HB 1287: Transportation, Department of; selection of commissioner; revise method

Currently, the Georgia Department of Transportation's board alone selects the commissioner, the department's chief executive officer, by majority vote. This bill would change that process by adding the Governor to the selection: the commissioner would first be nominated by the Governor and then selected by a majority vote of the board, rather than chosen by the board on its own. The bill also adjusts the 'serve at the pleasure of' term option so that a commissioner serving without a fixed term would serve at the pleasure of both the board and the Governor, not just the board. Other existing rules, including the $100,000 bond requirement, the four-year term cap tied to the Governor's term, removal for cause, and restrictions on holding elective office while serving, remain in place. The bill has no stated special effective date beyond standard enactment upon passage and repeals conflicting laws.

• Requires the Governor to nominate the Department of Transportation commissioner before the State Transportation Board can vote to select the person.
• Changes the 'serve at the pleasure of' term option so the commissioner would serve at the pleasure of both the board and the Governor, not the board alone.
• Updates pronoun language throughout Code Section 32-2-40 to refer to the commissioner as 'he or she' rather than only 'he'.
• Keeps existing rules on the $100,000 bond, the four-year term limit tied to the Governor's term, removal for cause, and post-office election restrictions unchanged.
• Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this new selection process.

The Governor and the State Transportation Board, whose roles in choosing the Department of Transportation commissioner would change; the commissioner position itself; and indirectly the Department of Transportation, which the commissioner leads as chief executive officer.

The change would shift some control over who leads Georgia's transportation department from the board alone toward a shared process involving the Governor, potentially affecting how independently the board can choose its top executive and how closely the position aligns with the Governor's priorities.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-2-40(b) so the commissioner is 'nominated by the Governor and selected by a vote of the majority of the total number of members of the board,' instead of selected by the board alone.
• Section 1 also amends the pleasure-term option so a commissioner without a fixed term serves 'at the pleasure of the board and Governor' rather than the board alone.
• Subsection (c) is updated to reference paragraph (2) of subsection (b) with a cross-reference fix but keeps the removal-for-cause and vacancy-filling procedures unchanged.
• Subsections (d) and (e), covering the $100,000 bond and restrictions on holding elective office while serving as commissioner, are retained with only pronoun updates.
• Section 2 repeals all laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2026-02-17House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-12House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)Primary sponsor

• Department of Transportation
• state government appointments
• Governor's powers
• transportation commissioner