HB 411: Banks County; Board of Commissioners; change description of districts

Banks County elects its board of commissioners from five districts: four numbered districts plus a fifth district that covers the whole county and elects the board chairperson. This bill replaces the current legal description of Commissioner Districts 1 through 4 with a new map, attached as Appendix A, based on 2020 census blocks and voting precincts (VTDs). The bill spells out how to read the new district lines, including what to do if part of the county is accidentally left out of every district or if a described piece of a district turns out not to be geographically connected to the rest of that district; in both cases, the leftover area joins whichever neighboring district has the fewest people. Sitting commissioners keep serving out their current terms under the newly described districts. The change takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature.

• Replaces the existing boundary descriptions for Banks County Commissioner Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 with a new map spelled out in Appendix A.
• Keeps Commissioner District 5 as the entire county, with its elected member serving as board chairperson.
• Sets rules for handling any part of the county left out of all districts or found to be geographically disconnected from its assigned district, assigning it to the least-populated adjacent district.
• Lets current commissioners finish their terms in office, now treated as representing the newly drawn versions of their same district numbers.
• Sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill, or the date it becomes law without his signature.

Residents and voters of Banks County, Georgia, who would be reassigned to redrawn commissioner districts; the five sitting members of the Banks County Board of Commissioners, who continue serving under the new district descriptions; and future candidates for those seats.

Because district lines determine who represents which voters, redrawing them can shift which residents share a commissioner and could affect future elections in Banks County, even though no one currently on the board loses their seat because of this change.

• Section 1 rewrites Section 2 of the 1916 Banks County board of commissioners Act to adopt the new district map described in Appendix A, based on 2020 census data.
• Section 1 defines 'VTD' by reference to 2020 U.S. Census voting precinct boundaries and explains how city references in district descriptions tie to 2020 census maps.
• Section 1 directs that any county area left out of the new district descriptions be assigned to the contiguous district with the smallest population.
• Section 1 directs that any described area found to be non-contiguous with its assigned district instead join the contiguous district with the smallest population.
• Section 2 allows current commissioners and anyone later appointed to fill a vacancy to finish their terms under the newly described districts without a special election.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without his signature.
• Appendix A lists the specific census VTDs and blocks that make up new Commissioner Districts 1 through 4.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 199
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-10Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-10Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-27House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)

• Chris Erwin (R, HD-32)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 27, 2025

   169 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 6 excused)

   Local Calendar: House Vote #99

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 10, 2025

   43 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 9 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #221

• redistricting
• local government
• Banks County
• county commissioners
• voting districts