--- title: HB 73. Seminole County; Board of Education; provide nonpartisan elections collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb73 cite_as: HB 73, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb73 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb73.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb73/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69405 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/hb72.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb74.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 873 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb73.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 73 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: - Gerald Greene text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB73/2025 upstream_id: 1926200 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - school board elections - nonpartisan elections - Seminole County - local education law --- # HB 73. Seminole County; Board of Education; provide nonpartisan elections ## Text 25 LC 47 3148/AP House Bill 73 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Greene of the 154th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act creating the Board of Education of Seminole County, approved March 14,1 1983 (Ga. L. 1983, p. 3994), as amended, so as to provide that future elections for members2 of the board of education shall be nonpartisan; to provide for related matters; to repeal3 conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 An Act creating the Board of Education of Seminole County, approved March 14, 1983 (Ga.7 L. 1983, p. 3994), as amended, is amended by revising Section 3 as follows:8 "SECTION 3.9 (a) All members who are elected to the board shall be elected in accordance with Chapter 210 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the 'Georgia Election Code.' All elections for members of the11 board conducted after August 1, 2025, shall be nonpartisan elec tions as provided for in12 Code Section 21-2-139 of the O.C.G.A. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the terms13 of office of the members of the board in office on the effectiv e date of this subsection. 14 H. B. 73 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3148/AP Such sitting members sha ll serve out the terms of office for wh ich such members were15 elected and shall be eligible to succeed themselves.16 (b)(1) Elections shall be held to elect board members from districts one, three, and five17 at the nonpartisan general election held in 2026.18 (2) Elections shall be held to elect board members from distri cts two and four at the19 nonpartisan general election held in 2028.20 (3) Successors to the members elected pursuant to paragraphs ( 1) and (2) of this21 subsection shall be elected at the nonpartisan general election which is conducted in the22 year in which the respective terms of office shall expire.23 (c) Persons elected to the board shall take office on the first day of January following their24 election and shall serve for a term of four years and until their successors are elected and25 qualified."26 SECTION 2.27 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.28 H. B. 73 - 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 73 would change how the Seminole County Board of Education is elected, moving future board elections from partisan to nonpartisan starting in 2025. ### Plain-language summary Since 1983, members of the Seminole County Board of Education have been elected through partisan elections under a local law establishing the board. House Bill 73 amends that law so that all board elections held after August 1, 2025 will be nonpartisan, meaning candidates will not run under a political party label, following the process set out in Georgia's nonpartisan election rules (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139). The bill does not change the terms of current board members; they will finish out their existing terms and remain eligible to run again. It sets a specific election schedule: board members from districts one, three, and five will be elected at the nonpartisan general election in 2026, and members from districts two and four at the nonpartisan general election in 2028. After that, successors will be elected on the same nonpartisan schedule as each term expires. Elected members take office January 1 following their election and serve four-year terms. ### What it does - Converts all future Seminole County Board of Education elections held after August 1, 2025 from partisan to nonpartisan, per O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139. - Preserves the current terms of sitting board members, letting them finish their terms and run again if they choose. - Schedules the election of board members from districts one, three, and five for the 2026 nonpartisan general election. - Schedules the election of board members from districts two and four for the 2028 nonpartisan general election. - Sets future successor elections to occur at the nonpartisan general election in the year each term expires. - Confirms board members take office January 1 after election and serve four-year terms. ### Who it affects Seminole County residents who vote in board of education elections, current and future candidates for the board, and sitting board members whose terms and eligibility to run again are addressed by the bill. ### Why it matters Candidates for the Seminole County school board will no longer appear on the ballot with a party label, which changes how voters identify and choose candidates. The bill also locks in a specific election calendar for board seats through 2028 and beyond. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises Section 3 of the 1983 Act creating the board, requiring elections held after August 1, 2025 to be nonpartisan under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139. - Section 1(a) clarifies that the change does not affect the terms of board members currently in office. - Section 1(b) sets the 2026 nonpartisan general election for districts one, three, and five, and the 2028 election for districts two and four. - Section 1(c) sets a January 1 start date for elected members and four-year terms. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Gerald Greene - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69405 > The history, votes, and amendments (873 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb73.md?full=1