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Votes at a glance: Georgia House adopts organizational officers, resolutions and 40‑day calendar
Summary
The House took several formal actions on opening day: re-elected John Burns as speaker, elected Jan Jones as speaker pro tem, installed clerk, doorkeeper and messenger, adopted several housekeeping resolutions and a 40‑day adjournment calendar.
The Georgia House of Representatives finalized its opening-day organizational business on Jan. 13, 2025, voting on leadership posts, housekeeping resolutions and the chamber’s adjournment schedule. Key outcomes are listed below.
Votes at a glance
- Speaker: Representative John Burns was elected speaker for the 2025–2026 term. Tally announced by the clerk: 153 votes for Burns; he was declared elected. (Nominated by Rep. Butch Parrish; seconded by Rep. Darlene Taylor.)
- Speaker pro tempore: Representative Jan Jones was elected speaker pro tem. Tally announced: 158 yeas, 19 nays; Jones declared elected.
- Clerk of the House: Bill Riley was nominated and, by direction of the chair, the deputy clerk cast the entire vote of the membership present; Riley was declared elected clerk for the 2025–2026 term.
- Doorkeeper: Cory Mulkey was nominated and, by direction of the chair, the clerk cast the entire vote of the membership present; Mulkey was declared elected doorkeeper for 2025–2026.
- Messenger: Betsy Theroux was nominated and, by direction of the chair, the clerk cast the entire vote of the membership present; Theroux was declared elected messenger for 2025–2026.
- House Resolutions (housekeeping): House Resolution 1 (notify the Senate that the House has convened), House Resolution 2 (officials, employees and committees), and House Resolution 4 (call a joint session to hear the governor’s address) were presented and adopted by the chamber (the chair announced adoption by consent in each case).
- House Resolution 3 (adopting the rules of the House for the 2025–2026 biennium) was presented, debated in Q&A, and adopted by the House. The adopted rules include a 10-bill-per-member annual filing cap and other procedural changes (see separate coverage).
- House Resolution 5 (inviting the chief justice and other judiciary officials to a joint session for the state of the judiciary) was adopted; the joint session was scheduled for Jan. 28, 2025 at 11 a.m.
- Senate messages and transmittals: The House received the secretary of state’s certification of representatives-elect (certified by Secretary Brad Raffensperger); the House also adopted Senate Resolution 2 (notify governor the General Assembly convened) and later adopted Senate Resolution 6, the 40‑day adjournment resolution that sets sine die for Friday, April 4, 2025. The majority leader had previously presented the plan and asked for the body’s favorable consideration.
Procedural notes and tallies
- Where the clerk announced a numeric tally, that count is included above (e.g., speaker and speaker pro tem). Several officers (clerk, doorkeeper, messenger) were elected by directing the clerk to cast the entire vote of members present; a roll-call tally was not taken in those cases.
- The oath of office for representatives-elect was administered by Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs earlier in the session.
Why it matters: These actions complete the House’s organizational work and establish the chamber’s leadership, staff officers and schedule for the legislative session, enabling committee work and floor consideration over the coming weeks.
