HR367: HR367 General Assembly; members elected in 2028 and thereafter shall serve four-year terms of office; provide - CA

Currently, members of the Georgia General Assembly (the House and Senate) are elected to two-year terms. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would change that starting with members elected in 2028, who would instead serve four-year terms. Members elected in the 2026 general election would still serve out a two-year term. The resolution also updates the constitutional language describing the election schedule, changing it from biennial (every two years) elections to quadrennial (every four years) elections after 2028. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it cannot take effect on its own. It must be submitted to Georgia voters on a statewide ballot, with a specific yes-or-no question about four-year terms, and voters must ratify it before it becomes part of the state Constitution.

• Proposes amending Article III, Section II, Paragraph V of the Georgia Constitution to change legislative terms from two years to four years starting with members elected in 2028.
• Specifies that members of the General Assembly elected in the 2026 general election will still serve a two-year term rather than the new four-year term.
• Changes the constitutional election schedule so General Assembly elections occur quadrennially (every four years) after 2028 instead of biennially (every two years).
• Requires the proposed amendment to be submitted to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection, with a specific ballot question about four-year terms.

Georgia's state legislators in the House of Representatives and Senate, candidates running for those seats starting in 2026 and 2028, and Georgia voters, who would ultimately decide whether to approve the change through a statewide ballot referendum.

If ratified by voters, lawmakers elected starting in 2028 would face reelection every four years instead of every two, changing how often legislators must campaign and how accountable they are to voters between election cycles, while members elected in 2026 keep their current two-year term.

• Section 1 revises Article III, Section II, Paragraph V(a) of the Georgia Constitution so members elected in 2028 and after serve four-year terms instead of two-year terms.
• Section 1 clarifies in a revised subsection (b) that members elected in the 2026 general election will serve out two-year terms.
• Section 1 changes the election cycle description in subsection (c) so elections occur quadrennially after 2028 rather than biennially.
• Section 2 requires the amendment to be published and submitted to voters under Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution, with a specific ballot question on four-year terms.

1. 2025-02-27House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-26House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Gabe Okoye (D, HD-102)Primary sponsor
• Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Al Williams (D, HD-168)

• legislative terms
• constitutional amendment
• election rules
• Georgia General Assembly