Georgia CommonsHB 1556: Nicholls, City of; provide new charter
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-05-12
House Bill 1556 replaces the City of Nicholls' old 1920 charter with a completely new one, resetting the rules for the city council, mayor, city manager, courts, elections, and finances.
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 Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Nicholls, a small city in Coffee County, has operated under a charter first adopted in 1920. This bill throws out that old charter and writes a new one covering nearly every part of city government: how the city is incorporated and its boundaries recorded, what powers it has, how the five-member city council and mayor are elected and how long they serve, how a city manager and city attorney are appointed, how the municipal court operates, and how the city taxes, budgets, and borrows money. The new charter sets four-year terms for the mayor and council, requires a 12-month residency before running for office, and keeps elections nonpartisan. It creates or confirms departments for administration, fire, police, roads, and water and sewer, and sets municipal court fines up to $1,000 or 12 months in jail. The current mayor and council finish their existing terms, and the first election under the new charter will be held in November 2029. The bill formally repeals the city's 1920 charter and all its amendments.
What the bill does
- Repeals the City of Nicholls' 1920 charter (Ga. L. 1920, p. 1329) and all later amendments, replacing it entirely with this new charter.
- Creates a five-member city council elected at large to four-year terms, along with a separately elected mayor serving a four-year term.
- Establishes the position of city manager, appointed by the council, to run day-to-day administration, and requires the council to work through the manager rather than city staff directly.
- Sets up the Municipal Court of the City of Nicholls with authority to fine offenders up to $1,000 or jail them up to 12 months, or both.
- Gives the city council power to levy property taxes, occupation taxes, service charges, and special assessments, and to issue general obligation and revenue bonds.
- Schedules the first election under the new charter for November 2029, with current officeholders finishing their present terms.
Who it affects
Residents and voters of Nicholls, the mayor and city council members, city employees including the city manager, city attorney, and city clerk, department heads in administration, fire, police, roads, and water and sewer, and anyone who appears before the city's municipal court.
Why it matters
The new charter changes how Nicholls is governed day to day: who can run for office and for how long, how the city manager and council share authority, what taxes and fees the city can charge, and how the municipal court can punish ordinance violations, replacing rules that had been in place since 1920.
Key provisions
- Section 1.10-1.13 reincorporates the city, keeps its existing boundaries, and lists broad governmental powers including zoning, taxation, and utility operation.
- Section 2.10-2.11 sets up a five-member at-large city council with four-year terms and a 12-month residency requirement for candidates.
- Section 2.24-2.26 creates an at-will city manager position, appointed by the council, who directs city staff, with the council barred from giving orders directly to employees.
- Section 4.11-4.13 establishes the municipal court's judges and sets its maximum penalties at a $1,000 fine or 12 months in jail, or both.
- Section 5.11 sets the first election under the new charter for November 2029, with sitting officials completing their current terms.
- Section 6.10-6.19 authorizes property taxes, occupation taxes, service charges, special assessments, and general obligation and revenue bonds.
- Section 7.16 repeals the city's 1920 charter (Ga. L. 1920, p. 1329) and all amendatory acts to it in their entirety.
From the bill
“The City of Nicholls, and the inhabitants thereof, are reincorporated by the enactment of this charter and are hereby constituted and declared a body politic and corporate under the name and style of the City of Nicholls, Georgia”
“The municipal court may fix punishment for offenses within its jurisdiction not exceeding a fine of $1,000.00 or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.”
“An Act to provide and establish a new charter for the Town of Nichols, in the County of Coffee, approved August 16, 1920 (Ga. L. 1920, p. 1329), is hereby repealed in its entirety”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-05-12
- Act 678
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
Votes
- House voteMarch 23, 2026
158 yea, 0 nay (12 not voting, 6 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 27, 2026
47 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- city charter
- local government
- Nicholls Georgia
- municipal court
- city elections