Bill Text: GA HB553 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Habersham County; board of elections and registration; create
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-04-20 - Effective Date [HB553 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HB553-Introduced.html
11 LC 28
5592/AP
House
Bill 553 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representative Austin of the
10th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
create a board of elections and registration for Habersham County and to provide
for its powers and duties; to provide for definitions; to provide for the
composition of the board and the selection and appointment of members; to
provide for the qualification, terms, and removal of members; to provide for
oaths and privileges; to provide for meetings, procedures, and vacancies; to
relieve certain officers of powers and duties and to provide for the transfer of
functions to the newly created board; to provide for certain expenditures of
public funds; to provide for compensation of members of the board and personnel;
to provide for offices and equipment; to provide for the board's performance of
certain functions and duties for certain municipalities; to provide for related
matters; to provide for submission for preclearance under Section 5 of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended; to provide effective dates; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Pursuant
to subsection (b) of Code Section 21-2-40 of the O.C.G.A., there is created the
Board of Elections and Registration of Habersham County, hereinafter referred to
as "the board." The board shall have the powers, duties, and responsibilities
of the judge of the probate court of Habersham County under Chapter 2 of Title
21 of the O.C.G.A., the "Georgia Election Code," and the powers, duties, and
responsibilities of the board of registrars of Habersham County under Chapter 2
of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the "Georgia Election Code."
SECTION
2.
The
terms "election," "elector," "political party," "primary," and "public office"
shall have the same meaning as set forth in Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the
O.C.G.A., the "Georgia Election Code," unless otherwise clearly apparent from
the text of this Act, and the term "commissioners" means the Board of
Commissioners of Habersham County and "county" means Habersham
County.
SECTION
3.
(a)
The board shall be composed of five members who shall be appointed as provided
in this section.
(b) Two members of the board shall be appointed by the county executive committee of the political party which received the highest number of votes within the county for its candidate for Governor in the general election immediately preceding the appointment of such member. Two members of the board shall be appointed by the county executive committee of the political party which received the second highest number of votes within the county for its candidate for Governor in the general election immediately preceding the appointment of such member. In the event that there is no county executive committee of a political party entitled to make an appointment under this subsection, the appointment on behalf of such political party shall be made by the state executive committee of such party.
(c) One member of the board shall be selected by the governing authority of Habersham County.
(d) All appointments to the board shall be promptly certified by the appointing authority of Habersham County to the clerk of the Superior Court of Habersham County.
(b) Two members of the board shall be appointed by the county executive committee of the political party which received the highest number of votes within the county for its candidate for Governor in the general election immediately preceding the appointment of such member. Two members of the board shall be appointed by the county executive committee of the political party which received the second highest number of votes within the county for its candidate for Governor in the general election immediately preceding the appointment of such member. In the event that there is no county executive committee of a political party entitled to make an appointment under this subsection, the appointment on behalf of such political party shall be made by the state executive committee of such party.
(c) One member of the board shall be selected by the governing authority of Habersham County.
(d) All appointments to the board shall be promptly certified by the appointing authority of Habersham County to the clerk of the Superior Court of Habersham County.
(e)(1)
The initial appointees to the board shall take office on July 1,
2011.
(2)
One of the initial members appointed by the county executive committee of each
political party shall serve a term of office beginning on July 1, 2011, and
ending on June 30, 2013, and until his or her respective successor is duly
appointed and qualified. Successors to each such member shall thereafter be
appointed by the appropriate appointing authority to serve a term of office of
four years beginning July 1, 2013, and until his or her respective successor is
duly appointed and qualified. Thereafter, all successors to such members shall
be appointed to serve four-year terms of office and until their respective
successors are appointed and qualified.
