At least one state lawmaker wants to reform Georgia’s Judicial pay structure. Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, chairman of the House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee, says he plans to file two bills in the upcoming legislative session that would be aimed at reforming the structure of judicial pay for both Superior Court judges and state-wide judges in Georgia. The 2025 session of the General Assembly kicks off today.
“It is necessary that we ensure judicial compensation in Georgia is both fair and aligned with the scope of responsibility each court carries,” says Leverett. “By introducing these changes, it is my hope that we can bring greater consistency to judicial salaries, reduce disparities and create a more transparent and equitable system for our state’s judiciary.”
Leverett went on to say: “The goal is to enhance fairness in pay across the state, making Superior Court judges’ salaries more consistent across the judicial circuits, and ensuring that the pay of all state-paid judges, including appellate and other statewide judges, correlates with the responsibilities of their respective positions. I am committed to working closely with my legislative colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure the success of this much needed reform and look forward to continuing the discussion on the topic during the legislative session.”
According to Leverett, the proposed bills would establish a more standardized approach to judicial salary adjustments but would not establish specific judicial salaries. Instead, they would remove the set salary amounts for judges on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Statewide Business Court, the new Tax Court and Superior Courts from the Code, replacing them with a statutory maximum salary cap and allowing the specific salary for each court to be set in the annual appropriations process.
The cap for each court would be set as a percentage of the salary paid to federal district court judges in Atlanta, while the cap percentages would differ for each court, with the Supreme Court having the highest cap. Additionally, this legislation would limit the local supplements that counties can pay to superior court judges and would aim to phase out these supplements as the state-paid portion of their salary increases.
Judge Ann B. Harris, President of the Council of Superior Court Judges, supports the legislative initiative.
“The inadequacies in the current compensation structure, and the resulting burden that has fallen on the counties to try to address these problems, have been years in the making,” says Harris.
“We are grateful to our legislators for a bill that addresses the issues in a comprehensive, fair manner, which is good for the judiciary and good for the people of this state, who need and deserve well-qualified, experienced judges.”
