Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
2024 Georgia legislative session
|
← 2023
2025 →
|
| 2024 Georgia legislative session |
|---|
|
| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 8, 2024 Scheduled session end: March 28, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Burt Jones (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Georgia General Assembly was scheduled to convene on January 8 and adjourn on March 28.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Republicans won a 32-23 majority in the Senate and a 98-79 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Georgia was one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Georgia State Senate
- Senate president: Burt Jones (R)
- Majority leader: Steve Gooch (R)
- Minority leader: Gloria Butler (D)
Georgia House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Jon G. Burns (R)
- Majority leader: Chuck Efstration (R)
- Minority leader: James Beverly (D)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Georgia was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Georgia was also one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Georgia State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.
Georgia State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 23 | |
| Republican Party | 32 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 56 | |
Georgia House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 78 | |
| Republican Party | 101 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 180 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 68 standing committees in Georgia's state government, including one joint legislative committee, 28 state Senate committees, and 39 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee (MARTOC)
Senate committees
- Administrative Affairs Committee
- Assignments Committee
- Banking and Financial Institutions Committee
- Education and Youth Committee
- Finance Committee
- Government Oversight Committee
- Insurance and Labor Committee
- Natural Resources and the Environment Committee
- Public Safety Committee
- Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee
- Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee
- Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee
- Senate Ethics Committee
- Senate Health and Human Services Committee
- Senate Higher Education Committee
- Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Retirement Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate Science and Technology Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Special Judiciary Committee
- State Institutions and Property Committee
- State and Local Governmental Operations Committee
- Urban Affairs Committee
- Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee
House committees
- Banks and Banking Committee
- Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee
- Code Revision Committee
- Committee on Technology and Infrastructure Innovation
- Creative Arts & Entertainment Committee
- Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee
- Education Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee
- Game, Fish, and Parks Committee
- Governmental Affairs Committee
- House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
- House Appropriations Committee
- House Economic Development and Tourism Committee
- House Ethics Committee
- House Health and Human Services Committee
- House Higher Education Committee
- House Interstate Cooperation Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Retirement Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House Science and Technology Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- Human Relations and Aging Committee
- Industry and Labor Committee
- Information and Audits Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Intragovernmental Coordination 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
- Small Business Development Committee
- Special Rules Committee
- State Planning and Community Affairs Committee
- State Properties Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Georgia. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Georgia Constitution can be amended:
The Georgia Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Georgia requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.
Legislature
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Georgia State Legislature to place an amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 120 votes in the Georgia House of Representatives and 38 votes in the Georgia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
Georgia: According to Paragraph IV of Article X of the Georgia Constitution, a constitutional convention can occur in Georgia if a two-thirds majority of the members of both houses of the Georgia General Assembly agree to hold it. That agreement does not need to be put to a vote of the people.[1]
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Georgia.
Georgia Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-one years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Historical Senate control
Republicans won control of the Georgia State Senate in 2002. In 2022, they won a 33-23 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Georgia Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Georgia State Senate election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 41 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Republicans | 15 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 35 | 34 | 33 |
Democrats had controlled the Georgia Senate since the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Historical House control
Republicans won control of the Georgia House of Representatives in 2004. In 2022, they won a 101-79 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Georgia House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Georgia House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 128 | 114 | 106 | 102 | 105 | 106 | 86 | 74 | 75 | 66 | 60 | 59 | 62 | 74 | 76 | 79 |
| Republicans | 52 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 74 | 73 | 94 | 106 | 105 | 113 | 119 | 120 | 118 | 106 | 103 | 101 |
Democrats had controlled the Georgia House since the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
See also
| Elections | Georgia State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
External links
Footnotes
