HB 236: Bartow County; appointment of a county surveyor; provide

Bartow County currently elects its county surveyor, an official who handles land boundary surveys and related duties. This bill abolishes that elected office and replaces it with an appointed position filled by the county's governing authority, using power the Georgia General Assembly grants counties under O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2.1. The person currently holding the elected surveyor job would finish out their existing term with no further elections held afterward. Once that term ends, the county governing authority would appoint a qualified person to serve one-year terms, with successors also appointed annually. Anyone appointed must meet the same qualifications the state already requires for county surveyors under O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2. The law takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

• Abolishes the elected office of county surveyor in Bartow County under authority the state gives counties (O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2.1).
• Gives Bartow County's governing authority the power to appoint a county surveyor for one-year terms going forward.
• Lets the currently elected surveyor finish their existing term before the appointment system takes over, and ends elections for the office after that.
• Requires any appointed surveyor to meet the same qualifications already set by state law (O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2(b)(1)).
• Sets the law to take effect immediately once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

This bill affects Bartow County's government, the person currently serving as elected county surveyor, future candidates for that role, and Bartow County residents and property owners who rely on the county surveyor for land boundary and survey matters.

Bartow County voters would no longer elect their county surveyor; instead the county commission would pick who holds the job on a yearly basis. This shifts accountability for the position from the ballot box to appointed county officials, changing who residents would need to petition if they have concerns about the office.

• Section 1 abolishes the elected office of Bartow County surveyor and shifts the position to appointment by the county's governing authority for one-year terms.
• Section 1 preserves the current elected surveyor's remaining term and ends future elections for the office once that term expires.
• Section 1 requires appointees to meet the qualifications already listed in O.C.G.A. Section 36-7-2(b)(1).
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without approval.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 136
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-02-21Senate Passed/Adopted (Senado)
6. 2025-02-21Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senado)
7. 2025-02-11Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
8. 2025-02-10House Passed/Adopted (Cámara de Representantes)

• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-014)Patrocinador principal
• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-015)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes10 de febrero de 2025

   167 a favor, 0 en contra (5 sin votar, 8 ausentes)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #19

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado21 de febrero de 2025

   46 a favor, 0 en contra (9 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #78

• county government
• local elections
• Bartow County
• public appointments