| 5 | 5 | | By: Representative Smith of the 18 |
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| 6 | 6 | | th |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | To amend an Act to provide a new charter for the City of Mount Zion, approved May 12, |
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| 11 | 11 | | 1 |
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| 12 | 12 | | 2015 (Ga. L. 2015, p. 3862), so as to provide that members of the city council shall be2 |
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| 13 | 13 | | elected from districts instead of at large; to provide district residency requirements for3 |
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| 14 | 14 | | councilmembers; to revise election procedures to provide for district elections; to provide the4 |
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| 15 | 15 | | description of council districts; to provide for definitions and inclusions; to provide for5 |
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| 16 | 16 | | continuation in office of current councilmembers; to provide for related matters; to repeal6 |
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| 17 | 17 | | conflicting laws; and for other purposes.7 |
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| 18 | 18 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:8 |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 1.9 |
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| 20 | 20 | | An Act to provide a new charter for the City of Mount Zion, approved May 12, 2015 (Ga.10 |
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| 22 | 22 | | H. B. 164 |
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| 23 | 23 | | - 2 - |
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| 24 | 24 | | "SECTION 2.10. |
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| 25 | 25 | | 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | City council creation, composition, number, election.13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | The legislative authority of the government of this city, except as otherwise specifically14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | provided in this charter, shall be vested in a city council to be composed of a mayor and15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | four councilmembers. The mayor and council members shall be elected in a manner16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | provided in Article V of this charter.17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 2.11.18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | City council terms and qualifications for office.19 |
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| 33 | 33 | | The mayor of the city shall serve for a term of four years consecutive and until his or her20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | successor is elected and qualified. The members of the city council shall serve for terms21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | of four years consecutive and until their respective successors are elected and qualified.22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | No person shall be eligible to serve as mayor or councilmember unless he or she is a23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | qualified municipal voter and shall have been a resident of the city for one year24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | immediately prior to the date of his or her qualifying for said position. No person shall be25 |
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| 39 | 39 | | eligible to serve as a councilmember unless he or she has been a resident of the district he26 |
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| 40 | 40 | | or she is elected from for six months immediately prior to the date of his or her qualifying27 |
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| 41 | 41 | | for said position. The mayor and each councilmember shall continue to reside within the28 |
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| 42 | 42 | | city limits proper during his or her period of service, and each councilmember shall29 |
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| 43 | 43 | | continue to reside within the district from which he or she was elected during his or her30 |
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| 44 | 44 | | period of service."31 |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 2.32 |
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| 47 | 47 | | H. B. 164 |
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| 48 | 48 | | - 3 - |
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| 49 | 49 | | "(a) The office of mayor and councilmember shall become vacant upon the incumbent's |
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| 50 | 50 | | 34 |
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| 51 | 51 | | death, resignation, forfeiture of office, relocation of residency outside the city limits proper,35 |
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| 52 | 52 | | or removal from office in any manner authorized by this charter or the general laws of the36 |
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| 53 | 53 | | State of Georgia. The office of councilmember shall become vacant upon the incumbent's37 |
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| 54 | 54 | | relocation of residency outside the district from which he or she was elected."38 |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 3.39 |
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| 56 | 56 | | Said Act is further amended by revising subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding a new40 |
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| 57 | 57 | | subsection to Section 5.11 as follows:41 |
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| 58 | 58 | | "(c) The mayor shall be elected by the voters of the city at large. The mayor in office on42 |
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| 59 | 59 | | the effective date of this Act shall remain in office until his or her successor is elected and43 |
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| 60 | 60 | | takes office as provided for in this charter.44 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (d) The councilmembers from District 1 and District 2 shall be elected in 2023 and every45 |
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| 62 | 62 | | four years thereafter.46 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (e) The councilmembers from District 3 and District 4 shall be elected in 2025 and every47 |
