--- title: HB 738. Butts County; appointment of county surveyor; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb738 cite_as: HB 738, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb738 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb738.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb738/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71196 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/hb737.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb739.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb738.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 738 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: - Clint Crowe text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB738/2025 upstream_id: 1994315 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Butts County - county surveyor - local government appointments - county government --- # HB 738. Butts County; appointment of county surveyor; provide ## Text 25 LC 62 0131/AP House Bill 738 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Crowe of the 118th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To abolish the office of elected county surveyor of Butts Count y; to provide for the1 appointment of a county surveyor by the governing authority of the county; to provide for2 successors; to provide for qualifications; to provide for an ef fective date; to provide for3 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Pursuant to the authority granted by Code Section 36-7-2.1 of t he O.C.G.A., the office of7 elected county surveyor of Butts County is hereby abolished. T he governing authority of8 Butts County shall appoint a qualified person to hold the office of county surveyor for a term9 of one year from the date of appointment. Successors shall als o be appointed for terms of10 one year. Any person appointed county surveyor shall possess the qualifications specified11 by paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 36-7-2 of the O.C.G.A.12 SECTION 2.13 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law14 without such approval.15 H. B. 738 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0131/AP SECTION 3.16 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.17 H. B. 738 - 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. A House bill abolishes the elected office of county surveyor in Butts County and lets the county's governing authority appoint someone to the job instead, for one-year terms. ### Plain-language summary Butts County currently elects its county surveyor, an official who handles land surveying matters for the county. This bill changes that by abolishing the elected position under the authority of a state law (O.C.G.A. § 36-7-2.1) that allows counties to switch from an elected to an appointed county surveyor. Instead of voters choosing the surveyor, the Butts County governing authority (the county commission) would appoint a qualified person to serve a one-year term. When that term ends, the governing authority would appoint a successor, also for one year, and this would continue going forward. Anyone appointed must meet the qualifications already set out in Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 36-7-2) for county surveyors. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature. ### What it does - Abolishes the elected office of county surveyor in Butts County under authority granted by O.C.G.A. § 36-7-2.1. - Gives the Butts County governing authority the power to appoint a county surveyor rather than have voters elect one. - Sets the appointed surveyor's term at one year from the date of appointment, with successors also appointed for one-year terms. - Requires any appointed county surveyor to meet the qualifications listed in O.C.G.A. § 36-7-2(b)(1). - Takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature. - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects This bill affects Butts County residents, who will no longer vote for county surveyor, the Butts County governing authority (county commission), which gains appointment power, and anyone seeking to serve as county surveyor, who must meet state-set qualifications. ### Why it matters Butts County voters would lose the ability to directly elect their county surveyor, an official responsible for land surveying duties tied to property lines and boundaries. Instead, county commissioners would control who holds the job and how long they keep it, renewing appointments yearly. ### Key provisions - Section 1 abolishes the elected office of county surveyor in Butts County under O.C.G.A. § 36-7-2.1 and shifts appointment power to the county's governing authority. - Section 1 sets a one-year term for the appointed surveyor and for each successor appointment. - Section 1 requires appointees to meet the qualifications in O.C.G.A. § 36-7-2(b)(1). - Section 2 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without his approval. - Section 3 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Clint Crowe - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71196 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb738.md?full=1