Georgia CommonsHB 1260: Local government; cessation of payment of salary, compensation, and expenses to members of county and municipal governing authorities who fail to certify completion of mandatory training; provide
Last action March 3, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
A Georgia House bill would cut off pay and expenses for county and city council members who do not complete required training and certify it on time, until they do.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia law already requires newly elected members of county and municipal governing authorities to complete a training course on local government administration. This bill adds a deadline and a financial consequence. Elected officials would have to finish the training by July 1 of the year after their election and certify completion to the clerk within 30 days. If a county or city governing authority member fails to certify that training, the county or municipal government would have to stop paying that member's salary, compensation, and expenses. The member would get nothing until they provide the certification. The bill amends four sections of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated covering county and municipal compensation and training rules, and repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Requires county governing authority members to complete mandatory training by July 1 of the year after their election, and to certify completion to the county clerk within 30 days.
- Requires municipal governing authority members to meet the same training completion and certification deadlines.
- Cuts off salary, compensation, and expense payments to a county governing authority member who fails to certify completed training, until they do so.
- Cuts off salary, compensation, and expense payments to a municipal governing authority member who fails to certify completed training, until they do so.
- Amends O.C.G.A. §§ 36-5-24, 36-20-4, 36-35-4, and 36-45-4 to add these deadlines and pay-suspension rules.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with these new requirements.
Who it affects
Elected members of county commissions and city councils across Georgia who are subject to mandatory training requirements, along with county and municipal clerks who must track certifications, and the local finance offices responsible for stopping and later resuming pay.
Why it matters
Georgia already requires new local officials to take training, but there was no firm deadline or financial penalty for skipping it. Under this bill, officials who miss the certification deadline would lose their pay and expense reimbursements until they complete and certify the training.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds a new subsection (b.1) to O.C.G.A. § 36-5-24 requiring counties to stop paying a governing authority member who has not certified completed training.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-20-4 to set a July 1 completion deadline and a 30 day certification deadline for county officials' training.
- Section 3 adds a new subsection (a.1) to O.C.G.A. § 36-35-4 requiring municipalities to stop paying a governing authority member who has not certified completed training.
- Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-45-4 to set the same July 1 completion deadline and 30 day certification deadline for municipal officials' training.
- Section 5 repeals any conflicting state laws.
From the bill
“the applicable county governing authority shall cease payment of salary, compensation, expenses, or expenses in the nature of compensation to such member, and the member shall be entitled to no such salary, compensation, expenses, or expenses in the nature of compensation until such member provides such certification”
“shall satisfactorily complete such course of training and education no later than July 1 of the year following the year of the election of such person as a member of a county governing authority and shall certify such completion to the clerk of the applicable county governing authority within 30 days of such certification”
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
- James Burchett (R, HD-176)
- Johnny Chastain (R, HD-007)
- Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)
- Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
- Al Williams (D, HD-168)
Topics
- local government training
- county commissioners
- city council pay
- government ethics
- municipal government