Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HR 996: General Assembly convened; notify the Governor
Last action January 12, 2026 · Senate Transmitted House
A House resolution creates a joint House-Senate committee to formally notify Governor of Georgia that the General Assembly has convened for its regular session.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
This is a procedural resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives. It does not change any law. Instead it sets up a routine step in the start of a legislative session: appointing a joint committee to notify the Governor that the General Assembly has convened and is ready to conduct business. The committee would have fourteen members total, seven chosen by the Speaker of the House from among House members and seven chosen by the President of the Senate from among Senate members. Their job is limited to delivering this formal notice to the Governor.
What the bill does
- Creates a joint committee of fourteen legislators, seven from the House and seven from the Senate, for the sole purpose of notifying the Governor.
- Directs the Speaker of the House to name the seven House members of the committee.
- Directs the President of the Senate to name the seven Senate members of the committee.
- Formally declares that the General Assembly has convened in regular session and is ready to conduct business.
Who it affects
This resolution mainly affects the internal operations of the Georgia General Assembly and the Governor's office. It touches the fourteen legislators appointed to the notification committee, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate.
Why it matters
This is a ceremonial, procedural action rather than a policy change. It formally signals the start of the legislative session to the Governor of Georgia but does not affect any Georgia law, program, or resident's day-to-day life.
Key provisions
- The resolution appoints a fourteen-member joint committee, split evenly between House and Senate members.
- The Speaker of the House selects the seven House representatives on the committee.
- The President of the Senate selects the seven senators on the committee.
- The committee's task is to notify the Governor that the General Assembly has convened and is ready for business.
From the bill
“a committee of fourteen, seven from the House of Representatives to be named by the Speaker and seven from the Senate to be named by the President of the Senate, be appointed to notify His Excellency, the Governor”
Discussed in meetings (2)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
Senate floor session, January 12, 2026 (legislative day 1)
From 2:03:30 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Read and Adopted)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The secretary read HR 996, which would notify the governor that the General Assembly had convened. The Senate adopted the resolution without objection.
House floor session, January 12, 2026 (legislative day 1)
From 1:20:56 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House First Readers)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The majority leader explained that HR 996 would provide for House and Senate members to notify the governor that the General Assembly had convened for the 2026 session. The House adopted it without objection, and the chair appointed six House members to the notification committee.
Status timeline
- Senate Transmitted House (Senate)
- Senate Read and Adopted (Senate)
- House Read and Adopted (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
Topics
- legislative procedure
- General Assembly session
- Governor of Georgia