Georgia's Legislative Branch PDF

Georgia’s Legislative Branch The General Assembly S8CG2 Analyze the role of the legislative branch in Georgia. a. Explain the qualifications for members of the General Assembly and its role as the lawmaking body of Georgia. b. Describe the purpose of the committee system within...

Georgia’s Legislative Branch The General Assembly S8CG2 Analyze the role of the legislative branch in Georgia. a. Explain the qualifications for members of the General Assembly and its role as the lawmaking body of Georgia. b. Describe the purpose of the committee system within the Georgia General Assembly. c. Explain the process for making a law in Georgia. d. Describe how state government is funded and how spending decisions are made.  Learning Target Today I am learning about the role of the General Assembly and the process of making a law in Georgia. Georgia’s General Assembly Georgia’s Legislative branch S8CG2a The General Assembly is bi-cameral …The House: with no less than 180 members and The Senate with no more than 56 members.  Senate House of Representatives 56 Members 180 Members At Least 25 Years Old At Least 21 Years of Age Citizens of the United States Citizens of Georgia for at Least 2 Years Must Have Been Legal Residents of the District from Which They Were Elected for At Least 1 Year Propose and Pass Bills (All Bills Must Be Approved by Both Houses Before Being Sent to the Governor) Elected by Popular Vote to 2 year terms No Limit on Number of Terms Confirm Appointments the Governor Makes Write Appropriations (Spending ) Bills to Executive Offices  Legislative Sessions Meet Yearly/40 Days Lieutenant Governor Presides Over the Senate Speaker of the House Presides Over the House of Representatives During a 40-day session, more than 1,000 bills will be proposed. The Assembly must meet at least once a year. The Governor can call emergency sessions of the Assembly if needed  Georgia’s Legislative Branch S8CG2a While meeting at the Capital in Atlanta, the Assembly proposes, changes, and discards laws based on: Regulating people’s behavior Providing for local government Allowing the state to raise and spend money Providing for state services  Georgia’s Legislative Branch The Georgia General Assembly’s Responsibilities: The House is responsible for Appropriation Bills which raise taxes or spend money. The Senate is responsible for confirming the governor’s choices for appointed positions. Can pass laws, amend (change) them, or do away with them.  criminal public taxes matters and health punishments Types of Legislation regulation of businesses & property education professions  General Assembly The Speaker of the House is the Head of the House of Representatives Members of the House elect him/her from among their own number The lieutenant governor serves as the head of the state Senate The lieutenant governor is elected by the people in a popular vote General Assembly The Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor appoint committees that focus on different issues and make recommendations about specific bills. General Assembly Committees - Each member of the General Assembly is Committees responsible for serving on at least two or three committees. S8CG2b Each of these committees can, create, amend, change, or kill legislation  General Assembly Committees As many as 1,200 bills (proposed laws) are introduced in the House and the Senate in a typical session of the General Assembly, but only about one-third are passed and signed into law because of Committees. Workload is divided, saving time and allowing members to familiarize themselves with aspects of bills to be shared with the larger group  Standing Committees: Permanent committees or those that continue for every legislative session Ad hoc Committees: Committees created for a special purpose Committee Joint Committees: A committee made up of members of Types the Senate and House Conference Committees: Created when the House and Senate create different versions of a bill. The members of each house must compromise and make one bill for it to become a law.  Committee Chairpersons The committee chairpersons in the Assembly are especially powerful. They decide when committees will meet, when bills will be “taken up,” and when (or if ) a vote will be taken. In the House of Representatives, committee chairpersons are appointed by the Speaker, and in the Senate they are appointed by the lieutenant governor. Success Criteria I’ll know that I am successful when I can: I can identify the role of the legislative branch in Georgia. I can define qualification. I can identify the General Assembly as the legislative branch in Georgia. I can explain the qualifications for members of the General Assembly. I can describe the purpose of the committee system within the Georgia General Assembly. S8CG2c https://youtu.be/OgVKvqTItto https://youtu.be/66f4-NKEYz4  The state government spends millions of State Funding & S8CG2d dollars each year to pay government Spending employees and provide services to citizens. There are lots of services the government wants to fund, but it can’t pay for all of them.  State Funding & Spending S8CG2d For the state government to function effectively, the government must generate revenue (money) to operate. This is necessary for many government-sponsored programs to meet the needs of the citizens of the state. The General Assembly determines the types of revenue sources and the terms by which they operate. The Department of Revenue, an agency of the state government, is charged with the responsibility of administering and collecting revenue while the governor, the state’s budget director, is also involved in revenue decisions.  Georgia Spending According to the GA Constitution, the government must have a state budget; the fiscal year begins in July and ends the following June. The budget tells how much revenue the state expects to have, what it plans to spend, and what programs and services it will spend its money on.  Georgia Spending Several factors affect what the government spends money on. For instance, how much debt does the government have affects the government’s ability to spend The political party in control determines how money is spent The more taxes people pay, the more money the government has It is also important to remember for every state agency or program that receives funding, another agency or program receives less funding.  Georgia’s government collects tax and non-tax revenues. Taxes - money paid by citizens to support the Taxes function of local, state, and/or the federal government. Tax revenues - money generated for the state through taxes. Georgia Taxes Tax revenues are generated from the following types of tax sources: Individual income taxes Corporate income taxes Insurance premium taxes General sales taxes Property taxes Excise taxes Estate (Inheritance) taxes  Types of Taxes Individual income taxes - a graduated tax based on income that individuals or married couples generate in the form of salaries, wages and/or investments. These graduated taxes rise as taxable income increases. This tax generates 40% - 45% of the state’s revenue. Corporate income taxes - a flat tax (6 percent since 1969) on income that a corporation generates within state boundaries. This form of tax generates about 3% - 5% of the state’s revenue.  Types of Taxes Property taxes - this form of tax generates revenue for local government and adds only a small portion to the state’s revenue funds (less than 1%). Once county and city governments collect taxes, they share a small portion with the state in the form of a state property tax. The Department of Revenue guides local governments to ensure that there is some uniformity from county to county Types of Taxes Excise taxes - special taxes placed on items such as gasoline, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products. These taxes are usually fixed amounts per item as opposed to a percentage of the price of the item. Excise taxes generate about 1% - 2% of the state revenues and are applied to the state’s general fund. Estate (Inheritance) taxes - these taxes are payable from the estate of deceased persons and are related to the federal government’s estate tax. Currently, estate taxes provide less than 1% of state revenues Non-Tax Revenue Fees - generated from entrance fees into state parks, fees for occupational and recreational licenses (also known as regulatory fees - the government regulates the occupation or activity). These fees generate about 3% - 4% of state revenues.  Non-Tax Revenue The state lottery - this third-largest revenue source for the state generates 5% of the state revenues per year. By law, lottery revenue can be spent for special programs including college and technical school HOPE scholarships, pre- kindergarten programs and technology for education programs  Success Criteria I’ll know that I am successful when I can: I can explain the process for making a law in Georgia. I can describe how the General Assembly gets its money. I can describe how the General Assembly decides how to spend its money