HB 1586: Bogart, Town of; provide new charter

Bogart's local charter, the founding document that sets up its town government, was last rewritten in 1998. This bill repeals that charter and its amendments entirely and replaces it with a new one covering nearly every part of town operations: the town's boundaries and general powers, the five-member town council (a mayor and four councilmembers) and how they are elected and removed, meeting and voting rules, the mayor's duties, town staff like the clerk and town attorney, the Municipal Court of the Town of Bogart, elections, and town finances such as property taxes, fees, franchises, bonds, and budgeting. The bill spells out specific rules, like four-year terms for the mayor and council, a 21-year minimum age and 12-month residency requirement for office, how vacancies get filled, and municipal court penalties capped at a $1,000 fine or 180 days in jail. It also carries over existing town ordinances, employees, and pending legal matters so the transition to the new charter does not disrupt ongoing town business.

• Repeals the Town of Bogart's 1998 charter and all its amendments and replaces it with an entirely new charter.
• Sets up a town council of a mayor and four councilmembers, each serving four-year terms, with a minimum age of 21 and a 12-month residency requirement.
• Creates rules for filling vacancies on the council, including appointment or special elections depending on how much of the term remains.
• Establishes the Municipal Court of the Town of Bogart and caps its penalties at a $1,000 fine or 180 days in jail, or both.
• Authorizes the town to levy property taxes, occupation taxes, franchise fees, and special assessments, and to issue general obligation and revenue bonds.
• Sets budgeting rules requiring the mayor to submit an annual operating budget and the council to adopt it by ordinance before the end of June.

Bogart residents and voters, the mayor and town council, town employees and appointed officials such as the town clerk and town attorney, people who appear before the Municipal Court of the Town of Bogart, and businesses or utilities that pay town taxes, fees, or franchise charges.

Because the new charter replaces the town's entire governing framework, it resets how Bogart elects and removes officials, runs its court, taxes residents and businesses, and manages its budget and debt, shaping day-to-day town government operations and legal procedures for years to come.

• Section 1.10 reincorporates the Town of Bogart as a body politic under this new charter.
• Section 1.13 lists the town's specific powers, including taxation, zoning, eminent domain, utility operation, and public safety regulation.
• Section 2.10 through 2.13 set the council's size (mayor plus four members), four-year terms, and compensation set by ordinance.
• Section 2.24 allows emergency ordinances but bars them from levying taxes, granting franchises, or authorizing long-term borrowing.
• Article IV creates the Municipal Court of the Town of Bogart, sets judge qualifications, and caps punishment at a $1,000 fine or 180 days in jail.
• Article V sets nonpartisan town elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years, governed by the Georgia Election Code.
• Article VI authorizes property taxes, business taxes, franchise fees, and bonds, and requires an annual operating budget adopted by ordinance by the end of June.
• Section 7.16 repeals the 1998 Bogart charter Act and all its amendments in their entirety.

1. 2026-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-25House Passed/Adopted (House)
3. 2026-03-25House Third Readers (House)
4. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
5. 2026-03-23House Second Readers (House)
6. 2026-03-20House First Readers (House)
7. 2026-03-19House Hopper (House)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2026

   164 yea, 0 nay (8 not voting, 4 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #754

• local government charter
• Town of Bogart
• municipal court
• town elections
• municipal taxes and fees