GA HB1139

Creates a seven-member Citizens' Redistricting Commission in Georgia responsible for developing proposed congressional and state legislative redistricting plans for submission to the General Assembly following each decennial census or court-ordered redistricting.

Commission members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor (1), Senate minority leader (1), House Speaker (1), House minority leader (1), the Governor (2, only one of whom may share the Governor's party), and a seventh member chosen by the other six, who serves as chairperson; if the six cannot agree, the Georgia Supreme Court selects the seventh member.

Members must be registered Georgia voters, may not hold federal or state elective office while serving, and must agree not to run for federal or state office during their service and for two years afterward.

The commission must hold public hearings in every congressional district before developing plans and must adhere to criteria including contiguity, compactness, compliance with the Voting Rights Act, maintenance of communities of interest, and near-zero population deviation among districts.

The General Assembly votes on the commission's proposed plans without amendment; if a plan is rejected, the commission revises and resubmits it within 15 days, and if the revised plan is also rejected, the General Assembly proceeds to draw its own redistricting plan.