Georgia State Legislature

Georgia General Assembly
153rd Georgia General Assembly
The Great Seal of Georgia
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
History
Founded	1776 (1776)
New session started	January 14, 2013
Leadership
President of the Senate	Casey Cagle (R) Since January 8, 2007
Speaker of the House	David Ralston (R) Since 2010
Structure
Political groups	Republican Party (R) Democratic Party (D) Independent (I)
Joint committees	Legislative Services,
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016
Next election	November 6, 2018
Motto
"Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation"
Meeting place
Georgia State Capitol
Website
www.legis.ga.gov

Ordinance of Secession
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.

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 Georgia State Constitution 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, Georgia.

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 U.S. 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 1777–78—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.