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2019 Georgia legislative session

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Georgia General Assembly

Seal of Georgia.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 14, 2019
Session end:   April 2, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Geoff Duncan (R)
House Speaker:  David Ralston (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Mike Dugan (R)
House: Jon G. Burns (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Steve Henson (D)
House: Robert Trammell (D)
Structure
Members:  56 (Senate), 180 (House)
Length of term:   2 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art III, Section 4, Georgia Constitution
Salary:   $17,342/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
House
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Senate
House
Redistricting:  Georgia Legislature has control

Georgia convened its legislative session on January 14, 2019, and legislators remained in session until April 2, 2019. No party had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 35-21 majority in the Senate and a 105-75 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Neither party held a veto-proof supermajority.
  • Georgia was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Georgia's governor was Republican Brian Kemp.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    Georgia was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Georgia was one of 28 state legislatures where no party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Georgia State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

    Georgia State Senate

    Party As of September 2025
         Democratic Party 21
         Republican Party 35
    Total 56

    From 1992 to 2018, the Georgia State Senate switched from Democratic control to a Republican majority, with the chamber changing hands in the days following the 2002 elections. Prior to 2002, the chamber had been under solid Democratic control since the years immediately following the Civil War. The partisan change in the chamber coincided with the American South's shift from nearly 175 years of Democratic dominance to being solid Republican by the early 21st century. The table below shows the partisan history of the Georgia State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Georgia State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 41 35 34 34 32 26 22 22 22 20 18 18 18 21
    Republicans 15 21 22 22 24 30 34 34 34 36 38 38 38 35

    Before 2002, Democrats had controlled the Georgia Senate since the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction. From 1874 to 1962, Republicans never controlled more than two seats in the chamber after an election. It was not until 1986 that Republicans captured ten seats in the chamber. Still, their gains were small in the two elections that followed and the chamber majority remained out of reach.

    In 1992, Republicans went from 11 seats in the chamber to 15. In the 1994 election, they picked up six more seats and eclipsed the 20-seat mark. Their gains stagnated in the elections from 1996 to 2000 as they gained just three seats. In 2002, Republicans gained a majority in the chamber, even though they did not win the most seats in the election. Three Democratic state senators switched to the Republican Party in the days following the election. The new Republican majority coincided with the election of Gov. Sonny Perdue, Georgia's first Republican governor since the 1800s.[1]

    Republicans picked up four more seats in the 2004 elections and held a 34-22 majority until the 2010 elections when they picked up two additional seats. In 2012, they won another two seats, which they held through the 2016 elections but lost in 2018. With 38 seats, Republicans controlled two-thirds of the chambers, which is enough for a supermajority that can certify constitutional amendments for the ballot and override gubernatorial vetoes. The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 through 2014 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    Georgia House of Representatives

    Party As of September 2025
         Democratic Party 75
         Republican Party 105
    Total 180

    From 1992 to 2018, the Georgia House of Representatives flipped from Democratic control to a Republican majority, with the chamber changing hands in the 2004 elections. Prior to 2004, the chamber had been under solid Democratic control since the years immediately following the Civil War. The partisan change in the chamber coincided with the American South's shift from nearly 175 years of Democratic dominance to being solid Republican by the early 21st century. The table below shows the partisan history of the Georgia House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Georgia House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 128 114 106 102 105 106 86 74 75 66 60 59 62 74
    Republicans 52 66 74 78 74 73 94 106 105 113 119 120 118 106

    Before 2004, Democrats had controlled the Georgia House since the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction. From 1888 to 1964, Republicans never controlled more than 10 seats in the chamber after an election. In the late 1960s, Republicans began winning around 20 seats and continued to do so until 1988, when they took 35 seats. Republicans made steady gains after 1988 and eventually won the necessary seats to claim a majority in the chamber.

    From 1992 to 1998, Republicans made gains on Democrats in every election. In 2004, Republicans won 94 seats, giving them a slim majority in the chamber. They continued to win seats in 2006 and only lost one seat in 2008.

    Republican numbers increased from the 2010 to 2014 elections. 2014 was the first election where Republicans won 120 seats, which is a two-thirds supermajority. However, they experienced losses in the 2016 and 2018 elections, bringing them below the two-thirds mark again. The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 through 2014 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    Leadership in 2019

    Georgia State Senate

    Georgia House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Georgia state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 67 standing committees in Georgia's state government, including one joint legislative committee, 28 state Senate committees, and 38 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Georgia Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article X of the Georgia Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Georgia

    The Georgia Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Georgia requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Georgia State Legislature to place an amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 120 votes in the Georgia House of Representatives and 38 votes in the Georgia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    Georgia: According to Paragraph IV of Article X of the Georgia Constitution, a constitutional convention can occur in Georgia if a two-thirds majority of the members of both houses of the Georgia General Assembly agree to hold it. That agreement does not need to be put to a vote of the people.[2]



    Historical context:

    • A total of 69 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Georgia from 1998 to 2018 during even-numbered election years.
    • From 1998 through 2018, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from two to 11.
    • From 1998 through 2018, an average of six measures appeared on the ballot in Georgia during even-numbered election years.
    • Between 1998 and 2018, 82.61% (57 of 69) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 17.39% (12 of 69) were defeated.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Georgia.

    Georgia Party Control: 1992-2025
    Eleven years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-one years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections Georgia State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    Georgia State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The New York Times, "The 2002 Election: Georgia; Bush's Push, Eager Volunteers and Big Turnout Led to Georgia Sweep," November 10, 2002
    2. ↑ Georgia constitutional convention provisions
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