HB 86: Public officers and employees; calculating and setting the salaries of certain state officials; revise provisions

Currently, Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4) sets specific dollar salaries for Supreme Court Justices ($175,600), Court of Appeals Judges ($174,500), and the Business Court judge ($174,500). This bill removes those fixed amounts and instead ties their pay to a percentage of the salary of federal judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, measured two fiscal years earlier. Supreme Court Justices could be paid up to 100 percent of that federal base salary, Court of Appeals Judges up to 99 percent, and the Business Court judge up to 95 percent, with the exact amount set each year by the General Assembly through the state budget. A second section, taking effect later, adds the judge of the new Georgia State Tax Court to this same system at 95 percent of the federal base salary. The bulk of the bill takes effect June 1 or July 1, 2025, depending on funding, while the Tax Court provision takes effect July 1, 2026.

• Removes the fixed dollar salaries previously set in law for Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeals Judges, and the Business Court judge.
• Creates a new system tying those judges' salaries to a percentage of federal district judges' pay in Georgia's Northern District, capped at 100, 99, and 95 percent respectively.
• Requires the General Assembly to set the actual salary amounts each year in the state budget (General Appropriations Act), within those percentage caps.
• Adds the judge of the Georgia State Tax Court to the same percentage-based salary system, capped at 95 percent of the federal base salary, effective July 1, 2026.
• Sets differing effective dates for the main changes (June or July 2025) and the Tax Court addition (July 2026).

This bill directly affects Georgia Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeals Judges, the judge of the Georgia State-wide Business Court, and the judge of the Georgia State Tax Court, whose salaries would be recalculated under the new formula rather than fixed by statute.

Instead of the legislature having to pass a new law each time it wants to raise these judges' pay, their salaries would automatically track a percentage of federal judges' pay in Georgia, adjusted through the annual budget process rather than requiring separate legislation.

• Section 1 strikes the fixed salary amounts for Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeals Judges, and the Business Court judge from Code Section 45-7-4(a).
• Section 1 adds new subsection (d) defining 'base salary' as the salary of Northern District of Georgia federal judges as of July 1 two fiscal years earlier.
• Section 1 caps judicial salaries at 100 percent (Supreme Court), 99 percent (Court of Appeals), and 95 percent (Business Court) of that base salary, set annually in the budget.
• Section 2 amends subsection (d) again to add the Georgia State Tax Court judge at a 95 percent cap, effective July 1, 2026.
• Section 3 sets the main effective date as June 1, 2025 if funding was already appropriated, or July 1, 2025 otherwise, with Section 2's Tax Court provision effective July 1, 2026.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-12Act 113
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-08House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-28Senate Receded from Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2025-03-28House Immediately Transmitted to Senate (House)
7. 2025-03-28House Disagreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
8. 2025-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)

• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 20, 2025

   167 yea, 6 nay (2 not voting, 5 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #52

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

   30 yea, 23 nay (1 not voting, 2 excused)

   ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT #1 BY THE SENATOR FROM THE 56TH: Senate Vote #294

3. FailedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

   23 yea, 31 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)

   MOTION TO RECONSIDER AMENDMENT #1: Senate Vote #295

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

   45 yea, 10 nay (0 not voting, 1 excused)

   PASSAGE AS AMENDED: Senate Vote #296

5. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   46 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 6 excused)

   RECEDE FROM SENATE AMENDMENT: Senate Vote #335

• judicial salaries
• state government pay
• Georgia Supreme Court
• Georgia State Tax Court
• state budget