--- title: HB 724. Pembroke, City of; mayor and city council members; provide four-year terms collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb724 cite_as: HB 724, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb724 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb724.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb724/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71133 date: 2025-05-01 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/hb723.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb725.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 883 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb724.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 724 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-01 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-01 sponsors: - Lehman Franklin text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB724/2025 upstream_id: 1991506 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government - city elections - Pembroke Georgia - municipal charter --- # HB 724. Pembroke, City of; mayor and city council members; provide four-year terms ## Text 25 LC 62 0133/AP House Bill 724 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Franklin of the 160th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to amend, consolidate, create, revise, and supe rsede the several Acts1 incorporating the City of Pembroke, approved March 28, 1985 (Ga . L. 1985, p. 4846), as2 amended, so as to provide for four-year terms for the mayor and city council members; to3 provide for elections; to provide for the current terms of city officers to continue; to repeal4 conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 An Act to amend, consolidate, create, revise, and supersede the several Acts incorporating8 the City of Pembroke, approved March 28, 1985 (Ga. L. 1985, p. 4846), as amended, is9 amended by revising Section 4 as follows:10 "Section 4.11 The next general election for mayor and five city council members shall be held on the first12 Tuesday in November, 2027, at which time a mayor and five city council members shall13 be elected to take office on the second Monday in January, 2028, for a term of four years14 and until their successors are elected and qualified. Thereafter, successors shall be elected15 at the municipal general election which shall be held every four years on the first Tuesday16 H. B. 724 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0133/AP in November, and such successors shall take office on the secon d Monday in January17 following such municipal general election. The terms of the currently elected mayor and18 five city council members shall remain in effect until their su ccessors are elected and19 qualified."20 SECTION 2.21 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.22 H. B. 724 - 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 724 would change the City of Pembroke's mayor and city council from their current terms to four-year terms, starting with the 2027 municipal election. ### Plain-language summary This bill amends the 1985 charter law that governs the City of Pembroke in Georgia. It rewrites Section 4 of that charter to set four-year terms for the mayor and the five city council members, rather than the shorter terms currently in place. Under the bill, the next general election for mayor and all five council seats would happen on the first Tuesday in November 2027, with winners taking office the second Monday in January 2028. After that, elections for these seats would be held every four years on the first Tuesday in November, with winners again taking office the following January. The bill also states that the officials currently serving stay in office until their successors are elected and qualified, so there is no gap in leadership. It repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Rewrites Section 4 of Pembroke's 1985 city charter law to set four-year terms for the mayor and all five city council members. - Schedules the next general election for mayor and council for the first Tuesday in November 2027. - Sets the start of the new four-year terms as the second Monday in January 2028. - Establishes that future elections for these offices will recur every four years on the first Tuesday in November. - Keeps current officeholders in their positions until their successors are elected and qualified, avoiding a vacancy. - Repeals any other laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects This bill affects the City of Pembroke's mayor and five city council members, the city's voters who elect them, and city government operations that depend on stable election scheduling and officeholder terms. ### Why it matters Pembroke's mayor and council would serve longer terms between elections, meaning residents would vote for these offices less often. The change also sets a fixed four-year election cycle going forward, affecting how often the city holds municipal elections. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises Section 4 of the 1985 Act incorporating the City of Pembroke to change term lengths to four years for mayor and city council. - Sets the next general election date as the first Tuesday in November 2027, with officials taking office the second Monday in January 2028. - Establishes that future municipal general elections will occur every four years on the first Tuesday in November, with officeholders installed the following January. - Provides that currently serving officials remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified. - Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-01) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-01 (2025-05-01) - Sponsors: Lehman Franklin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71133 > The history, votes, and amendments (883 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb724.md?full=1