# Georgia SB 145: Augusta Judicial Circuit; a sixth judge of the superior courts; provide

Georgia SB 145, Augusta Judicial Circuit; a sixth judge of the superior courts; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Lee Anderson (Republican), Max Burns (Republican), Harold Jones II (Democrat); status signed, last action 2025-04-30 (Senate Date Signed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB145-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia SB 145
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Augusta Judicial Circuit; a sixth judge of the superior courts; provide
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-02-11
- Last action: 2025-04-30, Senate Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsors: Lee Anderson (Republican), Max Burns (Republican), Harold Jones II (Democrat)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Judiciary, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (225 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Augusta courts get a sixth judge: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, the Augusta Judicial Circuit has six superior court judges instead of five. The Governor appoints the first added judge; appointment authority took effect when the act became law. The initial term runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028, continuing until a su…
- Augusta courts gain staff and county support: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, Augusta circuit judges may appoint one additional court reporter, with pay set under existing law. When a circuit judge requests necessary support, circuit counties must provide courtrooms, offices, equipment, supplies, and staff. These court expenses come from county tre…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Lee Anderson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Max Burns (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Harold Jones II (Democrat), Senate
- Cosponsor: Mark Newton (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-03-18 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 172 | 0 | 3 |
| 2025-02-28 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 53 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (15)

- 2025-04-30: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2025-04-30: Act 26
- 2025-04-30: Effective Date
- 2025-04-07: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2025-03-18: House Third Readers (House)
- 2025-03-18: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2025-03-13: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2025-03-04: House Second Readers (House)
- 2025-03-03: House First Readers (House)
- 2025-02-28: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2025-02-26: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2025-02-11: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 145/AP* (v5): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/236519)

## 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
- [SB 145/AP* (v5) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/236519)

## 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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- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB145-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).