HB 1028: District Attorney Compensation Reform Act; enact

Georgia district attorneys are currently paid a state salary plus county supplements set by local laws, which vary widely by circuit. This bill, the District Attorney Compensation Reform Act, creates a new system where district attorneys can voluntarily and irrevocably opt into a revised state salary (set under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4) plus capped county "locality pay" instead of their current pay. District attorneys in office on July 1, 2026 who do not opt in keep their current pay, including county supplements, indefinitely (though the option to switch expires January 1, 2034). For district attorneys who opt in or take office after July 1, 2026, counties could no longer pay open-ended local supplements. Instead they could offer locality pay capped at roughly 10 percent of the state salary, with a formula that shrinks the cap as the state salary rises. The bill also freezes, for one year, any other local government salaries that are mathematically pegged to a district attorney's pay, to prevent automatic ripple-effect raises, with judges' link resuming July 1, 2027. The changes take effect July 1, 2026.

• Lets district attorneys in office on July 1, 2026 choose, on a one-time irrevocable basis, to switch to a new state salary plus capped county locality pay instead of their current pay and supplements.
• Guarantees district attorneys who do not opt in keep being paid exactly as they were as of June 30, 2026, including existing county supplements.
• Caps county "locality pay" for district attorneys who opt in (or take office after July 1, 2026) at about 10 percent of the state salary, with the cap shrinking as that salary grows past $206,805.
• Abolishes most open-ended county salary supplements to district attorneys going forward, while still allowing counties to keep providing existing fringe benefits and honor existing retirement rights.
• Changes how the state sets district attorney salaries in the General Appropriations Act, capping it at 88 percent of a reference base salary under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4.
• Temporarily suspends any local law that ties another official's pay to a district attorney's salary, freezing those linked salaries until the suspension lifts (automatically for judges on July 1, 2027, or by further legislative or local action for others).

Georgia's 50 elected judicial circuit district attorneys and any interim district attorneys, the counties that fund their salary supplements, county governing authorities, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, and any state, county, or local officials or judges whose pay is legally tied by formula to a district attorney's salary.

District attorney pay currently varies a lot by county because of local supplement laws. This bill would standardize future pay through a state salary and capped locality pay system, while protecting current district attorneys from pay cuts, and would temporarily freeze other officials' salaries that are formula-linked to district attorney pay to avoid sudden local budget increases.

• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10 so district attorneys in office on July 1, 2026 may irrevocably elect (by written notice to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council and county governing authorities) to switch to the new pay system, or keep their current pay by default, with the option expiring January 1, 2034.
• Section 3 repeals a subsection of O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10.1 dealing with the annual accountability supplement.
• Section 4 adds new O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10.2, capping county locality pay at the lesser of 10 percent of the state salary or $20,608.05, with a sliding-scale reduction once the state salary exceeds $206,805, and bars most other county salary supplements after July 1, 2026, except for probate/magistrate court contract work.
• Section 4 also preserves counties' ability to keep providing existing fringe benefits and protects existing retirement benefits and rights from being altered by the new locality pay system.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4 so the General Assembly sets district attorney salaries in the annual budget act, capped at 88 percent of a specified base judicial salary.
• Section 6 adds new O.C.G.A. § 1-3-13, suspending local laws that tie other officials' pay to district attorney salary increases, with the suspension for judges automatically lifting July 1, 2027, and the General Assembly or local governments retaining power to act during the suspension.
• Section 7 sets the effective date of the Act as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-25House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2026-02-20House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
4. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
5. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)
6. 2026-01-27House Hopper (House)

• 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)

• district attorney pay
• local government budgets
• prosecutor salaries
• county salary supplements
• judicial branch funding