--- title: HB 764. Nelson, City of; office of mayor or city council member; provide for appointments to vacancies collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb764 cite_as: HB 764, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb764 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb764.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb764/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71312 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/hb763.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb765.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb764.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 764 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: - Rick Jasperse text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB764/2025 upstream_id: 2000319 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - city government - local elections - City of Nelson charter - municipal vacancies --- # HB 764. Nelson, City of; office of mayor or city council member; provide for appointments to vacancies ## Text 25 LC 62 0134/AP House Bill 764 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Jasperse of the 11th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act providing for a new charter for the City of Nelson, approved April 7, 19921 (Ga. L. 1992, p. 5615), as amended, particularly by an Act appr oved April 9, 1993 (Ga.2 L. 1993, p. 5181), so as to provide for appointments to vacancies in the office of the mayor3 or city council member; to provide for special elections; to pr ovide for related matters; to4 repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 An Act providing for a new charter for the City of Nelson, approved April 7, 1992 (Ga. L.8 1992, p. 5615), as amended, particularly by an Act approved Apr il 9, 1993 (Ga. L. 1993,9 p. 5181), is amended by revising subsection (b) of Section 2.12 as follows:10 "(b) In the event the office of the mayor or city council member becomes vacant, the city11 council shall order a special election to fill the balance of t he unexpired term of such12 official. The city council or those members remaining shall appoint a member to fill such13 vacancy until the special election is held and a successor is e lected and qualified. The14 special election shall be held and conducted in accordance with Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the15 O.C.G.A., the 'Georgia Election Code,' as now or hereinafter amended."16 H. B. 764 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0134/AP SECTION 2.17 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.18 H. B. 764 - 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 764 changes how the City of Nelson fills a vacant mayor or city council seat, requiring the council to appoint a temporary replacement until a special election is held. ### Plain-language summary The City of Nelson's charter previously addressed how to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor or city council member. This bill amends that charter, specifically Section 2.12(b), to spell out the process more clearly. Under the revised law, if the mayor's or a council member's seat becomes vacant, the city council must call a special election to fill the rest of the unexpired term. In the meantime, the remaining council members appoint someone to hold the seat until the special election winner is elected and qualified. The special election itself must follow the procedures in Georgia's statewide election law, known as the Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Chapter 2 of Title 21). The bill also repeals any other laws that conflict with this new process. ### What it does - Requires the Nelson city council to call a special election whenever the mayor's or a council member's seat becomes vacant, to fill the remaining term. - Directs the remaining city council members to appoint a temporary replacement to hold the seat until the special election winner is elected and qualified. - Requires that any such special election be run under Georgia's statewide election law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 2 of Title 21, the Georgia Election Code). - Repeals any existing laws or charter provisions that conflict with this new vacancy-filling process. ### Who it affects This bill affects the City of Nelson's mayor and city council, city officials who would fill an interim appointment, and Nelson voters who would take part in any special election called to fill a vacant seat. ### Why it matters If a Nelson council seat or the mayor's office is suddenly vacated, this bill sets a clear, consistent process: an interim appointee keeps the seat filled while a special election is organized, so residents know how leadership gaps will be handled and when they'll get to vote on a permanent replacement. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (b) of Section 2.12 of Nelson's city charter to set the vacancy-filling procedure. - The revised text requires the city council to order a special election to fill the unexpired portion of a vacant mayoral or council term. - The revised text also authorizes the remaining council members to appoint someone to fill the vacancy temporarily until the special election is held. - The special election must be conducted under the Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Chapter 2, Title 21). - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Rick Jasperse - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71312 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb764.md?full=1