The state of Georgia’s constitution was first legislated in 1977. In 1983 the document was approved by the citizens of the state. Thus constitutional document only contains a bill of rights and consistent amendments. On the other hand, the U.S Constitution is documentation of republicanism and federalism, which dictates the separation of powers among the states. The U.S constitution is governed by sovereignty with outlined jurisdictions (Kay, 2018). Considering the two documents, there are differences and similarities between them, ranging from the citizen in involvement n the amendment to the legal process of amending the constitutions.
The two constitutions have various similarities where the two documents have a standardized bill of rights. In both documents, executive leaders have the mandate t veto potential bills and appoint different departmental officials (Hill & Hill, 2018). Both constitutions have the allowance of judicial review, where the court system has the mandate to declare given implemented acts unconstitutional. The two constitutions allow legislative branches to be bicameral and set their house chambers into senate ad representative house.
Also, the two documents have several differences ranging from the validity of the policies under each constitution to the involvement of the citizens in the amendment of the constitution. Georgia’s constitution is said to no longer hold any purposeful policies, while the U.S state is far much active and in sin length in applying the amended policies (Coleman, 2021). Georgia State involves its voters and citizens in approving the formulated amendments in the constitution. In contrast, in the U.S constitution, the voters are never assigned any role in the constitutional amendments. As stated by the Georgian state constitution, the state’s governor is mandated to cut some specified items in a bill. In contrast, in the U.S constitution, the president has no powers to perform such duties (Hill & Hill, 2018). The senators in the Georgia state constitution are slated to serve only two-year terms, while at the national level, the senator is mandated to do six years.
The two documents seem so different due to various speculation regarding law formulations and power analysis. Considering that Georgia is a state and U.S is a country, multiple concerns have to be implemented separated, posing differences in the two documents. The U.S has to consider every state’s view before amending its constitution, whereas Georgia being a single state, does not have such considerations in its constitution amendments.
There are differences in the amendments of the Georgia constitution and the U.S constitution. For instance, the Georgia constitution allows amendments to be conducted at least once every five years, while in the U.S constitution, there are no periodic amendments requirements (Kay, 2018). The process of amending the constitution in Georgia is conducted through a legal process under the approval of the general assembly. In contrast, in the U.S constitution, the approval process of the amended constitution is done by Congress.
The Georgia constitution amendment process is more manageable in terms of successful passage ratification than the U.S constitution amendment because only two-thirds do the approvals, and the majority votes from both the Senate and the General Assembly (Coleman, 2021). The quailed voters approved the ratification of the amendments. In the U.S constitution, these aspects are complex, with a long process of approving any proposed amendment (Hill & Hill, 2018). The Georgia constitution allows more citizens’ involvement in most of its amendments than the U.S constitution. The U.S constitution does not involve citizens in its amendment and approvals. Congress is entitled to these roles on behalf of the public.
However, there are some benefits and drawbacks of engaging more citizens in the amendment process. Involving citizens enhances comprehensive consultation of the public view towards the proposed bill, giving suitable amendments. On the other hand, applying citizens may result in spending more time and may be more expensive.
References
Coleman, K. (2021). The American Revolution in Georgia, 1763–1789. University of Georgia Press.
Hill, M. B., & Hill, G. L. W. (2018). The Georgia State Constitution. Oxford University Press.
Kay, R. S. (2018). Formal and informal amendment of the United States constitution. The American Journal of Comparative Law, 66(suppl_1), 243-268.