HB5: HB5 Decatur County; board of commissioners; change district residency requirements for candidates

Decatur County's board of commissioners operates under a 1935 state law that has been amended several times, most recently in 2015. That law sets rules for who can run for and serve as a county commissioner, including how long a candidate must have lived in the district they want to represent. House Bill 5 rewrites Section 2 of that local Act. It keeps the requirement that commissioners be at least 21 years old and qualified voters of Decatur County, but it sets the district residency requirement for candidates at 12 months before taking office, rather than whatever earlier timeframe applied under the 2015 version. The bill also keeps existing rules on vacancies, majority-vote elections, run-offs, and use of Georgia's election code for nominations and elections. It repeals any conflicting laws.

• Rewrites Section 2 of Decatur County's 1935 commissioner law to require candidates to have lived in their commission district for at least 12 months before taking office.
• Keeps the requirement that all board members be at least 21 years old and qualified electors of Decatur County.
• Preserves the rule that a commissioner who stops living in their district during their term creates a vacancy to be filled under existing procedures.
• Keeps existing election rules requiring a majority of votes cast, with a run-off if no candidate receives a majority.
• Repeals any prior laws that conflict with the updated residency requirement.

Current and future candidates for the Decatur County Board of Commissioners, sitting commissioners, and Decatur County voters who elect commissioners by district are all affected by this change to local election law.

The residency requirement determines who is eligible to run for a Decatur County commission seat and how soon a new resident of a district could qualify as a candidate, which shapes the pool of people eligible to run in county elections.

• Section 1 revises Section 2 of the 1935 Decatur County commissioners Act to set the district residency requirement for candidates at 12 months before taking office.
• Section 1 retains the minimum age of 21 and the requirement that commissioners be qualified electors of Decatur County.
• Section 1 retains provisions on vacancies caused by a commissioner moving out of their district, majority-vote election requirements, and run-off elections.
• Section 1 keeps the requirement that elections follow Georgia's Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2).
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 132
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-02-12Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-02-12Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-05House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 5, 2025

   160 yea, 1 nay (14 not voting, 5 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #15

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 12, 2025

   52 yea, 1 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #45

• Decatur County government
• local election law
• county commissioners
• candidate residency requirements