The 2005 regular session of the 148th
Georgia General Assembly
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 ...
met from January 10, 2005, to March 31, 2005, at which time both houses adjourned ''
sine die
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is oppo ...
''. In addition,
Governor Sonny Perdue called for a
special session
In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...
, which met from September 6, 2005, to September 10, 2005. This was the first session since Reconstruction that both houses were controlled by Republicans, as the House of Representatives was won by the GOP at the 2004 election. The legislature redrew legislative and congressional maps in 2005 after federal judges struck down both maps which were drawn by the
146th legislature as violating the
one person, one vote
"One man, one vote", or "one person, one vote", expresses the principle that individuals should have equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of political equality to refer to such electoral reforms as universal suffrage, ...
guarantee of the U.S. Constitution, resulting in a reshuffling of districts which took effect in the
next legislature which shored up Republican gains in both chambers and in Congress.
The 2006 regular session of the 148th General Assembly met from January 9, 2006, to March 30, 2006, at which time both houses adjourned ''sine die''.
Party standings
Senate
House of Representatives
*Active political parties in Georgia are not limited to the Democratic and Republican parties.
Libertarians
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and Minarchism, minimize the ...
,
Greens
Greens may refer to:
*Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc.
Politics Supranational
* Green politics
* Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics
* Global Greens
* Europ ...
, the
Southern Party of Georgia, and others, run candidates in numerous elections. However, for the 2005-06 session of the General Assembly, only one legislator was not from the two major parties, and he did not run as a member of any other party.
Officers
Senate
Presiding Officer
Majority leadership
Minority leadership
House of Representatives
Presiding Officer
Majority leadership
Minority leadership
Members of the Georgia State Senate, 2005-2006
Members of the Georgia State House of Representatives, 2005–2006
* Henry Howard died in office of a heart attack on October 3, 2005. A special election was held on November 8, 2005, to fill the seat, which was won by Rep. Howard's widow, Earnestine Howard. She was sworn in on November 17, 2005, and will serve out the remainder of her late husband's term of office.
Notable Legislation
2005 general session
Voting
House Bill 244''
requires voters to provide photographic identification at polling locations in order to vote and makes voting by absentee ballot easier, and also reinstituted the majority vote and runoffs for primaries and general elections which were abolished by the Democratic-majority General Assembly in 1995. Amid great controversy, the law was signed by Governor Perdue on April 22, 2005. Although the law received preclearance from the
United States Department of Justice, Department of Justice under the provisions of the
Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
, the law was later ruled unconstitutional by a court in
Rome, Georgia
Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...
. The current status of the law remains uncertain.
2006 general session
Voting
Senate Bill 84, like H.B. 244, requires photographic identification at poll locations to vote. To address some of the concerns raised by the court ruling against H.B. 244, S.B. 84 has more extensive provisions for assisting those without photographic identification to obtain acceptable identification. The bill was passed by both chambers and signed by Governor Perdue on January 26, 2006. Like H.B. 244, S.B. 84 received preclearance from the Justice Department, although it is currently being challenged in court.
Eminent domain
House Bill 1313''
which would restrict the uses for which private property can be taken via
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
, passed both the House and the Senate with no "no" votes. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor Perdue.
House Resolution 1306''
would amend the state constitution by replacing language allowing broad freedom to apply eminent domain with more restrictive language providing for additional restrictions as specified by laws such as H.B. 1313. The resolution passed the House and the Senate and was signed by Governor Perdue, and the question of its final adoption will be put to Georgia voters in the November election.
Immigration
Senate Bill 529''
was strongly advocated by Senator Chip Rodgers and requires beneficiaries of many state services to provide proof of residency. Most Democrats voted against the legislation, but it nevertheless passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Perdue on April 17, 2006.
References
{{portal, Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia General Assembly 2005-2006 Legislative Session
Georgia (U.S. state) legislative sessions
2005 in American politics
2006 in American politics
2005 in Georgia (U.S. state)
2006 in Georgia (U.S. state)