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. th this Constitution, and not
to the Constitution
t lhe United States, which they
c all deem necessary and pro
' T { o r the welfare of the State.
Paragraph XXL Signature of
Governor. No provision in this
Constitution for a two thirds
ot e of both houses of the Gen
eral Assembly shall be construed
to" waive the necessity for the
signature of the Governor as
in any other case, except in the
case of the two-thirds vote re
c- iircd to override the veto, to
r ibmit constitutional amend
ments, and in case of prolong
ation of a session of the Gen
eral Assembly.
Paragraph XXII. Adjourn
ments. Neither House shall ad
journ for more than three days,
or to any other place, without
the consent of the other, and
in case of disagreement be
tween the two Houses, on a
question of adjournment, the
Governor may adjourn either,
or both of them.
Paragraph XXIIL Zoning and
planning laws. The General As
sembly of the State shall have
authority to grant the governing
authorities of the municipali
ties and counties authority to
pass zoning and planning laws
whereby such cities or counties
may be zoned or districted for
various uses and other or dif
ferent uses prohibited therein,
and regulating the use for which
said zones or district- may be
set apart, and regulating the
plans for development and im
provements on real estate there
in
Paragraph XXIV. Civil ser
vice—equal preference 1« vet
erans. Neither the State of Geor
gia, nor any political subdivis
ion thereof, shall inaugurate or
maintain any civil service
scheme of any nature whatever
which fails to provide for hon
orably discharged veterans of
any war, and the said State of
Georgia, or any political sub
division shall, if a civil service
scheme is originated or is al
ready in force, provide equal
preferences according to such
veterans as now exist under
Federal Civil Service Laws.
Paragraph XXV. Street Rail
ways, The General Assembly
shall not authorize the con
struction of any street passen
ger railway, within the limits
of any incorporate town or city,
without the consent of the Cor
porate Authorities.
Section VIH.
Paragraph 1. Officers of the
two houses. The officers of the
two houses, other than the Pres
ident of the Senate and Speaker
of the House, shall be a Pres
ident Pro Tempore and Secret
ary of the Senate and Speaker
Pro Tempore and Clerk of the
House of Representatives, and
such assistants as each House
may provide for
f :x.
Paragrapn l Compensation,
expense and mileage. The per
diem of members of the Gen
eral Assembly sha’ be $lO.OO
per day plus the additional sum
of $5.00 per day for mainte
nance expense; and the mileage
shall not exceed 10 cents for
each mile traveled by the near
est practical loute In going to
and returning from the Capi
tol; but the President Pro Tem
pore of the Senate, when serving
as presiding officer thereof, and
the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, shall each re
ceive $15.00 per day as per
diem plus the additional sum
of $5.00 per day for mainte
nance Expense
Section X.
Paragrapn 1. Viva vocc vote;
place of meeting. All elections
by the General Assembly shall
be viva voce, and the vote shall
appear on the Journal of the
House of Representatives. When
the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives unite for the pur
pose of elections, they shall
meet In the Representative Hall,
and the President of the Sen
ate shall, in such cases, preside
and declare the result.
Section XI.
Paragraph I. Salaric of elect
ive officials; how changed. The
General Assembly may, at any
time, by a majority vote of
both branches proscribe other |
and different salaries for all of I
the elective officers provided
tor in this Constitution, but no |
such change shall affect the of
ficers then in commission.
ARTICLE IV.
Public Utilities, Eminent Do
main, Police Power, Insurance
Companies, Contracts, etc.
Section I. -
Paragraph I. Public utility
tariffs and charges. The power
and authority of regulating rail
road freight and passenger ta
riffs and of charges of public
utilities for their services, of
preventing unjust discrimina
tions, and requiring reasonable
and just rates of freight and
passenger tariffs and of charges
of public utilities, are hereby
conferred upon the General As
sembly, whose duty it shall be
to pass laws from time to time,!
to regulate such tariffs and
charges, to prohibit unjust dis
criminations by the various
railroads and public utilities of
this State, and to prohibit said
railroads and public utilities
Irom charging other than just
and reasonable rates and to en
force the same by adequate
penalties, provided, neverthe
less, that such power and au
thority shall never be exercis
ed in any way to regulate or
fix charges ■'f such public utili
ties as are or may be owned or
operated by any county or mun
icipality of this State; except as
provided in this Constitution.
