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House · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 557: Northeastern Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide for a sixth judge

Last action February 3, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

House Bill 557 would add a sixth superior court judge to Georgia's Northeastern Judicial Circuit, appointed by the Governor to start January 1, 2027, with future judges elected by voters.

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

In plain language

The Northeastern Judicial Circuit, which includes several northeast Georgia counties, currently has five superior court judges. This bill amends Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 15-6-2) to raise that number to six. The Governor would appoint the new judge to a term starting January 1, 2027 and running through the end of 2028. After that, voters would elect the judge's successor at the 2028 nonpartisan judicial election, with future elections every four years. The bill gives the new judge the same powers, pay, and qualifications as the circuit's other judges, lets the circuit's judges divide up caseloads and jury duties among themselves, allows hiring an additional court reporter, and lets county governments provide courtroom space and staff. The judge appointment takes effect once the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature; the rest of the changes take effect January 1, 2027.

What the bill does

  • Increases the number of superior court judges in the Northeastern Judicial Circuit from five to six by amending O.C.G.A. § 15-6-2.
  • Has the Governor appoint the sixth judge for a term from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2028.
  • Requires the judge's successor to be chosen by voters at the 2028 nonpartisan judicial election, with later successors elected every four years.
  • Gives the new judge the same authority, pay, and qualifications as the circuit's existing superior court judges.
  • Allows the circuit's judges to split up case assignments, jury duties, and court schedules among themselves, with majority or chief judge decisions resolving disputes.
  • Authorizes hiring an additional court reporter and lets county governments supply courtroom space, equipment, and staff for the judges.

Who it affects

Superior court judges, court staff, and court reporters in the Northeastern Judicial Circuit; county governments in that circuit, which help fund and house the courts; the Governor, who makes the initial appointment; and residents and litigants whose cases are heard in this circuit.

Why it matters

Adding a sixth judge could speed up case processing and reduce caseload burdens in the Northeastern Judicial Circuit's courts. It also affects local government finances, since counties help pay judicial salaries and provide facilities, and gives voters a new judicial seat to fill starting in 2028.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 changes the number listed for the Northeastern Circuit in O.C.G.A. § 15-6-2 from 5 to 6 judges.
  • Section 3 sets the appointed judge's initial term from January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2028, with an elected successor starting January 1, 2029.
  • Section 4 gives the new judge the same powers and authority as other superior court judges statewide.
  • Section 7 lets the circuit's judges divide caseload and scheduling duties, with disputes resolved by majority vote or the chief judge.
  • Section 9 authorizes appointment of an additional court reporter for the circuit.
  • Section 11 allows county governments to provide courtrooms, office space, equipment, and personnel for the judges, paid from county funds.
  • Section 13 sets the effective date: appointment authority begins upon the Governor's signature, and all other provisions take effect January 1, 2027.

From the bill

“it being the intent and purpose of this Act to provide six judges equal in jurisdiction and authority to attend and perform the functions, powers, and duties of the judges of such superior courts”

States the bill's core purpose of making all six judges equal in power and duties.

“This Act shall become effective for the purposes of appointing the additional judge upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval, and for all other purposes on January 1, 2027.”

Sets separate effective dates for appointing the judge versus the rest of the bill's provisions.

Discussed in meetings (5)

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, January 27, 2026

    From 0:42:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute for the bill requesting a sixth superior court judge for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. The sponsor said the judges had chosen to wait a year and let another request proceed first, so the substitute moved dates from 2026 to 2027. A judge attending in support briefly asked members to approve the request. There were no substantive questions. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 2, 2026

    From 0:55:13 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenting member said HB 557 would add a sixth judge to the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. No questions followed. The committee later placed the bill on Monday’s floor calendar without objection.

  3. House floor session, February 2, 2026 (legislative day 10)

    From 1:20:44 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 182

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 557 would add a sixth superior court judge to the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. The sponsor explained that the bill had been introduced the previous year, but the circuit's judges chose to wait so another circuit could proceed first. The committee substitute changed dates from 2026 to 2027 on two lines. No members asked questions. The House adopted the substitute without objection and passed the bill 169 to 0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-02-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  2. 2026-02-02House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
  3. 2026-02-02House Third Readers (House)
  4. 2026-01-28House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  5. 2025-02-24House Second Readers (House)
  6. 2025-02-21House First Readers (House)
  7. 2025-02-20House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Lee Hawkins (R, HD-27)Primary sponsor
  • Brent Cox (R, HD-28)
  • David Clark (R, HD-100)
  • Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-31)
  • Derrick McCollum (R, HD-30)
  • Soo Hong (R, HD-103)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 2, 2026

    169 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 4 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #467

Topics

  • superior courts
  • judicial appointments
  • Northeastern Judicial Circuit
  • court funding
  • judicial elections

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb557.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp