Georgia House passes bill requiring public board members to be U.S. citizens

ATLANTA — The Georgia House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill that would require that a member of a public board, commission or authority be a citizen or national of the United States or a lawful permanent resident and a legal Georgia resident.

Under House Bill 781, active duty members of the armed forces of the United States or their immediate family are exempted from the residency requirement. This legislation would also allow business owners who own Georgia businesses along our state’s borders, but live across state lines to be members of public boards, commissions and authorities. Rep. Raffensperger states that these details of the bill are consistent with Georgia’s strong support of our military and pro-business friendly environment.

“The recent events in California involving two illegal immigrants who were appointed to a city board were the motivation for such necessary legislation,” state Rep. Brad Raffensperger, R-Johns Creek, said in a news release. “Boards, commissions and authorities can have broad powers to determine policies on tax reductions, bond obligations, zoning, and, in many cases, serve in quasi-judicial functions.  I believe a standard is required for these public entities and to ensure that a member is a lawful permanent resident, citizen or national of the United States is a reasonable, measured standard.”


Comments

One response to “Georgia House passes bill requiring public board members to be U.S. citizens”

  1. charlesPi Avatar
    charlesPi

    Ich denke, dass es die ausgezeichnete Idee ist.
    charlesPi