HB 966: Garden City, City of; mayor to fill any vacancy in the office of mayor pro tempore; provide

Garden City's charter already lets the mayor appoint a councilperson to serve as mayor pro tempore after each election. This bill amends that charter section to add a specific rule for what happens if the mayor pro tempore's seat becomes vacant during the term: the mayor, not the full council, fills that vacancy. The bill rewrites subsection (b) of Section 2.03 of the 1973 charter Act (as amended in 2024) to insert the sentence giving the mayor this filling power. It leaves unchanged the rest of the section, including the mayor pro tempore's role of acting as mayor during absences and the separate process for replacing the president of council. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and applies only to the City of Garden City.

• Adds a new rule to Garden City's charter (Section 2.03(b)) giving the mayor the power to fill any vacancy in the office of mayor pro tempore.
• Leaves in place the existing charter language on how the mayor pro tempore is originally appointed for a four-year term.
• Keeps unchanged the rule that the mayor pro tempore acts as mayor during the mayor's absence or disability and becomes mayor if the mayor's office is vacated.
• Keeps unchanged the separate process for replacing the president of council if that seat becomes vacant, which still requires a council vote.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new charter provision.

This bill affects the City of Garden City's government, specifically the mayor, the city council, and whichever councilperson serves as mayor pro tempore. It clarifies the process only for that city's local charter and does not affect other Georgia municipalities.

Without this change, Garden City's charter did not clearly say who decides when the mayor pro tempore's seat becomes vacant mid-term. The bill settles that question by giving the mayor sole authority to fill it, rather than leaving it to a council vote or leaving the process undefined.

• Section 1 revises subsection (b) of Section 2.03 of Garden City's 1973 charter Act to add the sentence: the mayor shall fill any vacancy in the mayor pro tempore's office.
• Section 1 retains existing language on the mayor pro tempore's four-year term, acting role during mayoral absence, and automatic succession to mayor if that office becomes vacant.
• Section 1 retains the separate, unchanged process by which the city council fills a vacancy in the office of president of council by majority vote.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-04-02Effective Date 2026-04-02
2. 2026-04-02Act 376
3. 2026-04-02House Date Signed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-04-02House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-02-24Senate Passed/Adopted (Senado)
6. 2026-02-24Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senado)
7. 2026-02-17Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
8. 2026-02-12House Passed/Adopted (Cámara de Representantes)

• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)Patrocinador principal
• Edna Jackson (D, HD-165)
• Carl Gilliard (D, HD-162)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes12 de febrero de 2026

   156 a favor, 0 en contra (11 sin votar, 8 ausentes)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #506

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado24 de febrero de 2026

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

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #571

• local government
• city charters
• Garden City
• mayor pro tempore
• municipal law