---
title: SB 114. General Assembly; certain procedures for redistricting of the General Assembly and congressional districts in this state; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb114
cite_as: SB 114, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb114
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb114.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb114/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70010
date: 2025-02-06
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb114.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 114
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-05
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Elena Parent
- Harold Jones
- Sonya Halpern
- Sally Harrell
- Randal Mangham
- Donzella James
- Freddie Sims
- Nabilah Islam Parkes
- Sheikh Rahman
- Nikki Merritt
- Tonya Anderson
- Gail Davenport
- Nan Orrock
- Derek Mallow
- Kim Jackson
- Michael Rhett
- David Lucas
- RaShaun Kemp
- Ed Harbison
- Josh McLaurin
- Jason Esteves
- Kenya Wicks
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB114/2025
upstream_id: 1958361
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- redistricting
- election rules
- open government
- legislative transparency
- voting districts
---
# SB 114. General Assembly; certain procedures for redistricting of the General Assembly and congressional districts in this state; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 114
By: Senators Parent of the 44th, Jones II of the 22nd, Halpern of the 39th, Harrell of the 40th,
Mangham of the 55th and others
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 regarding the General Assembly, so as to provide certain procedures for
redistricting of the General Assembly and congressional districts in this state; to provide for
certain hearings, information availability, procedures, and notifications; 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 regarding the General Assembly, is amended by adding a new Code section to
read as follows:
"28-1-17.
In redistricting the General Assembly and the congressional districts in Georgia, the
General Assembly shall follow the following procedures:
(1) There shall be a minimum of two public hearings in each judicial district of this state
during the redistricting process. There shall be one public hearing in each judicial district
of this state prior to the development of the redistricting plans. There shall be one public
hearing in each judicial district of this state after the introduction of the proposed plan or
plans in the General Assembly which shall be held not later than one week prior to the
final vote on such proposed plan or plans;
(2) At least one public hearing shall be held in the municipality with the highest
population in each judicial district of this state, and at least one public hearing shall be
held in the municipality with the second highest population in each judicial district of this
state. Such hearings shall be open to the general public, and at least two members of the
General Assembly from each house of the General Assembly shall attend such public
hearings. One member from each house shall represent the majority party in such house,
and one member from each house shall represent the minority party in such house. Such
members shall come from the committee of each house that considers proposed
redistricting plans;
(3) The public hearings shall be recorded and made available both live as they occur and
as archived files for public viewing on the internet. During each public hearing, the
General Assembly members representing each house of the General Assembly shall
present the initial proposed plan or plans, explain the procedure or process used to create
such plan or plans, and hear public comments and suggestions. Public notice of such
public hearings shall be published on the public website of the General Assembly and
once a week for two consecutive weeks in the legal organ of each county, not later than
seven days prior to the date of the public hearing. Visual representations of the proposed
plan or plans shall be prominently displayed at each public hearing, and the plan or plans
shall be presented visually in sufficient detail so that the public may visually inspect all
district boundaries down to the residence level. The plan or plans shall be presented in
a manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately inspect the proposed
district in which such member lives as well as all neighboring districts;
(4) The proposed plan or plans shall be published on the public website of the General
Assembly not later than 48 hours after the proposed plan or plans have been assigned to
committee. The plan or plans shall be presented visually in sufficient detail so that the
public may visually inspect all district boundaries down to the residence level, and the
plan or plans shall also include all data necessary for a third party to recreate an accurate
visual representation of such proposed plan or plans. The plan or plans shall be presented
in a manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately visually inspect the
proposed district in which such member lives as well as all neighboring districts. Any
initially proposed plan or plans published on the public website of the General Assembly
shall also include a detailed explanation of the procedure or process used to create such
plan or plans, including, but not limited to, all inputs, variables, factors, or other bases
used to create such plan or plans; draft maps; formulae or algorithms; and any hardware
or software relied upon to create such plan or plans. This paragraph shall be construed
to defeat any legal claim or defense that is brought or raised by any party to prevent the
disclosure of such procedure or process, including, but not limited to, a claim or defense
that such disclosure would constitute unlawful disclosure of a trade secret or other
confidential or proprietary information;
(5) All meetings, discussions, and deliberations concerning reapportionment upon the
assignment of a plan or plans to committee shall be conducted in public, and public notice
of such meetings, discussions, and deliberations shall be published on the public website
of the General Assembly at least seven days in advance;
(6) No committee vote shall be taken on a plan or plans unless such plan or plans have
been posted on the public website of the General Assembly and released at least two
weeks before such vote with the plan or plans presented visually in sufficient detail so
that the public may visually inspect all district boundaries down to the residence level,
and such plan or plans shall also include all data necessary for a third party to recreate an
accurate visual representation of such proposed plan or plans. Such plan or plans shall
be presented in a manner that will allow any member of the public to immediately
visually inspect the proposed district in which such member lives as well as all
neighboring districts. Such plan or plans shall also include all relevant statistics
concerning such plan or plans;
(7) All communications sent to or from any government official or employee involved
in the reapportionment process, including electronic communications, shall be released
to the public for inspection and copying; and
(8) All communications with any party not hired or contracted to perform or not
responsible for performing the duties set forth in this Code section are strictly prohibited.
