Georgia House of Representatives
| Georgia House of Representatives | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Type: | Lower house |
| Term limits: | None |
| 2013 session start: | January 14, 2013 |
| Website: | Official House Page |
| Leadership | |
| House Speaker: | David Ralston, (R) |
| Majority Leader: | Larry O'Neal, (R) |
| Minority leader: | Stacey Abrams, (D) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 180 |
| Democratic Party (60) Republican Party (119) Independent (1) | |
| Length of term: | 2 years |
| Authority: | Art III, Georgia Constitution |
| Salary: | $17,342/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last Election: | November 6, 2012 (180 seats) |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 (180 seats) |
| Redistricting: | The Legislative Committee on Reapportionment draws all boundaries |
Contents |
As of May 2013, Georgia is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.
Sessions
Section 4 of Article III of the Georgia Constitution establishes when the Georgia General Assembly, which the House is a part of, is to meet in regular session. The General Assembly must convene annually by the second Monday in January, and its sessions can last for only forty legislative days.[3] Prefiling begins November 15 and runs until the start of the session.
2013
- See also: Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions
In 2013, the Legislature will be in session from January 14 through April 18 (estimated).
Major issues
The one major issue the legislature has to address is passing a budget in the face of an estimated $700 million deficit. Other major issues include ethics reform, gun control, school vouchers, teacher evaluations, and a proposed new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.[4]
2012
- See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions
In 2012, the House was in regular session from January 9 through March 29.
2011
- See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions
In 2011, the House was in regular session from January 10 through April 14. [5] Governor Nathan Deal called the legislature into special session for August 15 to consider congressional and legislative redistricting plans based on the 2010 census. [6]
2010
- See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions
In 2010, the House of Representatives was in session from January 11th to April 29th.
Elections
2012
Elections for the office of Georgia House of Representatives were held in Georgia on November 6, 2012. All 180 seats were up for election.
The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in those elections was June 29, 2012.
This chamber was mentioned in a November 2012 Pew Center on the States article that addressed supermajorities at stake in the 2012 election. Supermajority generally means a party controls two-thirds of all seats. While it varies from state to state, being in this position gives a party much greater power. Going into the election, Republicans in the Georgia House held a solid majority and looked to obtain a supermajority.[7]
The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6 general election.
| 2012 Margin of Victory, Georgia House of Representatives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Votes | Top Opponent |
| District 138 |  Mike Cheokas |
1.3% | 15,994 | Kevin T. Brown |
| District 105 |  Joyce Chandler |
2.7% | 20,568 | Renita Hamilton |
| District 12 | Eddie Lumsden |
2.9% | 17,056 | Barbara M. Reece |
| District 66 | Kimberly Alexander |
4.7% | 22,572 | Bob Snelling |
| District 111 | Brian Strickland |
5.9% | 24,867 | Bill Blackmon |
| District 132 | Carl Von Epps |
7.3% | 17,949 | Gene King |
| District 145 |  E. Culver Kidd |
7.6% | 18,541 | Quentin T. Howell |
| District 96 | Pedro Marin |
10.3% | 12,328 | Mark Williams |
| District 81 | Scott Holcomb |
12.1% | 15,562 | Chris Boedeker |
| District 101 | Valerie Clark |
12.5% | 18,648 | Timothy Swiney |
2010
Elections for the office of Georgia State House were held in Georgia on November 2, 2010 in all 180 state house districts.
The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 21, 2010, and the primary election day was July 20, 2010.
