---
title: HB 702. Representative Democracy Enforcement Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb702
cite_as: HB 702, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb702
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb702.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb702/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71069
date: 2025-03-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb702.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 702
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-03
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Shea Roberts
- Saira Draper
- Samuel Park
- Long Tran
- Lisa Campbell
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB702/2025
upstream_id: 1990373
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- ballot initiatives
- direct democracy
- election law
- Secretary of State
- constitutional amendments
---
# HB 702. Representative Democracy Enforcement Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 702
By: Representatives Roberts of the 52nd, Draper of the 90th, Park of the 107th, Tran of the 80th,
and Campbell of the 35th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
primaries and elections generally, so as to enact the Representative Democracy Enforcement
Act; to provide procedures related to direct initiative petition and referendum statutory
changes and direct initiative of the people constitutional amendments; to provide a short title;
to provide for constitutional authorization; to provide definitions; to provide for minimum
formatting requirements of direct initiative and referendum petition forms; to establish the
Direct and Initiative Referendum Committee; to provide for membership and duties relating
to approving direct initiative and referendum petitions as to form; to provide requirements
for fiscal notes on certain petitions; to authorize the Secretary of State to review direct
initiative petitions as to form and approve or reject the same; to provide for cure and appeal
procedures from decisions of the secretary; to provide for finalization of direct initiative and
referendum petitions and filing fees; to provide timelines and procedures for the circulation
of direct initiative and referendum petitions for signature; to provide for notice and public
hearings regarding direct initiative and referendum petitions; to provide for the secretary to
determine petitioner eligibility and tally signatures on direct initiative and referendum
petitions; to provide for cure and appeal procedures regarding the same; to provide criminal
penalties for impeding the petitioner eligibility determination process or signature tallying
process or the intimidation or attempted intimidation of persons involved in said processes;
to provide for certifying petitions and placing ballot questions on the ballot; to provide that
direct initiative petitions petition sponsors shall be considered campaign committees pursuant
to Chapter 5 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated; to prohibit the use of
public funds in advocating for or against direct initiative and referendum petitions; to
authorize rule making; to provide for related matters; to provide for a contingent effective
date and automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to primaries and
elections generally, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:
"ARTICLE 16
21-2-700.
(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Representative Democracy
Enforcement Act.'
(b) This article is enacted pursuant to the direction and authority provided to the General
Assembly by Article III, Section XI, Paragraph III and Article X, Section I, Paragraph III
of the Constitution, and the provisions in this article shall apply to both direct initiative and
referendum processes unless specifically provided otherwise.
21-2-701.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates, the term:
(1) 'Business entity' shall have the same meaning as provided for in Code Section 21-5-3.
(2) 'Campaign committee' shall have the same meaning as provided for in Code
Section 21-5-3.
(3) 'Candidate' shall have the same meaning as provided for in Code Section 21-5-3.
(4) 'Circulator' means a person who solicits other people to sign a petition under the
direction of the petition sponsor.
(5) 'Direct initiative process' means the process and procedures outlined in this article,
Article III, Section XI, Paragraph III, and Article X, Section I, Paragraph III of the
Constitution to bring about a vote by electors for a proposed statutory change or
constitutional amendment.
(6) 'Nonprofit organization' shall have the same meaning as provided for in Code
Section 21-5-3.
(7) 'Petition' means a petition made pursuant to either Article III, Section XI,
Paragraph III or Article X, Section I, Paragraph III of the Constitution to obtain
signatures in support of putting a question on the ballot to either enact, repeal, or amend
statutes of general law or to amend the Constitution.
(8) 'Petition sponsor' means the person or entity who speaks on behalf of the petition
effort and who has ultimate responsibility and decision making authority for the creation
and circulation of a petition by circulators.
(9) 'Petitioner' means a person who provides his or her personal information, including
signature, on a petition.
(10) 'Political action committee' shall have the same meaning as provided for in Code
Section 21-5-3.
(11) 'Referendum process' means the process and procedures outlined in this article and
Article II, Section IX, Paragraph III of the Constitution to bring about a vote by electors
to enact, amend, or repeal a statute.
(12) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of State.
21-2-702.