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| 64 | 64 | | four years thereafter.48 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (f) The four councilmembers to be elected as provided in this section shall be elected from49 |
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| 66 | 66 | | the districts provided for in Section 5.14. Only electors who are residents of a particular50 |
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| 67 | 67 | | district may vote for a councilmember from that district. At the time of qualifying for51 |
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| 68 | 68 | | election as a councilmember, each candidate for such office shall specify the district for52 |
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| 69 | 69 | | which that person is a candidate."53 |
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| 70 | 70 | | SECTION 4.54 |
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| 72 | 72 | | H. B. 164 |
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| 73 | 73 | | - 4 - |
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| 74 | 74 | | "SECTION 5.14. |
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| 75 | 75 | | 56 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (a) For the purpose of electing councilmembers the City of Mount Zion shall be divided57 |
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| 77 | 77 | | into four council districts. Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall be and correspond to those four58 |
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| 78 | 78 | | numbered districts described in Appendix A attached to and made a part of this Act and59 |
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| 79 | 79 | | further identified as 'User: Mt Zion Plan Name: mtzioncc-2023 Plan Type: Local'.60 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (b) For the purposes of such plan:61 |
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| 81 | 81 | | (1) The term 'VTD' shall mean and describe the same geographical boundaries as62 |
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| 82 | 82 | | provided in the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United States decennial census63 |
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| 83 | 83 | | of 2020 for the State of Georgia. The separate numeric designations in a district64 |
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| 84 | 84 | | description which are underneath a VTD heading shall mean and describe individual65 |
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| 85 | 85 | | Blocks within a VTD as provided in the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United66 |
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| 86 | 86 | | States decennial census of 2020 for the State of Georgia; and67 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (2) Except as otherwise provided in the description of any district, whenever the68 |
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| 88 | 88 | | description of any district refers to a named city, it shall mean the geographical69 |
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| 89 | 89 | | boundaries of that city as shown on the census maps for the United States decennial70 |
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| 90 | 90 | | census of 2020 for the State of Georgia.71 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (c) Any part of the City of Mount Zion which is not included in any district described in72 |
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| 92 | 92 | | subsection (a) of this section shall be included within that district contiguous to such part73 |
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| 93 | 93 | | which contains the least population according to the United States decennial census of 202074 |
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| 94 | 94 | | for the State of Georgia.75 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (d) Any part of the City of Mount Zion which is described in subsection (a) of this section76 |
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| 96 | 96 | | as being included in a particular district shall nevertheless not be included within such77 |
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| 97 | 97 | | district if such part is not contiguous to such district. Such noncontiguous part shall instead78 |
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| 98 | 98 | | be included within that district contiguous to such part which contains the least population79 |
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| 100 | 100 | | H. B. 164 |
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| 101 | 101 | | - 5 - |
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| 102 | 102 | | (e) Any territory purportedly described in a district in subsection (a) of this section that |
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| 103 | 103 | | 81 |
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| 104 | 104 | | is not within the corporate limits of the City of Mount Zion shall not be part of any such82 |
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| 105 | 105 | | district.83 |
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| 106 | 106 | | (f) Those councilmembers who are serving as such on the effective date of this Act and84 |
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| 107 | 107 | | any person selected to fill a vacancy in any such office shall continue to serve as such85 |
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| 108 | 108 | | councilmembers until the regular expiration of their respective terms of office and upon the86 |
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| 109 | 109 | | election and qualification of their respective successors.87 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (g) City Council Posts 1, 2, 3, and 4, as they exist immediately prior to the effective date88 |
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| 111 | 111 | | of this Act, shall be designated as Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, as newly described89 |
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| 112 | 112 | | under this Act, and on and after the effective date of this Act, such councilmembers from90 |
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| 113 | 113 | | those former posts shall be deemed to be serving from and representing their respective91 |
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| 114 | 114 | | districts as newly described under this Act."92 |
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| 115 | 115 | | SECTION 5.93 |
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