(3)
The other initial member appointed by the county executive committee of each
political party shall serve a term of office beginning on July 1, 2011, and
ending on June 30, 2015, and until his or her respective successor is duly
appointed and qualified. Successors to each such member shall thereafter be
appointed by the appropriate appointing authority to serve a term of office of
four years beginning July 1, 2015, and until his or her respective successor is
duly appointed and qualified. Thereafter, all successors to such members shall
be appointed to serve four-year terms of office and until their respective
successors are appointed and qualified.
(4)
The initial member appointed by the governing authority of Habersham County
shall serve a term of office beginning on July 1, 2011, and ending on
June 30, 2015, and until his or her respective successor is duly appointed
and qualified. The successor to such member shall thereafter be appointed by
the governing authority to serve a term of office of four years beginning July
1, 2015, and until his or her respective successor is duly appointed and
qualified. Thereafter, successors to such member shall be appointed to serve
four-year terms of office and until their respective successors are appointed
and qualified.
(f)
The member of the board appointed by the county governing authority shall serve
as chairperson of the board. Such chairperson shall preside over all meetings
of the board and shall be entitled to vote on all matters coming before the
board.
SECTION
4.
There
shall be an election supervisor who shall generally direct and control the
administration of the affairs of the board pursuant to law and duly adopted
resolutions of the board. The election supervisor shall not be a member of the
board. The appointment of the supervisor shall be made by the board of
commissioners, which will consider the recommendation of the board of elections
and registration. The supervisor shall be appointed and removed by the board of
commissioners in the same manner as department heads. The compensation of such
election supervisor shall be established by the board of commissioners in the
same manner as department heads. The election supervisor shall provide daily
employee supervision, serve as staff support for the board, attend all meetings
of the board, carry out the duties of voter registration and elections as
required by law, and be a full-time employee of Habersham County.
SECTION
5.
Each
member of the board shall:
(1)
Be eligible to be reappointed to succeed such member;
(2)
Have the right to resign at any time by giving written notice of such
resignation to the governing authority of Habersham County and to the clerk of
the superior court; and
(3)
Serve until his or her successor is appointed and qualified.
SECTION
6.
(a)
The appointing authority shall certify the appointment of each member of the
board by filing an affidavit with the clerk of the superior court no later than
30 days preceding the date upon which such members are to take office, stating
the name and residential address of the person appointed and certifying such
member has been duly appointed as provided in this
Act.
(b) The clerk of the superior court shall record each of such certifications on the minutes of the superior court and shall certify the name of each such appointed member to the Secretary of State and provide for the issuance of appropriate commissions to the members within the same time and in the same manner as provided by law for registrars.
(b) The clerk of the superior court shall record each of such certifications on the minutes of the superior court and shall certify the name of each such appointed member to the Secretary of State and provide for the issuance of appropriate commissions to the members within the same time and in the same manner as provided by law for registrars.
SECTION
7.
In
the event a vacancy occurs in the office of any member before the expiration of
his or her term, by removal, death, resignation, or otherwise, the appointing
authority which is required under Section 3 of this Act to make the appointment
to the office upon the expiration of the term shall appoint a successor to serve
the remainder of the unexpired term as provided for in Section 3 of this
Act. If the vacancy in office is not filled within 60 days after it occurs, the
vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the term by the governing authority
of Habersham County. The clerk of the superior court shall be notified of such
interim appointments and record and certify such appointments in the same manner
as the regular appointment of members.
SECTION
8.
(a)
The first members of the board under this Act shall be appointed as provided in
this Act to take office on July 1, 2011. The board shall take no official
action until all members have been certified to the clerk of the Superior Court
of Habersham County.
(b) Before entering upon the member's duties, each member shall take substantially the same oath as required by law for registrars and shall have the same privileges from arrest.
(b) Before entering upon the member's duties, each member shall take substantially the same oath as required by law for registrars and shall have the same privileges from arrest.
SECTION
9.
(a)
No person who holds elective public office shall be eligible to serve as a
member of the board during the term of such elective office, and the position of
any member of the board shall be deemed vacant upon such member's qualifying as
a candidate for elective public
office.
