Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1588: Cobb County; salaries of chief deputy sheriff, assistant chief deputy sheriff, and executive assistant to the sheriff shall be determined by the sheriff; provide
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date
A local bill for Cobb County lets the sheriff set starting salaries for the chief deputy sheriff, the assistant chief deputy, and the executive assistant to the sheriff, though later raises still need county commission approval.
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
Under current law, salaries for top staff in the Cobb County sheriff's office are set through a mix of county government approval processes. This bill changes that for three specific positions: the chief deputy sheriff, the assistant chief deputy, and the executive assistant to the sheriff. It amends a 1949 Georgia law that moved Cobb County's clerk of superior court, sheriff, and probate judge from a fee-based pay system to a salary system. The bill rewrites subsections (b) through (d) of Section 5 of that 1949 Act so the sheriff, rather than the county governing authority, determines the starting salary for these three roles. Salary increases after that still require approval from both the sheriff and the Cobb County board of commissioners. All three positions continue to serve at the pleasure of the sheriff and are paid monthly from county funds. The bill repeals conflicting laws and applies only to Cobb County.
What the bill does
- Gives the Cobb County sheriff authority to set the initial salary of the chief deputy sheriff, instead of leaving that entirely to county pay-setting rules.
- Gives the sheriff authority to set the initial salary of the assistant chief deputy, a position created under the 1949 Act with specific education or law enforcement experience requirements.
- Gives the sheriff authority to set the initial salary of the executive assistant to the sheriff, whose qualifications the sheriff himself or herself defines.
- Keeps a check on later pay changes by requiring that any salary increase for these three positions be approved by both the sheriff and the Cobb County board of commissioners.
- Preserves the existing rule that all three positions serve at the pleasure of the sheriff and can receive county-wide cost-of-living or merit raises.
Who it affects
The bill affects the Cobb County sheriff's office, specifically the chief deputy sheriff, the assistant chief deputy, and the executive assistant to the sheriff, as well as the Cobb County board of commissioners, which retains a role in approving future salary increases for those positions.
Why it matters
The sheriff gains more direct control over how much these three top aides are initially paid, which could speed up hiring decisions or change pay structure within the office, while the county commission keeps a check on future raises through its approval power.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends subsection (b) of the 1949 Cobb County pay Act so the chief deputy sheriff's salary is set by the sheriff, with the county's $4,880 per year minimum for other additional deputies left unchanged.
- Section 1 revises subsection (c) so the assistant chief deputy's salary is determined by the sheriff, keeping the existing education and experience qualifications for that role.
- Section 1 revises subsection (d) so the executive assistant to the sheriff's salary is determined by the sheriff, who also sets that position's qualifications.
- Each revised subsection requires that any subsequent salary increase for these positions be approved by both the sheriff and the Cobb County board of commissioners.
- Section 1 retains subsection (e), which entitles the chief deputy, assistant chief deputy, other deputies, and executive assistant to any cost-of-living or merit increase the county approves for its employees.
- Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with this Act.
From the bill
“The sheriff of Cobb County shall have one chief deputy whose salary shall be determined by the sheriff, to be paid in equal monthly installments from the funds of Cobb County; provided, however, that salary increases shall be approved by the sheriff and the board of commissioners of Cobb County.”
“The salary of the executive assistant shall be determined by the sheriff, to be paid in equal monthly installments from the funds of Cobb County”
Discussed in meetings (4)
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.
House floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38, part 1)
From 0:36:41 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 3292
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read a favorable committee report for HB 1588 and later listed it as a Cobb County measure on the uncontested local calendar. No individual presentation or debate followed. The House passed the local calendar, including this bill, 153-0.
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 689
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Terry Cummings (D, HD-39)
- David Wilkerson (D, HD-38)
- Michael Smith (D, HD-41)
- Lisa Campbell (D, HD-35)
- Solomon Adesanya (D, HD-43)
- Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-42)
Votes
- House voteMarch 27, 2026
153 yea, 0 nay (20 not voting, 3 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2026
49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 2 excused)
Topics
- Cobb County government
- sheriff's office pay
- local legislation
- county salaries