HB769: HB769 Gwinnett Judicial Circuit; salary supplements for judges; change provisions

Since 1960, Georgia law has allowed Gwinnett County to supplement the state-paid salaries of Gwinnett Judicial Circuit superior court judges, with the amount last updated in 2014. This bill rewrites that provision to set the annual supplement at $80,200, paid monthly from county funds, and it keeps in place the county's ability to add further amounts on top of that supplement at its own discretion. The bill includes a contingency: it would take effect July 1, 2025, but only if the General Assembly does not separately pass a law this session banning local salary supplements for superior court judges statewide. If that statewide ban is enacted, this bill would never take effect and would automatically repeal itself on July 1, 2025.

• Rewrites Section 2A of the 1960 Act creating the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit to set the judges' annual county-paid salary supplement at $80,200.
• Requires the supplement to be paid in equal monthly installments from Gwinnett County funds.
• Keeps Gwinnett County's authority to pay superior court judges additional amounts beyond the set supplement, at the county governing authority's discretion.
• Makes the bill's effective date of July 1, 2025 contingent on a separate statewide bill banning local judicial salary supplements not being enacted this session.
• Automatically repeals the bill on July 1, 2025 if that separate statewide ban does pass.

Superior court judges of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit, whose annual compensation would be affected, and Gwinnett County's government, which funds the supplement from county funds and retains discretion to add further pay.

The bill would raise the guaranteed local pay supplement for Gwinnett's superior court judges, affecting how much of their compensation comes from the county versus the state, but its fate depends entirely on whether lawmakers separately pass a statewide law banning such local supplements this session.

• Section 1 revises Section 2A of the 1960 Gwinnett Judicial Circuit Act to set the annual salary supplement at $80,200, paid monthly from Gwinnett County funds.
• Section 1 also preserves the county governing authority's power to pay superior court judges additional amounts beyond the set supplement.
• Section 2 sets a contingent effective date of July 1, 2025, tied to whether a separate statewide bill banning local judicial salary supplements passes in the 2025 session.
• Section 2 provides for automatic repeal of this Act on July 1, 2025 if that separate statewide bill is enacted.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Act 221
2. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
3. 2025-04-08House Sent to Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
6. 2025-03-25Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
7. 2025-03-21House Passed/Adopted (House)
8. 2025-03-21House Third Readers (House)

• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 21, 2025

   158 yea, 0 nay (9 not voting, 13 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #293

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   55 yea, 1 nay

   Supplemental Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #400

• judicial salaries
• Gwinnett County government
• superior courts
• local legislation