--- title: HB 1375. Hall County; State Court; judges; restate provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1375 cite_as: HB 1375, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1375 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1375.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1375/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73364 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/hb1374.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1376.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 887 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1375.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1375 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: - Lee Hawkins - Soo Hong - David Clark - Emory Dunahoo - Matt Dubnik text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1375/2025 upstream_id: 2119571 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Hall County courts - state court judges - local legislation - judicial elections - judicial salaries --- # HB 1375. Hall County; State Court; judges; restate provisions ## Text House Bill 1375 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Hawkins of the 27th, Hong of the 103rd, Clark of the 100th, Dunahoo of the 31st, and Dubnik of the 29th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act creating the State Court of Hall County, approved August 14, 1891 (Ga. L. 1890-91, Vol. II, p. 939), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 13, 2008 (Ga. L. 2008, p. 4069), so as to restate provisions related to the number, qualification, and compensation or the judges of said court; to restate provisions related to the chief judge; to provide for an additional judge for said court effective January 1, 2028; to provide for the initial appointment and subsequent election of such additional judge; to provide a definition; to repeal superseded provisions; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. An Act creating the State Court of Hall County, approved August 14, 1891 (Ga. L. 1890-91, Vol. II, p. 939), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 13, 2008 (Ga. L. 2008, p. 4069), is amended by revising Section 2 as follows: "SECTION 2. (a) Until January 1, 2028, there shall be three judges of the State Court of Hall County, as provided by existing law. The judges of said court in office prior to January 1, 2028, shall continue to serve the terms of office to which they were elected or appointed and until their successors are elected and qualified. (b) Effective January 1, 2028, there shall be four judges of the State Court of Hall County. The fourth 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. The successor to said judge shall be elected by the qualified voters of Hall County at an election to be held and conducted jointly with the general primary in 2030. The judge so elected shall serve a four-year term and until such judge's successor is elected and qualified. (c) The judges of said court shall have such qualifications and shall be subject to such restrictions and discipline as provided in Chapter 7 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A. Said judges shall be vested with the power and authority of the judges of the state courts by Chapter 7 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A. (d) The judges of said court shall receive an annual salary equal to 90 percent of the gross salary as defined in subsection (e) of this section which shall be payable from the funds of Hall County at the same intervals as installments are paid to other county employees. (e) For the purposes of subsection (d) of this section, the term 'gross salary' shall mean the annual salary received by a judge of the superior court, from state funds only and any applicable locality pay, paid by Hall County effective July 1, 2026, plus any increases in said annual salary, on or after July 1, 2026. (f) The judge who has served the longest period of time in office of said court shall be the chief judge of the State Court of Hall County." SECTION 2. Said Act is further amended by repealing Section 2A. SECTION 3. 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 1375 rewrites the law governing the State Court of Hall County, keeping three judges until 2028 and then adding a fourth judge, while restating judges' pay and qualifications. ### Plain-language summary The State Court of Hall County currently operates under a patchwork of laws dating back to 1891, most recently amended in 2008. This bill rewrites the key section governing that court to spell out, in one place, the number of judges, how they are chosen, their qualifications, and their pay. Under the bill, the court keeps its current three judges until January 1, 2028. Starting that date, a fourth judge is added, first appointed by the Governor through 2030, then elected by Hall County voters at the 2030 general primary for a four-year term after that. The bill also restates that judges must meet the qualifications and follow the discipline rules that apply to state court judges statewide, sets their salary at 90 percent of a superior court judge's state salary, and clarifies that the longest-serving judge becomes chief judge. It also repeals an older, now-redundant section of the original law. ### What it does - Keeps the State Court of Hall County at three judges until January 1, 2028, when it expands to four judges. - Has the Governor appoint the new fourth judge for an initial term running through December 31, 2030. - Requires the fourth judge's successor to be elected by Hall County voters at the 2030 general primary, serving a four-year term afterward. - Sets each judge's annual salary at 90 percent of a Hall County superior court judge's state salary plus locality pay, based on rates from July 1, 2026 onward. - Restates that the longest-serving judge automatically becomes chief judge of the court. - Repeals an outdated section (Section 2A) of the original 1891 law that this bill's changes make unnecessary. ### Who it affects The sitting and future judges of the State Court of Hall County, Hall County voters who will elect a successor judge starting in 2030, Hall County government (which pays judicial salaries), and residents and litigants whose cases are heard in that court. ### Why it matters Hall County residents would see their state court gain a fourth judge in 2028, which could affect how quickly cases move through the system. The bill also locks in judicial pay tied to superior court salaries and clarifies leadership and election rules for the court going forward. ### Key provisions - Section 1 rewrites Section 2 of the 1891 Hall County court act, setting three judges until January 1, 2028 and four judges afterward. - Subsection (b) provides the fourth judge is appointed by the Governor for a term ending December 31, 2030, then elected by Hall County voters at the 2030 general primary for a four-year term. - Subsection (c) ties judges' qualifications, restrictions, and discipline to Chapter 7 of Title 15 of the Georgia Code, the general state court law. - Subsections (d) and (e) set judicial salary at 90 percent of a superior court judge's state salary plus locality pay, measured from July 1, 2026. - Subsection (f) states the longest-serving judge becomes chief judge. - Section 2 repeals Section 2A of the original Act as superseded. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-12) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-12 (2026-05-12) - Sponsors: Lee Hawkins, Soo Hong, David Clark, Emory Dunahoo, Matt Dubnik - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73364 > The history, votes, and amendments (887 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1375.md?full=1