Loading chat...
GA HB947
Bill
Status
Engrossed
2/15/2024
Primary Sponsor
Rob Leverett
Click for details
AI Summary
- Replaces county salary supplements for superior court judges with a new "locality pay" system, effective July 1, 2024, capping county-provided locality pay at 10% of the state annual salary; chief judges may continue receiving existing local supplements but no new supplements may be enacted or increased
- Establishes a new salary-setting framework tying judicial salaries to the annual salary of U.S. District Court judges for the Northern District of Georgia: Supreme Court Justices at 100%, Court of Appeals judges at 95%, State-wide Business Court judge at 92%, and superior court judges at 90%
- Grandfathers superior court judges in office on July 1, 2024, allowing them to either opt into the new compensation structure by October 1, 2024, or continue receiving their existing salary and county supplements; judges may later opt in if the new structure exceeds their current compensation
- Suspends, effective July 1, 2024, all local laws and ordinances that calculate salaries of other officers or employees based on a superior court judge's salary, preventing automatic pay increases for those positions during the suspension period; the suspension lifts for judges on July 1, 2025, but remains for other officials
- Preserves existing retirement benefits and fringe benefits provided by counties to superior court judges, and authorizes (but does not require) counties to provide retirement benefits based on the new locality pay
Legislative Description
Courts; compensation received by superior court judges; modify provisions; create Judicial System Compensation Commission
Last Action
Senate Read and Referred
2/16/2024
Committee Referrals
Appropriations2/16/2024
Judiciary1/22/2024
Full Bill Text
No bill text available