CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA

ARTICLE III. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Paragraph I. Meeting, time limit, and adjournment.

(a) The Senate and House of Representatives shall organize each odd-numbered year and shall be a different General Assembly for each two-year period. The General Assembly shall meet in regular session on the second Monday in January of each year, or otherwise as provided by law, and may continue in session for a period of no longer than 40 days in the aggregate each year. By concurrent resolution, the General Assembly may adjourn any regular session to such later date as it may fix for reconvening. Separate periods of adjournment may be fixed by one or more such concurrent resolutions.

(b) Neither house shall adjourn during a regular session for more than three days or meet in any place other than the state capitol without the consent of the other. Following the fifth day of a special session, either house may adjourn not more than twice for a period not to exceed seven days for each such adjournment. In the event either house, after the thirtieth day of any session, adopts a resolution to adjourn for a specified period of time and such resolution and any amendments thereto are not adopted by both houses by the end of the legislative day on which adjournment was called for in such resolution, the Governor may adjourn both houses for a period of time not to exceed ten days.

(c) If an impeachment trial is pending at the end of any session, the House shall adjourn and the Senate shall remain in session until such trial is completed.

1976 Constitution.

- Art. III, Sec. V, Paras. III, VI.

Cross references.

- Impeachment, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. VII.

Meeting time and place, § 28-1-2.

Editor's notes.

- The constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 1988, p. 2114, § 2) which would have revised subparagraph (a) to change the terms of office from two years to four years, was defeated at the general election on November 8, 1988.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Paragraph binding as to time limitation.

- Failure on part of either house, or of both, to conform to constitutional requirements relating to adjournment, when attempting to adjourn sine die, will not abrogate or modify the limitation of 60 days (now 40 days) fixed by this paragraph. Bunger v. State, 146 Ga. 672, 92 S.E. 72 (1917).

Cited in Wood v. Arnall, 189 Ga. 362, 6 S.E.2d 722 (1939); Smith v. McMichael, 203 Ga. 74, 45 S.E.2d 431 (1947); Glustrom v. State, 206 Ga. 734, 58 S.E.2d 534 (1950); Maddox v. Fortson, 226 Ga. 71, 172 S.E.2d 595 (1970).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

General Assembly may meet each year in one regular session of certain number of days but it may prolong that session by adjourning and reconvening at later date. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-69.

Necessity to reintroduce bills.

- Bills introduced at the January session of the General Assembly are required to be reintroduced at the coming session of the General Assembly where there was a lapse of the previous legislative session. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 155.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 72 Am. Jur. 2d, States, Territories, and Dependencies, § 44 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 81A C.J.S., States, § 109 et seq.

ALR.

- Power of Legislature or branch thereof as to time of assembling, and length of session, 56 A.L.R. 721.