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Senate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 329: Flint Judicial Circuit; chief judge; annual stipend in addition to county compensation to superior court judges; provide

Last action May 13, 2025 · Effective Date

A Georgia Senate bill would give the chief judge of the Flint Judicial Circuit's superior court an extra $10,000 annual stipend from Henry County funds, on top of existing pay.

Read the full bill text

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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 the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

The Flint Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Henry County, currently pays supplements to its superior court judges, district attorney, and chief assistant district attorney under a 1984 law that has been amended before. This bill adds a new section to that law creating a special annual stipend just for the chief judge of the superior court. Under the bill, Henry County's governing authority would have to pay the chief judge an extra $10,000 per year from county funds, split into 12 equal monthly payments. This stipend comes on top of the state compensation the chief judge already receives and on top of any other county supplements already paid to superior court judges in the circuit. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not name a separate effective date beyond the standard process for local Acts.

What the bill does

  • Adds a new section to the 1984 law governing Flint Judicial Circuit judicial salary supplements, creating a stipend specific to the chief judge.
  • Requires Henry County's governing authority to pay the chief judge of the superior court an extra $10,000 per year from county funds.
  • Sets the payment schedule as 12 equal monthly installments rather than a lump sum.
  • Clarifies that this new stipend is in addition to, not a replacement for, any existing county supplements paid to superior court judges.
  • Repeals any other laws that conflict with this new stipend requirement.

Who it affects

The chief judge of the superior court in the Flint Judicial Circuit, which covers Henry County, would receive the new stipend. Henry County's governing authority would be responsible for budgeting and paying it from county funds.

Why it matters

The chief judge in this circuit would receive $10,000 more per year in county-funded pay than other superior court judges in the circuit, funded directly from Henry County's budget rather than state funds, changing how that county allocates local tax dollars to judicial pay.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 adds a new Section 1.1 to the 1984 Flint Judicial Circuit salary supplement law, creating the chief judge stipend.
  • The new Section 1.1 requires Henry County to pay $10,000 per year to the chief judge, in 12 equal monthly payments, from county funds.
  • The stipend is explicitly stated to be in addition to any existing county supplements given to superior court judges.
  • Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“The governing authority of Henry County, such county comprising the Flint Judicial Circuit, shall provide from county funds an annual stipend in addition to the compensation received from state funds for the chief judge of the superior court in the amount of $10,000.00 per year, to be paid in 12 equal monthly payments.”

This is the bill's core requirement creating the new $10,000 annual stipend for the chief judge.

Status timeline

  1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
  2. 2025-05-13Act 248
  3. 2025-05-13Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
  4. 2025-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
  5. 2025-04-02House Passed/Adopted (House)
  6. 2025-04-02House Third Readers (House)
  7. 2025-04-02House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  8. 2025-03-27House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
  1. 2025-03-25House First Readers (House)
  2. 2025-03-21Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  3. 2025-03-21Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
  4. 2025-03-11Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  5. 2025-03-10Senate Hopper (Senate)

Sponsors

  • Brian Strickland (R, SD-42)Primary sponsor
  • Gail Davenport (D, SD-17)
  • Rick Williams (R, SD-25)
  • Emanuel Jones (D, SD-10)
  • Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-81)

Votes

  1. PassedSenate voteMarch 21, 2025

    53 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 1 excused)

    LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #265

  2. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2025

    168 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 5 excused)

    Local Calendar: House Vote #377

Topics

  • judicial pay
  • Henry County government
  • Flint Judicial Circuit
  • local government funding
  • courts

Ask about this bill

Answers come from this document. Not legal advice.

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb329.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp

SB329: Flint Judicial Circuit; chief judge; annual stipend in addition to county compensation to superior court judges; provide | Georgia Commons