Answer:
Georgia's first attempt at constitutional government was initiated in April 1776 by the Provincial Congress called by the Georgia Trustees in response to a series of mass meetings held throughout the colony. This document provided a framework for the transition from colony to state. Soon after Georgia accepted the Declaration of Independence, its first state constitutional convention was organized. Completed in February 1777 and executed without having been submitted to voters for ratification, this constitution remained in effect for twelve years. It vested most governmental authority in a state legislative body, incorporated the separation of powers doctrine, and included a number of basic rights, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of the press, and trial by jury.Efforts to revise the Constitution of 1945 began as early as 1963. A revised version drafted by a new revision commission was approved by the General Assembly in 1964 but, because of legal concerns about a malapportioned legislature, was never submitted to the people. Another major effort began in 1969 when the legislature created another constitutional revision commission. The resulting document received the approval of the house, but not the senate, in 1970.
George Busbee, a member of the General Assembly during this failed attempt at revision, became convinced that revision of the entire document at once was too difficult. In 1974 he ran for governor, calling for an article-by-article revision. After he was elected, he requested that the office of legislative counsel prepare a "new" constitution for submission to the voters in the 1976 election. The office's charge was only to reorganize the document, and not to make substantive changes. The revised document was easily passed by the state legislature and ratified by the Georgia voters. Although this revision did not produce substantive changes, it paved the way for a more thorough revision of the constitution.
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