Gov. Phil Bryant signed the first bill of the legislative session into law Tuesday afternoon.

The bill moves up the effective date of legislation approved in 2016 making all school superintendents appointed instead of elected.

The original law did not go into effect until 2019, but some school districts with elected superintendents faced costs of holding a special election if the superintendent’s spot became vacant before then.

Lawmakers approved, as one of the first bills of the year, a change making the appointed superintendent’s bill effective immediately.