Paragraph 11. Rebates. No
, public utility company shall
give, or pay, any rebate, or bo
■ nus in the nature thereof, di
• rectly or indirectly, or do any
’ act to mislead or deceive the
, public as to the real rates
’ charged or received for freight
I or passages or services furnish-
I ed, any such payments shall be
. illegal and void; and these pro
hibitions shall be enforced by
suitable penalties.
Section 11.
Paragraph I. Right of emi
nent domain. The exercise of the
, right of eminent domain shall
never be abridged, nor so con
’ strued as to prevent the Gen
eral Assembly from taking pro
perty and franchises, and sub
jecting them to public use.
, Paragraph 11. Police power.
, The exercise of the police pow
. er of the State shall never be
, abridged, nor so construed as
. to permit the conduct of busi
. ness in such manner as to in
. fringe the equal rights of oth
, ers, or the general wellbeing of
[ the State.
, Section 111.
Paragraph I. Charters revived
or amended subject to Constitu
tion. The General Assembly
, shall not remit the forfeiture of
r the charter ot any corporation
- now existing, nor alter or amend
3 the same, nor pass any other
i general or special law, for the
. benefit of said corporation, ex
* \ cept upon the condition that
r ! such corporation shall thereaft
- ler hold its charter subject to
3 i the provisions of this Constitu
-1 tion; and gvery amendment of
. j any charter of any corpora
g | tion in this State, or any special
i j law for its benefit, accepted
f | thereby, shall operate as a nov
- i ation of said charter and shall
r bring the same under the pro
n i vision of this Constitution-
Section IV.
Paragraph 1, Contracts to de
i feat competition. All contracts
I and agreements, which may
; have the effect, or be intended
s | to have the effect, to defeat or
II lessen competition, or to en-
J courage monopoly, shall be 11-
e legal and void The General
0 Assembly of this Stats shall
i- have no power to authorize any
- such contract or agreement.
1 Paragraph 11. General A«-
1, sambly to enforce Article. The
i- General Assembly shall enforce
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT*
the provision! of this Article
b> appropriate legislation.
Paragraph 111. Public Service
Commission u constitutional
officers. There shall be a Pub
lic Service Commission for the
regulation of utilities, vested
with the jurisdiction, powers
I and duties now provided by law
!or that may hereafter be pre
: scribed by the General Assem
-1 bly, not inconsistent with other
provisions of this Constitution.
Such Commission shall consist
of five members, who shall be
| elected by the people, A chair
man shall be selected by the
members of the Commission
from its membership. The first
Commission under this amend
ment shall consist of the com
missioners in office at the time
of the adoption of this const tu
tional amendment and they shall
serve until December 31 after
the general election at which
the successor of each member
is elected. Thereafter all suc
ceeding terms of members shall
j oo for six year*. The qualifica
j lions, compensations, filling of
I vacancies, manner and time of
j election, power and duties of
members of the Commission,
including the chairman shall he
such as are now or may here'
after be provided by the Gcn-
I eral Assembly.
Section V.
Paragraph I. Wife’s separate
estate. All property of the wife
at the time of her marriage,
and all property given to, in
herited or acquired by her, shall
remain her separate property,
and not liable for the debts of
her husband.
Section VI.
Paragraph I. Nonresident in
surance companies. All life in
surance companies now doing
business in this State, or which
may desire to establish agen
cies and do business in the State
of Georgia, chartered by oth
er States of the Union, or for
eign States, shall show that they
have deposited with the Comp
troller General of the State in
which they are chartered, or of
this State, the Insurance Com
missioner, or such other offi
cer as may be authorized to re
ceive it, not less than one hun
dred thousand dollars, in such
securities as may be deemed by
such officer equivalent to cash,
subject to his order, as a guar
antee fund for the security of
policy-holders.
