Section 46-2-1. Election of Commissioners; terms of office

   (a) The Georgia Public Service Commission shall consist of five members to be elected as provided in this Code section. The members in office on January 1, 2012, and any member appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in such membership prior to the expiration of a term of office shall continue to serve out their respective terms of office. As terms of office expire, new members elected to the commission shall be required to be residents of one of five Public Service Commission Districts as hereafter provided, but each member of the commission shall be elected state wide by the qualified voters of this state who are entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, the election shall be held under the same rules and regulations as apply to the election of Governor. The Commissioners, who shall give their entire time to the duties of their offices, shall be elected at the general election next preceding the expiration of the terms of office of the respective incumbents. Their terms of office shall be six years and shall expire on December 31.

(b) In order to be elected as a member of the commission from a Public Service Commission District, a person shall have resided in that district for at least 12 months prior to election thereto. A person elected as a member of the commission from a Public Service Commission District by the voters of Georgia shall continue to reside in that district during the person's term of office, or that office shall thereupon become vacant.

(c) For the purpose of electing the members of the Public Service Commission, this state shall be divided into five Public Service Commission Districts described as follows:
District 001
Appling County
Atkinson County
Bacon County
Baker County
Ben Hill County
Berrien County
Brantley County
Brooks County
Bryan County
Bulloch County
Calhoun County
Camden County
Candler County
Charlton County
Chatham County
Chattahoochee County
Clay County
Clinch County
Coffee County
Colquitt County
Cook County
Crisp County
Decatur County
Dodge County
Dooly County
Dougherty County
Early County
Echols County
Effingham County
Evans County
Glynn County
Grady County
Irwin County
Jeff Davis County
Lanier County
Lee County
Liberty County
Long County
Lowndes County
Macon County
Marion County
McIntosh County
Miller County
Mitchell County
Montgomery County
Muscogee County
Pierce County
Pulaski County
Quitman County
Randolph County
Schley County
Seminole County
Stewart County
Sumter County
Tattnall County
Telfair County
Terrell County
Thomas County
Tift County
Toombs County
Turner County
Ware County
Wayne County
Webster County
Wheeler County
Wilcox County
Worth County
District 002
Baldwin County
Barrow County
Bibb County
Bleckley County
Burke County
Clarke County
Emanuel County
Glascock County
Greene County
Gwinnett County
Hancock County
Houston County
Jackson County
Jasper County
Jefferson County
Jenkins County
Johnson County
Jones County
Laurens County
Morgan County
Newton County
Oconee County
Putnam County
Screven County
Treutlen County
Twiggs County
Walton County
Washington County
Wilkinson County
District 003
Clayton County
DeKalb County
Fulton County
Rockdale County
District 004
Banks County
Bartow County
Catoosa County
Chattooga County
Cherokee County
Columbia County
Dade County
Dawson County
Elbert County
Fannin County
Floyd County
Forsyth County
Franklin County
Gilmer County
Gordon County
Habersham County
Hall County
Hart County
Lincoln County
Lumpkin County
Madison County
McDuffie County
Murray County
Oglethorpe County
Pickens County
Rabun County
Richmond County
Stephens County
Taliaferro County
Towns County
Union County
Walker County
Warren County
White County
Whitfield County
Wilkes County
District 005
Butts County
Carroll County
Cobb County
Coweta County
Crawford County
Douglas County
Fayette County
Haralson County
Harris County
Heard County
Henry County
Lamar County
Meriwether County
Monroe County
Paulding County
Peach County
Pike County
Polk County
Spalding County
Talbot County
Taylor County
Troup County
Upson County

(d) The first members of the commission elected under this Code section shall be elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2012, from Public Service Commission Districts 3 and 5, shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election, and shall serve for terms of office of six years and until the election and qualification of their respective successors. Those members of the commission elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2014, from Public Service Commission Districts 1 and 4 shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election and shall serve for terms of office of six years and until the election and qualification of their respective successors. The member of the commission elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2016, from Public Service Commission District 2 shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election and shall serve for a term of office of six years and until the election and qualification of his or her respective successor. All future successors to members of the commission whose terms of office are to expire shall be elected at the state-wide general election immediately preceding the expiration of such terms, shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election, and shall serve for terms of office of six years.

Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 125, § 1; Code 1882, § 719a; Civil Code 1895, § 2185; Ga. L. 1906, p. 100, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1907, p. 72, § 1; Civil Code 1910, §§ 2615, 2616; Ga. L. 1922, p. 143, § 1; Code 1933, § 93-201; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1530, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 2002, p. 359, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 2012, p. 642, § 1/SB 382.