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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013
Fully as interesting as the provisions of the proposed new constitution that will be submitted to the voters of Georgia at a special election on August 7, 1945, is the method by which the document was framed. The constitution of the state now in force, adopted in 1877 soon after the state was freed from carpet-bag rule, is a long and complicated document, filled with detailed limitations on the government, particularly in the field of finance. As a result of the inclusion of numerous provisions statutory in nature, the document has been amended three hundred and one times in a period of sixty-eight years. Recognizing the need for a new constitution, the Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Georgia drew up A Proposed Constitution for Georgia in 1931. This document proposed a thorough revision of the structure of the government, including such radical changes as the substitution of 30 districts for the existing 161 counties as the basis of representation in the General Assembly. The widespread publicity given the document served to stimulate interest in constitutional revision, and most of the press of the state, notably the Atlanta Journal, has in recent years actively supported the movement.
In March, 1943, the General Assembly passed a resolution, sponsored by Governor Ellis Arnall, providing for a commission of twenty-three members to revise the constitution. The commission was to be composed of the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, three members of the senate appointed by the president, five members of the house appointed by the speaker, a justice of the supreme court designated by the court, a judge of the court of appeals designated by the court, the attorney general, the state auditor, two judges of the superior courts, three practicing attorneys-at-law, and three laymen to be appointed by the governor. The resolution provided that the report of this commission should be submitted to the General Assembly either in the form of proposed amendments to the constitution or as a proposed new constitution, to be acted upon by the General Assembly and submitted to the people for ratification or rejection.
1 Bulletin of the University of Georgia, Vol. XXXII (Jan., 1932), No. 4.
2 Georgia Laws, 1943, p. 1680.
3 The justices of the supreme court, the judges of the court of appeals, and the attorney general are elected by popular vote in Georgia. The state auditor is elected by the General Assembly.
A commission to revise the constitution of New Jersey in 1941 consisted of eight members, two appointed by the governor, two appointed by the president of the senate, two appointed by the speaker of the house, and two elected by the appointed members. Report of the Commission on Revision of the New Jersey Constitution (Trenton, 1942), p. 3.
4 Proceedings of the Meeting of Constitutional Revision Committee, Supreme Court Room, State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia, January 6, 1944. A full record of these meetings, a total of 1,746 typed pages, was made by J. H. Druggan, Jr., and Associates, Court and Convention Reporters, Volunteer Building, Atlanta, Georgia. This record is now available to the public at the State Library (State Capitol, Atlanta), and will probably be published.
5 Proceedings, of April, loc. cit., p. 7.
6 Copies of this constitution can be obtained without cost from Mr. P. T. McCutcheon, clerk of the house of representatives, State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia.
7 Proceedings, of April, loc. cit., pp. 76–78.
8 321 U. S. 649.
9 Payment of a poll tax as a requirement for voting, a statutory provision never incorporated in the constitution, was abolished by the General Assembly in March, 1945.
10 While the proposed constitution includes the salaries of most of the state officers, the General Assembly is authorized to change the salary of all elected officials. The judges of all of the courts in Georgia, except commissioned notaries public, are elected by popular vote.
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