The partisan breakdown of the House before and after the election was as follows:
| Georgia House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 73 | 66 | |
| Republican Party | 103 | 113 | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | |
| Vacancy | 3 | - | |
| Total | 180 | 180 | |
In 2010, the total amount of contributions raised in house campaigns was $12,388,358. The top 10 donors were: [8]
| 2010 Donors, Georgia House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| Donor | Amount |
| Georgia Association of Realtors | $153,700 |
| Georgia Trial Lawyers Association | $147,129 |
| Georgia Dental Association | $130,050 |
| Ralston for Representative | $92,000 |
| Georgia Medical Association | $84,950 |
| Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals | $81,900 |
| Associated General Contractors of Georgia | $81,500 |
| Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia | $75,844 |
| Georgia Hospital Association | $73,300 |
| Friends of Jan Jones | $69,100 |
Qualifications
Paragraph 3 of Section 2 of Article 3 of the Georgia Constitution states, "At the time of their election, the members of the House of Representatives shall be citizens of the United States, shall be at least 21 years of age, shall have been citizens of this state for at least two years, and shall have been legal residents of the territory embraced within the district from which elected for at least one year."
Vacancies
| How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures |
 |
If there is a vacancy in the House, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. The Governor must declare a special election no later than 10 days after the vacancy happened. The election must be held no less than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the Governor calls for the election. The counties representing the vacant district are responsible for conducting the election[9].
Representatives
Leadership
The House of Representatives elects its own Speaker as well as a Speaker Pro Tempore. The Speaker Pro Tempore becomes Speaker in case of the death, resignation, or permanent disability of the Speaker. The Speaker Pro Tempore serves until a new Speaker is elected. In addition there is a clerk of the house who is charged with overseeing the flow of legislation through the body.[10]
Current leadership
| Current Leadership, Georgia House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Representative | Party |
| State Speaker of the House | David Ralston |  Republican
|
| State House Speaker Pro Tempore | Jan Jones | Republican
|
| State House Majority Leader | Larry O'Neal | Republican
|
| State House Majority Whip | Edward Lindsey | Republican
|
| State House Majority Caucus Leader | Donna Sheldon | Republican
|
| State House Minority Leader | Stacey Abrams |  Democratic
|
| State House Minority Whip | Carolyn Hugley | Democratic
|
| State House Minority Caucus Leader | Virgil Fludd | Democratic
|
Partisan composition
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
| Party | As of May 2013 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 60 | |
| Republican Party | 119 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 180 | |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
As of 2013, members of the Georgia legislature are paid $17,342/year plus $173/day for per diem when in session.[11]
When sworn in
Georgia legislators assume office the second Monday in January.
Current members
Standing committees
The Georgia House has 37 standing committees: [12]
- Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Banks and Banking Committee
- Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee
- Code Revision Committee
- Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee
- Economic Development and Tourism Committee
- Education Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee
- Ethics Committee
- Game, Fish, and Parks Committee
- Governmental Affairs Committee
- Health and Human Services Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Human Relations and Aging Committee
- Industry and Labor Committee
- Information and Audits Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Interstate Cooperation Committee
- Intragovernmental Coordination Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Judiciary - Non-Civil Committee
- Juvenile Justice Committee
- Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee
- Motor Vehicles Committee
- Natural Resources and Environment Committee
- Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee
- Regulated Industries Committee
- Retirement Committee
- Rules Committee
- Science and Technology Committee
- Small Business Development Committee
- Special Rules Committee
- State Planning and Community Affairs Committee
- State Properties Committee
- Transportation Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
External links
References
- ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
- ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
- ↑ Georgia Constitution, Article III, Section 4
- ↑ WJBF, "Georgia General Assembly Legislative Session Kicks Off Monday," January 12, 2013
- ↑ Georgia General Assembly
- ↑ StateScape, Session updates, Aug. 12, 2011
- ↑ Stateline, "In Legislative Elections, Majorities and Supermajorities at Stake," November 2, 2012
- ↑ Follow the Money: "Georgia House 2010 Campaign Contributions"
- ↑ Lexis Nexis "The Code of Georgia"(Referenced Statute, 21-2-544, Search for 21-2-544 under Table of Contents)
- ↑ 2009-2010 Georgia House Leadership
- ↑ NCSL.org, "2012 State Legislator Compensation and Per Diem Table," accessed March 18, 2013
- ↑ Georgia House committee pages
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