Paragraph 11. License by
Comptroller General. When such |
showing is made to the Comp
troller General of the State of
Georgia by a proper certificate
i from the State official having
i charge of the funds so deposit
ed, the Comptroller General of
the State of Georgia is author
ized to issue to the company
1 making such showing, a license
i to do business in the State, upon
I paying the fees required by
j law.
Paragraph 111. Resident In
surance companies) guarantee
fund. All life insurance compa
nies chartered by the State of
Georgia, or which may hereaf
• ter be chartered by the State,
• shall, before doing business, da
posit with the Comptroller Gen
eral of the State of Georgia, or
with some strong corporation,
i which may be approved by said
Comptroller General, one hun
' dred thousand dollars, in such
■ securities as may be deemed by
1 him equivalent to cash, to be
, j subject to his order, as a guaran
j tee fund for the security of the
1 policy-holders of the company
■ | making such deposit, all interest
! and dividends from such securi
ties to be paid, when due, to the
■ company so depositing. Any
3 such securities a* may be need
ed or desired by the company
1 may be taken from said depart
r ment at any time by replacing
- them with other securities
■ equally acceptable to the Comp
-1 | trailer General, whose certifl
-1 cate for the same shall be fur
r nished to the company.
Paragraph IV. General A*
■ sembly to eniot law* for peo
i pie’s protection, etc. The Gen
s; eral Assembly shall, from time
to time enact laws to compel
all fire insurance companies,
doing business in this State,
whether chartered by this State,
or otherwise, to deposit reason
able securities with the Treas
urer of this State, to secure the
people against loss by the op
erations- of said companies.
Paragraph V. Reports by in
surance companies. The Gener
al Assembly shall compel all I
insurance companies in this
State, or doing business there- I
in, under proper penalties, to
make annual reports to the
Comptroller General, and print
the same at their own expense,
for the information and pro
tection of the people.
ARTICLE V.
Executive Department
Section I.
Paragraph I. Governor; Term j
of Office; Salary, etc. The Ex
! ecutive power shall be vested in
a Governor, who shall hold his
office during the term of four
years, and until his successor
shall be chosen and qualified,
i The Governor serving at the
time of the adoption of this Con
stitution and future Governors
shall not be eligible to succeed
themselves and shall not be el
igible to hold the office until
after the expiration of four
years from the conclusion of hia
term of office. He shall have a
salary of seven thousand five
hundred dollars per annum un
til January 1, 1947. The salary
of the Governor for each year
thereafter shall be twelve thou
sand dollars per annum until
otherwise provided by a law
passed by a majority vote of
both branches of the General
Assembly, which shall not be
increased or diminished during
the period for which he shall
have been elected; nor shall he
receive, within that time, anv
other emolument from the Unit
ed States, or either of them, or
from any foreign power. The
State officers, required by this
Constitution to be elected at
the same time, for the same
term, and in the same manner
as tho Governor shall also hold
office for four years.
Paragraph 11. Election for
Governor. The first election for
Governor, under this Constitu
tion, shall be held on Tuesday
after the first Monday in No
vember of 1946, and the Gover
nor-elect shall be installed in
i office at the next session of the
! General Assembly. An election
shall take place quadrennially
' thereafter, on said date, until
another date be fixed by the
General Assembly. Said elec
tion shall be held at the places
of holding general elections in
the several counties of this State,
in the manner prescribed for
the election of members of the
General Assembly, and for the
electors shall be the same.
