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Georgia Studies

• Unit 8 Government
• Lesson 2 Legislative Branch in Georgia
• Study Presentation

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Lesson 2 - Legislative Branch in Georgia

• ESSENTIAL QUESTION
• How do the desires of citizens to be secure and
  free develop into actions by members of the
  General Assembly?

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Federal System

• In a Federal system of government powers are
  shared between the national and state
  governments.
• The Federal government is divided into three
  branches Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
• The State government of Georgia is also divided
  into three branches Legislative, Executive, and
  Judicial.
• The United States Legislative Branch is known as
  Congress.
• GAs Legislative Branch is known as the General
  Assembly.

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General Assembly

• Like the Congress of the United States the
  General Assembly is bicameral (two houses).
• In Georgias General Assembly the House of
  Representatives has 180 members (Representatives)
  and the Senate has 56 members (Senators).
• Senators must be at least 25 years old and
  citizens of the US. Representatives must be at
  least 21 years old. Representatives and Senators
  must be a legal resident of the district they
  represent and have lived in GA for two years.
• In Georgia, Representatives and Senators each
  serve two year terms and are elected in General
  Elections.

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Duties of the Legislative Branch in Georgia

• Most important duties are making GAs laws and
  passing GAs budget.
• While the Governor of Georgia is responsible for
  distributing money the General Assembly makes the
  bills that actually raise the money.
• Amendments or changes to the Constitution are
  made by the General Assembly after passing a
  two-thirds vote.

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Organization of the General Assembly

• General Assembly meets for its regular session
  starting on the second Monday of January each
  year. The regular session usually lasts less
  than two months.
• Most of the work is done through committees that
  deal with certain issues. The majority party
  (political party with the most elected members)
  usually heads the committees.
• Most members join committees that deal with
  issues important to the people they represent.

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Legislative Process

• 5 Steps for a Bill to become a Law
• Drafting Legislators write the text of the bill
  (proposed law).
• Introduction The bill is introduced to either
  the Senate or House of Representatives for
  discussion.
• Committee Consideration The bill is assigned to
  a committee that studies the bill. The bill may
  be changed at this time.
• Floor Consideration A vote is called during a
  regular session. If the bill is passed in one
  house, it goes to the other house for
  consideration.
• Governor Consideration Once both houses pass
  the bill it is sent to the governor. The
  governor can then sign the bill into law or veto
  the bill (send it back to the General Assembly to
  be changed or rewritten).