Swearing-in on Day One
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January 6, 2017 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
When 10 o’clock comes around Monday morning, 56 senators and 180 representatives in the Georgia General Assembly will become official law-makers after they’re sworn in. After a little searching, I learned that oaths of office can be quite different, depending on the office the official will occupy.
Before the governor-elect can take office, members of the House and Senate gather in a joint session to witness him swear to faithfully execute the office of governor and defend the constitutions of Georgia and the United States. Immediately after the governor’s oath, the lieutenant governor is sworn in. Both are elected at the same time to serve four-year terms, simultaneously.
Governor Deal’s son, Hall County Superior Court Judge Jason Deal, administered the oath of office to his dad in 2011 at his first inauguration as governor, and he did it again in 2015 when his dad won a second term. Also, in 2015, Judge Deal administered the oath of office to seven other state-wide officials, including the lieutenant governor.Although senators and representatives in the Georgia General Assembly are elected at the same time, and serve during the same two years, their oaths of office are slightly different. Both oaths require senators and representatives to uphold and defend the State Constitution and U.S. Constitution, but representatives have to swear they don’t belong to the Communist Party, while senators do not.
It’ll be interesting to see who administers the oath to legislators on Monday. Legally, it can be done by any justice of the Supreme Court, a judge of the Appeals Court or the Superior Court or a State court. The person responsible for arranging the ceremony has the honor of choosing which judge to use.
After taking the oath on Monday, the Senate and House will be called to order, have roll call and a devotional, do a little business, adjourn, and resume moving in and settling into their offices. Incumbent legislators with new responsibilities may have new offices, and new legislators will move into spaces left by those who retired or weren’t re-elected. All of us will be scurrying around to get the information we’ll need for the next 40 days, when a whole lot of law-making will be going on. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.