--- title: HR 4. Joint session; message from the Governor collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr4 cite_as: HR 4, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr4 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr4.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr4/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69265 date: 2025-01-14 status: passed 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/hr3.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr5.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 224 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr4.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 4 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-01-14 last_action: Senate Transmitted House sponsors: - Chuck Efstration text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR4/2025 upstream_id: 1916904 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia legislature - Governor's address - joint session - state government ceremony --- # HR 4. Joint session; message from the Governor ## Text House Resolution 4 By: Representative Efstration of the 104th A RESOLUTION Calling a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate for the purpose of hearing a message from the Governor; inviting the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Judges of the Court of Appeals to be present at the joint session; and for other purposes. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that His Excellency, Governor Brian Kemp, is hereby invited to address a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate at 11:00 A.M., Thursday, January 16, 2025, in the hall of the House of Representatives. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate be held in the hall of the House of Representatives at 10:45 A.M. on the aforesaid date for the purpose of hearing an address from His Excellency, the Governor. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a committee of fourteen, seven from the House to be named by the Speaker and seven from the Senate to be named by the President of the Senate, be appointed to escort His Excellency, the Governor, to the hall of the House of Representatives. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Judges of the Court of Appeals are hereby extended an invitation to be present at the joint session. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is hereby instructed to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Governor, to each Justice of the Supreme Court, and to each Judge of the Court of Appeals. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. House Resolution 4 sets up a joint session of the Georgia House and Senate on January 16, 2025, so Governor Brian Kemp can deliver an address to lawmakers. ### Plain-language summary This resolution schedules a joint meeting of the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate for 10:45 A.M. on Thursday, January 16, 2025, in the House chamber. Governor Brian Kemp is invited to address the combined chambers at 11:00 A.M. that same day. The resolution also creates a 14-member escort committee, seven lawmakers chosen by the Speaker of the House and seven chosen by the President of the Senate, to bring the Governor into the chamber. It extends an invitation to the Justices of the Georgia Supreme Court and the Judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals to attend. Finally, it directs the Clerk of the House to send copies of the resolution to the Governor and to each of the invited judges. ### What it does - Schedules a joint session of the Georgia House and Senate for 10:45 A.M. on January 16, 2025, in the House chamber. - Invites Governor Brian Kemp to address the joint session at 11:00 A.M. that day. - Creates a 14-member escort committee, split evenly between House and Senate members, to bring the Governor to the chamber. - Invites the Justices of the Georgia Supreme Court and the Judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals to attend the joint session. - Directs the Clerk of the House to send copies of the resolution to the Governor and to each invited judge. ### Who it affects This resolution directly affects Governor Brian Kemp, members of the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate who will attend the joint session, the 14 lawmakers named to the escort committee, and the Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of the Court of Appeals who are invited to attend. ### Why it matters This is a procedural, ceremonial measure that arranges the logistics for the Governor's address to the legislature. It does not change any Georgia law, create funding, or set policy; it simply organizes when and how the address takes place and who is invited. ### Key provisions - First resolving clause invites Governor Brian Kemp to address the joint session at 11:00 A.M. on January 16, 2025. - Second resolving clause sets the joint session itself for 10:45 A.M. that day in the House chamber. - Third resolving clause creates a 14-member escort committee, seven named by the Speaker and seven by the Senate President, to escort the Governor. - Fourth resolving clause invites the Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges to attend. - Fifth resolving clause directs the Clerk of the House to transmit copies of the resolution to the Governor and the judiciary. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-01-14) - Last action: Senate Transmitted House (2025-01-14) - Sponsors: Chuck Efstration - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69265 > The history, votes, and amendments (224 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr4.md?full=1