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House · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 1028: District Attorney Compensation Reform Act; enact

Last action March 3, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

A House Judiciary substitute would let Georgia's district attorneys opt into a new state salary system with capped county locality pay, while phasing out most local salary supplements starting July 1, 2026.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

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.

What the bill does

  • 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).

Who it affects

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.

Why it matters

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.

Key provisions

  • 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.

From the bill

“To ensure that no district attorney in office on July 1, 2026, has his or her salary, allowance, or county supplements decreased during his or her term of office”

The bill's guarantee that current district attorneys who don't opt into the new system keep their existing pay.

“In no event shall locality pay exceed 10 percent of the state annual salary provided by Code Section 45-7-4 to such district attorney.”

Sets the cap on how much county locality pay can supplement a district attorney's state salary.

“All such locality pay shall be in lieu of and not in addition to any county supplements previously provided by the county or counties.”

Clarifies that locality pay replaces, rather than adds to, prior county salary supplements.

Discussed in meetings (9)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. House Judiciary Committee, February 19, 2026

    From 0:24:13 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1028 would tie district attorney pay to 88% of a federal district judge’s salary, subject to state funding, limit local supplements, preserve the $6,000 accountability-court supplement, and let current district attorneys retain the existing system. The substitute added election deadlines and clarified state-pay parity with circuit public defenders. Another member emphasized that the bill sets a pay structure, not a funded raise. Supporters cited recruitment, retention, statewide consistency and relief for counties funding supplements. The District Attorneys Association president said more than 80 assistants earned more than elected district attorneys. Public defender witnesses supported the revised parity language. The Clayton and DeKalb district attorneys opposed the local limits, saying successors could earn less than experienced assistants or solicitors and that office responsibilities differ. Witnesses disagreed about whether association support had initially been unanimous. One member questioned restricting district attorney supplements without similarly restricting public defender supplements or guaranteeing state funding. The committee adopted that member’s amendment extending the supplement cap to circuit public defenders, but rejected an amendment delaying effectiveness until state salaries increased at least 50%. The amended bill passed 6-5.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026

    From 1:02:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: A presenter requested that HB 1028, described as the district attorney pay increase bill, be returned to the Judiciary Committee. Later, a motion to return it to that committee was made and seconded, and the chair declared it recommitted. No substantive discussion was shown.

  3. House Judiciary Committee, March 2, 2026

    From 3:04:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor brought HB 1028 back for reconsideration of the deadline to opt into its district attorney compensation system. The sponsor reported support from 39 of 51 district attorneys and said appropriations discussions pointed toward a $30,000 state pay increase in 2027, not an immediate increase to the full salary level previously discussed. A district attorney from the Western Judicial Circuit supported the bill, saying compensation should reflect the work and help attract qualified candidates. One committee member opposed restrictions on local salary supplements, arguing that raises could be funded through the budget without limiting local choices. That member proposed extending the opt-in deadline from 2028 to 2034 so prosecutors could assess future funding before deciding. The sponsor supported the amendment while noting that uncertain participation complicates budgeting. A Tallapoosa Circuit district attorney clarified the staggered election schedule. Asked about other local officials whose salaries were tied to district attorney pay, the sponsor and another member said provisions would prevent sudden county costs and allow local governments time to respond. The committee adopted the 2034 deadline and approved the amended bill. Opposition was heard, and the final hand-vote count was not announced.

  4. House Rules Committee, March 4, 2026

    From 1:20:52 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented HB 1028 after further committee review, saying the deadline for district attorneys to opt into a new pay arrangement had been moved to 2034. The sponsor said participating district attorneys would receive state pay equal to 88 percent of an Atlanta federal judge's salary, with local supplements capped at approximately $20,000 plus $6,000 for drug courts. A member questioned limiting local pay for prosecutors with heavier workloads. The sponsor replied that larger caseloads support additional publicly funded assistants, investigators and judicial divisions. The sponsor said 39 district attorneys had signed a support letter and others were prepared to opt in. No decision was recorded.

  5. House Rules Committee, March 6, 2026

    From 1:22:41 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2178

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 1028 on the supplemental floor calendar under modified structured rules. No substantive discussion occurred.

Status timeline

  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)

Sponsors

  • Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)Primary sponsor
  • Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
  • Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)
  • Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)
  • Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
  • Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)

Topics

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

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Answers come from this document. Not legal advice.

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1028.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp