--- title: HB 1545. Putnam County; board of commissioners; current board members to continue their terms of office; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1545 cite_as: HB 1545, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1545 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1545.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1545/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74039 date: 2026-05-11 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/hb1544.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1546.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 898 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1545.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1545 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-05-11 last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 sponsors: - Trey Rhodes - Dale Washburn text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1545/2025 upstream_id: 2133421 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local legislation - Putnam County government - county commissioners - special elections - election rules --- # HB 1545. Putnam County; board of commissioners; current board members to continue their terms of office; provide ## Text House Bill 1545 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Rhodes of the 124th and Washburn of the 144th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act creating the board of commissioners for Putnam County, approved September 8, 1879 (Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 334), as amended, particularly by an Act approved February 15, 2012 (Ga. L. 2012, p. 3596) and an Act approved May 6, 2015 (Ga. L. 2015, p. 3805), so as to provide for current board of commissioner members to continue their terms of office; to require board members to live in their districts; to provide for filling vacancies; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. An Act creating the board of commissioners for Putnam County, approved September 8, 1879 (Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 334), as amended, particularly by an Act approved February 15, 2012 (Ga. L. 2012, p. 3596) and an Act approved May 6, 2015 (Ga. L. 2015, p. 3805), is amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) of Section 3 as follows: "(a) The members of the board holding office on the effective date of this section and any persons selected to fill vacancies in such offices shall serve out the terms of office to which they were elected and until their successors are elected and qualified as previously established by law with successive terms to follow thereafter. (b) In the event any member elected from a district ceases to be a resident of his or her respective district during his or her term of office, a vacancy shall be created. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, when a vacancy occurs for any reason other than the expiration of a term of office, the remaining members of the board shall appoint a successor who shall reside in the district where the vacancy occurred and be a nominee and a member of the local political party of the prior officeholder to serve the remaining unexpired term if the unexpired term is less than 12 months. If the members of the board are unable to select a successor, the chief judge of the Superior Court of Putnam County shall have the power to appoint a successor who shall reside in the district where the vacancy occurred and be a nominee and a member of the local political party of the prior officeholder to serve the remaining unexpired term if the unexpired term is less than 12 months. If the unexpired term is 12 months or greater, such appointee shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified by a special election in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the 'Georgia Election Code,' as now or hereafter amended." SECTION 2. 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. A local bill for Putnam County would let current county commissioners finish out their elected terms under existing law, require commissioners to live in the district they represent, and set new rules for filling mid-term vacancies. ### Plain-language summary This bill amends the 1879 law that created the Putnam County board of commissioners, as it has been changed over the years. It confirms that commissioners currently serving, and anyone appointed to fill a vacancy, keep serving out the terms voters elected them to (or terms they were appointed to) under the rules that already existed, with normal elections continuing after that. The bill also spells out what happens if a commissioner stops living in the district they represent: that creates a vacancy. If a vacancy opens for a reason other than a term simply ending, the remaining board members pick a replacement from the same district and same local political party as the departing member, but only if less than 12 months remain in the term. If the board cannot agree, the chief judge of the Superior Court of Putnam County makes the appointment instead. If 12 months or more remain, the appointee serves only until a special election is held under Georgia's election law (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) picks a permanent successor. ### What it does - Confirms that sitting Putnam County commissioners and anyone who filled a vacancy keep serving out their current terms under previously established rules. - Requires that a commissioner elected from a district remain a resident of that district, and creates a vacancy if they move out. - Sets a process for the remaining board members to appoint a same-district, same-party replacement when a vacancy has less than 12 months left. - Gives the chief judge of the Superior Court of Putnam County the power to appoint a replacement if the board cannot agree on one. - Requires a special election under Georgia's election law to fill a vacancy with 12 months or more remaining, rather than a board appointment lasting the full term. - Repeals any prior laws that conflict with these new rules. ### Who it affects Members of the Putnam County board of commissioners, candidates seeking to fill vacancies on the board, the chief judge of the Superior Court of Putnam County, and Putnam County voters who would take part in any special elections triggered by a vacancy. ### Why it matters The bill settles how long current Putnam County commissioners serve and creates a clear, predictable process for replacing a commissioner who moves out of their district or otherwise leaves early, including who appoints a replacement and when voters instead get a special election. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (a) of Section 3 of the 1879 Putnam County commissioners Act to confirm current board members serve out their existing terms, with normal successive terms to follow. - Section 1 also revises subsection (b) to state that a commissioner who stops residing in their district creates a vacancy in that seat. - For vacancies with less than 12 months remaining, the remaining board members appoint a successor who must live in the affected district and share the prior officeholder's political party. - If the board cannot choose a successor, the chief judge of the Superior Court of Putnam County appoints one under the same residency and party conditions. - For vacancies with 12 months or more remaining, the appointee serves only until a special election is held under the Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2). - Section 2 repeals any existing laws that conflict with this Act. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-11) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11) - Sponsors: Trey Rhodes, Dale Washburn - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74039 > The history, votes, and amendments (898 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1545.md?full=1