SB606: SB606 "District Attorney Compensation Reform Act"; enact

Georgia district attorneys are currently paid a state salary set by the General Assembly plus county salary supplements that vary widely by circuit. This bill, offered as a substitute by the Senate Special Committee on Investigations, creates a new system starting July 1, 2026. District attorneys in office on that date can choose, on a one-time and irrevocable basis, to switch to a state salary under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4 plus capped county 'locality pay' instead of their old salary and county supplements. Those who do not choose keep their current pay, including county supplements, until they opt in, with a deadline of January 1, 2028 to decide. Going forward, most new county salary supplements for district attorneys are abolished and replaced with locality pay capped at 10 to 20 percent of the state salary depending on how many superior court judges sit in the circuit, based on circuit size. The bill also raises minimum pay ranges for assistant district attorneys, and it temporarily suspends local laws that tie other officials' pay to a district attorney's salary, lifting that suspension for judges on July 1, 2027. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.

• Lets each district attorney in office on July 1, 2026 make a one-time, irrevocable choice to switch to a new state salary plus capped local pay instead of their current salary and county supplements.
• Guarantees district attorneys who do not make that choice keep being paid exactly as they were as of June 30, 2026, including existing county supplements.
• Abolishes most future county salary supplements for district attorneys and replaces them with 'locality pay' capped at 10 to 20 percent of the state salary based on circuit size (number of superior court judges).
• Raises the minimum salary ranges for assistant district attorneys in fiscal year 2027 and again in fiscal year 2028, for example raising the Assistant District Attorney I minimum from $38,124 to $78,000 and then to $85,000.
• Suspends, starting July 1, 2026, any local law that ties another official's pay to a district attorney's salary, so that raises in a DA's pay do not automatically trigger raises for others, with the suspension lifting for judges on July 1, 2027.
• Preserves existing retirement benefits and lets counties keep providing fringe benefits to district attorneys as they did before the change.

Georgia's district attorneys and assistant district attorneys, county governments that fund DA offices and set local salary supplements, judges and other local officials whose pay is currently linked by local law to a district attorney's salary, and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, which receives the opt-in notifications.

District attorneys would gain a choice between staying on their current pay arrangement or moving to a new capped locality-pay system, while counties would lose the ability to keep raising most DA supplements freely. Other officials whose pay is tied to DA salaries could see those automatic raises frozen for a period, and assistant district attorneys would see higher minimum pay.

• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10 to let each district attorney in office July 1, 2026 opt, by written notice to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council and county governments, to switch to the new salary system, with the option irrevocable once exercised and a deadline of January 1, 2028.
• Section 2 also guarantees that a district attorney who does not exercise the option keeps being paid exactly as before, including county supplements, under the state constitution's compensation clause.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 15-18-10.2, capping county 'locality pay' at 10 percent (four or fewer superior court judges), 15 percent (five to nine judges), or 20 percent (ten or more judges) of the state salary, and bars most new county salary supplements after July 1, 2026.
• Section 4 preserves counties' ability to continue existing fringe benefits and retirement benefits, and lets counties still pay supplements for DAs who also serve as solicitor of a probate or magistrate court.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 15-18-14 to raise minimum salary ranges for assistant district attorneys in fiscal year 2027, then raises them again for fiscal year 2028.
• Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 45-7-4 so the district attorney's annual salary is set by the General Assembly in the General Appropriations Act, capped at 98 percent of a comparable judicial salary.
• Section 7 adds O.C.G.A. § 1-3-13, suspending local laws that tie other officials' pay to a district attorney's salary as of July 1, 2026, with the suspension for judges automatically lifting July 1, 2027.
• Section 8 sets the effective date of the Act as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2026-02-25Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)Primary sponsor
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)

• district attorney pay
• county government funding
• prosecutor compensation
• judicial salaries
• local government law