Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SR 645: Joint Session; message from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Last action February 2, 2026 · House Immediately Transmitted to Senate
A Senate resolution sets up a joint session of the Georgia House and Senate on February 4, 2026, so the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court can deliver an address to lawmakers.
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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
This resolution schedules a joint meeting of the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate for 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in the House chamber. The purpose is to hear an address from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, who is formally invited to speak at 11:00 a.m. that day. The resolution also invites every other Justice of the Supreme Court and every Judge of the Court of Appeals to attend the joint session to hear the Chief Justice's remarks. It directs the Secretary of the Senate to send official copies of the resolution to the Chief Justice, the other Justices, and the Court of Appeals judges so they are formally notified of the invitation and schedule.
What the bill does
- Calls a joint session of the Georgia House and Senate for 10:45 a.m. on February 4, 2026, in the House chamber.
- Invites the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to address the joint session at 11:00 a.m. that same day.
- Invites every other Supreme Court Justice and every Court of Appeals Judge to attend and hear the address.
- Directs the Secretary of the Senate to send official copies of the resolution to the Chief Justice and the other judges.
Who it affects
This resolution affects members of the Georgia General Assembly, who will convene in joint session, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who will deliver the address, and the other Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges, who are invited to attend.
Why it matters
The resolution formally arranges the logistics for the Chief Justice's annual address to the legislature, a ceremonial event that brings together the state's legislative and judicial branches at the Capitol on a specific scheduled date.
Key provisions
- First resolving clause invites the Chief Justice to address the joint session at 11:00 a.m. on February 4, 2026, in the House chamber.
- Second resolving clause sets the joint session itself to convene at 10:45 a.m. that day for the purpose of hearing the address.
- Third resolving clause invites other Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges to attend.
- Fourth resolving clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit copies of the resolution to the invited judges.
From the bill
“the honorable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is hereby invited to address a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate at 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in the hall of the House of Representatives”
Discussed in meetings (4)
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 29, 2026 (legislative day 9)
From 2:21:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Read and Adopted)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read SR 645, calling a joint House and Senate session to hear a message from the Supreme Court's chief justice and inviting the other Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges. The Senate president pro tempore described it as the customary annual resolution and offered an amendment replacing a reference to the Clerk of the House with the Secretary of the Senate. The Senate adopted both the correction and the amended resolution without objection.
House floor session, February 2, 2026 (legislative day 10)
From 1:04:25 · 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 presented SR 645 to call a joint House and Senate session for a message from the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The majority leader said the State of the Judiciary address would begin at 11 a.m. on February 4, 2026. The House adopted the resolution without objection and then ordered its immediate transmission to the Senate, also without objection.
Senate floor session, February 4, 2026 (legislative day 12)
From 0:54:35 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The majority leader moved under SR 645 to recess for a joint session hearing the Chief Justice and to adjourn afterward until February 5 at 10 a.m. Following a voice vote, the chair directed senators to the House. The clerk later read the resolution's caption at the joint session. In the address, the Chief Justice urged lawmakers to defend judicial independence and the rule of law while recognizing judges' obligation to follow legal limits. The Chief Justice advocated nonpartisan probate judge elections, reported rising court workloads and described foster-care initiatives. The Chief Justice also discussed artificial intelligence's risks, including fabricated evidence, and its possible role in improving access to legal help. The Chief Justice said more than 420,000 Georgia civil cases in 2023 involved someone without a lawyer and described a recommendation to allow trained nonlawyers to perform limited legal tasks in a pilot program. Requesting continued security funding, the Chief Justice reported 35 threats against 30 Georgia justices and judges since late 2024, resulting in nine arrests. The joint session was dissolved by voice vote.
Status timeline
- House Immediately Transmitted to Senate (House)
- House Read and Adopted (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Read and Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Larry Walker, III (R, SD-20)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-31)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
- Harold Jones II (D, SD-22)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
Topics
- Georgia legislature
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- joint session
- state government ceremony