# Georgia SB 489: Board of Commissioners of the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia; allow to set monthly dues

Georgia SB 489, Board of Commissioners of the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia; allow to set monthly dues, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Lee Anderson (Republican), Clint Dixon (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican) and 8 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB489-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia SB 489
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Board of Commissioners of the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia; allow to set monthly dues
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-10
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Lee Anderson (Republican), Clint Dixon (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Marty Harbin (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), Mike Hodges (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican), Randy Robertson (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), Carden Summers (Republican), Sam Watson (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Retirement, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (214 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Lower upfront retirement payments for judges: benefit, low. Qualified Georgia probate judges, the retirement board’s secretary-treasurer, and board employees can apply to join the retirement fund. Applicants must use the board’s form and provide required proof. They pay one month of dues at the current rate, replacing $105 for each applicable month plus int…
- More court fees support judges’ retirement: benefit, low. Georgia probate judges send the retirement fund 25% of marriage-license service fees, up from 20%. They also send $5 per civil filing fee, up from $2, and $1 per pistol-license application fee. Payments are due by the 20th day of the next month; these shares do not themselves raise household fees.…
- Monthly retirement dues for probate judges: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, Georgia probate judges’ retirement fund members pay $105 to $150 each month. The board sets one amount for all members each year. It must consider its actuary’s advice, legal funding standards or higher board standards, and other factors it finds relevant. Members stop payin…
- Higher charges in probate court cases: cost, low. Georgia probate courts collect $5 for the judges’ retirement fund when a qualifying fine is collected or bond is forfeited. This is up from $3. The rule covers criminal and quasi-criminal cases involving state-law or traffic-law violations before a probate judge. The fine or bond includes costs.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Lee Anderson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Clint Dixon (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Russ Goodman (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Marty Harbin (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Bo Hatchett (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Mike Hodges (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Chuck Payne (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Randy Robertson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Shawn Still (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Carden Summers (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Sam Watson (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Chas Cannon (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-19 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 161 | 0 | 11 |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 53 | 1 | 2 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2026-05-11: Act 515
- 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-19: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-18: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-03-09: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-03-06: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-03-04: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 489/AP* (v7): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/246808)

## 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 489/AP* (v7) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/246808)

## 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-SB489-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).