Kemp may call session to redraw maps

Gov. Brian Kemp holds the final authority to summon the state legislature to the Gold Dome after the Nov. 3 election. This potential special session would allow Republican lawmakers to redraw congressional boundaries and possibly pass legislation limiting the powers of the next governor, whether it is incumbent Kemp or Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms.

The push for a new session stems from a dispute over the state's 14th congressional district. Republicans in the U.S. House have sought to eliminate a majority-Black district in Atlanta and southwest Georgia. In April, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the current map, adopted by the General Assembly in 2022, violated the U.S. Constitution by creating a district where race was the primary factor in line drawing.

Lawmakers had locked in the current map in 2022 after a failed attempt to pass a new one in 2023. That earlier effort stalled after Kemp sent a bill to the veto. The current map was approved in June 2023, following a period where no new lines were adopted. The 14th district, which includes parts of DeKalb County, is currently held by Democrat Nikema Williams.

Kemp has not indicated whether he will call a special session. Legislative leaders have kept their plans quiet, though some members have hinted at the possibility. State Sen. Kevin Thompson, a Republican, noted that the governor is the only one who can call the session. He said he would like to see the issue resolved before the new governor takes office.

If Bottoms wins the election, Republicans could also use a special session to limit her powers. This tactic was used in 2018 when Kemp, then a Democrat, limited the authority of the governor's office. In 2021, a special session led to the passage of a law that restricted the use of executive orders. The law was signed into effect in 2022 and remains in place.

In 2021, then-Gov. Nathan Deal signed a similar bill that reduced the governor's control over public spending. That move was part of a broader effort to shift power from the executive branch to the legislature. The current administration has operated under those restrictions for the past two years.

Republicans are also considering a constitutional amendment to further limit the governor's office. A 2023 proposal by State Rep. Keith Black, a Republican, sought to cap the number of executive orders a governor can issue in a year. That amendment did not pass but could be revisited in a special session.

The next scheduled action for the legislature is the regular session, which begins in January. However, a special session could be called at any time before the new governor is sworn in on Jan. 14. Kemp's office has not announced a date for a potential session.