---
title: SB 210. Board of Commissioners of Douglas County; filling of vacancies on the board of commissioners; change provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb210
cite_as: SB 210, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb210
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb210.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb210/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70510
date: 2025-02-20
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb210.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 210
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-19
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Donzella James
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB210/2025
upstream_id: 1976295
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Douglas County government
  - local election law
  - county commission vacancies
  - special elections
---

# SB 210. Board of Commissioners of Douglas County; filling of vacancies on the board of commissioners; change provisions

## Text

Senate Bill 210
By: Senator James of the 28th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act creating the Board of Commissioners of Douglas County, approved
February 15, 1952 (Ga. L. 1952, p. 2703), as amended, particularly by an Act approved
February 25, 1991 (Ga. L. 1991, p. 3501), so as to change provisions relating to filling of
vacancies on the board of commissioners; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
An Act creating the Board of Commissioners of Douglas County, approved February 15,
1952 (Ga. L. 1952, p. 2703), as amended, particularly by an Act approved February 25, 1991
(Ga. L. 1991, p. 3501), is amended by revising Section 6 as follows:
"SECTION 6.
Should a vacancy occur upon said board by resignation, removal, death, or otherwise,
except by recall as provided by state law, such vacancy shall be filled as follows:
(1) If the vacancy is a temporary vacancy:
(A) A temporary vacancy of the chairperson shall be filled by a majority vote of the
elected members of the board. All other temporary vacancies on the board shall be
filled by a majority vote of the elected members of the board after an application and
nomination process, as follows:
(i) The county clerk shall advertise on the county's public website and in the county
legal organ, once per week for a period of two weeks, the board's intention to fill the
vacancy, instructions for submitting an application to be nominated to fill the
vacancy, and deadlines for submitting such application. The county clerk shall
provide each elected member of the commission with a copy of each submitted
application;
(ii) At the next regular meeting or specially called meeting of the board after the
application deadline, the county clerk shall present the submitted applications to the
board and the board may accept additional nominations to fill the vacancy; and
(iii) At such meeting, a vote shall be taken by the elected members of the board to fill
the vacancy from the qualified applicants and nominees; and
(B) No person shall be elected pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph who:
(i) Does not meet the residency requirement for the vacant position as of the date of
submitting an application;
(ii) Has pending litigation against the county;
(iii) Has been convicted of a felony or has a pending indictment for a felony; or
(iv) Does not:
(I) Certify his or her political party or political body affiliation through his or her
respective political party or political body; or
(II) State in his or her application that he or she is unaffiliated with any political
party or political body.
(2) If the vacancy is a permanent vacancy:
(A) In the event that the unexpired term of the vacant position is six months or less, the
chief judge of the Superior Court of Douglas County shall appoint a successor to serve
for the remainder of such term; or
(B) In the event that the unexpired term of the vacant position is more than six months,
the vacancy shall be filled at the next available special election date. Such special
election shall be called and held in the manner prescribed by Chapter 2 of Title 21 of
the O.C.G.A., the 'Georgia Election Code.'
(3) No person shall be appointed or elected to fill a vacancy who does not meet the
qualifications necessary to qualify for election as a commissioner.
(4) Persons elected or appointed to fill a vacancy shall take the same oath of office and
receive the same compensation as elected commissioners."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval and shall apply to any vacancy occurring on or after the effective date
of this Act.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## 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 Senate bill would rewrite how the Douglas County Board of Commissioners fills vacant seats, adding a formal application process for temporary vacancies and setting clearer rules for permanent ones.

### Plain-language summary

Douglas County's governing law currently addresses how vacancies on its Board of Commissioners get filled, but this bill rewrites that section entirely. For temporary vacancies, the board would fill the seat by majority vote, but only after the county clerk advertises the opening publicly for two weeks and collects applications. Applicants would be disqualified if they don't meet residency rules, have pending lawsuits against the county, have felony convictions or pending felony indictments, or fail to disclose their political party affiliation (or state they have none).
For permanent vacancies, the bill splits the process by how much time is left in the term. If six months or less remain, the chief judge of the Douglas County Superior Court appoints a replacement. If more than six months remain, the seat is filled through a special election under Georgia's election code. The changes would take effect once the Governor signs the bill, or it becomes law without a signature, and would apply to vacancies occurring after that date.

### What it does

- Creates a formal public application and nomination process for temporary board vacancies, requiring two weeks of advertising by the county clerk.
- Bars people with pending lawsuits against the county, felony convictions, or pending felony indictments from filling a temporary vacancy.
- Requires applicants for temporary vacancies to disclose their political party affiliation or state they have none.
- Directs the chief judge of the Superior Court of Douglas County to appoint a replacement when six months or less remain in a permanent vacancy's term.
- Requires a special election under Georgia's election code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) when more than six months remain in a permanent vacancy's term.
- Requires anyone appointed or elected to fill a vacancy to meet the same qualifications, take the same oath, and receive the same pay as elected commissioners.

### Who it affects

Douglas County residents and voters, current and prospective members of the Board of Commissioners, the county clerk's office, the chief judge of the Superior Court of Douglas County, and anyone seeking to fill a vacant commission seat through application or election.

### Why it matters

The bill changes who decides how a vacant county commission seat gets filled and under what public scrutiny. It adds transparency requirements like public advertising and disclosure of political affiliation, and it sets clearer, time-based rules for whether a judge appoints a replacement or voters choose one.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises Section 6 of the 1952 Act creating the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, as previously amended in 1991.
- Temporary vacancies are filled by majority vote of elected board members after a two-week public advertising and application period run by the county clerk.
- Applicants for temporary vacancies are disqualified for residency non-compliance, pending litigation against the county, felony convictions or pending felony indictments, or failure to certify political affiliation.
- Permanent vacancies with six months or less remaining in the term are filled by appointment from the chief judge of the Superior Court of Douglas County.
- Permanent vacancies with more than six months remaining are filled through a special election under the Georgia Election Code.
- Section 2 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's approval or the bill becoming law without signature, applying to vacancies occurring after that date.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-19)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-20)
- Sponsors: Donzella James
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70510

> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb210.md?full=1