---
title: HB 35. Courts; private attorney appointed to act as district attorney pro tempore; revise compensation
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb35
cite_as: HB 35, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb35
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb35.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb35/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69331
date: 2026-02-18
status: introduced
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/hb34.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb36.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 291
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb35.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 35
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-14
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Jordan Ridley
- Alan Powell
- Mitchell Horner
- Steve Tarvin
- Jason Ridley
- Brad Thomas
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB35/2025
upstream_id: 1919235
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- district attorney pay
- court system
- prosecutor compensation
- local government funding
---
# HB 35. Courts; private attorney appointed to act as district attorney pro tempore; revise compensation
## Text
House Bill 35
By: Representatives Ridley of the 22nd, Powell of the 33rd, Horner of the 3rd, Tarvin of the 2nd,
Ridley of the 6th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 15-18-5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
appointment of substitute for absent or disqualified district attorney, so as to revise the
compensation of private attorneys appointed to act as district attorney pro tempore; to
provide for such attorneys to be compensated $250.00 per hour for each certified hour
worked, subject to a cap; to provide for such cap; to provide for certification by the
Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia of such hours worked by such
attorneys; to provide for such attorneys to engage the services of private counsel, paralegals,
and legal interns and to provide for their compensation; to provide for funding of such
compensation; to provide for reimbursement of actual expenses incurred; to provide for
inflation adjustments; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 15-18-5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to appointment of
substitute for absent or disqualified district attorney, is amended by revising subsection (b)
as follows:
"(b)(1) A private attorney acting as district attorney pro tempore pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subsection (a) of this Code section is subject to all laws and regulations established
pursuant to Code Section 15-18-19 governing district attorneys. Such private attorney
shall receive the same compensation from state funds appropriated for the operations of
the district attorneys at the same rate as the district attorney during the term of such
appointment and shall incur the same penalties in the discharge of the duties of said
office.
(2)(A) Such private attorney shall receive a minimum monthly compensation equal to
the lesser of:
(i) Two hundred fifty dollars per hour for each hour worked as certified by the
executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia; or
(ii) Ninety percent of the monthly salary of the district attorney in whose place such
private attorney is appointed to act; provided, however, that such monthly salary shall
not include any supplement provided pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section
15-18-10.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, such private attorney
shall be authorized to engage the services of others, including private counsel,
paralegals, or legal clerks, who shall receive a monthly compensation of up to $110.00
per hour for each hour worked as determined and certified by the executive director of
the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia.
(C)(i) The funds required for the compensation provided for in subparagraphs (A)
and (B) of this paragraph shall be paid from state funds appropriated for the
operations of the district attorney in whose place a private attorney is appointed to act
as district attorney pro tempore pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this
Code section.
(ii) The actual expenses incurred by a private attorney appointed to act as district
attorney pro tempore pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section,
or members of his or her staff engaged pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph, shall be reimbursed by the county in which such district attorney pro
tempore is acting at the same rate as provided in Code Section 15-18-12 for district
attorneys. Any court costs, filing costs, witness fees, costs of reporting and preparing
transcripts of records, and any other expenses incurred for such services shall be paid
as provided by law.
(D) The hourly rates provided for in division (i) of subparagraph (A) and in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph shall be adjusted on an annual basis based on the
Consumer Price Index as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States
Department of Labor."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.
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 35 would change how private attorneys who temporarily fill in as a district attorney get paid, setting an hourly rate instead of matching the district attorney's salary directly.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, when a private attorney is appointed to act as district attorney pro tempore (a temporary stand-in when the elected district attorney is absent or disqualified), that attorney is paid the same rate as the sitting district attorney. House Bill 35 removes that rule and replaces it with a new pay formula.
The substitute attorney would be paid whichever is lower: $250 per hour for certified hours worked, or 90 percent of the district attorney's monthly salary (not counting certain supplements). The attorney could also hire private counsel, paralegals, or legal clerks at up to $110 per hour. All of this pay would come from the state funds already budgeted for that district attorney's office, while the county would separately reimburse actual expenses. Hourly rates would be adjusted each year based on the federal Consumer Price Index. The changes would take effect July 1, 2025.
### What it does
- Removes the current rule paying a substitute district attorney the same rate as the sitting district attorney and replaces it with an hourly-based formula.
- Sets pay at the lesser of $250 per hour of certified work or 90 percent of the district attorney's monthly salary, excluding certain supplements.
- Allows the substitute attorney to hire private counsel, paralegals, or legal clerks at up to $110 per hour, funded from the same state appropriation.
- Requires the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia to certify hours worked before payment.
- Requires the county where the substitute is acting to reimburse actual expenses at the same rate used for regular district attorneys.
- Requires annual adjustment of the hourly pay rates based on the federal Consumer Price Index.
### Who it affects
Private attorneys appointed as district attorney pro tempore, the paralegals and legal clerks they hire, county governments that must reimburse expenses, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia, and the state funds that pay for district attorney office operations.
### Why it matters
The change affects how much it costs to keep a prosecutor's office running when the elected district attorney cannot serve, replacing a salary-match system with an hourly cap tied to certified work, which could change compensation amounts and add administrative certification steps.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-18-5(b) to delete the rule tying a substitute attorney's pay to the sitting district attorney's salary rate.
- New paragraph (2)(A) sets pay at the lesser of $250 per certified hour or 90 percent of the district attorney's monthly salary, excluding certain supplements.
- New paragraph (2)(B) allows hiring of private counsel, paralegals, or legal clerks at up to $110 per hour, certified by the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council.
- New paragraph (2)(C) directs that this compensation come from state funds appropriated for the district attorney's office, while counties reimburse actual expenses under O.C.G.A. § 15-18-12.
- New paragraph (2)(D) requires annual inflation adjustments to the hourly rates based on the federal Consumer Price Index.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-14)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-18)
- Sponsors: Jordan Ridley, Alan Powell, Mitchell Horner, Steve Tarvin, Jason Ridley, Brad Thomas
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69331
> The history, votes, and amendments (291 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb35.md?full=1