--- title: HB 355. Doraville, City of; office of councilmember or mayor; filling vacancies; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb355 cite_as: HB 355, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb355 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb355.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb355/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70117 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb354.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb356.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb355.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 355 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 sponsors: - Long Tran text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB355/2025 upstream_id: 1964491 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government - Doraville city charter - city council vacancies - special elections - DeKalb County --- # HB 355. Doraville, City of; office of councilmember or mayor; filling vacancies; provide ## Text 25 LC 61 0060/AP House Bill 355 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Tran of the 80th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to reincorporate the City of Doraville in the County of DeKalb, approved1 October 13, 1971 (Ga. L. 1971, Ex. Sess. p. 2154), as amended, so as to provide for the2 filling of vacancies in the office of councilmember or mayor; to provide for related matters;3 to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 An Act to reincorporate the City of Doraville in the County of DeKalb, approved October 13,7 1971 (Ga. L. 1971, Ex. Sess., p. 2154), as amended, is amended by revising Section 2.05 as8 follows:9 "Section 2.05.10 Vacancy in the office of councilmember or mayor.11 (a) Be it further enacted, that a vacancy shall exist if a cou ncilmember or the mayor12 resigns, dies, moves his or her residence from the city, or is absent from four consecutive13 regular meetings of the governing authority, except if granted a leave of absence by the14 H. B. 355 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0060/AP council, which leave shall be entered upon the minute books; or if he or she is adjudged15 incompetent or is convicted of malfeasance in office, or of a f elony, or any violation of16 election laws.17 (b) If fewer than 12 months remain in the unexpired term of the vacated council seat, the18 mayor shall appoint a successor to serve for the remainder of s uch term subject to the19 approval of the majority of the remaining councilmembers. If more than 12 months remain20 in the unexpired term of the vacated council seat, the vacated seat shall be filled for the21 unexpired term at the next available special election date. Such special election shall be22 called and held in the manner prescribed by Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the23 'Georgia Election Code,' as it now exists or may hereafter be amended.24 (c) In the event a vacancy should occur in the office of the m ayor, the vacancy shall be25 filled at the next available special election date. Such special election shall be called and26 held in the manner prescribed by Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the O .C.G.A., the 'Georgia27 Election Code,' as it now exists or may hereafter be amended."28 SECTION 2.29 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.30 H. B. 355 - 2 - ## 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 how the City of Doraville fills vacancies in the mayor's office or on the city council, setting different rules depending on how much time is left in the term. ### Plain-language summary Doraville's city charter currently spells out how the city fills an empty council or mayoral seat. This bill rewrites that section of the charter (Section 2.05) to change the process for council vacancies while keeping the special election requirement for mayoral vacancies. Under the bill, if fewer than 12 months remain in a vacated council member's term, the mayor would appoint a replacement, subject to approval by a majority of the remaining council members. If more than 12 months remain, the seat would instead be filled through a special election held under Georgia's election law (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2). A mayoral vacancy, regardless of time remaining, would always be filled by special election. The bill also keeps the existing definition of what counts as a vacancy, including resignation, death, moving out of the city, or being convicted of certain crimes. ### What it does - Rewrites Section 2.05 of Doraville's city charter to set new rules for filling council and mayoral vacancies. - Lets the mayor appoint a replacement council member, with council approval, when less than 12 months remain in the term. - Requires a special election to fill a council seat when more than 12 months remain in the term. - Requires any mayoral vacancy to be filled by special election, no matter how much time is left in the term. - Keeps the existing definition of what creates a vacancy, such as resignation, death, moving away, incompetence, or certain criminal convictions. - Repeals any other laws that conflict with these changes. ### Who it affects Doraville city officials, including the mayor and city council members, along with Doraville voters, who would be affected differently depending on whether a vacancy is filled by mayoral appointment or by a special election. ### Why it matters The change determines whether a vacant Doraville council seat is quickly filled by appointment or left open until voters can choose a replacement in a special election, which affects how fast representation is restored and who controls the decision. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends Section 2.05 of Doraville's 1971 charter (Ga. L. 1971, Ex. Sess., p. 2154, as amended). - Subsection (a) keeps the current definition of a vacancy, including resignation, death, relocation outside the city, unexcused absence from four consecutive meetings, incompetence, or conviction of malfeasance, a felony, or election law violations. - Subsection (b) creates a 12-month threshold: mayoral appointment with council approval for shorter remaining terms, special election for longer remaining terms. - Subsection (c) requires any mayoral vacancy to be filled at the next available special election under Georgia's election law (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2). - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Long Tran - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70117 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb355.md?full=1