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House · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 1121: Cordele Judicial Court; change certain terms of court

Last action July 1, 2026 · Effective Date

House Bill 1121 changes when the Cordele Judicial Circuit's superior courts convene, moving four counties from multiple staggered court terms per year to just two set terms, on January 1 and July 1.

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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia law sets specific calendar dates, called terms of court, when superior courts in each judicial circuit must convene. Before this bill, the Cordele Judicial Circuit, which covers Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly, and Wilcox counties, had a patchwork of different term dates for each county spread across the year, tied to specific Mondays in different months. House Bill 1121 rewrites part of Georgia's court terms law (O.C.G.A. § 15-6-3) so that all four counties in the Cordele Circuit now share the same two terms of court: one starting January 1 and one starting July 1. The bill does not change anything else about how the circuit's courts operate; it only resets the calendar dates for when court sessions begin. It repeals any conflicting laws once enacted.

What the bill does

  • Replaces the separate, staggered court term schedules for Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly, and Wilcox counties with a single shared schedule.
  • Sets two terms of court per year for each of the four counties, beginning January 1 and July 1.
  • Removes the old system of terms tied to specific Mondays in different months for each county.
  • Repeals any existing laws that conflict with the new term schedule.

Who it affects

Superior court judges, clerks, attorneys, jurors, and litigants in Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly, and Wilcox counties, all part of the Cordele Judicial Circuit, whose court calendars and scheduling would follow the new simplified term dates.

Why it matters

Court terms affect when grand juries convene, when certain filing deadlines run, and how court dockets are scheduled. Standardizing the four counties onto the same two annual terms could simplify scheduling and coordination for judges, attorneys, and court staff working across the circuit.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-6-3(13) to set January 1 and July 1 as the terms of court for Ben Hill County, replacing the prior multi-date schedule.
  • Section 1 sets the same January 1 and July 1 terms for Crisp, Dooly, and Wilcox counties, replacing each county's separate prior schedule.
  • Section 2 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with the new term dates.

Discussed in meetings (12)

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 5, 2026

    From 0:17:23 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1121 would set January 1 and July 1 as the court-term starting dates in Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly and Wilcox counties, effective January 1, 2027. The sponsor said all judges in the Cordele Judicial Circuit requested the change. Asked whether legislation was needed because the dates were set in law, the sponsor answered yes. One committee member also raised the circuit's public-defender needs and offered help. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 17, 2026

    From 1:01:44 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed the bill on the day's calendar after a motion and second, with no stated opposition. The bill's substance was not discussed.

  3. House floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19)

    From 1:45:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 626

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1121 would set the start of court terms in the Cordele Judicial Circuit at January 1 and July 1 each year. The sponsor identified Crisp, Dooly, Wilcox and Ben Hill counties as the circuit's counties and said the area's superior court judges supported the change. There were no questions. The House passed the bill, 164 to 0.

  4. Senate Judiciary Committee, March 23, 2026

    From 1:27:12 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1121 would set January 1 and July 1 as the starts of superior court terms in the Cordele Judicial Circuit, covering Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly and Wilcox counties. The sponsor explained that the substitute also would let court clerks retain forfeited bond money until the period for requesting repayment expires. A Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority witness said courts generally must distribute those funds by the end of the month after forfeiture, even though refunds may be requested more than two years later. The witness said holding the money, including surcharges, would allow refunds without leaving counties and cities responsible for money already distributed. Members asked no substantive questions and unanimously approved the substitute.

  5. Senate Rules Committee, March 25, 2026

    From 0:46:23 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: A committee member selected HB 1121 for the calendar, and the chair briefly described it as concerning judges. No specific provisions were discussed. The committee unanimously approved the calendar package containing the bill.

  6. Senate floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38)

    From 7:21:43 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Tabled)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1121 would change Superior Court term schedules throughout the Cordele Judicial Circuit. The sponsor explained that another provision allowing court clerks to retain forfeited bond money during the period for possible repayment had been removed because it would make the measure a retirement bill, which could not proceed in the second year of the two-year session. The Senate adopted the amendment removing that provision, adopted the committee substitute as amended and passed the bill 47-0.

  7. House floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)

    From 3:05:00 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk described the underlying bill as changing Superior Court terms in the Cordele Judicial Circuit. The presenter said the Senate added a response to a bond forfeiture problem experienced by a county in the presenter's district. According to the presenter, clerks could hold forfeited bond funds in the court registry until the legal refund period expired, keeping funds available for required refunds and preventing unrecoverable county costs. No members asked questions. The House agreed to the Senate substitute, 165 to 0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-07-01Effective Date
  2. 2026-05-11Act 446
  3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
  4. 2026-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
  5. 2026-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
  6. 2026-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
  7. 2026-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
  8. 2026-03-27Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
Show full history (18 actions)
  1. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)
  2. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  3. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
  4. 2026-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  5. 2026-02-17House Passed/Adopted (House)
  6. 2026-02-17House Third Readers (House)
  7. 2026-02-06House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  8. 2026-02-04House Second Readers (House)
  9. 2026-02-03House First Readers (House)
  10. 2026-02-02House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Noel Williams, Jr. (R, HD-148)Primary sponsor
  • Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
  • Patty Marie Stinson (D, HD-150)
  • Steven McNeel (R, SD-18)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 17, 2026

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

    PASSAGE: House Vote #514

  2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

    26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 excused)

    MOTION TO TABLE REMAINING LEGISLATION ON THE RULES CALENDAR: Senate Vote #835

  3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

    47 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 5 excused)

    PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #849

  4. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

    165 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 6 excused)

    Agree to Senate Substitute: House Vote #812

Topics

  • courts
  • Cordele Judicial Circuit
  • superior court terms
  • local government

Ask about this bill

Answers come from this document. Not legal advice.

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1121.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp