--- title: SB 492. State Court of Cobb County; additional assistant solicitor positions; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb492 cite_as: SB 492, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb492 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb492.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb492/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73082 date: 2026-02-26 status: engrossed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb491.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb493.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 444 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb492.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 492 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-24 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Ed Setzler - Michael Rhett - Kay Kirkpatrick - Jaha Howard - Donzella James text_version: Engrossed has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB492/2025 upstream_id: 2113631 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Cobb County government - prosecutors' salaries - state court staffing - local legislation --- # SB 492. State Court of Cobb County; additional assistant solicitor positions; provide ## Text Senate Bill 492 By: Senators Setzler of the 37th, Rhett of the 33rd, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Howard of the 35th and James of the 28th AS PASSED SENATE A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act creating the State Court of Cobb County, approved March 26, 1964 (Ga. L. 1964, p. 3211), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 3, 2017 (Ga. L. 2017, p. 3750), so as to provide for additional assistant solicitor positions; to change the salaries of certain staff of the solicitor-general; to provide for an effective date; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. An Act creating the State Court of Cobb County, approved March 26, 1964 (Ga. L. 1964, p. 3211), as amended, particularly by an Act approved May 3, 2017 (Ga. L. 2017, p. 3750), is amended by revising subsection (d) of Section 27 as follows: "(d)(1) The solicitor-general shall have the authority to appoint two assistant solicitors for each judge of Division I and Division II of the State Court of Cobb County and the same number of additional assistant solicitors as the number of full-time magistrates of the Magistrate Court of Cobb County, plus seven additional assistant solicitors, who shall serve at the pleasure of the solicitor-general and who shall assist the solicitor-general in the performance of his or her duties. All assistant solicitors shall have been admitted to the practice of law in all of the courts of this state and be members in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia. Except as otherwise provided by law, all assistant solicitors shall be compensated a sum of at least $83,400.00 annually beginning on January 1, 2027. The exact amount of said compensation shall be determined by the solicitor-general of the State Court of Cobb County. The sum shall be payable in equal monthly installments from the general funds of the county. (2) The district attorney is authorized to designate a specific number of assistant solicitors to serve as supervisors." SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026. SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Senate bill would let Cobb County's state court solicitor-general hire more assistant solicitors and would raise their minimum pay to $83,400 a year starting in 2027. ### Plain-language summary The State Court of Cobb County currently allows the solicitor-general, the county's chief prosecutor for that court, to appoint a set number of assistant solicitors based on the number of judges and magistrates in the county. This bill increases that number by adding seven additional assistant solicitor positions on top of the existing formula. The bill also raises the minimum annual pay for all assistant solicitors to at least $83,400, though the solicitor-general still sets the exact amount for each person. That pay increase would begin January 1, 2027. The bill keeps existing rules requiring assistant solicitors to be licensed to practice law in Georgia and in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia, and it keeps the solicitor-general's authority to designate some assistant solicitors as supervisors. The overall law would take effect July 1, 2026. ### What it does - Adds seven additional assistant solicitor positions to the State Court of Cobb County solicitor-general's office, beyond the existing formula tied to judges and magistrates. - Sets a new minimum salary of at least $83,400 per year for all assistant solicitors, effective January 1, 2027. - Keeps the requirement that assistant solicitors be licensed to practice law in Georgia and remain members in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia. - Preserves the solicitor-general's authority to set exact pay within the new minimum and to designate certain assistant solicitors as supervisors. ### Who it affects The solicitor-general and assistant solicitors of the State Court of Cobb County, whose staffing levels and minimum pay would change, and Cobb County taxpayers, since the salaries are paid from the county's general funds. ### Why it matters More assistant solicitor positions could help the Cobb County solicitor-general's office handle its caseload, while the higher minimum salary could affect the county's budget and its ability to recruit and retain prosecutors starting in 2027. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (d) of Section 27 of the 1964 Act creating the State Court of Cobb County, adding seven additional assistant solicitor positions to the existing formula based on judges and magistrates. - Section 1 sets a minimum annual salary of $83,400 for all assistant solicitors beginning January 1, 2027, with the exact amount set by the solicitor-general. - Section 1 retains the requirement that assistant solicitors be licensed Georgia attorneys in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia and be paid monthly from county general funds. - Section 2 sets the overall effective date of the Act as July 1, 2026. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Engrossed (2026-02-24) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-26) - Sponsors: Ed Setzler, Michael Rhett, Kay Kirkpatrick, Jaha Howard, Donzella James - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73082 > The history, votes, and amendments (444 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb492.md?full=1