--- title: HB 6. Mitchell County; Board of Commissioners; filling vacancies; revise provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb6 cite_as: HB 6, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb6 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb6.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb6/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69286 date: 2025-04-30 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/hb5.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb7.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 906 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb6.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 6 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-30 last_action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 sponsors: - Joe Campbell text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB6/2025 upstream_id: 1916845 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Mitchell County government - local elections - county commissioners - special elections - judicial appointments --- # HB 6. Mitchell County; Board of Commissioners; filling vacancies; revise provisions ## Text 25 LC 47 3274S/AP House Bill 6 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Campbell of the 171st A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act providing for a Board of Commissioners of Mitch ell County, approved1 February 20, 1873 (Ga. L. 1873, p. 279), as amended, particular ly by an Act approved2 April 1, 2002 (Ga. L. 2002, p. 3676), so as to revise provisions relating to filling vacancies3 on the board of commissioners; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and4 for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 An Act providing for a Board of Commissioners of Mitchell County, approved February 20,8 1873 (Ga. L. 1873, p. 279), as amended, particularly by an Act approved April 1, 2002 (Ga.9 L. 2002, p. 3676), is amended by revising subsection (d) of Section 6 as follows:10 "(d) In case of a vacancy upon the board, regardless of the cau se of such vacancy other11 than due to the expiration of a term of office, and: 12 (1) Such vacancy occurs during the first 21 months of the term, it shall be the duty of the13 board of commissioners to instruct the election superintendent of Mitchell County to call14 and conduct a special election to elect a qualified individual to serve out the remainder15 of such unexpired term and until a successor is duly elected and qualified. Such special16 H. B. 6 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3274S/AP election shall be held on the earliest of the following dates i n an even-numbered year17 occurring immediately following the occurrence of the vacancy; provided, however, that18 the number of days between the call of the election and holding of the same satisfies19 applicable law. If the number of days between the earliest prac tical call of the election20 and holding of the election on the earliest of the following dates is less than required by21 law, then the special election shall be held on the second earliest of the following dates:22 (A) The date of the presidential preference primary;23 (B) The date of the general primary; or24 (C) The date of the November general election.25 Additionally, upon the occurrence of such a vacancy, the chief judge of the judicial26 circuit of which Mitchell County is a part shall appoint a qualified person to serve until27 a successor is elected and qualified at the special election held pursuant to this paragraph;28 or29 (2) Such vacancy occurs during the last 27 months of the term, the chief judge of the30 judicial circuit of which Mitchell County is a part shall appoint a qualified person to serve31 the remainder of the unexpired term and until a successor is duly elected and qualified."32 SECTION 2.33 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.34 H. B. 6 - 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. House Bill 6 rewrites how Mitchell County fills vacancies on its Board of Commissioners, tying the process to when in a term the vacancy happens and who appoints a temporary replacement. ### Plain-language summary Mitchell County's board of commissioners currently has rules for filling vacant seats that trace back to a 1873 law, last updated in 2002. This bill revises those rules again, focusing on subsection (d) of Section 6. Under the new language, if a vacancy happens in the first 21 months of a term, the county must hold a special election to fill the remainder of the term, timed to coincide with the presidential preference primary, the general primary, or the November general election, whichever fits legal timing requirements. In the meantime, the chief judge of the local judicial circuit appoints someone to hold the seat until that election. If the vacancy instead happens in the last 27 months of a term, no special election is held at all; the chief judge simply appoints someone to serve out the rest of the term. The bill repeals conflicting laws and applies only to Mitchell County. ### What it does - Rewrites subsection (d) of Section 6 of Mitchell County's commissioner board law to set new rules for filling vacancies. - Requires a special election when a vacancy occurs in the first 21 months of a term, timed to a primary or general election date. - Gives the chief judge of the local judicial circuit power to appoint an interim commissioner to serve until that special election. - Eliminates the special election requirement for vacancies occurring in the last 27 months of a term, letting the chief judge appoint someone to finish the term instead. - Repeals any prior Mitchell County laws that conflict with these new vacancy-filling rules. ### Who it affects Residents and voters of Mitchell County, current and future members of the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners, the Mitchell County election superintendent, and the chief judge of the judicial circuit covering Mitchell County, who gains new appointment authority. ### Why it matters The timing of a commissioner's departure would now determine whether Mitchell County voters get to elect a replacement or a judge simply appoints one for the rest of the term, changing who has a say in filling that seat. ### Key provisions - Section 1 replaces subsection (d) of Section 6 of the 1873 Act governing the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners, as last amended in 2002. - Vacancies occurring in the first 21 months of a term require a special election on the earliest workable date among the presidential preference primary, general primary, or November general election. - The chief judge of the local judicial circuit appoints an interim commissioner to serve until that special election is decided. - Vacancies occurring in the last 27 months of a term skip the special election; the chief judge appoints someone to serve through the rest of the term. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-30) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 (2025-04-30) - Sponsors: Joe Campbell - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69286 > The history, votes, and amendments (906 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb6.md?full=1