| 1 | 1 | | 23 LC 47 2576 |
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| 2 | 2 | | Senate Bill 2EX |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Senator Echols of the 49th, Kennedy of the 18th, Gooch of the 51st, Robertson of the |
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| 4 | 4 | | 29th, Brass of the 28th and others |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | To provide for the composition and number of state senatorial districts; to provide for a short |
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| 8 | 8 | | 1 |
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| 9 | 9 | | title; to provide for the contingent nature of this Act and the circumstances under which it2 |
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| 10 | 10 | | shall or shall not apply, according to the enforceability of prior provisions under federal law;3 |
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| 11 | 11 | | to provide for the continuation of present Senators; to provide an effective date; to repeal4 |
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| 12 | 12 | | conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1.7 |
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| 15 | 15 | | This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Senate Redistricting Act of 2023."8 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 2.9 |
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| 17 | 17 | | (a) As used in this Act, the term "2021 Senate redistricting plan" means the districts for10 |
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| 18 | 18 | | the Georgia State Senate as described in the Georgia Senate Redistricting Act of 2021,11 |
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| 19 | 19 | | approved December 30, 2021 (Ga. L. 2021, Ex. Sess., p. 173).12 |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b) If, as of 60 days prior to the first day of qualifying for nomination or election to the13 |
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| 21 | 21 | | entire Georgia State Senate in 2024 or any future year, the 2021 Senate redistricting plan14 |
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| 22 | 22 | | may lawfully be implemented pursuant to court order or otherwise, then qualifying for the15 |
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| 23 | 23 | | S. B. 2EX |
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| 24 | 24 | | - 1 - 23 LC 47 2576 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Georgia State Senate in 2024 or such future year and the ensuing elections shall be |
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| 26 | 26 | | 16 |
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| 27 | 27 | | conducted according to the 2021 Senate redistricting plan; and this Act shall not apply to17 |
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| 28 | 28 | | such qualifying or elections or otherwise be of any further force or effect.18 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (c) If, as of 60 days prior to the first day of qualifying for nomination or election to the19 |
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| 30 | 30 | | entire Georgia State Senate in 2024 or any future year, the 2021 Senate redistricting plan20 |
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| 31 | 31 | | may not lawfully be implemented, then qualifying for the Georgia State Senate in 2024 or21 |
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| 32 | 32 | | such future year and the ensuing elections shall be conducted according to the Senate22 |
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| 33 | 33 | | redistricting plan provided for in this Act.23 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (d) Notwithstanding any provisions of subsections (b) or (c) of this section to the contrary,24 |
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| 35 | 35 | | any special election to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly occurring after enactment25 |
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| 36 | 36 | | of this Act shall use the same Georgia State Senate redistricting plan in place during the26 |
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| 37 | 37 | | immediately preceding regular election. Except for the initial adoption of the Senate27 |
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| 38 | 38 | | redistricting plan provided for in Section 3 of this Act, it is the intention of the General28 |
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| 39 | 39 | | Assembly that any alteration or amendment to the composition of Senate districts provided29 |
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| 40 | 40 | | for in this Act shall only apply to subsequent bienniums of the General Assembly and that30 |
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| 41 | 41 | | the Senate redistricting plan used for the regular election of the entire Senate shall apply31 |
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| 42 | 42 | | for the entire biennium of the General Assembly elected at such regular election.32 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (e) This Act does not repeal or amend the provisions of the Georgia Senate Redistricting33 |
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| 44 | 44 | | Act of 2021 or the 2021 Senate redistricting plan; and those provisions are merely34 |
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| 45 | 45 | | suspended pending a final determination of their enforceability by the federal judiciary.35 |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3.36 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (a) Subject to the provisions of Section 2 of this Act, for the purpose of electing members37 |
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| 48 | 48 | | of the Senate, the State of Georgia is divided into 56 senatorial districts. Such senatorial38 |
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| 49 | 49 | | districts shall be and correspond to those 56 numbered districts described in Appendix A,39 |
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| 50 | 50 | | incorporated into and made a part of this Act and further identified as "User: TBD |
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| 51 | 51 | | Plan40 |
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| 52 | 52 | | Name: TBD Plan Type: Senate".41 |
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| 53 | 53 | | S. B. 2EX |
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| 54 | 54 | | - 2 - 23 LC 47 2576 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (b) For the purposes of such plan: |
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| 56 | 56 | | 42 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (1) The term "VTD" shall mean and describe the same geographical boundaries as43 |
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| 58 | 58 | | provided in the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United States decennial census44 |
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| 59 | 59 | | of 2020 for the State of Georgia. The separate numeric designations in a district45 |
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| 60 | 60 | | description which are underneath a "VTD" heading shall mean and describe individual46 |
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| 61 | 61 | | Blocks within a VTD as provided in the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United47 |
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| 62 | 62 | | States decennial census of 2020 for the State of Georgia; and48 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (2) Whenever the description of any senatorial district refers to a named county without49 |
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| 64 | 64 | | any additional VTD, it shall mean the geographical boundaries of that county as shown50 |
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| 65 | 65 | | on the census maps for the United States decennial census of 2020 for the State of51 |
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| 66 | 66 | | Georgia.52 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (c) Any part of the State of Georgia which is not included in any senatorial district53 |
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| 68 | 68 | | described in subsection (a) of this section shall be included within that district contiguous54 |
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| 69 | 69 | | to such part which contains the least population according to the United States decennial55 |
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| 70 | 70 | | census of 2020 for the State of Georgia.56 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (d) Any part of the State of Georgia which is described in subsection (a) of this section as57 |
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| 72 | 72 | | being included in a particular senatorial district shall nevertheless not be included within58 |
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| 73 | 73 | | such senatorial district if such part is not contiguous to such senatorial district. Such59 |
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| 74 | 74 | | noncontiguous part shall instead be included within that senatorial district contiguous to60 |
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| 75 | 75 | | such part which contains the least population according to the United States decennial61 |
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| 76 | 76 | | census of 2020 for the State of Georgia.62 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (e) The members of the Senate elected in 2022 shall continue to serve for the terms of63 |
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| 78 | 78 | | office to which they were elected. 64 |
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| 79 | 79 | | (f) Subject to Section 2 of this Act, any special election to fill a vacancy in the 157th65 |
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| 80 | 80 | | General Assembly shall use the composition of districts provided for in this Act.66 |
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| 81 | 81 | | S. B. 2EX |
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| 82 | 82 | | - 3 - 23 LC 47 2576 |
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| 83 | 83 | | SECTION 4. |
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| 84 | 84 | | 67 |
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| 85 | 85 | | Subject to the provisions of Section 2 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon its68 |
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| 86 | 86 | | approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval and shall apply69 |
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| 87 | 87 | | to future elections for the Georgia State Senate to the extent provided for in Section 2 of this70 |
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| 88 | 88 | | Act.71 |
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| 89 | 89 | | SECTION 5.72 |
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| 90 | 90 | | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.73 |
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| 91 | 91 | | S. B. 2EX |
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| 92 | 92 | | - 4 - 23 LC 47 2576 |
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| 93 | 93 | | APPENDIX A |
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| 94 | 94 | | 74 |
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| 95 | 95 | | User: TBD 75 |
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| 96 | 96 | | Plan Name: TBD 76 |
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| 97 | 97 | | Plan Type: Senate 77 |
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| 98 | 98 | | S. B. 2EX |
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| 99 | 99 | | - 5 - |
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