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House · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 236: Bartow County; appointment of a county surveyor; provide

Last action May 13, 2025 · Effective Date

House Bill 236 ends the elected office of county surveyor in Bartow County and lets the county's governing authority appoint that official instead, starting once the current elected surveyor's term runs out.

Read the full bill text

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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 the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Bartow County currently elects its county surveyor, an official who handles land boundary surveys and related duties. This bill abolishes that elected office and replaces it with an appointed position filled by the county's governing authority, using power the Georgia General Assembly grants counties under O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2.1. The person currently holding the elected surveyor job would finish out their existing term with no further elections held afterward. Once that term ends, the county governing authority would appoint a qualified person to serve one-year terms, with successors also appointed annually. Anyone appointed must meet the same qualifications the state already requires for county surveyors under O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2. The law takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

What the bill does

  • Abolishes the elected office of county surveyor in Bartow County under authority the state gives counties (O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2.1).
  • Gives Bartow County's governing authority the power to appoint a county surveyor for one-year terms going forward.
  • Lets the currently elected surveyor finish their existing term before the appointment system takes over, and ends elections for the office after that.
  • Requires any appointed surveyor to meet the same qualifications already set by state law (O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2(b)(1)).
  • Sets the law to take effect immediately once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

Who it affects

This bill affects Bartow County's government, the person currently serving as elected county surveyor, future candidates for that role, and Bartow County residents and property owners who rely on the county surveyor for land boundary and survey matters.

Why it matters

Bartow County voters would no longer elect their county surveyor; instead the county commission would pick who holds the job on a yearly basis. This shifts accountability for the position from the ballot box to appointed county officials, changing who residents would need to petition if they have concerns about the office.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 abolishes the elected office of Bartow County surveyor and shifts the position to appointment by the county's governing authority for one-year terms.
  • Section 1 preserves the current elected surveyor's remaining term and ends future elections for the office once that term expires.
  • Section 1 requires appointees to meet the qualifications already listed in O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2(b)(1).
  • Section 2 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without approval.
  • Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“the office of elected county surveyor of Bartow County is hereby abolished”

This is the core action of the bill, ending the elected version of the office.

“Any person elected and serving as the county surveyor of Bartow County on the effective date of this Act shall continue to serve as such until the expiration of the current term to which such person was elected, and no further elections shall be held for such office.”

This lets the sitting elected surveyor finish their term while ending future elections for the job.

Status timeline

  1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
  2. 2025-05-13Act 136
  3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
  4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
  5. 2025-02-21Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  6. 2025-02-21Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
  7. 2025-02-11Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  8. 2025-02-10House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
  1. 2025-02-10House Third Readers (House)
  2. 2025-02-10House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  3. 2025-02-06House Second Readers (House)
  4. 2025-02-05House First Readers (House)
  5. 2025-02-04House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-14)Primary sponsor
  • Matthew Gambill (R, HD-15)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 10, 2025

    167 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 8 excused)

    Local Calendar: House Vote #19

  2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 21, 2025

    46 yea, 0 nay (9 not voting, 1 excused)

    LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #78

Topics

  • county government
  • local elections
  • Bartow County
  • public appointments

Ask about this bill

Answers come from this document. Not legal advice.

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