---
title: HB 1577. Woodbine, City of; mayor; revise powers
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1577
cite_as: HB 1577, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1577
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1577.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1577/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74213
date: 2026-03-27
status: engrossed
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.
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next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1578.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 473
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1577.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1577
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-25
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Steven Sainz
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1577/2025
upstream_id: 2135914
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - local government charters
  - Woodbine Georgia
  - city administrator
  - municipal contracting
  - mayoral powers
---

# HB 1577. Woodbine, City of; mayor; revise powers

## Text

House Bill 1577
By: Representative Sainz of the 180th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act providing a new charter for the City of Woodbine, approved March 25,
1996 (Ga. L. 1996, p. 3670), so as to revise the powers of the mayor; to authorize the mayor
to vote on all matters before the city council; to provide for the mayor to select and supervise
the city administrator; to provide for the suspension of the city administrator in certain
circumstances; to revise contracting procedures; 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 providing a new charter for the City of Woodbine, approved March 25, 1996
(Ga. L. 1996, p. 3670), is amended in Section 3.22 by revising paragraph (7) as follows:
"(7) Participate in the discussion of all matters brought before the city council and vote
on all matters;"
SECTION 2.
Said Act is further amended in Section 4.14 by revising subsections (a) and (b) as follows:
"(a) The mayor may appoint a city administrator, subject to the approval of the city
council, who shall be the chief administrative officer of the city. The city administrator
shall be responsible to the mayor and city council for the administration and conduct of all
city affairs placed in his or her charge by or under the charter of the City of Woodbine or
by and under the code or ordinances of the City of Woodbine.
(b)(1) The city administrator shall serve for an indefinite term; provided, however, that
the mayor may suspend the city administrator for a period not to exceed 14 days if the
city administrator fails to take corrective actions that the mayor has directed the city
administrator to take in writing. Any such suspension shall be without pay, and the
mayor shall not have authority to suspend the city administrator pursuant to this
subsection more than three times in a calendar year.
(2) The mayor and council shall affix the compensation of the position."
SECTION 3.
Said Act is further amended by revising Section 6.30 as follows:
"SECTION 6.30.
Procurement and property management.
No contract with the city shall be binding on the city unless:
(1) It is in writing;
(2)(A) Except as provided for in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, it is made or
authorized by the city council; or
(B) It is a contract for:
(i) Accounting;
(ii) Auditing; or
(iii) Legal services made or authorized by the mayor;
provided, however, for each of the types of services provided for in divisions (i)
through (iii) of this subparagraph, the mayor shall not have the authority to make or
authorize contracts in excess of $25,000.00 per year; and further provided that the
mayor shall only have the power to enter into a contract pursuant to this subparagraph
if the city fails to meet the audit or budget reporting requirements for municipalities
established by general law for a period of more than 12 months;
(3) The approval pursuant to paragraph (2) of this section is entered in the city council
journal of proceedings pursuant to Section 3.14 of this charter; and
(4) Except for the necessity to receive city council authorization, any contract made
pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of this section shall be made pursuant to
the general procurement procedures provided for by ordinance."
SECTION 4.
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 House bill would change the City of Woodbine's charter to let the mayor vote on all council matters, give the mayor authority to appoint and supervise the city administrator, and adjust city contracting rules.

### Plain-language summary

Woodbine's city charter, first adopted in 1996, currently limits some of the mayor's powers on the city council and around hiring. This bill changes that. It lets the mayor vote on every matter that comes before the city council, not just some. It gives the mayor the power to appoint a city administrator, subject to council approval, and allows the mayor to suspend that administrator without pay for up to 14 days (no more than three times a year) if the administrator does not follow written corrective directions.
The bill also rewrites the city's contracting rules. Contracts still generally need council approval, but the mayor alone can authorize accounting, auditing, or legal services contracts up to $25,000 per year, and only if the city has failed to meet state audit or budget reporting requirements for more than 12 months. All conflicting laws would be repealed.

### What it does

- Amends Woodbine's 1996 city charter to let the mayor vote on all matters before the city council, not just discuss them.
- Gives the mayor power to appoint a city administrator, subject to city council approval, as the city's chief administrative officer.
- Allows the mayor to suspend the city administrator without pay for up to 14 days if written corrective directions are not followed, capped at three suspensions per year.
- Lets the mayor alone authorize accounting, auditing, or legal service contracts up to $25,000 per year, but only if the city has missed state audit or budget reporting deadlines for over 12 months.
- Requires all city contracts to be in writing and, except for the mayor's limited exception, approved by the city council and entered in the council's journal of proceedings.

### Who it affects

Woodbine's mayor, city council members, and the city administrator are directly affected, along with city staff and contractors who provide accounting, auditing, or legal services. Residents of Woodbine are indirectly affected through changes to how their local government is run.

### Why it matters

The changes shift some day-to-day authority in Woodbine city government toward the mayor, including a vote on every council matter and more control over hiring and disciplining the city administrator. The contracting change gives the mayor limited independent spending power only when the city falls behind on required financial reporting.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises Section 3.22 of the charter so the mayor may vote on all matters before the city council, removing the prior limitation to discussion only.
- Section 2 revises Section 4.14 so the mayor appoints the city administrator (with council approval) and can suspend the administrator without pay for up to 14 days for failing to follow written corrective directions, limited to three suspensions per calendar year.
- Section 3 rewrites Section 6.30 on procurement, requiring contracts to be in writing and generally approved by the city council, except the mayor may authorize accounting, auditing, or legal contracts up to $25,000 per year when the city has failed to meet state audit or budget reporting requirements for more than 12 months.
- Section 4 repeals all conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-25)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-03-27)
- Sponsors: Steven Sainz
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74213

> The history, votes, and amendments (473 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1577.md?full=1