Governor Sonny Perdue addresses legislators at the 2006 Biennial Institute's closing luncheon.Since 1958, new state lawmakers have looked to the Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators as the primary place for serious basic training in their roles and responsibilities. Held one month after the general election, the Biennial provides all legislators with valuable time for networking and for gaining knowledge about key issues confronting the state as the legislature convenes.
The offices of Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House cosponsor the Biennial Institute, with the Vinson Institute organizing and assembling the resources and expertise needed to carry out the packed three-day agenda. Sessions conducted by Vinson Institute faculty, veteran lawmakers and staff, agency administrators, and subject experts lead legislators through a wide variety of timely topics.
At an orientation session in November at the state capitol and at the Biennial, new legislators are instructed in everything from where to park and pick up their mail to the appropriations process, rules of procedure, and how a bill becomes a law.
Policy panels for all legislators focus on topics particularly relevant to the upcoming session. Sessions at the 2006 program explored issues surrounding primary and secondary education, Medicaid, transportation, emergency preparedness, families and children, intergovernmental relations, and the state's energy crisis.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has ranked the Biennial as the top university-based legislative training program in the country.
The 26th Biennial Institute will be held December 7-9, 2008.
Programs from Previous Biennial Institutes
