HB412: HB412 Polk County Water Authority; reappointment of members; change certain provisions

The Polk County Water Authority was created by a 1967 Georgia law that has been amended several times since. This bill changes one part of that law dealing with how long a board member must wait before being reappointed after serving two consecutive terms. Under the revised language, a member still cannot be reappointed for two years after finishing a second consecutive term, but the bill adds a new rule: all Authority members continue serving until their successors are appointed and qualified, regardless of any other provision in the law. This prevents a gap where no one is serving on the board while a replacement is being found. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and applies only to Polk County's water authority.

• Rewrites subsection (e) of Section 2 of the 1967 Act creating the Polk County Water Authority to update reappointment rules for board members.
• Keeps the existing two-year waiting period before a member who served two consecutive terms can be reappointed.
• Adds a new requirement that all Authority members keep serving until their replacements are officially appointed and qualified, even if other rules would otherwise end their term.
• Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.

This bill affects members of the Polk County Water Authority board and, indirectly, Polk County residents who rely on the water services the Authority oversees, since it governs continuity of leadership on that board.

By requiring members to stay on until replacements are named, the bill prevents vacancies from leaving the Polk County Water Authority without enough members to operate, ensuring continuous oversight of local water services during leadership transitions.

• Section 1 revises subsection (e) of Section 2 of the 1967 Act to state that no member may be reappointed within two years of finishing a second consecutive term.
• Section 1 also adds language requiring all members to serve until successors are appointed and qualified, overriding conflicting provisions elsewhere in the Act.
• Section 2 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 142
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-02-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-02-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-24Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-21House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 21, 2025

   170 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 3 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #58

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 27, 2025

   48 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 3 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #98

• Polk County
• water authority
• local government boards
• board appointments