HB 798: Spalding County; State Court; modernize, update, and readopt provisions

The State Court of Spalding County, formerly the City Court of Griffin, has operated under a patchwork of amendments dating back to 1897. This bill repeals all of those old sections and replaces them with a single updated law covering the court's jurisdiction, location, hours, fees, jury procedures, and personnel. The most significant change adds a second judge to the court starting January 1, 2026, appointed by the Governor until an election in 2028, alongside the existing judge. It creates a chief judge position, sets judicial and solicitor-general salaries as percentages of the superior court chief judge's pay, and restates rules for the clerk, sheriff, stenographer, jurors, and the county's sentence enforcement and accountability court programs. Most of the changes take effect January 1, 2026, though the provision letting the Governor appoint the new judge takes effect immediately once signed. The bill also formally repeals 23 older amending Acts dating from 1899 to 2016.

• Repeals and replaces the entire 1897 Act governing the State Court of Spalding County with a single modernized law.
• Adds a second, full-time associate judge to the court starting January 1, 2026, initially appointed by the Governor.
• Creates a chief judge position, held by the judge with longest continuous service, responsible for both civil and criminal dockets.
• Sets judicial salaries as a percentage of the Spalding County Superior Court chief judge's pay and sets the solicitor-general's salary at 90 percent of the State Court chief judge's salary.
• Allows the clerk of the State Court to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 per civil filing and per fine, dedicated to a segregated technology fund.
• Repeals 23 specific older Acts, dated from 1899 through 2016, that previously amended the court's governing law.

Spalding County residents who use the State Court for civil or criminal matters, the court's current and future judges, the solicitor-general, the clerk of court, the sheriff, jurors, court stenographers, and the Spalding County Board of Commissioners, which funds the court's staffing and facilities.

Adding a second judge and a chief judge structure could speed up how quickly civil and criminal cases move through Spalding County's State Court, while the new technology fee and updated salary formulas change how court operations and personnel are funded going forward.

• Section 1 of the new Act (Section 2 of the bill's internal text) defines the State Court and continues it under Georgia's general state court law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 7, Title 15).
• Section 6 lets the clerk charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 per civil filing and per fine, placed in a dedicated 'State Court Technology Fund.'
• Section 10 creates a second judgeship effective January 1, 2026, appointed by the Governor initially, with future judges elected in nonpartisan elections starting in 2028.
• Section 10(d) sets the chief judge's salary at 90 percent of the superior court chief judge's total pay, and the associate judge's salary at 100 percent of the chief judge's salary.
• Section 11 continues partisan election of the solicitor-general, with salary set at 90 percent of the State Court chief judge's salary.
• Section 13 requires Spalding County to continue funding the Sentence Enforcement Department and Accountability Court, and sets a minimum $6,300 annual supplement for the chief judge if operating specialty court divisions.
• Section 2 of the bill sets the effective date for appointing the new judge as immediate upon the Governor's signature, with all other provisions effective January 1, 2026.
• Section 3 repeals 23 named prior Acts amending the court's governing law, dated 1899 through 2016.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 233
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-31Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-27House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-82)Primary sponsor
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 27, 2025

   164 yea, 0 nay (12 not voting, 4 excused)

   Local Calendar: House Vote #317

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2025

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

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #339

• Spalding County courts
• local government law
• judicial salaries
• court fees
• Georgia state courts