HR1033: HR1033 State government; changes to apportionment and districts of the General Assembly and Congress shall only be made in the first odd-numbered year subsequent to each United States decennial census; provide - CA

Currently the Georgia Constitution allows the General Assembly to redraw state Senate, House, and congressional districts under federal law without a specific timing limit written into the Constitution. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would restrict when those districts can be changed. Under the proposed change, redistricting for the Senate, House, and Congress could only happen in the first odd-numbered year following each United States decennial census (the count taken every ten years). After that redistricting is done, any further changes would only be allowed if a court orders them, and those changes would have to be limited to fixing the specific problems the court identified. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it must go before Georgia voters for ratification or rejection in a statewide vote, with the ballot question spelled out in the resolution.

• Amends Article III, Section II, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution to restrict when legislative and congressional districts can be redrawn.
• Limits regular redistricting of the Senate, House, and Congress to the first odd-numbered year after each U.S. decennial census.
• Allows additional redistricting changes outside that window only when a court order requires it, and only to fix the specific issues the court identified.
• Sends the proposed amendment to Georgia voters for a statewide ratification vote, with specific ballot language set out in Section 2.

This affects the Georgia General Assembly, which draws legislative and congressional district maps; Georgia voters, who would decide whether to ratify the amendment and who vote in districts drawn under these rules; and courts that may order redistricting changes outside the normal schedule.

If ratified, this would make it harder for Georgia lawmakers to redraw voting districts mid-decade for political reasons, since new maps could only be created in a specific year after each census unless a court intervenes, affecting how legislative and congressional boundaries are drawn for years at a time.

• Section 1 revises Paragraph II of Article III, Section II of the Georgia Constitution to add new timing restrictions on redistricting.
• Subparagraph (b) states that Senate, House, and congressional districts shall only be changed in the first odd-numbered year after each U.S. decennial census.
• Subparagraph (c) allows further changes after that point only when necessary to comply with a court order, limited to correcting the specific deficiencies the court identified.
• Section 2 sets the exact ballot question voters will see and directs that the amendment be published and submitted for ratification under Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution.

1. 2026-01-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-16House Hopper (House)

• Saira Draper (D, HD-090)Primary sponsor
• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)
• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)

• redistricting
• constitutional amendment
• election rules
• state legislature
• congressional districts