECTION IX.

Paragraph I. Compensation, Expense and Mileage. The per diem of members of the General Assembly shall be $10.00 per day plus the additional sum of $5.00 per day for maintenance expense; and the mileage shall not exceed 10 cents for each mile traveled by the nearest practical route in going to and returning from the Capitol; but the President Pro Tem of the Senate, when serving as presiding officer thereof, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall each receive $15.00 per day as per diem plus the additional sum of $5.00 per day for maintenance expense.

SECTION X.

Paragraph I. Viva Voce Vote; Place of Meeting. All elections by the General Assembly shall be viva voce, and the vote shall appear on the Journal of the House of Representatives. When the Senate and House of Representatives unite for the purpose of election, they shall meet in the Representative Hall, and the President of the Senate shall, in such cases, preside and declare the results.

SECTION XI.

Paragraph I. Salaries of Elective Officials; How Changed. The General Assembly may, at any time, by a majority vote of both branches prescribe other and different salaries for all of the elective officers provided for in this Constitution, but no such change shall affect the officers then in commission.

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