HB982: HB982 Barnesville, City of; city council; change description of election districts

Barnesville's city charter divides the city into five districts for electing city council members. This bill updates the boundary descriptions for those five districts, replacing the old district map (Appendix B) with a new one based on 2020 U.S. Census block and voting district (VTD) data. The council will still have a mayor and five members elected from five districts, so the basic structure does not change, only the precise boundary lines. The bill also states that any city area left out of a district gets added to the least populous adjacent district, and any part of a district that is not physically connected to it gets reassigned the same way. Current council members keep serving out their terms under the newly described districts, and the bill repeals any conflicting laws.

• Rewrites Section 2.10 of Barnesville's city charter to redefine the boundaries of the five city council election districts using 2020 Census data.
• Replaces Appendix B of the charter, which lists the specific census blocks and voting districts (VTDs) assigned to each of the five council districts.
• Requires that any part of the city not assigned to a district be added to the adjacent district with the smallest population.
• Requires that any district area that is not physically connected (contiguous) to its district be moved into the adjacent district with the smallest population.
• Allows current council members to keep serving their existing terms even though their district boundaries have changed on paper.

Residents of the City of Barnesville, whose district assignment for city council elections may shift under the new boundary lines, and current members of the Barnesville City Council, whose districts are being redescribed but who keep serving out their terms.

Where a Barnesville resident lives determines which council district they vote in and who represents them. Updating the boundaries with new census data changes those assignments for some residents, even though the council's size and structure stay the same.

• Section 1 revises Section 2.10 of the city charter, keeping a mayor plus five councilmembers but redescribing the five election districts based on the 2020 Census.
• Section 1 defines 'VTD' as matching 2020 Census voting district boundaries and explains how numeric block designations under a VTD heading work.
• Section 1 provides that current council members continue serving their terms and that the renumbered Districts 1 through 5 are treated as the same districts as before, just newly described.
• Section 2 strikes the old Appendix B and inserts a new version listing the specific census blocks and VTDs that make up each of the five districts.
• Section 3 repeals any laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 531
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-02-17Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-02-17Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2026-02-09Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-02-06House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)Primary sponsor
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 6, 2026

   163 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 5 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #480

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 17, 2026

   48 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #548

• city council districts
• Barnesville city charter
• local elections
• redistricting