In addition to any information required by the Constitution, all petitions shall contain the
following information:
(1) The title of the proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment;
(2) A summary of the proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment;
(3) The full text of the proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment;
(4) Space for a petitioner to:
(A) Print his or her name;
(B) Sign his or her name; and
(C) Provide requested personally identifying information sufficient to show he or she
is a registered voter;
(5) Space for a circulator to include his or her name and affirm the date and location that
the signatures on such petition were collected, and that the circulator observed petitioners
sign the petition in person;
(6) The identity of the petition sponsor; and
(7) A statement detailing any and all business entities, campaign committees, candidates,
nonprofit organizations, or political action committees, other than the petition sponsor,
that are providing financial or other material support for the direct initiative or
referendum process.
21-2-703.
(a) Circulators must be with a petitioner in person at the time a petitioner provides his or
her information and signature upon a petition.
(b) Pursuant to petition approval as provided for in Code Section 21-2-704, a petition may
be in a paper or digital format, and digital signatures shall be permissible.
21-2-704.
(a) There is hereby created the Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee, which shall
be composed of:
(1) Three Senators selected by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(2) Three Representatives selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(3) Three Senators selected by the minority leader of the Senate; and
(4) Three Representatives selected by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Before a petition may be finalized and circulated, such petition shall be approved as
to form as provided for in this Code section. A proposed petition submitted by a petition
sponsor to the committee shall contain the tentative proposed title and summary of the
proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment. Such proposal shall also include
the full text of the proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment.
(c) The Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee may make nonbinding suggestions
to a petition sponsor to improve the format or content of the proposed title or summary
contained in the petition if the committee finds that such improvements would benefit
electors in understanding the petition.
(d)(1) Any tentative petition proposing a statutory change having a significant impact on
the anticipated revenue or expenditure level of any state department, bureau, board,
council, committee, commission, or other state agency shall have a fiscal note prepared
pursuant to Code Section 28-5-42 prior to the approval of such petition as to form. The
Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee shall be authorized to request a fiscal note
from the Office of Planning and Budget and the Department of Audits and Accounts, and
the committee shall provide copies of such fiscal note to the petition sponsor upon
receiving them from such office and department.
(2) Any fiscal notes or suggested changes a petition sponsor receives from the Direct
Initiative and Referendum Committee shall be made available, by such petition sponsor,
to the public; provided, however, that nothing in this Code section shall be interpreted so
as to make any documents in the possession or control of the Direct Initiative and
Referendum Committee or its members subject to disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of
Chapter 18 of Title 50.
(e) In the event that the Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee approves a proposed
petition as to form, the committee shall promptly inform the petition sponsor and the
secretary of such approval.
(f)(1) In the event that the Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee determines that
it cannot approve a proposed petition as to form, or the committee is equally divided as
to whether or not it can approve a proposed petition as to form, the proposed petition
shall be transmitted to the secretary for a final determination as to approving the proposed
petition as to form.
(2) The secretary shall have 30 days to make a final determination as to whether or not
the proposed petition shall be approved as to form. If the secretary determines that the
proposed petition cannot be approved as to form, he or she shall provide the petition
sponsor with the opportunity to cure defects identified by the secretary as preventing the
approval of the proposed petition as to form. If the petition sponsor fails to cure such
defects within 45 days of being informed of the same by the secretary, the secretary shall
reject the proposed petition as to form.
(3) The decision of the secretary rejecting a proposed petition as to form may be
reviewed by the Superior Court of Fulton County upon an application for a writ of
mandamus to compel the approval of such petition as to form. The application for such
writ of mandamus shall be made within 30 days of the time when the petitioner is notified
of the secretary's decision. Upon the application being made, a judge of such court shall
fix a time and place for hearing the matter in dispute as soon as practicable; and notice
thereof shall be served with a copy of such application upon the secretary and upon the
petitioner. At the time so fixed the court, or any judge thereof assigned for the purpose,
shall hear the case. If after such hearing the said court shall find that the decision of the
secretary was erroneous, it shall issue its mandate to the secretary to correct his or her
decision and to approve the proposed petition as to form. From any decision of the
superior court an appeal may be taken within five days after the entry thereof.
21-2-705.
Upon a proposed petition being approved as to form, as provided for in Code
Section 21-2-704, the petition sponsor shall submit the approved petition to the secretary
accompanied with a filing fee of $1,000.00. Upon receiving such petition and fee, the
secretary shall issue official direct initiative or referendum petition forms, either on paper
or digitally, as contemplated under the approval process pursuant to Code
Section 21-2-704, assign a number to the direct initiative or referendum petition, which
number shall appear on the face of each petition form, and issue that number to the petition
sponsor.
21-2-706.
