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Committee advances bill to cap statewide judges’ pay by reference to federal salaries
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced House Bill 86, which would remove fixed statutory salaries for certain statewide judges and replace them with caps tied to a U.S. district court judge salary index; the committee heard questions over potential pay swings and retention effects.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance House Bill 86, a measure that would replace fixed statutory salary figures for some statewide judges with a capped amount referenced to federal judicial pay.
The bill affects statewide appellate and specialty courts: sponsors said it covers the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the statewide business court, with the tax court to be added at a later effective date. The draft replaces specific dollar figures in O.C.G.A. code section 45-7-4 with a cap expressed as a percentage of a baseline tied to U.S. district court judges’ pay for a specified fiscal date.
Why it matters: The sponsor said the change aims to create a predictable, hierarchical pay structure tied to a federal benchmark so appropriators know the maximum they may allocate year to year. The sponsor described the change as a “cap,” not a mandated raise, and said it preserves appropriators’ authority to set actual pay within that cap.
Key details discussed in committee: The sponsor said the baseline is defined as the pay for judges in the U.S. District Court for the July 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, and that the cap would be a percentage of that base. Committee discussion cited example percentages given in the bill text as follows: Court of Appeals judges would be capped at 99 percent of the base and the statewide business court at 95 percent; the tax court (added in section 2) would also be set at 95 percent with a delayed effective date.
Senators pressed on potential effects: Committee members asked whether the cap could functionally lead to pay reductions if appropriations were lower; one member observed the constitutional prohibition on reducing a judge’s salary in the middle of a term but noted adjustments could apply between terms. Senators and the sponsor also discussed anecdotal turnover and recruitment concerns, especially in the Atlanta legal market, as part of the rationale for reform.
Committee action: The committee voted to advance the measure. The sponsor and supporters said companion retirement and superior-court pay legislation was expected in follow-up weeks.
What the bill does not do in this hearing: It is not an appropriations bill and does not itself set an across-the-board increase; sponsors emphasized it creates a maximum tied to a federal index and that actual salaries remain subject to appropriation.
