HR 1033: State government; changes to apportionment and districts of the General Assembly and Congress shall only be made in the first odd-numbered year subsequent to each United States decennial census; provide - CA

Currently the Georgia Constitution says the General Assembly can redraw state Senate, House, and (by practice) congressional district lines as necessary after each U.S. Census, without pinning down exactly when. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would limit redistricting to only the first odd-numbered year following each decennial census, meaning lawmakers could not redraw maps again outside that window on their own initiative. The amendment also adds a new rule: after that scheduled redistricting, any further changes to district lines could only be made if a court with proper jurisdiction orders it, and those changes would have to be limited to fixing the specific problems the court identified. The proposal also explicitly ties congressional district apportionment to federal law within the same constitutional paragraph. If passed by the legislature, the amendment would go before Georgia voters for ratification or rejection in a statewide vote.

• Amends Article III, Section II, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution to restrict redistricting timing for the General Assembly and Congress.
• Limits new district maps for the state Senate, House, and Congress to only the first odd-numbered year after each U.S. decennial census.
• Bars additional mid-decade redistricting unless a court of competent jurisdiction orders it, and restricts any such change to fixing the specific issues the court cited.
• Adds explicit constitutional language tying congressional district apportionment to federal law.
• Sends the proposed amendment to Georgia voters for a yes-or-no ratification vote on the ballot.

Georgia voters, who would decide the amendment at the ballot box; the General Assembly, whose redistricting authority and timing would be constrained; and Georgia's congressional and state legislative candidates and constituents, whose district lines would be redrawn less frequently outside of court intervention.

If ratified, mid-decade redistricting driven by political shifts in the legislature would become much harder, since new maps could only be drawn once per decade unless a court specifically orders a fix. This would change how and when district lines affecting representation in the state Senate, House, and Congress can be redrawn.

• Section 1 revises Article III, Section II, Paragraph II, adding subparagraph (a) confirming the General Assembly apportions Senate and House districts and provides for congressional districts under federal law.
• Section 1 revises subparagraph (b) to state that changes to Senate, House, and congressional districts can only occur in the first odd-numbered year after each U.S. decennial census, removing the prior 'as necessary' standard.
• Section 1 adds new subparagraph (c), allowing additional redistricting changes only when required by a court order, and limiting such changes strictly to correcting the deficiencies the court identified.
• Section 2 provides the ballot question language asking voters whether to ratify the amendment and specifies that ratification would add the change to the Georgia Constitution.

1. 2026-01-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-16House Hopper (House)

• Saira Draper (D, HD-090)Primary sponsor
• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)
• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)

• redistricting
• constitutional amendment
• legislative districts
• congressional districts
• election rules