---
title: HB 1120. Union County; governing authority; change from a sole commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners; provide advisory referendum
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1120
cite_as: HB 1120, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1120
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1120.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1120/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72674
date: 2026-05-12
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1119.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1121.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 886
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1120.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1120
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-12
last_action: Effective Date 2026-06-12
sponsors:
  - Stan Gunter
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1120/2025
upstream_id: 2104413
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - local government
  - county commissioners
  - Union County
  - election referendum
  - government structure
---

# HB 1120. Union County; governing authority; change from a sole commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners; provide advisory referendum

## Text

House Bill 1120 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representative Gunter of the 8th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To provide for an advisory referendum for the purpose of ascertaining whether the electors
of Union County desire the governing authority of that county to be changed from a sole
commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners; to provide for mandatory execution
of election and judicial remedies regarding failure to comply; to provide for related matters;
to provide for legislative purposes and findings; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
(a) It is the purpose of this Act to provide for an advisory referendum for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the electors of Union County desire the governing authority of that
county to be changed from a sole commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners.
(b) It is found, determined, and declared that the holding of the advisory referendum
provided for in this Act is:
(1) In all respects for the benefit of the people of Union County;
(2) A public purpose; and
(3) An essential governmental function for which public funds may be expended.
SECTION 2.
The election superintendent of Union County shall call and conduct an advisory referendum
election as provided in this section for the purpose of submitting a question to the electors
of Union County to determine whether a majority of said electors desire the governing
authority of that county to be changed from a sole commissioner to a five-member board of
commissioners. The advisory referendum election shall be held on the Tuesday after the first
Monday in November, 2026, and the election superintendent shall issue the call and conduct
that election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall cause the date and
purpose of the election to be published once a week for two weeks immediately preceding
the date thereof in the manner required by law. The ballot shall have written or printed
thereon the words:
"ADVISORY REFERENDUM
( ) YES Should the governing authority of Union County be changed from a sole
( ) NO commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners?"
All persons desiring to vote for approval of the question shall vote "Yes," and all persons
desiring to vote for rejection of the question shall vote "No." The expense of such election
shall be borne by Union County. It shall be the election superintendent's duty to certify the
result thereof to the Secretary of State. The provisions of this section shall be mandatory
upon the election superintendent and are not intended as directory. If the election
superintendent fails or refuses to comply with this section, any elector of Union County may
apply for a writ of mandamus to compel the election superintendent to perform his or her
duties under this section. If the court finds that the election superintendent has not complied
with this section, the court shall fashion appropriate relief requiring the election
superintendent to call and conduct such election on the date required by this section or on the
next date authorized for special elections provided for in Code Section 21-2-540 of the
O.C.G.A.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

House Bill 1120 would require Union County to hold a nonbinding referendum this November asking voters whether the county should replace its sole commissioner with a five-member board of commissioners.

### Plain-language summary

Union County is currently run by a single elected commissioner rather than a multi-member board, which is the setup used in many other Georgia counties. This bill does not change that structure by itself. Instead it requires the county's election superintendent to hold an advisory referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2026, asking voters a yes-or-no question: should the county's governing authority change from a sole commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners?

The bill spells out the exact ballot language, requires the election to be publicly advertised for two weeks beforehand, and puts the cost on Union County. It also makes the election superintendent's duty to hold the vote mandatory, allowing any Union County voter to sue for a court order (a writ of mandamus) forcing the election to happen if the superintendent does not comply.

### What it does

- Requires Union County's election superintendent to hold an advisory referendum on November 3, 2026 on changing the county's government structure.
- Sets the exact ballot wording asking voters whether to switch from a sole commissioner to a five-member board of commissioners.
- Requires the election to be publicly advertised once a week for two weeks before the vote.
- Assigns the cost of holding the election to Union County and requires results be certified to the Secretary of State.
- Allows any Union County voter to seek a court order compelling the election superintendent to conduct the vote if they fail to do so.
- Repeals any existing laws that conflict with the Act.

### Who it affects

Registered voters in Union County, who will decide the referendum question; the Union County election superintendent, who must organize and pay for the vote; and county government officials, whose future structure could depend on the outcome.

### Why it matters

The vote itself would not change Union County's government, since the referendum is only advisory, but a strong result could pressure the General Assembly to later pass a law restructuring the county from one commissioner to a five-member board, changing how local decisions get made.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 states the legislature's finding that the referendum serves a public purpose and is an essential governmental function justifying public funds.
- Section 2 requires the election superintendent to call and hold the referendum on November 3, 2026 and specifies the required ballot language.
- Section 2 requires two weeks of published notice before the election and places the election's cost on Union County.
- Section 2 makes the superintendent's duty to hold the election mandatory and allows a voter to seek a writ of mandamus, a court order forcing compliance, if the superintendent fails to act.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-12)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-06-12 (2026-05-12)
- Sponsors: Stan Gunter
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72674

> The history, votes, and amendments (886 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1120.md?full=1