The 128th Georgia General Assembly convened its first session on January 13, 1965, at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. The 128th Georgia General Assembly succeeded the 127th and served as the precedent for the 129th in 1967.
Governor Carl Sanders, who was elected in 1962 as the first governor elected by popular vote since 1908, spearheaded a massive reapportionment of Georgia's General Assembly and 10 U.S. Congressional districts, providing more proportional representation to the state's urban areas. This, as well as passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 had opened voter registration to blacks, saw eleven African Americans elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in special elections in 1965 and 1966. By ending the disfranchisement of blacks through discriminatory voter registration, African Americans regained the ability to vote and entered the political process. This was the first time that African-Americans had sat in the House since W. H. Rogers of McIntosh resigned his seat in 1907 during the 99th Assembly. Among them were six from Atlanta (William Alexander, Julian Bond, Benjamin D. Brown, Julius C. Daugherty Sr., J. D. Grier, Grace Towns Hamilton, John Hood) and one each from Columbus (Albert Thompson) and Augusta (Richard Dent). Horace T. Ward also joined Leroy Johnson as the second African-American in the State Senate.
Controversy On January 10, 1966, Georgia state representatives voted 184–12 not to seat Julian Bond, one of the eleven African-American members, because he had publicly endorsed SNCC's policy regarding opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. They disliked his stated sympathy for persons who were "unwilling to respond to a military draft".The World Almanac 1967, pp. 54–55 A three-judge panel on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in a 2–1 decision that the Georgia House had not violated any of Bond's constitutional rights. In 1966, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 9–0 in the case of Bond v. Floyd (385 U.S. 116) that the Georgia House of Representatives had denied Bond his freedom of speech and was required to seat him.
Party standing Senate Republicans: 9 Democrats: 44 Independents: 1
House
Officers Senate President: Peter Zack Geer President pro tempore: Harry C. Jackson Administration Floor Leader: Julian Webb Secretary: George T. Stewart Assistant Secretary: Lamont Smith
House Speaker: George T. Smith Speaker pro tempore: Maddox Hale Administration Floor Leader: George Busbee Assistant Floor Leader: J. Robin Harris
Members of the State Senate DistrictSenatorPartyResidence 1 Frank O. Downing Democratic Savannah 2 William Searcey Democratic Savannah 3 Joseph Tribble Republican Savannah 4 Democratic Statesboro 5 John M. Gayner, III Democratic Brunswick 6 Roscoe E. Dean Jr. Democratic Jesup 7 Frank Eldridge Jr. Democratic Waycross 8 Robert A. Rowan Democratic Enigma 9 Ford Spinks Democratic Tifton 10 William H. Flowers DemocraticThomasvile 11 Julian Webb Democratic Donalsonville 12 Al Holloway DemocraticAlbany 13 Martin Young Democratic Rebecca 14 Jimmy Carter DemocraticPlains 15 A. Perry Gordy RepublicanColumbus 16 Ivey William Gregory Republican Columbus 17 John Thomas McKenzie Democratic Montezuma 18 Stanley Smith Democratic Perry 19 Roy Noble Democratic Vienna 20 Hugh Gillis Democratic Soperton 21 Roy G. Foster Republican Wadley 22 Rudolph Holley DemocraticAugusta 23 Michael Padgett Independent McBean 24 Sam P. McGill Democratic Washington 25 Culver Kidd Jr. Democratic Milledgeville 26 John W. Adams III RepublicanMacon 27 Oliver Bateman Republican Macon 28 Robert H. Smalley Jr. Democratic Griffin 29 Render Hill Democratic Greenville 30 Lamar Plunkett Democratic Bowdon 31 Albert F. Moore Democratic Cedartown 32 Edward Kendrick Democratic Marietta 33 Kyle Yancey DemocraticAustell 34 Standish Thompson RepublicanEast Point 35 Frank E. Coggin DemocraticHapeville 36 Joe Salome DemocraticAtlanta 37 James Wesberry Democratic Atlanta 38 Leroy Johnson DemocraticAtlanta 39 Horace Ward Democratic Atlanta 40 Dan MacIntyre Republican Atlanta 41 Gene Sanders Republican Tucker 42 Ben F. Johnson Democratic Atlanta 43 Frank G. Miller Republican Decatur 44 Kenneth Kilpatrick Democratic Forest Park 45 Brooks Pennington Democratic Madison 46 Paul C. Broun Sr. Democratic Athens 47 Robert Lee Democratic Hartwell 48 J. Albert Minish Democratic Commerce 49 Erwin Owens Democratic Dahlonega 50 Robert Ballew Democratic Blue Ridge 51 Jack Fincher Democratic Canton 52 James Battle Hall Democratic Rome 53 Joseph Loggins Democratic Summerville 54 W.W. (Bill) Fincher, Jr. Democratic Chatsworth
Members of the House