HR 276: Equal Rights Amendment as the law of the land; commemorate; ratify a proposed Amendment to the United States Constitution

This is a resolution, not a law that changes anyone's day-to-day rights on its own. It asks the Georgia General Assembly to state its position on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a proposed U.S. constitutional amendment that would bar denying or limiting equal rights based on sex. The resolution recites the ERA's history: Congress approved it in the early 1970s, and the resolution asserts that enough states have now ratified it and that it was declared the 28th Amendment in January 2025. The resolution's operative action is that the Georgia General Assembly 'ratifies and adopts' the ERA as a formal legislative act, even though the amendment's federal status is contested outside this text. It also directs the Governor to send a certified copy of the resolution to the President, the U.S. Secretary of State, and the National Archives as official notice of Georgia's ratification, citing federal recordkeeping law (1 U.S.C. §§ 106b and 112).

• States the General Assembly's position that the Equal Rights Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution and commemorates its ratification.
• Formally 'ratifies and adopts' the proposed Equal Rights Amendment as an act of the Georgia General Assembly.
• Directs the Governor to send a certified copy of the resolution to the U.S. President, Secretary of State, and National Archives as official notice of Georgia's ratification.
• Recites the text of the ERA itself, including its ban on denying equal rights based on sex and its two-year effective date after ratification.

This resolution primarily affects the Georgia General Assembly and the Governor's office, which would carry out the notice requirement. It does not create new legal duties for Georgia residents, businesses, or agencies, since it does not change any Georgia statute.

As a resolution rather than a bill amending Georgia law, this measure does not change any rights or obligations for Georgians directly. Its practical effect is symbolic and procedural: it puts Georgia on record supporting the ERA and formally notifies federal officials of that position.

• The preamble recites the ERA's full text, including Section 1's ban on denying equal rights based on sex by the United States or any state.
• The preamble asserts that the ERA has already been ratified by the necessary states and was declared the 28th Amendment by President Biden on January 17, 2025.
• The operative resolving clause states that the Georgia General Assembly 'hereby ratified and adopted' the amendment.
• A further resolving clause requires the Governor to forward a certified copy to the President, Secretary of State, and National Archives, citing 1 U.S.C. §§ 106b and 112 as the basis for official notice.

1. 2025-02-20House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-19House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-18House Hopper (House)

• Lisa Campbell (D, HD-035)Primary sponsor
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Karen Bennett (D, HD-094)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)

• Equal Rights Amendment
• gender equality
• U.S. Constitution
• women's rights
• legislative resolutions