Georgia’s General Assembly  Meets each year for a 40 day session that starts the 2 nd Monday in January.  Can pass legislation on taxes, education, contracts, personal property  Makes laws on fines, imprisonment, or death in criminal matters  Considers public regulations – laws affecting issues like morals, public health, business regulations, general welfare

State Senate (56 Members)  They serve 2 year terms  They are elected by voters in the house or senate district  A Senator must be 25 years of age, a citizen of the U.S. and of Georgia for 2 years

State House of Representatives  180 members  Serve 2 year terms  Rep. must be 21, a citizen of the U.S. and Georgia for 2 years, and a legal resident of district for 1 year.

House of Representatives  The Speaker of the House is the leader of the House. * Appoints chairpersons & members to committees. * Assigns bills to committees  There are 36 regular committees in the House of Representatives (most members serve on 2 to 3)  Minority leader is leader of minority party in the house  Floor leader usually represents the party of the governor

Senate  Lieutenant governor is the president of the Senate (leader of Senate) * Appoints chairpersons and members to committees. * Assigns bills to committees  The other leader in the Senate is the president pro tempore (leader of the Senate majority party)  There is also a majority and minority leader for each party  There are 26 committees in the Senate (each Senator is on at least three committees)

Committees  All bills go through a committee before they are voted on by the whole house or senate  Committee are used so that pieces of legislation can be studied closely  Most of the work done on a bill happens in committee  The House and Senate have to pass the exact same version of a bill before it goes to the governor.

How A Bill Becomes a Law  1.Anyone can come up with the idea for a bill.  2.They submit it to their General Assembly Member, and he or she creates the bill.  3.It is presented in either the House or Senate and then assigned to committee.  4.Committee examine and work with the bill and decide whether to act on it.  5.When it comes out of committee it is voted on by the body of representatives  6.If passed in both bodies of Congress goes to the governor.

State Executive Branch  Made up of the Governor, Lt. Governor, and advisors at the State Level  The Governor and Lt. Governor must be at least 30, citizen of the U.S. for 15 years, and a resident of the state for at least 6 years.  Governor can only serve 2 consecutive terms, but can run again four years later.  Governor is in charge of creating state budget

Powers of the Governor  Formal powers are those written in the State Constitution. * Executive Powers a) appoint state officials b) enforce civil and criminal laws * Legislative Powers a) signing or vetoing bills b) calling special sessions of legislation * Judicial Powers a) pardon criminals b) appoint state justices Informal Powers – powers that are a result of custom and tradition and are used to enforce formal powers

Other Elected Officials  Unlike the Vice President, the Lt. Governor is elected separately from the Governor  If something happens to the Governor the Lt. Governor takes over.  State Attorney General: Chief legal officer  Secretary of State: Maintains the states official records and is runs elections  State School Superintendent: head of Education.  Commissioner of Labor: regulates the health and safety of workers.

The Judicial Branch?  Interprets the laws…can declare laws unconstitutional!  The U.S. Supreme court

Judicial Branch  Courts protect citizens from government abuse  They make sure that citizens have due process of law.  Courts help determine whether people are guilty of crimes.  Settling disputes peacefully * Mediation – a neutral third person (arbitrator) helps two opposing sides come to an agreement. * Negotiation – discussing an issue with hopes to resolve it.

Judicial Vocabulary  jurisdiction – the range of actions over which the court has control or influence  felony – a serious crime punishable by a year or more in prison, a fine of at least $1,000, or both  misdemeanor – a less serious crime punishable by less than a year in prison, a fine less than $1,000 or both  Appellate jurisdiction – reviewing the decisions of lower courts  Original jurisdiction- the court that hears the case first.

Judicial Vocabulary  Grand Jury – determines whether or not persons accused of crimes should be officially charged.  Trial Jury – a group of citizens who are charged with judging a person with a crime  Criminal Law – cases dealing with people violating the law  Civil Law – cases dealing with conflict between private parties  Trial Courts - hear original cases such as criminal and civil cases

State Courts  Supreme Court – reviews cases that are appealed from lower ranking courts. (appellate court) * interprets the state constitution * justices are elected to 6 year terms * decisions made have final authority at state level  Court of Appeals * made up of 12 judges elected to 6 year terms * only hears cases appealed from lower courts  Superior Court – original and appellate jurisdiction * felonies, divorces, and appeals from lower courts

State Courts  State Court –misdemeanors, traffic violations, civil cases  Juvenile Courts – cases dealing with juveniles  Probate Court – cases dealing with wills, estates, appointing guardians  Magistrate Courts – * Criminal – pretrial proceedings, warrants, bail * Civil Cases under $5,000

County Government  Counties – subdivisions of the state set up to carry out governmental functions – 159 counties in GA  All county governments must be uniform  Board of Commissioners head up the county and establishes policies, laws and the county budget  County Manager is the chief executive officer of the county and their role is to carry out county policies  Elected officials: clerk of superior court, judge of probate court, sheriff, coroner, tax commissioners  Appointed officials: county clerk, tax assessors, attorney, fire chief

Forms of City Government  Mayor-Council Form – elected city council and elected mayor. * Strong-mayor system: Mayor has executive and legislative powers, council determines policy and raises revenue *Weak-mayor system: council has executive and legislative powers, mayor has few powers. He or she is more a figure head  council-manager form: council members elected and establish laws and policies. Hires a manager to deal with the day to day * commission form: elected commissioners are head of a department within the city

Sharing Services  Cities and counties often work together in sharing services.  Multiple cities can exist within a county.  County and City governments often share financial responsibility in funding public services  Ex. of shared services: Library services, Hospital services, property zoning,  Municipality – a city with its own government  Special-purpose district: created for a single job or task, Ex. Board of Education, MARTA, Airport Authority

Funding the State and City  City funding and revenue * ad valorem taxes-taxes on property based on real market value *User Fees – citizens pay fees for local government services (water & sewage, recreation facilities, parking) * sales tax – a tax on items purchased  Majority of local government funding comes from property taxes and user fees  Special Purpose local option sales tax(SPLOST)- tax voted on by citizens every 5 years to fund local improvement projects.

Funding the State and City  Revenues: sources of income for the state  Expenditures: plans for spending the funds  90% of GA’s revenue come from taxes  50% of GA’s revenue comes from Income taxes, 30% from sales tax  54% of GA’s expenditures goes toward education, 23% human services