(a) As of the date the secretary provides the petition sponsor with official direct initiative
or referendum petition forms, the petition sponsor shall have one year to collect the
constitutionally required number of signatures upon such petition. If a direct initiative or
referendum petition is not returned to the secretary within such year, such petition and all
signatures upon it shall be automatically invalidated.
(b) All circulators shall be registered Georgia electors, with no history of misdemeanor
crimes related to fraud and no felony criminal history of any kind.
(c) Circulators may be paid, but shall not be paid on a per signature basis by the petition
sponsor or any other person or entity.
(d) Each official direct initiative or referendum petition form shall contain a space for the
circulator circulating such form to attest under oath that he or she witnessed the collection
of each signature upon such form, and to the best of the circulator's knowledge, all
signatures upon such form are valid.
21-2-707.
(a) Within 15 days of the secretary providing the petition sponsor with official direct
initiative or referendum petition forms, the secretary shall mail to each household with a
registered elector residing at such address a copy of the title and summary of the proposed
statutory change or constitutional amendment. Such notice shall also provide that a copy
of the full text of the proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment is available
for review on the secretary's website.
(b) Within 30 days of the petition sponsor obtaining 50 percent of the required number of
signatures upon a direct initiative or referendum petition, the petition sponsor shall
schedule public hearings on the proposed statutory change or constitutional amendment.
At least one such hearing shall be held within each congressional district. Each such public
hearing shall provide at least two hours of public comment on the proposed statutory
change or constitutional amendment. The petition sponsor shall publish notice of the time,
date, and location of each such public hearing in the legal organ of each county of the state.
Notice of the time, date, and location of each public hearing shall also be posted on the
secretary's website.
21-2-708.
(a) Upon the petition sponsor collecting the sufficient number of signatures upon the direct
initiative or referendum petition, the petition sponsor shall submit all official direct
initiative or referendum petition forms to the secretary.
(b) The secretary shall begin a verification of petitioner eligibility as soon as he or she
receives the signed official direct initiative or referendum petition forms. The secretary
shall complete the verification process within 30 days of receiving the signed official direct
initiative or referendum petition forms.
(c) The verification process shall be open to the public. A person observing the
verification process who impedes the verification process or attempts to intimidate or
actually intimidates any person involved in the verification process shall be guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than
one nor more than ten years or to pay a fine not to exceed $100,000.00, or both.
(d) The secretary shall use the information provided by the petitioner as well as available
public resources sufficient to verify the eligibility of each petitioner; provided, however,
that exact signature matches shall not be used in a validation process.
(e) Upon completing the initial verification process, the secretary shall publish his or her
determination as to the validity of the direct initiative or referendum petition. If the event
that the secretary determines that there are an insufficient number of verified petitioners
to validate the petition, or that petitioner information was not collected in the required
number of congressional districts, the petition sponsor and any petitioner whose
participation was determined to be invalid shall have 30 days to cure such defect. Upon
the close of such cure period, the secretary shall have 15 days to make a final determination
as to the validity of the direct initiative or referendum petition.
(f) If the secretary validates a direct initiative or referendum petition, the secretary shall
certify the total number of valid petitioners appearing on the petition, and shall put the
issue in question to a vote using the ballot questions outlined in the petition. The ballot
question shall appear on the ballot to occur on the date of the next general election at which
members of the General Assembly are to be elected occurring at least 90 days after the date
of such certification.
(g) The decision of the secretary to reject certification of a petition may be reviewed by
the Superior Court of Fulton County upon an application for a writ of mandamus to compel
the approval of such petition as to form. The application for such writ of mandamus shall
be made within five days of the time when the petition sponsor is notified of the secretary's
decision. Upon the application being made, a judge of such court shall fix a time and place
for hearing the matter in dispute as soon as practicable, but no later than five days
following the receipt of such application; and notice thereof shall be served with a copy of
such application upon the secretary and upon the petitioner. At the time so fixed the court,
or any judge thereof assigned for the purpose, shall hear the case. If after such hearing the
said court shall find that the decision of the secretary was erroneous, it shall issue its
mandate to the secretary to correct his or her decision and to certify the total number of
valid petitioners appearing on the petition. From any decision of the superior court an
appeal may be taken within five days after the entry thereof.
21-2-709.
A referendum called by the secretary proposing a statutory change or constitutional
amendment pursuant to this article, except as provided for in this article, shall be conducted
in the same manner provided for in this chapter for elections to submit state-wide questions
to the electors.
21-2-710.
