SR 558: Apportionment for General Assembly; changes to apportionment and districts; provide

Currently, Georgia's Constitution says the General Assembly must change Senate and House district lines as necessary after each U.S. Census, without a strict timing rule limiting further changes. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would specify redistricting for the Senate, House of Representatives, and Georgia's congressional districts can only happen in the first odd-numbered year following each decennial census. After that scheduled redistricting, the amendment would allow additional changes only if a court orders them, and any such court-ordered changes would be limited to fixing the specific problems the court identified. Because this is a proposed constitutional amendment, it must be submitted to Georgia voters for ratification. The resolution includes the exact ballot language voters would see, asking whether to approve these new timing restrictions on redistricting.

• Amends Article III, Section II, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution to add rules about when redistricting can occur.
• Restricts changes to Senate, House, and congressional district lines to the first odd-numbered year after each U.S. decennial census.
• Adds a new provision allowing extra redistricting changes only when a court orders them, and only to fix the specific problems the court named.
• Explicitly extends the constitutional apportionment rule to cover congressional districts, not just state legislative districts.
• Requires the proposed amendment to be put before Georgia voters for a yes or no vote to decide whether it becomes part of the Constitution.

Georgia voters, who would decide this amendment at the ballot box; the General Assembly, which would face new constraints on when it can redraw legislative and congressional maps; and Georgia courts, which would gain a defined role in ordering any mid-decade redistricting changes.

If approved by voters, this would make it harder for the General Assembly to redraw legislative and congressional maps outside the year right after a census, limiting mid-decade redistricting unless a court specifically orders a fix, which affects how and when district lines that shape elections can be changed.

• Section 1 revises Paragraph II so subparagraph (a) confirms the General Assembly apportions Senate and House districts and provides for congressional districts under federal law.
• Section 1, subparagraph (b) restricts changes to Senate, House, and congressional districts to only the first odd-numbered year after each U.S. decennial census.
• Section 1 adds subparagraph (c), allowing further changes only to comply with a court order and only to the extent needed to fix the specific deficiencies the court identified.
• Section 2 sets the ballot question voters will see and specifies that a 'Yes' vote ratifies the amendment, adding it to the Constitution.

1. 2026-01-13Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2026-01-12Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)Patrocinador principal
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)

• redistricting
• apportionment
• constitutional amendment
• election rules
• congressional districts