Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB114: SB114 General Assembly; certain procedures for redistricting of the General Assembly and congressional districts in this state; provide

Last action February 6, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would set detailed public hearing, transparency, and disclosure rules the General Assembly must follow whenever it redraws state legislative and congressional district maps.

In plain language

Georgia redraws its General Assembly and congressional district lines periodically through the redistricting process, but state law currently does not spell out specific public participation or disclosure requirements for that process. This bill would add a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-17) requiring at least two public hearings in each judicial district, one before maps are drawn and one after a plan is introduced but before a final vote. The bill also requires hearings in the highest and second-highest population municipalities in each judicial district, attendance by majority and minority party legislators, live and archived online recordings, published notice in local legal organs, and detailed public posting of proposed maps and the data, software, and methods used to create them. It bars secret negotiations with outside parties during the process and blocks trade-secret claims from being used to withhold mapmaking details. The bill repeals conflicting laws but does not state a separate effective date beyond standard enactment.

What the bill does

Requires at least two public hearings in each judicial district during redistricting, one before maps are drafted and one after a plan is introduced.
Requires hearings in the two most populous cities in each judicial district, attended by at least one majority and one minority party legislator from each chamber.
Requires proposed maps, underlying data, software, and formulas to be posted on the General Assembly's website within 48 hours of committee assignment.
Bars any legal claim, including trade secret protection, from being used to block disclosure of the mapmaking process, data, or software.
Requires all committee meetings and deliberations on redistricting plans to be conducted publicly with seven days advance notice.
Requires public release of all communications to or from officials or employees involved in redistricting and prohibits private communications with outside parties not authorized to work on the plans.

Who it affects

Members of the General Assembly and legislative staff involved in drawing district maps, the public and advocacy groups who want to review or comment on proposed maps, county legal organs required to publish hearing notices, and any outside consultants or software vendors hired to help create redistricting plans.

Why it matters

If enacted, Georgians would get more advance notice, in-person hearings, and access to the data and software behind proposed voting maps before lawmakers vote on them. Officials involved in redistricting would also have to disclose communications and could not use trade-secret claims to withhold mapmaking methods.

Key provisions

Paragraph (1) requires a minimum of two public hearings per judicial district, one before plan development and one after introduction, held no later than one week before the final vote.
Paragraph (2) requires hearings in the two most populous municipalities of each judicial district and mandates attendance by at least one majority and one minority party legislator per chamber.
Paragraph (3) requires hearings to be recorded, livestreamed, and archived online, with public notice published weekly for two weeks and detailed visual maps down to the residence level.
Paragraph (4) requires proposed plans to be posted online within 48 hours of committee assignment, including all data, software, formulas, and explanations used to build the maps, and bars trade-secret defenses against disclosure.
Paragraph (5) requires all committee meetings and deliberations on redistricting to be public, with seven days advance notice.
Paragraph (6) prohibits a committee vote on a plan unless it has been posted online at least two weeks beforehand with full supporting data and statistics.
Paragraph (7) requires release of all communications, including electronic ones, sent to or from officials or employees involved in the redistricting process.
Paragraph (8) prohibits communications with any party not hired to work on redistricting, while preserving existing open records and open meetings obligations.

Status timeline

2025-02-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-05Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

redistricting
voting maps
government transparency
legislative procedure
open meetings