Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 623: State Court of Clayton County; compensation of the solicitor-general of the state court; revise provisions
Last action May 12, 2026 · Act 705
A Senate bill would set new rules for how much the solicitor-general of the State Court of Clayton County gets paid, tying the salary to the chief judge's pay and requiring the office to fully cooperate with county audits before the law takes effect.
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
This bill amends the 1964 law that created the State Court of Clayton County, focusing on how the court's solicitor-general (the county's chief prosecutor for that court) is paid. Under the bill, the solicitor-general's salary would equal 95 percent of the total compensation paid to the Chief Judge of the State Court of Clayton County, including any state or county pay supplements, paid every two weeks from county funds. The bill also caps that salary so it never exceeds the greater of $191,007 or 95 percent of the chief judge's total pay. Rather than taking effect right away, the law only kicks in once the solicitor-general fully complies with Clayton County's required county-wide audits (under O.C.G.A. § 36-81-7) for 2024, 2025, and 2026. Conflicting laws are repealed.
What the bill does
- Sets the solicitor-general of the State Court of Clayton County's salary at 95 percent of the Chief Judge's total compensation, including supplements, paid biweekly from county funds.
- Caps the solicitor-general's salary at whichever is greater: $191,007 or 95 percent of the Chief Judge's total compensation.
- Delays the law's effective date until the solicitor-general fully complies with Clayton County's required county-wide audits for 2024, 2025, and 2026.
- Repeals any prior laws that conflict with these new salary and compliance provisions.
Who it affects
The solicitor-general of the State Court of Clayton County, the Chief Judge of that court (whose pay sets the benchmark), Clayton County government which pays the salary from county funds, and county auditors overseeing the required county-wide audits.
Why it matters
The bill ties the solicitor-general's pay directly to the chief judge's compensation and caps it at a set dollar level, changing how that salary is calculated. It also uses the audit-compliance condition as leverage, meaning the pay change will not take effect until required financial audits are completed.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises Section 6 of the 1964 Act creating the State Court of Clayton County to set the solicitor-general's salary at 95 percent of the Chief Judge's total compensation, including supplements, paid biweekly.
- Section 1 also caps the solicitor-general's total salary at the greater of $191,007 or 95 percent of the Chief Judge's total compensation.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as the first day of the month after the solicitor-general fully complies with Clayton County's audits for 2024, 2025, and 2026 required under O.C.G.A. § 36-81-7(c.1).
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“In no event shall the solicitor-general's total salary as provided for in subsection (a) of this section exceed the greater of $191,007.00 or 95 percent of the total compensation of the Chief Judge of the State Court of Clayton County.”
“This Act shall become effective on the first day of the month following the month in which the solicitor-general of the State Court of Clayton County fully complies with the county-wide audits of Clayton County for years 2024 , 2025, and 2026”
Discussed in meetings (6)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)
From 0:51:31 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk included this Clayton County bill, by substitute, on the uncontested local calendar. No separate explanation or debate occurred. The House passed the calendar as a group, 161 to 3.
Senate floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, part 2)
From 3:21:33 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read SB 623 as a local measure revising compensation for the solicitor-general of Clayton County’s State Court and adding an effective date. The presenter briefly described it as a solicitor-general pay bill following action on judicial pay. The Senate agreed to the House substitute, 50–0.
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 18, 2026 (legislative day 33), 0:28:39
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 19, 2026 (legislative day 34), 0:42:13
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 23, 2026 (legislative day 36, AM), 0:31:44
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 25, 2026 (legislative day 37, AM), 0:37:50
Status timeline
- Act 705
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Kenya Wicks (D, SD-34)
- Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
- Gail Davenport (D, SD-17)
- Yasmin Neal (D, HD-79)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 20, 2026
44 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 5 excused)
- House voteMarch 31, 2026
161 yea, 3 nay (5 not voting, 7 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2026
50 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 1 excused)
Topics
- Clayton County government
- solicitor-general salary
- state court funding
- county audits