Georgia CommonsHB 999: Magistrate courts; collecting sums and fees authorized by law; revise provisions
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
House Bill 999 raises the cap on civil claims magistrate courts can hear from $15,000 to $25,000, clarifies what fees magistrate courts can collect, and fixes a drafting error in a 2025 law about nonpartisan magistrate elections.
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 LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Magistrate courts in Georgia are small claims-style courts that handle civil disputes, evictions, and other minor matters. Currently they can only hear civil claims up to $15,000. This bill raises that limit to $25,000, meaning more disputes can be resolved in magistrate court instead of superior court, though prejudgment attachment still is not allowed. The bill also clarifies that magistrate courts can collect certain fees required by other Georgia laws (referencing O.C.G.A. § 15-23-7) in addition to the standard filing, service, and fieri facias fees already listed in the code. Separately, it fixes a scrivener's error in a 2025 law about electing probate court judges without party affiliation, limiting an automatic repeal clause so it only affects the section on nonpartisan election procedures. Most changes take effect July 1, 2026, but the higher claim limit applies to cases filed on or after January 1, 2027.
What the bill does
- Raises the maximum dollar amount magistrate courts can hear in civil claims from $15,000 to $25,000, effective for cases filed on or after January 1, 2027.
- Adds a new subsection to the magistrate court fee law clarifying that other legally required sums, including those under O.C.G.A. § 15-23-7, can be collected in addition to standard filing and service fees.
- Corrects a scrivener's error in a 2025 law so the automatic repeal clause only applies to the section on nonpartisan probate judge elections, not the whole Act.
- Sets different effective dates: most provisions start July 1, 2026, while the higher claim limit starts January 1, 2027.
Who it affects
People filing or defending small civil claims, garnishments, and attachments in Georgia magistrate courts; magistrate court clerks and judges who collect fees and set jurisdictional limits; and officials involved in the 2027 transition to nonpartisan election of probate court judges.
Why it matters
Raising the claim limit to $25,000 lets more disputes be resolved in the faster, less formal magistrate court system rather than superior court. The fee clarification affects how much litigants pay, and the correction ensures the 2025 nonpartisan election law does not accidentally repeal itself entirely if the constitutional amendment fails.
Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 15-10-80 to add subsection (e), allowing collection of sums under O.C.G.A. § 15-23-7 and other legally required fees on top of existing filing, service, and fieri facias fees.
- Section 2 corrects a scrivener's error in the 2025 nonpartisan magistrate election law (Ga. L. 2025, p. 780), limiting the automatic repealer to the section on nonpartisan election procedures.
- Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(5) to raise the magistrate court civil claim jurisdiction limit from $15,000 to $25,000, while keeping the ban on prejudgment attachment.
- Section 4 sets the general effective date as July 1, 2026, except the new $25,000 claim limit, which applies to actions filed on or after January 1, 2027.
- Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“All sums that may be collected pursuant to Code Section 15-23-7 and all other sums required by law shall be in addition to the fees provided for in this Code section, and this article shall not affect the collection of such other sums or fees as authorized by law.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 707
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
Show full history (17 actions)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
- Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
- Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
- Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
- Kimberly New (R, HD-040)
- Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 3, 2026
158 yea, 4 nay (1 not voting, 12 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 18, 2026
44 yea, 6 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 18, 2026
46 yea, 4 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)
- House voteMarch 23, 2026
167 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 8 absent)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2026
48 yea, 1 nay (4 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- magistrate courts
- civil claims limits
- court fees
- probate judge elections
- small claims