Petition sponsors shall be considered campaign committees designed to bring about the
approval or rejection by the voters of any proposed constitutional amendment, state-wide
proposed question, or state-wide referendum pursuant to Chapter 5 of this title, and shall
be subject to all applicable reporting and disclosure requirements provided for in that
chapter.
21-2-711.
No public funds shall be expended to advocate for the approval or rejection of a ballot
question proposing a statutory change or constitutional amendment.
21-2-712.
The secretary or the State Election Board may adopt rules for the proper and efficient
administration of procedures related to this article."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027, following the ratification of an
amendment to the Constitution of Georgia providing for direct initiative and referendum
petitions to enact, repeal, or amend statutes and for direct initiative petitions of the people
to amend the Constitution; provided, however, that to the extent this Act conflicts with law
in effect at the time of ratification, this Act and such amendment shall control, and to the
extent such law is not in conflict, the law in effect at the time of ratification shall control and
shall remain in full force and effect. If such amendment is not so ratified, then this Act shall
stand automatically repealed.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 702 would create a detailed legal process for Georgians to petition for direct votes on statutes or constitutional amendments, but only if voters first approve a separate constitutional amendment allowing such petitions.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's constitution does not currently let citizens bring proposed laws or constitutional amendments directly to a statewide vote through petition, the way some other states allow ballot initiatives. This bill sets up the rules Georgia would use if voters approve a future constitutional amendment creating that power.
The bill creates the Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee, made up of lawmakers chosen by legislative leaders, to review petition language before it circulates. The Secretary of State would have final say on approving petition forms, collecting a $1,000 filing fee, and later verifying whether enough valid signatures were gathered. Petition sponsors would have one year to collect signatures, must hold public hearings once they reach halfway to the signature goal, and would be treated as campaign committees subject to Georgia's campaign finance disclosure law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 5 of Title 21). The law would only take effect January 1, 2027, and only if a companion constitutional amendment allowing direct initiatives is ratified by voters; otherwise it repeals itself automatically.
### What it does
- Creates the Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee, made up of legislators chosen by chamber leaders, to review proposed ballot petitions for form before they circulate.
- Gives the Secretary of State authority to approve or reject petitions as to form, with a cure period and a path to appeal rejections to Fulton County Superior Court.
- Requires a $1,000 filing fee and limits petition sponsors to one year to collect the required number of signatures before the petition is automatically invalidated.
- Bars circulators with felony records or fraud-related misdemeanors from collecting signatures and prohibits paying circulators per signature collected.
- Creates a felony penalty, one to ten years in prison or a fine up to $100,000, for anyone who impedes or intimidates people during the signature verification process.
- Classifies petition sponsors as campaign committees under Georgia's campaign finance law and bars public funds from being spent to support or oppose a ballot petition.
### Who it affects
Georgians who want to organize a ballot petition drive, the volunteers or paid circulators who collect signatures, the Secretary of State's office, the newly created legislative committee reviewing petitions, and any registered voter who would sign or vote on a resulting ballot question.
### Why it matters
If the companion constitutional amendment passes, this bill would determine exactly how hard or easy it is for Georgians to force a statewide vote on a law or constitutional change, including fees, deadlines, background checks on circulators, and criminal penalties for interfering with the process.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Sections 21-2-700 through 21-2-712, establishing the 'Representative Democracy Enforcement Act' within Georgia election law.
- O.C.G.A. § 21-2-704 creates a 12-member Direct Initiative and Referendum Committee and lets it request fiscal notes for petitions with significant budget impact.
- O.C.G.A. § 21-2-704 gives the Secretary of State 30 days to make a final call on rejected petitions, with a 45-day cure period for sponsors to fix defects.
- O.C.G.A. § 21-2-705 sets a $1,000 filing fee once a petition is approved as to form.
- O.C.G.A. § 21-2-706 gives sponsors one year to gather signatures and requires circulators to be registered Georgia voters without felony records.
- O.C.G.A. § 21-2-707 requires the Secretary of State to mail petition summaries to households and requires sponsors to hold public hearings in every congressional district.
- O.C.G.A. § 21-2-708 sets a felony penalty of one to ten years or a fine up to $100,000 for impeding or intimidating people during signature verification.
- Section 2 makes the entire Act effective January 1, 2027 only if a related constitutional amendment on direct initiative is ratified, and automatically repeals the Act if it is not.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-03-03)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-06)
- Sponsors: Shea Roberts, Saira Draper, Samuel Park, Long Tran, Lisa Campbell
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71069
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb702.md?full=1