HB 1020: Judicial Retirement System; payment of monthly retirement benefits for creditable service as a district attorney at the age of 65 years; provide

Georgia currently lets counties supplement district attorneys' state salaries by local ordinance, and pension law treats district attorney service differently from judge service. House Bill 1020, called the District Attorney Compensation Reform Act, rewrites both systems starting July 1, 2026. District attorneys in office on that date can either keep their current pay setup for life or irrevocably switch to a new system of state salary plus capped county locality pay (up to 10 percent of the state salary, with a formula that shrinks the cap as salaries rise). New and switching district attorneys lose eligibility for old-style county salary supplements, though counties can still pay fringe benefits and certain contract-based supplements. The bill also raises minimum pay ranges for assistant district attorneys, freezes local laws that tie other officials' pay to a district attorney's salary (lifting automatically for judges in 2027), and rewrites the Georgia Judicial Retirement System (O.C.G.A. Chapter 23 of Title 47) so that members joining on or after July 1, 2026 get their full pension only after reaching age 65, unless their creditable service is as a superior court judge or district attorney, mirroring the treatment already given to judges. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.

• Lets district attorneys serving as of July 1, 2026 choose, once and irrevocably, between keeping their current pay and supplements or switching to state salary plus capped county locality pay.
• Abolishes most county salary supplements for district attorneys going forward, replacing them with locality pay capped at 10 percent of the state salary, with a shrinking cap formula as salaries rise.
• Raises the minimum salary ranges for assistant district attorneys (for example, Assistant District Attorney I rises from $38,124 to $78,000).
• Freezes (suspends) local laws or ordinances that calculate other officials' pay as a percentage of a district attorney's salary, with the freeze on judges' pay automatically lifting July 1, 2027.
• Adds a new Georgia Judicial Retirement System rule (O.C.G.A. § 47-23-102.2) so that members joining the system on or after July 1, 2026 get full pension credit for district attorney or superior court judge service only once they turn 65.
• Preserves existing retirement rights and county fringe benefits for district attorneys, so switching to the new pay system cannot reduce benefits already earned.

Georgia's district attorneys and assistant district attorneys, county governments that currently pay salary supplements, other local officials whose pay is legally tied to a district attorney's salary (including some judges), and members of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, including future district attorneys and superior court judges planning retirement.

District attorneys would face a one-time, irrevocable choice about how they get paid, and counties would lose the ability to freely supplement DA salaries going forward. Assistant district attorneys would see substantially higher minimum pay, and newly hired district attorneys and judges would need to work until age 65 to draw a full pension based on that service.

• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10 so sitting district attorneys must choose by January 1, 2030 between old compensation (with county supplements) or new state salary plus locality pay; the choice is irrevocable once made.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10.2, capping county locality pay at 10 percent of the state salary (or $20,608.05, whichever is less) and barring most new county salary supplements after July 1, 2026.
• Section 5 raises minimum pay for Assistant District Attorney classes I through IV, for example moving Assistant District Attorney IV's floor from $52,176 to $134,291.
• Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4 to cap district attorney state salary at 88 percent of the base salary referenced in that section, set by the General Assembly's annual budget act.
• Section 7 adds O.C.G.A. § 1-3-13, suspending local laws that peg other officials' pay to a district attorney's salary, with the suspension on judges' pay lifting automatically July 1, 2027.
• Sections 9 and 10 add O.C.G.A. § 47-23-102.2, requiring judicial retirement system members who join on or after July 1, 2026 to reach age 65 for full pension credit on district attorney or superior court judge service.
• Section 15 sets the effective date of the entire Act as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-12Act 716
3. 2026-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-25House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-23Senate Notice to Reconsider (Senate)
7. 2026-03-23Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
8. 2026-03-23Senate Third Read (Senate)

• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 19, 2026

   164 yea, 0 nay (8 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #532

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 23, 2026

   32 yea, 19 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #791

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2026

   100 yea, 55 nay (2 not voting, 19 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #770

• district attorney pay
• prosecutor compensation
• judicial retirement system
• county salary supplements
• assistant district attorney salaries