Such prohibition shall not apply to any public communications explicitly authorized by
this Code section. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as limiting any
obligations set forth in the law relating to disclosure of public records and open meetings
which shall apply to this Code section or any other applicable laws."
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 Senate bill would require the General Assembly to hold public hearings, publish maps online, and disclose communications before drawing new legislative and congressional district lines.
### Plain-language summary
When the Georgia General Assembly redraws state legislative and congressional district boundaries, a process called redistricting, current law does not spell out detailed public participation requirements. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-17) that would require at least two public hearings in each of the state's judicial districts, held in the largest and second largest cities in each district, attended by lawmakers from both parties.
The bill also requires hearings to be livestreamed and archived online, proposed maps to be posted publicly within 48 hours of committee assignment with enough detail to see district lines down to individual residences, and all committee meetings on redistricting to be open to the public with seven days notice. It bars withholding mapmaking data as a trade secret, requires release of communications among officials involved in redistricting, and prohibits those officials from communicating with outside parties not involved in the official process.
### What it does
- Requires a minimum of two public hearings per judicial district, one before draft maps are created and one after a plan is introduced but before the final vote.
- Requires hearings in the highest and second highest population municipalities of each judicial district, attended by at least two legislators from each chamber representing both parties.
- Requires proposed district maps to be posted online within 48 hours of committee assignment, with enough detail to see boundaries down to individual residences.
- Requires public disclosure of the data, software, formulas, and processes used to draw maps, overriding trade secret or confidentiality claims.
- Bars committee votes on a redistricting plan unless it has been publicly posted for at least two weeks beforehand.
- Requires release of all communications to or from officials involved in redistricting and prohibits those officials from communicating with outside parties not part of the official process.
### Who it affects
Members of the General Assembly involved in drawing state legislative and congressional district maps, legislative staff and any contractors or software vendors who help create redistricting plans, county governments that publish legal notices, and Georgia voters and members of the public who would gain new access to hearings, maps, and records.
### Why it matters
If enacted, Georgians would have more advance notice of proposed district maps, more opportunities to comment before lines are finalized, and more access to the data and communications behind how maps are drawn, changing how the next round of redistricting after the 2030 census would be handled.
### Key provisions
- Adds new Code section O.C.G.A. § 28-1-17 to Chapter 1 of Title 28, setting mandatory redistricting procedures.
- Paragraph (1) requires at least two public hearings per judicial district, one before and one after a plan is introduced, with the second held no later than one week before the final vote.
- Paragraph (2) requires hearings in the two most populous municipalities of each judicial district with bipartisan legislative attendance from relevant redistricting committees.
- Paragraph (3) requires hearings to be recorded, livestreamed, archived online, and publicly noticed at least seven days in advance in each county's legal organ.
- Paragraph (4) requires proposed maps and the underlying data, software, and methodology to be posted online within 48 hours of committee assignment, and bars trade secret claims from blocking disclosure.
- Paragraph (5) requires all redistricting meetings, discussions, and deliberations after committee assignment to be conducted publicly with seven days notice.
- Paragraph (6) bars a committee vote on a plan unless it has been posted online with full detail for at least two weeks.
- Paragraphs (7) and (8) require release of officials' communications about redistricting and prohibit those officials from communicating about it with outside parties not part of the official process.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-05)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-06)
- Sponsors: Elena Parent, Harold Jones, Sonya Halpern, Sally Harrell, Randal Mangham, Donzella James, Freddie Sims, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Sheikh Rahman, Nikki Merritt, Tonya Anderson, Gail Davenport, Nan Orrock, Derek Mallow, Kim Jackson, Michael Rhett, David Lucas, RaShaun Kemp, Ed Harbison, Josh McLaurin, Jason Esteves, Kenya Wicks
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70010
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb114.md?full=1