GA Code § 28-2-1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 28 - General Assembly|Chapter 2 - Apportionment of House of Representatives and Senate; Qualifications of Members|§ 28-2-1. Apportionment and Qualifications for the House of Representatives

    There shall be 180 members of the House of Representatives.   The General Assembly by general law shall divide the state into 180 representative districts which shall consist of either a portion of a county or a county or counties or any combination thereof and shall be represented by one Representative elected only by the electors of such district.     A member of the House of Representatives shall be a resident of the district which such member represents and at the time of such member's election shall have been a resident of the territory embraced within such district for at least one year preceding such time.     (Code 1981, §28-2-1, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 3, § 3/HB 1EX.)   Cross references.   - Constitutional requirements as to apportionment, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. II, Para. II.   Constitutional requirements as to qualifications, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. II, Para. III.   Disqualifications, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. II, Para. IV.   Vacancies, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. IV, Para. V.    Designation of congressional districts of state, § 21-2-4.   Editor's notes.   - This Code section formerly pertained to apportionment and qualifications for the House of Representatives. The former Code section was based on Ga. L. 1890-91, p. 192, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 291; Ga. L. 1901, p. 51, § 1; Civil Code 1910, § 333; Ga. L. 1921, p. 229, § 1; Ga. L. 1931, p. 48, § 1; Code 1933, § 47-101; Ga. L. 1941, p. 348, § 1; Ga. L. 1951, p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1953, p. 10, § 1; Ga. L. 1961, p. 111, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 127, § 1; Ga. L. 1967, p. 187, § 1; Ga. L. 1968, p. 209, § 1; Ga. L. 1971, Ex. Sess., p. 22, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 250, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 16, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1043, § 1; Ga. L. 1981, Ex. Sess., p. 12, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 452, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1123, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1071, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1472, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 466, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, Ex. Sess., p. 186, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 133, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 492, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 827, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 813, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1994, p. 133, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 174, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 795, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, Ex. Sess., p. 72, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1997, p. 229, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1998, p. 11, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, Ex. Sess., p. 425, §§ 1-3 and was repealed by Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 3, § 3/HB 1EX, effective August 24, 2011.   Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 3, § 1/HB 1EX, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia House of Representatives Reapportionment Act of 2011.'"    The 2001 House reapportionment plan provided by O.C.G.A. § 28-2-1, as amended by Ga. L. 2001, Ex. Sess. p. 425, §§ 1-3, was held unconstitutional in Larios v. Cox, 300 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (N.D. Ga. 2004); aff'd, 542 U.S. 947 (2004). For adoption of 2004 court-ordered remedial plan for House reapportionment, see Larios v. Cox, 314 F. Supp. 2d 1357 (N.D. Ga. 2004).   Ga. L. 2006, p. 12, § 1/HB 1137, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "(a) The General Assembly recognizes that the apportionment of the house districts for the 2004 elections was governed by the interim reapportionment plan entered by order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in the case of Larios v. Cox, 314 F. Supp. 2d 1357 (N.D. Ga. 2004).   "(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the districts for House Districts 1 through 180 shall continue to be those districts as provided in the order of the United States District Court in the case of Larios v. Cox. On and after January 1, 2007, House Districts 5, 12, 46, 48, 50, 51, 167, and 179 shall be as described in a report which is attached to this Act and is made a part of this Act.   "(c) The first members of the House of Representatives from House Districts 5, 12, 46, 48, 50, 51, 167, and 179 elected pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be those who are elected to take office on the convening date of the regular session of the General Assembly in 2007. Until that time the members of the House of Representatives elected from House Districts 5, 12, 46, 48, 50, 51, 167, and 179 under the interim court order in the case of Larios v. Cox shall continue to serve and shall represent the districts from which elected; and until that time the composition of the districts from which such members were elected shall remain the same. The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall be effective, however, for the primary and general elections of 2006 for the purpose of electing members of the House of Representatives from House Districts 5, 12, 46, 48, 50, 51, 167, and 179 in 2006 who are to take office in 2007. Successors to those members shall likewise be elected under the provisions of this Act."   Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 3, § 2/HB 1EX, as amended by Ga. L. 2012, p. 21, § 1/HB 829 and Ga. L. 2015, p. 1413, § 1/HB 566 and the attachment thereto identified as "Plan: HSEPROP1 Plan Type: HOUSE Administrator: H167 User: STAFF", not codified by the General Assembly, contains the description of the state house districts and related definitions, effectiveness, and applicability provisions.   Ga. L. 2011, p. 3, § 4/HB 1EX, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "The apportionment of the House of Representatives and the description of House Districts 1 through 180 provided for pursuant to this Act shall supersede and replace the apportionment of the House of Representatives and the description of House Districts 1 through 180 provided for pursuant to the 2004 interim House apportionment plan of the Special Master adopted by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Larios v. Cox, 314 F. Sup. 2d 1357 (N.D. Ga. 2004) and descriptions of House Districts 5, 12, 46, 48, 50, 51, 167, and 179 as provided in an Act approved March 1, 2006 (Ga. L. 2006, p. 12)."   Law reviews.   - For note, "Partisan Gerrymandering and Georgia: Red, White, and Blue or Just Red and Blue?," see 35 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 487 (2019). For comment, "Pinpoint Redistricting and the Minimization of Partisan Gerrymandering," see 59 Emory L.J. 211 (2009).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Unconstitutionality of 2001 House Reapportionment Plan and 2002 Senate Reapportionment Plan.    - Georgia's state legislative reapportionment plans (House plan provided by O.C.G.A. § 28-2-1 as amended by Ga. L. 2001, Ex. Sess. p. 425, §§ 1-3; and Senate plan provided by Ga. L. 2002, p. 148, § 2) plainly violated the one person, one vote principle embodied in the Equal Protection Clause because each deviated from population equality by a total of 9.98% of the ideal district population and there were no legitimate, consistently applied state policies which justify these population deviations. Instead, the plans arbitrarily and discriminatorily diluted and debased the weight of certain citizens' votes by intentionally and systematically underpopulating districts in rural south Georgia and inner-city Atlanta, correspondingly overpopulating the districts in suburban areas surrounding Atlanta, and by underpopulating the districts held by incumbent Democrats. Larios v. Cox, 300 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (N.D. Ga. 2004), aff'd, 542 U.S. 947, 124 S. Ct. 2806, 159 L. Ed. 2d 831 (2004).   Criteria for 2004 Court-Ordered House and Senate Reapportionment Plans.   - Special Master appointed to prepare state legislative reapportionment plans pursuant to court order was required to consider three principal criteria in drafting such plans: the U.S. Constitution; the federal Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973; and neutral principles of redistricting such as compactness, contiguity, minimizing the splits of counties and municipalities, recognizing communities of interest, maintaining the cores of existing districts, and using well-defined boundaries as district lines, insofar as those policies did not conflict with the primary considerations of compliance with the one person, one vote principle and the Voting Rights Act. Special Master was also required to prefer single-member districts over multi-member districts. Larios v. Cox, 306 F. Supp. 2d 1214 (N.D. Ga. 2004).   Adoption of 2004 Court-Ordered House and Senate Reapportionment Plans.   - Special Master's state legislative reapportionment plans ("Special Master's 1-B Plans") were adopted as the court's plans, since those plans complied fully with the Constitution and the principle of one person, one vote, the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973 et seq., and the traditional redistricting guidelines of compactness, contiguity, minimizing the splits of counties, municipalities, and precincts, recognizing communities of interest, and avoiding multi-member districts. The court also was completely satisfied that the Special Master considered comments and objections concerning political incumbency as only a subordinated and secondary consideration. Larios v. Cox, 314 F. Supp. 2d 1357 (N.D. Ga. 2004).    Cited in Toombs v. Fortson, 275 F. Supp. 128 (N.D. Ga. 1966); Toombs v. Fortson, 277 F. Supp. 821 (N.D. Ga. 1967); Dawson v. Smyre, 233 Ga. 758, 213 S.E.2d 658 (1975).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   ALR.   - Propriety of using census data as basis for governmental regulations or activities - state cases, 56 A.L.R.5th 171.