--- title: HB 608. Muscogee County; School District; revise how vacancies on board of education are filled collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb608 cite_as: HB 608, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb608 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb608.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb608/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70736 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/hb607.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb609.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb608.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 608 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: - Teddy Reese - Carolyn Hugley - Carmen Rice - Debbie Buckner - Vance Smith text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB608/2025 upstream_id: 1982083 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Muscogee County schools - school board vacancies - local elections - election law - Georgia school districts --- # HB 608. Muscogee County; School District; revise how vacancies on board of education are filled ## Text 25 LC 62 0078/AP House Bill 608 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Reese of the 140th, Hugley of the 141st, Rice of the 139th, Buckner of the 137th, and Smith of the 138th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act creating the Muscogee County School District, a pproved1 February 25, 1949 (Ga. L. 1949, p. 1086), as amended, so as to revise how vacancies on said2 board are filled; to provide for related matters; to repeal con flicting laws; and for other3 purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 An Act creating the Muscogee County School District, approved F ebruary 25, 19497 (Ga. L. 1949, p. 1086), as amended, is amended by revising subsection (g) of Section 5 as8 follows:9 "(g)(1) A vacancy on the board of education occurring for any reason shall be filled as10 follows:11 (A) If the vacancy occurs more than 90 days before to the date of a general election12 preceding the general election at which a successor will be elected to a new full term13 of office, then such vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term of office at a special14 election to be held on the same date as said general election p receding the general15 election at which a successor will be elected to a new full ter m of office; and in this16 H. B. 608 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0078/AP case the remaining members of the board of education shall, by majority vote, select a17 qualified person to fill the vacancy until the person elected at such special election takes18 office; and19 (B) If the vacancy occurs 90 days or fewer before the date of a general election20 preceding the general election at which a successor will be elected to a new full term21 of office, then the remaining members of the local board of education shall, by majority22 vote, select a qualified person to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.23 (2) Any person elected or appointed to fill a vacancy pursuant to this subsection shall24 possess the same qualifications required for election to a full term of office as provided25 by law applicable to the office wherein the vacancy occurred. As applied to special26 elections, if the office wherein the vacancy occurred is filled by election of voters within27 a portion of the local school district, then the special electi on shall be held within that28 portion of the local school district; provided, however, that, if the office wherein the29 vacancy occurred is filled by the voters within the entire school district, then the special30 election shall be held within the entire school district.31 (3) The election superintendent of Muscogee County shall issue the call for a special32 election to fill a vacancy as required by this subsection. The call for a special election33 shall be issued within 30 days after the existence of a vacancy has been established. A34 special election to fill vacancies shall be held and conducted in accordance with the35 applicable provisions of Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., known as the 'Georgia36 Election Code.'"37 SECTION 2.38 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.39 H. B. 608 - 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 608 changes how the Muscogee County School District fills a vacancy on its board of education, tying the process to how close the vacancy is to the next general election. ### Plain-language summary This bill amends the 1949 state law that created the Muscogee County School District. That law already spells out how the local board of education fills a seat that opens up before an election, but HB 608 revises the timing rule in subsection (g) of Section 5. Under the new language, if a vacancy happens more than 90 days before the general election that precedes the election where a successor would be chosen for a full term, the seat is filled at a special election held on that same general election date, with the remaining board members picking someone by majority vote to hold the seat until the special election winner takes office. If the vacancy happens 90 days or fewer before that general election, the remaining board members simply choose someone by majority vote to serve out the rest of the term, with no special election. The bill also keeps existing rules on qualifications, where within the district the vote happens, and the 30 day deadline for the election superintendent to call a special election. ### What it does - Rewrites subsection (g) of Section 5 of the 1949 Muscogee County School District Act to set new rules for filling board of education vacancies. - Requires a special election on the same date as the relevant general election when a vacancy occurs more than 90 days before that election, with the board picking an interim member by majority vote. - Allows the remaining board members to simply appoint someone by majority vote to finish the term when a vacancy occurs 90 days or fewer before that election, skipping a special election. - Keeps the requirement that anyone filling a vacancy meet the same qualifications as someone elected to a full term. - Keeps the rule that the election superintendent of Muscogee County must call any needed special election within 30 days of the vacancy being confirmed. - Repeals any prior laws that conflict with these updated vacancy-filling procedures. ### Who it affects This bill directly affects the Muscogee County Board of Education, its current and future members, the Muscogee County election superintendent who administers special elections, and residents of the school district who vote for board members. ### Why it matters The change determines whether Muscogee County holds a special election or lets sitting board members simply appoint a replacement when a board seat opens up, which affects how quickly a vacancy is filled and how much say voters have in choosing who fills it. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (g) of Section 5 of the 1949 Act creating the Muscogee County School District. - Paragraph (g)(1)(A) requires a special election held on the same date as the relevant general election when a vacancy arises more than 90 days beforehand, with an interim appointee chosen by majority board vote. - Paragraph (g)(1)(B) allows the board to fill a vacancy by majority vote for the rest of the term, without a special election, if the vacancy arises 90 days or fewer before the relevant general election. - Paragraph (g)(2) requires anyone filling a vacancy to meet the same legal qualifications as someone elected to a full term and sets geographic voting rules for any special election. - Paragraph (g)(3) requires the Muscogee County election superintendent to call a special election within 30 days of a confirmed vacancy and to run it under Georgia's Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2). - Section 2 repeals any existing laws that conflict with these changes. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Teddy Reese, Carolyn Hugley, Carmen Rice, Debbie Buckner, Vance Smith - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70736 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb608.md?full=1