HB6: HB6 Mitchell County; Board of Commissioners; filling vacancies; revise provisions

Mitchell County's board of commissioners currently has rules for filling vacant seats that trace back to a 1873 law, last updated in 2002. This bill revises those rules again, focusing on subsection (d) of Section 6. Under the new language, if a vacancy happens in the first 21 months of a term, the county must hold a special election to fill the remainder of the term, timed to coincide with the presidential preference primary, the general primary, or the November general election, whichever fits legal timing requirements. In the meantime, the chief judge of the local judicial circuit appoints someone to hold the seat until that election. If the vacancy instead happens in the last 27 months of a term, no special election is held at all; the chief judge simply appoints someone to serve out the rest of the term. The bill repeals conflicting laws and applies only to Mitchell County.

• Rewrites subsection (d) of Section 6 of Mitchell County's commissioner board law to set new rules for filling vacancies.
• Requires a special election when a vacancy occurs in the first 21 months of a term, timed to a primary or general election date.
• Gives the chief judge of the local judicial circuit power to appoint an interim commissioner to serve until that special election.
• Eliminates the special election requirement for vacancies occurring in the last 27 months of a term, letting the chief judge appoint someone to finish the term instead.
• Repeals any prior Mitchell County laws that conflict with these new vacancy-filling rules.

Residents and voters of Mitchell County, current and future members of the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners, the Mitchell County election superintendent, and the chief judge of the judicial circuit covering Mitchell County, who gains new appointment authority.

The timing of a commissioner's departure would now determine whether Mitchell County voters get to elect a replacement or a judge simply appoints one for the rest of the term, changing who has a say in filling that seat.

• Section 1 replaces subsection (d) of Section 6 of the 1873 Act governing the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners, as last amended in 2002.
• Vacancies occurring in the first 21 months of a term require a special election on the earliest workable date among the presidential preference primary, general primary, or November general election.
• The chief judge of the local judicial circuit appoints an interim commissioner to serve until that special election is decided.
• Vacancies occurring in the last 27 months of a term skip the special election; the chief judge appoints someone to serve through the rest of the term.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-30Effective Date 2025-04-30
2. 2025-04-30Act 28
3. 2025-04-30House 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 By Substitute (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

• Mitchell County government
• local elections
• county commissioners
• special elections
• judicial appointments