--- title: HB 1057. Gwinnett County; State Court; provide eighth judge January 1, 2027 and ninth judge January 1, 2028 collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1057 cite_as: HB 1057, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1057 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1057.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1057/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72482 date: 2026-05-12 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1056.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1058.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 886 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1057.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1057 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-05-12 last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-12 sponsors: - Dar'shun Kendrick - Chuck Efstration - Samuel Park - Matt Reeves - Soo Hong - Jasmine Clark text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1057/2025 upstream_id: 2100423 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Gwinnett County courts - state court judges - local judicial appointments - Georgia courts --- # HB 1057. Gwinnett County; State Court; provide eighth judge January 1, 2027 and ninth judge January 1, 2028 ## Text House Bill 1057 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Kendrick of the 95th, Efstration of the 104th, Park of the 107th, Reeves of the 99th, Hong of the 103rd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to continue and re-create the State Court of Gwinnett County, approved March 23, 1977 (Ga. L. 1977, p. 3331), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 2, 2022 (Ga. L. 2002, p. 6031), so as to provide for an eighth judge for the State Court of Gwinnett County beginning January 1, 2027; to provide for a ninth judge for said court beginning January 1, 2028; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: PART I SECTION 1-1. An Act to continue and re-create the State Court of Gwinnett County, approved March 23, 1977 (Ga. L. 1977, p. 3331), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 2, 2022 (Ga. L. 2002, p. 6031), is amended by striking subsection (a) of Section 13 and inserting in its place a new subsection (a) to read as follows: "(a) Until January 1, 2027, there shall be seven judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. Effective January 1, 2027, there shall be eight judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. The seven judges of the state court in office on January 1, 2027, shall continue to serve the terms of office to which they were elected. The eighth judge added effective January 1, 2027, shall be appointed by the Governor for an initial term of office ending on December 31, 2028, and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Future successors shall be elected at the general election conducted immediately prior to the expiration of the term of office, and they shall take office on the first day of January following their election and shall serve for a term of office of four years and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Said additional judge shall have and may exercise all powers, duties, jurisdictions, privileges, and immunities of the present judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. Any of the judges of said court may preside over any cause and perform any official act as judge thereof. The compensation of the additional judge shall be the same as that provided for other judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. Upon request of the additional judge, the governing authority of Gwinnett County is authorized to furnish the additional judge with suitable courtroom space and facilities, office space, office equipment, supplies, and such personnel as may be considered necessary by the court to the proper function of the court. All of the expenditures authorized herein are declared to be an expense of court and payable out of the county treasury as such." PART II SECTION 2-1. An Act to continue and re-create the State Court of Gwinnett County, approved March 23, 1977 (Ga. L. 1977, p. 3331), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 2, 2022 (Ga. L. 2002, p. 6031), is amended by striking subsection (a) of Section 13 and inserting in its place a new subsection (a) to read as follows: "(a) Until January 1, 2028, there shall be eight judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. Effective January 1, 2028, there shall be nine judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. The eight judges of the state court in office on January 1, 2028, shall continue to serve the terms of office to which they were elected. The ninth judge added effective January 1, 2028, shall be appointed by the Governor for an initial term of office ending on December 31, 2030, and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Future successors shall be elected at the general election conducted immediately prior to the expiration of the term of office, and they shall take office on the first day of January following their election and shall serve for a term of office of four years and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Said additional judge shall have and may exercise all powers, duties, jurisdictions, privileges, and immunities of the present judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. Any of the judges of said court may preside over any cause and perform any official act as judge thereof. The compensation of the additional judge shall be the same as that provided for other judges of the State Court of Gwinnett County. Upon request of the additional judge, the governing authority of Gwinnett County is authorized to furnish the additional judge with suitable courtroom space and facilities, office space, office equipment, supplies, and such personnel as may be considered necessary by the court to the proper function of the court. All of the expenditures authorized herein are declared to be an expense of court and payable out of the county treasury as such." PART III SECTION 3-1. (a) Except as provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, this Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. (b) Part I of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027, except that the Governor is authorized to appoint the eighth judge added by Section 1-1 of this Act prior to January 1, 2027, but any person so appointed shall not take office until January 1, 2027. (c) Part II of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2028, except that the Governor is authorized to appoint the ninth judge added by Section 2-1 of this Act prior to January 1, 2028, but not earlier than July 1, 2027, and any person so appointed shall not take office until January 1, 2028. SECTION 3-2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. House Bill 1057 would add an eighth judge to the State Court of Gwinnett County starting January 1, 2027, and a ninth judge starting January 1, 2028, both initially appointed by the Governor. ### Plain-language summary The State Court of Gwinnett County currently has seven judges under a 1977 law that has been amended several times since. This bill increases that number in two steps. Starting January 1, 2027, an eighth judge is added to the court. Starting January 1, 2028, a ninth judge is added. For each new seat, the Governor appoints the judge to an initial term (the eighth judge's term runs through December 31, 2028, and the ninth judge's term runs through December 31, 2030), after which the seat becomes an elected position filled at the general election before the term expires, serving four-year terms. The new judges get the same pay, powers, and court resources as the existing judges. The Governor may appoint the eighth judge before January 1, 2027, and the ninth judge as early as July 1, 2027, but neither may take office before their respective effective dates. ### What it does - Adds an eighth judge to the State Court of Gwinnett County effective January 1, 2027, initially appointed by the Governor through December 31, 2028. - Adds a ninth judge to the same court effective January 1, 2028, initially appointed by the Governor through December 31, 2030. - Sets future judges for both new seats to be chosen by election, serving four-year terms once the initial appointed terms end. - Gives the new judges the same pay, powers, and authority as the court's current judges. - Authorizes Gwinnett County's government to provide the new judges with courtroom space, offices, equipment, and staff, paid for out of the county treasury as a court expense. - Allows the Governor to appoint the eighth judge before January 1, 2027, and the ninth judge no earlier than July 1, 2027, though neither can take office ahead of the set dates. ### Who it affects Judges and staff of the State Court of Gwinnett County, Gwinnett County's government and taxpayers who fund court facilities and personnel, the Governor's office which makes the initial appointments, and residents and litigants whose cases go through the state court. ### Why it matters Adding two judges over two years is meant to expand the court's capacity to handle its caseload. It also creates two new elected judicial offices in Gwinnett County over time and commits county funds to housing and staffing the additional judges' courtrooms. ### Key provisions - Section 1-1 (Part I) rewrites Section 13(a) of the 1977 Act to raise the court from seven to eight judges effective January 1, 2027, with the new judge initially appointed by the Governor through December 31, 2028. - Section 2-1 (Part II) further amends Section 13(a) to raise the court from eight to nine judges effective January 1, 2028, with that judge initially appointed by the Governor through December 31, 2030. - Both new judgeships shift to election by the public at the general election before each term expires, followed by four-year terms. - Section 3-1 sets the general effective date as upon the Governor's approval, but delays Part I's effect until January 1, 2027 and Part II's effect until January 1, 2028, while letting the Governor make early appointments (the ninth judge appointment no earlier than July 1, 2027). - Section 3-2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-12) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-12 (2026-05-12) - Sponsors: Dar'shun Kendrick, Chuck Efstration, Samuel Park, Matt Reeves, Soo Hong, Jasmine Clark - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72482 > The history, votes, and amendments (886 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1057.md?full=1