HB1090: HB1090 Echols County; Board of Commissioners; county commissioners shall be elected from the county at large; provide

Echols County currently elects its five commissioners from separate districts under a plan set up in 2022. House Bill 1090 rewrites the law governing the county's Board of Commissioners so that all five members are instead elected countywide (at large) rather than from individual districts. The bill eliminates the existing commissioner district map entirely and creates five numbered posts (Posts 1 through 5) that any qualified county resident can run for, as long as they have lived in the county for at least 12 months and win a majority of votes cast countywide. Commissioners currently serving in district seats would automatically become the initial holders of the corresponding new posts. Current members finish out their existing terms under the old system, and the change takes effect on January 1, 2027.

• Eliminates Echols County's district-based commissioner election system and replaces it with countywide, at-large elections for all five board seats.
• Creates five numbered posts (Posts 1 through 5) that candidates must specify when qualifying for election.
• Repeals the county's 2022 commissioner district map (Appendix A) in its entirety.
• Assigns current district commissioners to specific new posts as of January 1, 2027, so they continue serving without interruption.
• Keeps four-year terms for board members and requires candidates to have lived in the county for at least 12 months before election.
• Sets the effective date of the change as January 1, 2027 and repeals any conflicting laws.

Echols County residents and voters, current and future candidates for the county Board of Commissioners, and the five sitting county commissioners, whose district seats become at-large posts under the new system.

Voters in Echols County would choose all five commissioners countywide instead of only within their own district, meaning every voter could weigh in on every seat. Candidates would need countywide support rather than support within a smaller district to win election.

• Section 1 revises Section 2 of the underlying 1953 Act to require all five board members to be elected countywide rather than by district, effective for elections held under Georgia's Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2).
• Section 1 requires candidates to have resided in Echols County for at least 12 months and to specify which of five posts (1 through 5) they seek when qualifying.
• Section 1 sets four-year terms and designates the sitting district commissioners as the initial holders of the corresponding new posts on January 1, 2027.
• Section 2 repeals Appendix A, the map describing the county's 2022 commissioner districts.
• Section 3 lets current commissioners finish their existing terms under the prior system before the new at-large posts take effect.
• Section 4 sets the effective date of the Act as January 1, 2027.
• Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2027-01-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 539
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-02-24Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-02-24Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2026-02-17Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-02-12House Passed/Adopted (House)

• John Corbett (R, HD-174)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 12, 2026

   156 yea, 0 nay (11 not voting, 8 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #506

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 24, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #571

• local government
• county commissioners
• election rules
• Echols County