Georgia General Assembly | |
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153rd Georgia General Assembly | |
The Great Seal of Georgia
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Type | |
Type | |
Houses | |
History | |
Founded | 1776 |
New session started
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January 8, 2018 |
Leadership | |
Casey Cagle (R)
Since January 8, 2007 |
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David Ralston (R)
Since 2010 |
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Structure | |
Political groups
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Joint committees
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Legislative Services, |
Elections | |
Last election
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November 8, 2016 |
Next election
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November 6, 2018 |
Motto | |
"Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation" | |
Meeting place | |
Georgia State Capitol | |
Website | |
www |
Ordinance of Secession | |
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Facsimile of the 1861 Ordinance of Secession signed by 293 delegates to the Georgia Secession Convention at the statehouse in Milledgeville, Georgia January 21, 1861.
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The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly elected by constituents of their district. The Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state) vests all legislative power with the General Assembly. Both houses have similar powers, though each has unique duties as well. For example, the origination of appropriations bills only occurs in the House, while the Senate is tasked with confirmation of the Governor's appointments.
The General Assembly meets in the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta.
The General Assembly, which is the legislative branch of the state's government, was created in 1777 during the American Revolution—it is older than the United States Congress. During its existence the Assembly has moved four different times when the state capital changed its location. The first location the Assembly served in was Savannah, then Augusta and Louisville, moving from there to Milledgeville, and finally to Atlanta in 1868.
By January 1777 Savannah had become the capital of Georgia—when the former colony declared independence from Britain. The legislature, then a unicameral body, met there in 1777–1778—retreating to Augusta when the British captured the city. They were not in Augusta long before it was captured by the British in 1779. Augusta changed hands three times during the war, finally returning to American possession in July 1781. They stayed in Augusta until the British left Savannah in May 1782 and the legislature returned to the capital.