23 LC 47 1926
S. B. 87
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Senate Bill 87
By: Senators Parent of the 42nd, Butler of the 55th, Merritt of the 9th, Jackson of the 41st,
Islam of the 7th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 1 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
1
general provisions regarding the General Assembly, so as to provide certain procedures for2
redistricting of the General Assembly and congressional districts in this state; to provide for3
certain hearings, information availability, procedures, and notifications; to provide for related4
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6
SECTION 1.7
Chapter 1 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general8
provisions regarding the General Assembly, is amended by adding a new Code section to9
read as follows:10
"28-1-18.
11
In redistricting the General Assembly and the congressional districts in Georgia, the12
General Assembly shall follow the following procedures:13
(1) There shall be a minimum of two public hearings in each judicial district of this state14
during the redistricting process. There shall be one public hearing in each judicial district15
of this state prior to the development of the redistricting plans. There shall be one public16
hearing in each judicial district of this state after the introduction of the proposed plan or17 23 LC 47 1926
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plans in the General Assembly which shall be held not later than one week prior to the18
final vote on such proposed plan or plans;19
(2) At least one public hearing shall be held in the municipality with the highest20
population in each judicial district of this state, and at least one public hearing shall be21
held in the municipality with the second highest population in each judicial district of this22
state. Such hearings shall be open to the general public, and at least two members of the23
General Assembly from each house of the General Assembly shall attend such public24
hearings. One member from each house shall represent the majority party in such house,25
and one member from each house shall represent the minority party in such house. Such26
members shall come from the committee of each house that considers proposed27
redistricting plans;28
(3) The public hearings shall be recorded and made available both live as they occur and29
as archived files for public viewing on the internet. During each public hearing, the30
General Assembly members representing each house of the General Assembly shall31
present the initial proposed plan or plans, explain the procedure or process used to create32
such plan or plans, and hear public comments and suggestions. Public notice of such33
public hearings shall be published on the website of the General Assembly and once a34
week for two consecutive weeks in the legal organ of each county, not later than seven35
days prior to the date of the public hearing. Visual representations of the proposed plan36
or plans shall be prominently displayed at each public hearing, and the plan or plans shall37
be presented visually in sufficient detail so that the public may visually inspect all district38
boundaries down to the residence level. The plan or plans shall be presented in a manner39
that will allow any member of the public to immediately inspect the proposed district in40
which such member lives as well as all neighboring districts;41
(4) The proposed plan or plans shall be published on the website of the General42
Assembly not later than 48 hours after the proposed plan or plans have been assigned to43
committee. The plan or plans shall be presented visually in sufficient detail so that the44 23 LC 47 1926
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public may visually inspect all district boundaries down to the residence level, and the45
plan or plans shall also include all data necessary for a third party to recreate an accurate46
visual representation of such proposed plan or plans. The plan or plans shall be presented47
in a manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately visually inspect the48
proposed district in which such member lives as well as all neighboring districts. Any49
initially proposed plan or plans published on the website of the General Assembly shall50
also include a detailed explanation of the procedure or process used to create such plan51
or plans, including, but not limited to, all inputs, variables, factors, or other bases used52
to create such plan or plans, draft maps, formulae or algorithms, and any hardware or53
software relied upon to create such plan or plans. This paragraph shall be construed to54
defeat any legal claim or defense that is brought or raised by any party to prevent the55
disclosure of such procedure or process, including, but not limited to, a claim or defense56
that such disclosure would constitute unlawful disclosure of a trade secret or other57
confidential or proprietary information;58
(5) All meetings, discussions, and deliberations concerning reapportionment upon the59
assignment of a plan or plans to committee shall be conducted in public, and public notice60
of such meetings, discussions, and deliberations shall be published on the website of the61
General Assembly at least seven days in advance;62
(6) No committee vote shall be taken on a plan unless the plan has been posted on the63
website of the General Assembly and released to the public at least two weeks before64
such vote with the plan or plans presented visually in sufficient detail so that the public65
may visually inspect all district boundaries down to the residence level, and the plan or66
plans shall also include all data necessary for a third party to recreate an accurate visual67
representation of such proposed plan or plans. The plan or plans shall be presented in a68
manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately visually inspect the69
proposed district in which such member lives as well as all neighboring districts. The70
plan shall also include all relevant statistics concerning the plan;71 23 LC 47 1926
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(7) All communications sent to or from any government official or employee involved72
in the reapportionment process, including electronic communications, shall be released73
to the public for inspection and copying; and74
(8) All communications with any party not hired or contracted to perform or not75
responsible for performing the duties set forth in this Code section are strictly prohibited.76
Such prohibition shall not apply to any public communications explicitly authorized by77
this Code section. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as limiting any78
obligations set forth in the law relating to disclosure of public records and open meetings79
which shall apply to this Code section or any other applicable laws."80
SECTION 2.81
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.82