09 LC 28
4626/AP
House
Bill 686 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representative Rynders of the
152nd
and Harden of the
147th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To
create a board of elections and registration for Worth 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; to provide for related matters; to provide for submission
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 Worth County, hereinafter referred to as
"the board." The board shall have the powers, duties, and responsibilities of
the superintendent of elections of Worth County under Chapter 2 of Title 21 of
the O.C.G.A., the "Georgia Election Code," currently being exercised by the
judge of the Probate Court of Worth County, and the powers, duties, and
responsibilities of the Board of Registrars of Worth 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 meanings 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 Worth County, and "county" means Worth County.
SECTION
3.
(a)
The board shall be composed of a chairperson and four members who shall be
appointed as provided in this
section.
(b) Three members of the
board shall be selected by the governing authority of Worth County, one of whom
shall serve as chairperson of the board who shall serve as such during his or
her term of office.
(c) One member of
the board shall be appointed by 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. One member of
the board shall be appointed by 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. Each of
these respective members appointed by the political parties shall be nominated
by the party chairperson and ratified by the county executive committee of the
respective political party at least 30 days before the beginning of the terms of
office or within 30 days after the creation of a vacancy in the office. In the
event that a political party entitled to appoint a member of the board does not
have a county executive committee, such appointment shall be made by the state
executive committee of such political party. Should either political party fail
to make its appointment then the other appointed members of the board shall be
authorized to conduct the business of the board.
(d)(1)
The initial members of the board shall be appointed no later than June 1,
2009.
(2)(A)
The initial members appointed by the governing authority shall take office on
July 1, 2009.
(B)
One of the initial members shall be designated to serve a term of office of two
years and until his or her respective successor is appointed and qualified. A
successor to such member shall be appointed not later than 30 days prior to the
expiration of such member's term of office to take office on July 1, 2011,
and every four years thereafter for a term of four years and until his or her
respective successor is appointed and qualified.
(C)
The remaining two initial members shall be designated to serve a term of office
of four years and until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.
Successors to such members shall be appointed not later than 30 days prior to
the expiration of such members' term of office to take office on July 1,
2013, and every four years thereafter for a term of four years and until their
respective successors are appointed and qualified.
(3)
The initial members appointed by the political parties shall take office on July
1, 2009, and serve an initial term of two years which shall expire on June 30,
2011, and until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.
Successors to such members shall be appointed not later than 30 days prior to
the expiration of such members' term of office to take office on July 1, 2011,
and every four years thereafter for a term of four years and until their
respective successors are appointed and qualified.
(4)
Successors to the initial members shall be appointed and certified in the same
manner as the initial members of the board.
SECTION
4.
(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 Worth County and must have been registered voters in Worth
County for a period of at least one year prior to the date of their appointment
to the board.
SECTION
5.
The
governing authority of Worth County shall certify the appointment of each member
of the board by filing an affidavit with the clerk of the superior court no
later than 15 days preceding the date upon which each member is 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. 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
6.
Each
member of the board shall be eligible to serve two full four-year terms of
office, shall have the right to resign at any time by giving written notice of
such resignation to the governing authority of Worth County and to the clerk of
the superior court and shall be subject to removal from the board by the
governing authority of Worth County at any time, for cause, after notice and
hearing.
SECTION
7.
In
the event a vacancy occurs in the office of any appointed member before the
expiration of his or her term, by removal, death, resignation, or otherwise, the
appointing authority that made the original appointment of such member shall
appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the unexpired term as provided for
in Section 3 of this Act. 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.
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)
The board shall be authorized to organize itself, 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
the affairs committed to its supervision; provided, however, that no such action
shall conflict with state law. Action and decision by the board shall be by a
majority of the members of the board. The board shall be responsible for the
selection, appointment, and training of poll workers in primaries and
elections.
(b) The board shall fix and
establish, by appropriate resolution entered on its minutes, directives
governing the execution of matters within its jurisdiction. Any specially
called meeting shall be called by the chairperson or any two members of the
board. 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.
SECTION
10.
The
board shall have the authority to contract with any municipality located within
Worth County for the holding by the board of any primary or election to be
conducted within such municipality.
SECTION
11.
(a)
The governing authority of Worth County shall be authorized to appoint an
elections supervisor to generally supervise, direct, and control the
administration of the affairs of the board pursuant to law and duly adopted
resolutions of the board. The elections supervisor shall not be a member of the
board or an elected official. The elections supervisor shall be considered an
employee of Worth County and shall be entitled to the same benefits as other
employees of Worth County.
(b) The
governing authority of Worth County shall be authorized to employ additional
clerical assistants as needed to carry out the duties and functions of the
board. All such clerical assistants shall be considered to be employees of
Worth County and shall be entitled to the same benefits as other employees of
Worth County.
SECTION
12.
Compensation
for the members of the board, elections supervisor, clerical assistants, and
other employees shall be fixed by the governing authority of Worth County. Such
compensation shall be paid wholly from county funds.
SECTION
13.
The
governing authority of Worth County shall provide the board with such proper and
suitable offices, equipment, materials, and supplies and with such clerical
assistance and other employees as the governing authority of Worth County deems
appropriate.
SECTION
14.
The
board of commissioners of Worth County shall through its legal counsel cause
this Act to be submitted for preclearance under Section 5 of the federal Voting
Rights Act of 1965, as amended, and such submission shall be made to the United
States Department of Justice or filed with the appropriate court no later than
45 days after the date on which this Act is approved by the Governor or
otherwise becomes law without such approval.
SECTION
15.
This
Act shall become effective on 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, 2009. Upon this
Act becoming fully effective, the judge of the Probate Court of Worth County and
the Board of Registrars of Worth 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. On such date, the Board of
Registrars of Worth County shall be abolished.
SECTION
16.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.