25 LC 47 3310
Senate Bill 114
By: Senators Parent of the 44th, Jones II of the 22nd, Halpern of the 39th, Harrell of the 40th,
Mangham of the 55th 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
"28-1-17.
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
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hearing in each judicial district of this state after the introduction of the proposed plan or17
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 public website of the General Assembly and34
once a week for two consecutive weeks in the legal organ of each county, not later than35
seven days prior to the date of the public hearing. Visual representations of the proposed36
plan or plans shall be prominently displayed at each public hearing, and the plan or plans37
shall be presented visually in sufficient detail so that the public may visually inspect all38
district boundaries down to the residence level. The plan or plans shall be presented in39
a manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately inspect the proposed40
district in which such member lives as well as all neighboring districts;41
(4) The proposed plan or plans shall be published on the public website of the General42
Assembly not later than 48 hours after the proposed plan or plans have been assigned to43
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committee. The plan or plans shall be presented visually in sufficient detail so that the44
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 public website of the General Assembly50
shall also include a detailed explanation of the procedure or process used to create such51
plan or plans, including, but not limited to, all inputs, variables, factors, or other bases52
used to create such plan or plans; draft maps; formulae or algorithms; and any hardware53
or software relied upon to create such plan or plans. This paragraph shall be construed54
to 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 public website61
of the General Assembly at least seven days in advance;62
(6) No committee vote shall be taken on a plan or plans unless such plan or plans have63
been posted on the public website of the General Assembly and released at least two64
weeks before such vote with the plan or plans presented visually in sufficient detail so65
that the public may visually inspect all district boundaries down to the residence level,66
and such plan or plans shall also include all data necessary for a third party to recreate an67
accurate visual representation of such proposed plan or plans. Such plan or plans shall68
be presented in a manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately69
visually inspect the proposed district in which such member lives as well as all70
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neighboring districts. Such plan or plans shall also include all relevant statistics71
concerning such plan or plans;72
(7) All communications sent to or from any government official or employee involved73
in the reapportionment process, including electronic communications, shall be released74
to the public for inspection and copying; and75
(8) All communications with any party not hired or contracted to perform or not76
responsible for performing the duties set forth in this Code section are strictly prohibited.77
Such prohibition shall not apply to any public communications explicitly authorized by78
this Code section. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as limiting any79
obligations set forth in the law relating to disclosure of public records and open meetings80
which shall apply to this Code section or any other applicable laws."81
SECTION 2.82
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.83
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