# Georgia HB 1534: Chatham County; State Court; provide additional judge

Georgia HB 1534, Chatham County; State Court; provide additional judge, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Bill Hitchens (Republican), Edna Jackson (Democrat), Jesse Petrea (Republican) and 1 others; status signed, last action 2026-05-12 (House Date Signed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1534-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 1534
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Chatham County; State Court; provide additional judge
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-03-09
- Last action: 2026-05-12, House Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsors: Bill Hitchens (Republican), Edna Jackson (Democrat), Jesse Petrea (Republican), Ron Stephens (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 3 (312 yes, 71 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Chatham County State Court adds fourth judge: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, Chatham County State Court has four judges instead of three; existing judges keep their current terms. The Governor appoints the fourth judge through December 31, 2028, and until an elected successor takes office. Qualified county voters elect that successor at the 2028 g…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Bill Hitchens (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Edna Jackson (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Jesse Petrea (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Ron Stephens (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-02 | House | Supplemental Local Calendar #2 | pass | 101 | 69 | 7 |
| 2026-03-25 | Senate | LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR | pass | 50 | 0 | 4 |
| 2026-03-18 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 161 | 2 | 11 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-05-12: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-12: Act 672
- 2026-05-12: Effective Date
- 2026-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-04-02: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- 2026-04-02: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-03-18: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-18: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-12: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-03-10: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-03-09: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 1534/AP* (v6): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249043)

## 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 1534/AP* (v6) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249043)

## 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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1534-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).