148th Georgia General Assembly | |||||
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Overview | |||||
Meeting place | Georgia State Capitol | ||||
Senate | |||||
Members | 56 (34 R, 22 D) | ||||
President of the Senate | Mark Taylor (D) | ||||
Party control | Republican Party | ||||
House of Representatives | |||||
Members | 180 (99 R, 80 D, 1 I) | ||||
Speaker of the House | Glenn Richardson (R) | ||||
Party control | Republican Party |
The 2005 regular session of the 148th Georgia General Assembly met from January 10, 2005, to March 31, 2005, at which time both houses adjourned sine die. In addition, Governor Sonny Perdue called for a special session, which met from September 6, 2005, to September 10, 2005.
The 2006 regular session of the 148th General Assembly met from January 9, 2006, to March 30, 2006, at which time both houses adjourned sine die.
*Active political parties in Georgia are not limited to the Democratic and Republican parties. Libertarians, Greens, the Southern Party of Georgia, and others, run candidates in numerous elections. However, for the 2005-06 session of the General Assembly, only one legislator was not from the two major parties, and he did not run as a member of any other party.
House Bill 244 [2] requires voters to provide photographic identification at polling locations in order to vote and makes voting by absentee ballot easier. Amid great controversy, the law was signed by Governor Perdue on April 22, 2005. Although the law received preclearance from the Department of Justice under the provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the law was later ruled unconstitutional by a court in Rome, Georgia. The current status of the law remains uncertain.
Senate Bill 84, like H.B. 244, requires photographic identification at poll locations to vote. To address some of the concerns raised by the court ruling against H.B. 244, S.B. 84 has more extensive provisions for assisting those without photographic identification to obtain acceptable identification. The bill was passed by both chambers and signed by Governor Perdue on January 26, 2006. Like H.B. 244, S.B. 84 received preclearance from the Justice Department, although it is currently being challenged in court.
House Bill 1313 [3], which would restrict the uses for which private property can be taken via eminent domain, passed both the House and the Senate with no "no" votes. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor Perdue.