Paragraph 111. Return* of el
ections. The returns for every
j election of Governor shall be
j sealed up by the managers, sep
arately from other relurns, and
directed to the President of the
Senate and Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and
transmitted to the Secretary of
State, who shall, without open
ing said returns, cause the same
to be laid before the Senate on
the day after the two houses
j shall have been organized, and
i they shall be transmitted by
the Senate to the House of Rep
j resenta lives-
Paragraph IV. How returns
published. The members of each
! branch of the General Assembly
shall convene in the Represent
! ative Hall, and the President
of the Senate and Speaker of
the House of Representatives
■ shall open and publish the re
turns in the presence and unde;
the direction of the General
Assembly; and the person hav
ing the majority of the whole
number of votes, shall be de
clared duly elected Governor of
this State; but, if no person
shall have such majoi.it>, then
from the two persons having
the highest numebr of votes,
who shall be in life, and shall
not decline an election at the
time appointed for tho General
PAGE THREE
I Assembly to elect, the General
Assembly shall immediately,
elect a Governor viva voce; and
in all case* of election of a
Governor by th# General As
sembly, a majority of th# mem
bers present shall be necessary
to a choice.
Paragraph V. Conlested elect
ions. Contested election* shall
be determined by both house*
of the General Assembly in such
manner as shall be prescribed
by law.
Paragraph VI. Qualification*
of Governor. No person shall
bo eligible to the office of Gov
-11 not who shall not have been
a citizen of the United State*
fifteen year*, and a citizen of
the State six year*, and who
shall not have attained the age
of thirty years.
Paragraph VII. Lieutenant
Governor. Succession to exec
utive power. There shall be a
Lieutenant Governor, who shall
be elected at th# same time,
for the same term, and in the
same manner as the Governor,
He shall be President of the
Senate, and shall receive the
siTm of $2,000,00 per annum. In
case of death, resignation, or
disability of the Governor, the
Lieutenant Governor shall ex
ercise the executive power and
receive the compensation of the
Governor until the next general
election for members of the
General Assembly, at which a
successor to th# Governor shall
lie elected for the unexpired
term; but if such death, resig
nation, or disability shall occur
within thirtj days of the next
general election, or if the term
will expire within ninety day*
after th* next general election,
the Lieutenant Governor shall
exercise the executive power
and receive th# compensation
of the Governor for the unex
pired term. If the Lieutenant
Governor shall become a can
didate for the unexpired term
of the Governor, he shall there
by resign his office as Lieuten
ant Governor, effective upon
the qualification of the Govern
or elected for the unexpired
term, and his successor for th#
unexpired term shall be elect
ed at such election. In case of
th* death, resignation, or dis
ability of both the Governor
and th# Lieutenant Governor,
the Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall exercise
the executive power until th#
removal of the disability or the
election and qualification of a
Governor at a special election,
which shall be held within six
ty days from the date on which
the Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall assume the
executive power. A Lieutenant
Governor shall be elected at the
general election in 1946 and
shall qualify at the same time
as the Governor. Until the qual
ification of a Lieutenant Gov
ernor the provisions of Article
V, Section I, Paragraph VIII of
the Constitution of Georgia of
1877 shall remain of full force
and effect.
Paragraph VIII. Unexpired
t® rrn *' fillina of. The General
Assenibly shall have power to
provide by law, for filling unex
pired terms by special elections,
except as provided in this Con
stitution.
Paragraph IX. Oath of office.
The Governor shall, before he
enters on the duties of his of
fice, take the following oath or
affirmation: “I do solemnly
swear (or affirm, as the case
may be) that I will faithfully
execute the office of Governor
of the State of Georgia, and will,
to the best of my ability, pre
serve, protect, and defend the
Constitution thereof, and the
Constitution of the United
States of America.”
Paragraph X. Commander-in
chief. The Governor shall be
commander-in-chief of the army
and navy of this State, and of
the militia thereof.
Paragraph XI. Reprieves and
pardons; Stale Board of Pardon*
and Parole*. The Governor shall
have power to suspend the ex
ecution of a sentence of death,
after conviction for offense*
against the State, until the State
Board of Pardons and Parole*
hereinafter provided, shall have
an opportunity of hearing th#
application of the convicted per
son for any relief within the
power of such Board, or for any