Georgia Appropriations of Federal Legal Settlement Funds Amendment (2024)

Georgia Appropriations of Federal Legal Settlement Funds Amendment
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

The Georgia Appropriations of Federal Legal Settlement Funds Amendment was not on the ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.

Overview

This amendment would have provided that all proceeds over $75 million from legal judgments or settlements and unanticipated changes to federal funding were appropriated by the state legislature or held in the state treasury and appropriated through a supplementary appropriations act.

Text of the measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for the amendment was:

“

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to provide for the appropriation of unanticipated changes to federal funding and to ensure that all proceeds from legal judgments or settlements are paid into the general fund of the state treasury?

”

Full text

The amendment would have amended Section IX of Article III and Section III of Article VII of the Georgia Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted: Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Article III, Section IX, Paragraph II:

(b)(1)The General Assembly shall annually appropriate those state and federal funds necessary to operate all the various departments and agencies.

(2)To the extent that federal funds received by the state for any program, project, activity, purpose, or expenditure are changed by federal authority or exceed the amount or amounts appropriated in the general appropriations Act or supplementary appropriation appropriations Act or Acts, or are not anticipated, such excess, changed, or unanticipated federal funds in excess of $75 million shall be continually appropriated by the General Assembly through one or more methods or manners that shall be prescribed by general law or held in the state treasury to be appropriated by the General Assembly through the general appropriations Act or supplementary appropriations Act or Acts. Any federal funds received on a reimbursement basis by the Department of Transportation shall be continually appropriated. are hereby continually appropriated for the purposes authorized and directed by the federal government in making the grant. In those instances where the conditions under which the federal funds have been made available do not provide otherwise, federal funds shall first be used to replace state funds that were appropriated to supplant federal funds in the same state fiscal year.

(3) The fiscal year of the state shall commence on the first day of July of each year and terminate on the thirtieth of June following.

Article VII, Section III, Paragraph II:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all revenue collected from taxes, fees, and assessments for state purposes, as authorized by revenue measures enacted by the General Assembly, as well as all moneys and funds derived from any legal judgments awarded to the state on or after January 1, 2025, and any legal settlements entered into by the state or otherwise authorized by the state on or after January 1, 2025, shall be paid into the general fund of the state treasury.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Rep. James Burchett (R)
• State Rep. Mike Cameron (R)
• State Rep. Beth Camp (R)
• State Rep. Leesa Hagan (R)
• State Rep. Marvin Lim (D)

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Georgia Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote vote is required in both the Georgia State Senate and the Georgia House of Representatives.

The resolution was passed by the House and amended in the Senate. The House did not agree with the Senate's amendments, therefore the measure was not certified for the ballot.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Georgia

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Georgia.

How to vote in Georgia

Poll times

In Georgia, polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastern Time. In cities with a population greater than 300,000 people, polls remain open until 8 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Georgia, one must be a citizen of the United States and a legal resident of their county. The voter must be at least 17.5 years of age at the time of registration and 18 at the time of the election, and not serving a sentence for a felony conviction.

The deadline to register to vote is 29 days prior to the election. Registration can be completed online, in person, or by mail.

Automatic registration

In Georgia, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote when they conduct transactions at the Department of Driver Services. This automatic registration program began in 2016.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Georgia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Georgia does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Georgia, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

A Georgia state law, passed in 2009, required voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of June 2025, the law had not been implemented.

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship.

In Georgia, an individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who provides false information on a voter registration application is guilty of a felony.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The site My Voter Page, run by the Georgia Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Georgia requires voters to present photo identification while voting in person or by mail/absentee.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of August 2024. Click here for the Georgia Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID, including a free ID card issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services. A Georgia driver's license, even if expired Student ID from a Georgia public College or University Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state Valid U.S. passport ID Valid U.S. military photo ID containing a photograph of the voter Valid tribal photo ID containing a photograph of the voter

”

Voters can obtain a free voter ID card from any county registrar's office or Department of Driver Services Office. Click here for more information on obtaining a free voter ID card in Georgia.

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Budgets on the ballot

Georgia

• Georgia ballot measures
• Georgia ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Resolution 302 full text