--- title: HB 926. General Assembly; revise oath of office to require that members conduct themselves with civility collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb926 cite_as: HB 926, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb926 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb926.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb926/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72075 date: 2026-01-12 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb925.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb927.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb926.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 926 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-04 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Lisa Campbell text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB926/2025 upstream_id: 2020913 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - General Assembly oath of office - legislative conduct - Georgia lawmakers - civility in government --- # HB 926. General Assembly; revise oath of office to require that members conduct themselves with civility ## Text House Bill 926 By: Representative Campbell of the 35th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 1 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to the General Assembly, so as to revise the oath of office to require that members conduct themselves with civility; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Chapter 1 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to the General Assembly, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 28-1-4, relating to form and administration of oath of office to members, as follows: "(a) In addition to any other oath prescribed by law, each Senator and Representative, before taking the seat to which elected, shall take the following oath: 'I do hereby solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of this state and of the United States and, on all questions and measures which may come before me, I will so conduct myself with civility, as will, in my judgment, be most conducive to the interests and prosperity of this state.'" SECTION 2. 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. A Georgia House bill would add the word 'civility' to the oath senators and representatives take before serving, requiring them to swear they will conduct themselves with civility on all questions before them. ### Plain-language summary Georgia lawmakers currently take an oath, set out in state law (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-4), promising to support the state and federal constitutions and to conduct themselves in a way most conducive to the state's interests and prosperity. This bill would insert the phrase 'with civility' into that oath, so members would swear to conduct themselves with civility as well. The change applies to the oath every Senator and Representative takes before taking their seat in the General Assembly. The bill does not create any enforcement mechanism, penalty, or definition of what civility means; it simply adds the word to the sworn text. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision, but does not include a stated effective date beyond the usual process for a bill becoming law. ### What it does - Adds the phrase 'with civility' to the oath of office that all Georgia state senators and representatives must swear before taking their seats. - Amends O.C.G.A. § 28-1-4, the state law that sets the wording and administration of the legislative oath of office. - Does not define 'civility' or create any penalty, complaint process, or enforcement method tied to the new language. - Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change, a standard closing clause. ### Who it affects Every member of the Georgia General Assembly, both the House of Representatives and the Senate, since they are the ones who take this oath before assuming office. It does not directly affect other state officials or the public. ### Why it matters The bill changes the words lawmakers formally swear when they take office, adding a commitment to civility alongside their existing pledge to act in the state's interest. Because no enforcement mechanism accompanies it, the practical effect on lawmakers' conduct is unclear from the text. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 28-1-4 by inserting 'with civility,' into the existing oath text that members recite before taking their seats. - The bill leaves the rest of the oath's wording, including the pledge to support the state and federal constitutions, unchanged. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard boilerplate provision with no substantive effect of its own. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-04-04) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: Lisa Campbell - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72075 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb926.md?full=1