HR1105: HR1105 Georgia Independent Redistricting Commission; create - CA

Currently the Georgia General Assembly draws the boundaries for its own House and Senate districts and for Georgia's U.S. House districts. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would take that power away from lawmakers and give it to a new seven-member Georgia Independent Redistricting Commission. The commission would be chosen through a multi-step process involving the state auditor, legislative leaders from both parties, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, with members serving staggered ten-year terms. The commission would have to follow specific mapping rules, hold at least ten public hearings, and post its data online before adopting any map. The General Assembly could not amend or veto the commission's maps, though any registered voter could challenge a map in Fulton County Superior Court. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it would only take effect if approved by Georgia voters in a statewide referendum.

• Creates a permanent seven-member Georgia Independent Redistricting Commission to draw all congressional and General Assembly district maps.
• Bars anyone who held state or federal elective office, worked as a party lobbyist, or was paid campaign or political staff in the past ten years from serving on the commission.
• Sets a detailed selection process using the state auditor, legislative majority and minority leaders, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, with commissioners serving ten-year terms.
• Prohibits the commission from cracking or packing voters, protecting incumbents, or using political data like past election results or voter registration when drawing maps.
• Requires at least ten public hearings and public posting of draft maps and data before adoption, and removes the General Assembly's power to amend or veto the final maps.
• Sends the proposed constitutional amendment to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection in a statewide referendum.

Georgia voters statewide, who would decide the amendment's fate at the ballot box; members of the General Assembly and Georgia's congressional delegation, whose district lines would be drawn by the new commission; the state auditor and Chief Justice, who help select commissioners; and any registered voter who wants to challenge an adopted map in court.

If ratified, the power to draw Georgia's political maps would shift from elected lawmakers to an independent panel bound by public hearing requirements and bans on using party data or protecting incumbents, changing who controls a process that shapes election outcomes for a decade at a time.

• Section 1 revises Article III, Section II, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution to create the seven-member commission and define terms like 'cracking,' 'packing,' and 'community of interest.'
• Subparagraph (d) bars recent officeholders, party lobbyists, and paid political staff from serving as commissioners for ten years before appointment.
• Subparagraph (e) lays out the selection timeline: the state auditor picks 50 random applicants by January 15 of a census year, legislative leaders narrow the list, and the Chief Justice and leaders choose the final seven members by May 1.
• Subparagraph (g) requires maps to follow federal constitutional and Voting Rights Act requirements, keep districts contiguous and compact, preserve communities of interest, and avoid splitting counties and cities unless necessary.
• Subparagraph (h) forbids the commission from cracking, packing, protecting or defeating incumbents, or considering incumbents' addresses or political data except as required by the Voting Rights Act.
• Subparagraph (i) requires at least ten public hearings and public online access to draft maps and data at least seven days before adoption.
• Subparagraph (j) lets any registered voter challenge an adopted map in Fulton County Superior Court, with the commission bearing the burden of proving the map is lawful by clear and convincing evidence.
• Subparagraph (k) bars the General Assembly from amending or vetoing the commission's final maps, while Section 2 sends the amendment to voters for ratification or rejection.

1. 2026-02-02House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-29House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-28House Hopper (House)

• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)Primary sponsor
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)

• redistricting
• gerrymandering
• voting rights
• constitutional amendment
• election maps