# Georgia HB 1215: Middle Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide for a third judge

Georgia HB 1215, Middle Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide for a third judge, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Leesa Hagan (Republican), Mack Jackson (Democrat), Butch Parrish (Republican) and 1 others; status signed, last action 2026-05-11 (House Date Signed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1215-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 1215
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Middle Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide for a third judge
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-05
- Last action: 2026-05-11, House Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsors: Leesa Hagan (Republican), Mack Jackson (Democrat), Butch Parrish (Republican), Brian Prince (Democrat)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Judiciary, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (413 yes, 23 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Five Georgia circuits get court support: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, Atlanta, Clayton, Middle, Northeastern, and Gwinnett circuit judges can appoint one extra court reporter per circuit. Reporter pay follows existing law; no amount is stated. When a judge requests necessary courtrooms, offices, phones, furniture, equipment, supplies, or st…
- Five Georgia circuits get more judges: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, the law adds one superior court judge in each of five Georgia circuits. The new totals are Atlanta: 21; Clayton: 6; Middle: 3; Northeastern: 6; and Gwinnett: 12. The governor appoints the first judges; appointments in Atlanta, Clayton, and Middle depend on approved fundin…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Leesa Hagan (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Mack Jackson (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Butch Parrish (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Brian Prince (Democrat), House
- Cosponsor: Brian Strickland (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-02 | House | Agree to Senate Substitute | pass | 172 | 0 | 6 |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 47 | 3 | 2 |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT BY THE SEN FROM THE 39TH AS AMENDED | pass | 28 | 20 | 3 |
| 2026-02-09 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 166 | 0 | 7 |

## Actions (16)

- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 450
- 2026-05-11: Effective Date
- 2026-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-04-02: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-09: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-02-06: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-02-06: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-02-05: House Hopper (House)
- 2026-02-05: House First Readers (House)

## Bill text

- HB 1215/AP* (v9): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249052)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 1215/AP* (v9) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249052)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
- [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills)
- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1215-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).