--- title: HB 767. Gwinnett County; Board of Education; compensation of members; revise provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb767 cite_as: HB 767, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb767 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb767.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb767/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71347 date: 2025-03-20 status: introduced 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/hb766.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb768.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb767.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 767 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-13 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Dewey McClain - Scott Hilton - Sandy Donatucci - Reynaldo Martinez - Billy Mitchell - David Clark text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB767/2025 upstream_id: 2007000 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Gwinnett County schools - school board compensation - local legislation - school board transparency - superintendent contracts --- # HB 767. Gwinnett County; Board of Education; compensation of members; revise provisions ## Text 25 LC 47 3498 House Bill 767 By: Representatives McClain of the 109th, Hilton of the 48th, Beckles of the 96th, Donatucci of the 105th, Martinez of the 111th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act providing for the election of the Board of Education of Gwinnett County,1 approved April 7, 1972 (Ga. L. 1972, p. 4058), as amended, particularly by an Act approved2 May 6, 2005 (Ga. L. 2005, p. 3818), so as to revise provisions regarding the compensation3 of members of the board of education; to provide for the suspension of such provisions in the4 event of such board approving a buyout of the superintendent's contract; to prohibit the5 infringement of communications made by members of the such board; to provide exceptions;6 to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and7 for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 An Act providing for the election of the Board of Education of Gwinnett County, approved11 April 7, 1972 (Ga. L. 1972, p. 4058), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 6,12 2005 (Ga. L. 2005, p. 3818), is amended by revising Section 2 and adding a new section to13 read as follows:14 H. B. 767 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3498 "SECTION 2.15 (a) The Gwinnett County Board of Education is authorized to fi x the salary and16 compensation of the members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education subject to the17 following conditions:18 (1) Any increase in salary or compensation for members of the Gwinnett County Board19 of Education shall not be effective until the first day of January of the year following the20 next general election held after the date on which the action to increase the compensation21 was taken;22 (2) The Gwinnett County Board of Education shall take no action to increase the salary23 or compensation of the members of the board until notice of intent to take such action and24 the fiscal impact of such action has been published in a newspaper designated as the legal25 organ for the county at least once a week for three consecutive weeks immediately26 preceding the meeting at which the action is taken; and27 (3) Such action shall not be taken during the period of time beginning with the date that28 candidates for election as members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education may first29 qualify as such candidates and ending with the first day of January following the date of30 qualification.31 This subsection shall not affect the power of the General Assembly at any time to increase32 or decrease any or all of such compensation or to withdraw the authority otherwise granted33 under this subsection.34 (b)(1) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be suspended in the event:35 (A) That the Gwinnett County Board of Education approves a co ntract termination36 payout to the superintendent so as to terminate such contract prior to the contractual end37 date of such contract; or 38 (B) Such contractual payout payments are still being made to o ne or more former39 superintendents. 40 H. B. 767 - 2 - 25 LC 47 3498 (2) The suspension provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall remain in force41 until such time as either:42 (A) The compensation that would have otherwise been paid to th e members of the43 board pursuant to subsection (a) of this section equals the amount: 44 (i) Paid to a superintendent to terminate such superintendent' s contract prior to the45 contractual end date of such contract; or46 (ii) Still being paid to any former superintendents as a result of the early termination47 of one or more contracts that are being made on the effective date of this subsection;48 or49 (B) All members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education who were in office when50 the board approved a contract termination payout to a superinte ndent prior to the51 contractual end date of such contract have ceased serving on such board.52 (3) In the event that the compensation of the board members is suspended by operation53 of this subsection, the members of the board of education shall receive the per diem54 provided for by O.C.G.A. Code Section 20-2-55.55 SECTION 2A.56 The Gwinnett County Board of Education and the Gwinnett County Public Schools shall57 not infringe upon right of individual board members to communicate with constituents, the58 general public, or members of the media; provided, however, that nothing in this section59 shall prevent such board from adopting policies to ensure that:60 (1) Confidential discussions occurring during an executive session pursuant to Chapter61 14 of Title 50 of the O.C.G.A., or 62 (2) Any information that is deemed confidential, privileged, p rivate, or exempt from63 disclosure under federal or state law64 is not disclosed or disseminated in an unauthorized manner."65 H. B. 767 - 3 - 25 LC 47 3498 SECTION 2.66 This Act shall become effective on the first day of the month following the month in which67 it is approved by the Governor or in which it becomes law without such approval.68 SECTION 3.69 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.70 H. B. 767 - 4 - ## 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 would change how the Gwinnett County Board of Education sets its own pay, pausing any board raises while the district is still paying out a former superintendent's contract buyout, and would bar the board from restricting members' communication with the public. ### Plain-language summary Gwinnett County's school board currently can raise its own members' pay under a 1972 law (as amended in 2005), following rules like advance newspaper notice and a delay until after the next election. This bill keeps those existing rules but adds a new twist: if the board approves paying a superintendent to leave early (a contract termination buyout), the board's normal authority to raise its own compensation gets suspended. That suspension lasts until either the amount members would have received in raises catches up to the buyout amount paid to the superintendent, or until every board member who approved the buyout is no longer serving on the board. While suspended, members would instead get the standard per diem set by state law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-55). The bill also adds a new section barring the board and Gwinnett County Public Schools from restricting individual members' communication with constituents, the public, or the media, while still allowing rules to protect legally confidential information. The changes would take effect the first day of the month after the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law. ### What it does - Keeps the existing rules requiring newspaper notice, a delay until after the next election, and no action during qualifying periods before any board pay increase can take effect. - Adds a new rule suspending the board's authority to raise its own pay if the board approves an early buyout of a superintendent's contract. - Ties the length of that suspension to either the buyout amount being matched by foregone raises or the departure of all board members who approved the buyout. - Requires board members to receive the standard state per diem (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-55) instead of board-set compensation while the suspension is in effect. - Prohibits the Gwinnett County Board of Education and Gwinnett County Public Schools from infringing on a board member's right to talk to constituents, the public, or the media. - Allows the board to still adopt policies protecting confidential executive session discussions or legally privileged or exempt information from unauthorized disclosure. ### Who it affects Members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, whose pay-setting power and public communications would be directly regulated; Gwinnett County Public Schools as an institution; and, indirectly, any current or former Gwinnett County superintendent involved in a contract buyout. ### Why it matters If the board pays a superintendent to leave early, board members would not be able to raise their own pay until the cost is offset or those members leave office, tying board compensation decisions to how the district handles leadership departures. The communication protections could also affect how freely board members speak publicly about school district matters. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises Section 2 of the 1972 Act (as amended in 2005) governing how the Gwinnett County Board of Education sets its own compensation, keeping the notice, timing, and election-cycle restrictions. - New subsection (b) suspends the board's compensation-setting authority if the board approves a superintendent contract termination buyout, or while such buyout payments are still being made to former superintendents. - The suspension ends when foregone board compensation equals the buyout amount, or when all board members who approved the buyout have left the board. - During any suspension, board members are paid the per diem set under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-55 instead of board-set compensation. - New Section 2A bars the board and Gwinnett County Public Schools from infringing on board members' communication with constituents, the public, or the media, with exceptions for confidential executive session matters and legally protected information. - Section 2 sets the effective date as the first day of the month following the bill's approval by the Governor or its becoming law without approval. - Section 3 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-13) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-20) - Sponsors: Dewey McClain, Scott Hilton, Sandy Donatucci, Reynaldo Martinez, Billy Mitchell, David Clark - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71347 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb767.md?full=1