(b) Members of the board must be residents of Habersham County and must have been registered voters in Habersham County for a period of at least one year prior to the date of appointment to the board.
(b) Members of the board must be residents of Habersham County and must have been registered voters in Habersham County for a period of at least one year prior to the date of appointment to the board.
SECTION
10.
The
board shall have the authority to contract with any municipality or governmental
authority located within Habersham County for the holding by the board of any
primary or election to be conducted within such municipality or governmental
authority. The full costs of any such election shall be paid for by the
requesting municipality or governmental authority along with a fee established
by the board to offset operational costs of the office of the Habersham County
Board of Elections and Registration.
SECTION
11.
(a)
The board shall be authorized and empowered to organize itself, elect from among
its members a vice chairperson, determine its procedural rules and regulations,
adopt bylaws, specify the functions and duties of its employees, and otherwise
take such action as is appropriate to the management of its affairs; provided,
however, that no such action shall conflict with state
law.
(b) Action and decision by the board shall be by a majority of the members of the board.
(b) Action and decision by the board shall be by a majority of the members of the board.
SECTION
12.
(a)
The board shall fix and establish, by appropriate resolution entered on its
minutes, directives governing the execution of matters within its jurisdiction.
The board shall hold meetings at the office of the Habersham County Board of
Elections and Registration or at the place of meeting of the commissioners. Any
specially called meetings held pursuant to the bylaws adopted by the board shall
be held only after notification of the time and place of the holding of such
special meeting has been communicated in writing to the election supervisor to
provide public notice of the meeting as required by law. All meetings of
whatever kind of the board shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 50
of the O.C.G.A.
(b) The board shall maintain a written record of policy decisions amended to include additions or deletions. Such written records shall be made available for the public to review pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the O.C.G.A.
(b) The board shall maintain a written record of policy decisions amended to include additions or deletions. Such written records shall be made available for the public to review pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the O.C.G.A.
SECTION
13.
Compensation
for the members of the board shall be fixed by the Board of Commissioners of
Habersham County. All amounts payable under this section shall be paid from the
funds of Habersham County.
SECTION
14.
(a)
The board may employ, subject to funding by the Habersham County Board of
Commissioners, additional clerical assistants as needed to efficiently carry
out the duties and functions of the board on either an independent contract
basis or as county employees entitled to all benefits as other county employees,
to be determined by the board of commissioners. The compensation of all
clerical assistants shall be established by the board of commissioners in the
same manner as for other county employees. Any such assistants shall be at-will
employees of the board of
commissioners.
(b) The board of commissioners, at their legislative discretion, shall provide suitable offices and equipment and funding sufficient to employ the staff and other employees as may be necessary.
(b) The board of commissioners, at their legislative discretion, shall provide suitable offices and equipment and funding sufficient to employ the staff and other employees as may be necessary.
SECTION
15.
The
board shall be responsible for the selection, appointment, and training of poll
workers.
SECTION
16.
The
Board of Commissioners of Habersham County shall cause, through its legal
counsel, this Act to be submitted for preclearance under Section 5 of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, within 45 days after the date on
which this Act is approved by the Governor or otherwise becomes law without such
approval.
SECTION
17.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval for purposes of making initial appointments
to the board only. This Act shall become fully effective on July 1, 2011. Upon
this Act becoming fully effective or upon such later date determined by the
board of commissioners, the superintendent of elections of Habersham County and
the board of registrars of Habersham County shall be relieved of all powers and
duties to which the board succeeds by the provisions of this Act and shall
deliver to the board all equipment, supplies, materials, books, papers, records,
and facilities pertaining to such powers and duties. Nothing contained herein
is intended to prevent the appointment of members of the board, the hiring of an
election supervisor, the hiring of clerical staff, or any necessary training for
the members of the board, the election supervisor, and clerical
assistants.
SECTION
18.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
