---
title: HB 524. Public officers and employees; elected officers or officials shall not have their employment terminated solely as a result of being elected to or holding an elected office; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb524
cite_as: HB 524, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb524
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb524.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb524/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70504
date: 2025-02-21
status: introduced
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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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb524.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 524
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-19
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Eric Bell
- Billy Mitchell
- Mekyah McQueen
- Bryce Berry
- Ruwa Romman
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB524/2025
upstream_id: 1976283
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- public employment protections
- elected officials
- job security
- local government
- workplace leave
---
# HB 524. Public officers and employees; elected officers or officials shall not have their employment terminated solely as a result of being elected to or holding an elected office; provide
## Text
House Bill 524
By: Representatives Bell of the 75th, Mitchell of the 88th, McQueen of the 61st, Berry of the
56th, and Romman of the 97th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 1 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding public officers and employees, so as to provide that elected
officers or officials shall not have their employment terminated solely as a result of being
elected to or holding an elected office; to provide for termination of such employment if
holding such office impairs more than half of the elected officer's or official's employment
duties; to provide for mandatory leave without pay for certain public employees holding
certain elected offices; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 1 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions regarding public officers and employees, is amended by adding a new Code
section to read as follows:
"45-1-9.
(a) Except as otherwise provided or required by the Constitution of this state, an elected
officer or official of this state shall not have his or her public or private employment
terminated by his or her employer solely on the grounds that such officer or official holds
or has been elected to an elected office. No public or private employer shall terminate the
employment of an elected officer or official on grounds related to his or her holding of or
election to an elected office unless the employer can establish that the official duties of
such elected officer or official prevent him or her from performing more than 51 percent
of the duties assigned to his or her position of employment.
(b) Any appointed officer or employee of this state or a county, municipality, consolidated
government, school district, or other political subdivision of this state, who serves as an
elected official of this state or county, municipality, consolidated government, school
district, or other political subdivision of this state, is entitled to a leave of absence, without
pay, from such appointed office or position of employment while such elected official is
fulfilling the duties of his or her elected office."
SECTION 2.
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.
House Bill 524 would bar Georgia public and private employers from firing employees just for holding or being elected to public office, unless the office takes up most of their work time. It also guarantees unpaid leave for certain government employees serving in elected posts.
### Plain-language summary
Currently, Georgia law does not explicitly protect employees from being fired for holding elected office. House Bill 524 would add a new section to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated protecting elected officers or officials from having their public or private employment terminated solely because they hold or were elected to public office.
An employer could still fire such an employee, but only if it can show the duties of the elected office prevent the person from doing more than 51 percent of their regular job duties. The bill also gives appointed officers or employees of the state, counties, municipalities, consolidated governments, school districts, or other political subdivisions the right to take unpaid leave from their government job while serving in an elected office. The bill repeals conflicting laws but does not include a stated effective date beyond standard enactment.
### What it does
- Prohibits public and private employers from firing an employee solely because they hold or were elected to an elected office, unless a constitutional exception applies.
- Allows termination only if the employer can prove the elected office duties keep the employee from performing more than 51 percent of their job duties.
- Grants appointed government officers and employees (state, county, municipal, consolidated government, or school district) the right to unpaid leave while serving in an elected office.
- Adds this protection as a new Code section, O.C.G.A. ยง 45-1-9, within the general provisions governing public officers and employees.
- Repeals any existing laws that conflict with these new protections.
### Who it affects
Georgians who hold or run for elected office while also working a private or public job, including school board members, city council members, and county commissioners; their employers, both private businesses and government bodies; and appointed government employees who take on elected roles.
### Why it matters
People who run for or win local, state, or other elected office while employed could keep their jobs unless the office consumes most of their work time. Government employees serving in elected roles would get a guaranteed, though unpaid, way to take leave rather than resign or risk firing.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 45-1-9(a), barring termination of an elected officer or official solely for holding or being elected to office, subject to constitutional exceptions.
- Section 1 also sets the standard for permissible termination: the employer must show the office's duties prevent the employee from performing more than 51 percent of their job duties.
- Section 1 adds new Code section 45-1-9(b), entitling appointed government officers or employees who become elected officials to unpaid leave of absence while serving in the elected office.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the new protections.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-19)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-21)
- Sponsors: Eric Bell, Billy Mitchell, Mekyah McQueen, Bryce Berry, Ruwa Romman
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70504
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb524.md?full=1