(a)This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Civics Renewal Act." (b) There is created the Georgia Commission on Civics Education.
(c)It is the intent of the General Assembly that the commission shall promote and enhance the education of students on the importance of civic involvement in a constitutional republic, the study of state and local government among the state's citizenry, the importance of civic engagement and public service, and communication and collaboration among organizations in the state that conduct civics education.
(d)(1) The commission shall consist of 17 members comprising three members from the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, with at least one member each from the Senate majority caucus and minority caucus; three members from the Ho
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(a) This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Civics Renewal Act." (b) There is created the Georgia Commission on Civics Education. (c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the commission shall promote and enhance the education of students on the importance of civic involvement in a constitutional republic, the study of state and local government among the state's citizenry, the importance of civic engagement and public service, and communication and collaboration among organizations in the state that conduct civics education. (d) (1) The commission shall consist of 17 members comprising three members from the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, with at least one member each from the Senate majority caucus and minority caucus; three members from the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with at least one member each from the House of Representatives majority caucus and minority caucus; one Justice of the Supreme Court; the Attorney General or his or her designee; the State School Superintendent or his or her designee; one representative from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce; one representative from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; one representative from the Association County Commissioners of Georgia; one representative from the Georgia Municipal Association; and four members appointed by the Governor, with one representative from the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, two former or current government or civics teachers, and one other individual. (2) Vacancies in the commission shall be filled the same as the original appointments. (3) (A) Legislative members of the commission shall serve two-year terms concurrent with their terms as members of the General Assembly. (B) Nonlegislative members of the commission shall serve two-year terms concurrent with those terms of legislative members of the commission. (e) The Governor shall designate the chairperson of the commission. The chairperson shall serve as such concurrent with his or her term as a member of the commission. (f) (1) The commission shall periodically review the conditions, needs, issues, and problems related to civics education in Georgia schools, including, but not limited to, career, technical, and agricultural education (CTAE) instruction for the government and public administration and the law, public safety, corrections, and security pathways, and shall issue annually a report on the same to the General Assembly, and recommend any action or legislation which the commission deems necessary or appropriate. (2) The commission may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this Code section. The commission shall meet upon the call of the chairperson. The commission shall meet not less than two nor more than four times annually. (3) The legislative members of the commission shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 . Any citizen members shall receive a daily expense allowance in the amount specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 , as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state employees. Any members of the commission who are state officials, other than legislative members, and state employees shall receive no compensation for their services on the commission, but they shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members of the commission in the same manner as they are reimbursed for expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees. The funds necessary for the reimbursement of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative members, and state employees shall come from funds appropriated to the Department of Education for this purpose. All other funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this Code section shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The expenses and allowances authorized by this paragraph shall not be received by members of the commission for more than four days annually. (g) The head of the social studies program of the Department of Education shall report annually to the commission regarding the conditions, needs, issues, and problems of the program. Such report shall include a statement of efforts undertaken by the Department of Education to inform and encourage local school systems to recruit and utilize supplemental resources from appropriate local and community organizations which promote civics and civics education as among their primary purposes. (h) This part shall stand repealed on December 31, 2028.