Georgia lawmakers are preparing for the convening of the 2023 General Assembly at the first of the year.

They should commit themselves to openness, transparency and doing the people’s business in serious and meaningful ways.

It happens every year: Lawmakers introduce bills that amount to little more than political grandstanding and pontificating.

We elect representatives and senators to represent our interests and we have every reason to expect that in just 40 short legislative days they focus on meaningful legislation while passing a common-sense budget.

Pandering to either an extreme conservative or radically progressive base does not serve the people of Georgia.

Introduce legislation that is reflective of good law and that has a chance of passing.

Extreme measures that fire up a political base or make for good sound bites on television are just a waste of our time and our money.

Do not use committee meetings or the floor of the House and Senate for grandstanding, speech-making and campaigning for your next term.

If you serve your district and represent the interests of the people you were elected to serve, you will most likely be reelected, but that should not be your motivation for supporting or rejecting any piece of legislation before you.

The people of Georgia deserve strong, honest and effective representation.

Lawmakers should fully disclose any interests which they are beholden to and go beyond campaign finance disclosure laws, fully explaining their reasons for any controversial votes cast.

Transparency should be more than a campaign pledge; it should be the way of doing business, every day.

The General Assembly exempts itself from the Georgia Open Meetings Act and Open Records Act.

So it is not illegal for state lawmakers to operate behind the scenes in closed, even clandestine, ways — it is just wrong.

The people’s business should always be out in front of the people.

Jim Zachary is the editor of The Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. He can be reached at jzachary@cnhi.com.