Georgia judges, courts press legislature for recruitment funding and judicial pay reform

Representatives of Georgia’s statewide courts and judicial-support offices told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Judiciary on May 20 that recruitment, retention and a pending judicial compensation bill are the most urgent items in their FY2026 budget requests.

The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the Council of Superior Court Judges each asked for targeted salary increases for judicial staff and for judges in the bill now identified as HB 85. Court presenters also requested funding for ADA website compliance and upgrades to court information systems.

Court leaders said high turnover and pay disparities are driving the requests. The Supreme Court presentation said staff-attorney turnover since 2020 has been roughly 72% and that many remaining staff are within five to 10 years of retirement; the Court of Appeals and superior-court representatives described similar recruitment pressures. The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals asked the committee to fund phased or full implementation of an across-the-branch judicial pay plan; superior-court leaders asked the committee to fund the bill’s full…