---
type: "Bill"
title: "Tifton Judicial Circuit; provide for a third judge"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 15-6-2 of the O.C.G.A., relating to the number of judges of superior courts, so as to provide for a third judge of the superior courts of the Tifton Judicial Circuit; to provide for the appointment of such additional judge by the Governor; to provide for the election of successors to the judge initially appointed; to prescribe the powers of such judge; to prescribe the compensation, salary, and expense allowance of such judge to be paid by the State of Georgia and the counties comprising said circuit; to authorize the judges of such circuit to divide and allocate the work and duties thereof; to provide for the manner of impaneling jurors; to provide for an additional court reporter for such circuit; to authorize the governing authority of the counties comprising the Tifton Judicial Circuit to provide facilities, office space, supplies, equipment, and personnel for such judges; to declare inherent authority; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2023_24"
identifier: "HB 906"
citation: "Georgia HB 906 (2023_24)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Yearta", "Clay Pirkle", "Penny Houston"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 17
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2024-01-10"
last_action: "2024-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2489d3f6-2926-45af-933c-91ab462551c6"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "b636dcf3279f4b059f1966629e1674bf2c8d77d78290c26c03517c62bd39fe13"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 906 (2023_24) — Tifton Judicial Circuit; provide for a third judge

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 15-6-2 of the O.C.G.A., relating to the number of judges of superior courts, so as to provide for a third judge of the superior courts of the Tifton Judicial Circuit; to provide for the appointment of such additional judge by the Governor; to provide for the election of successors to the judge initially appointed; to prescribe the powers of such judge; to prescribe the compensation, salary, and expense allowance of such judge to be paid by the State of Georgia and the counties comprising said circuit; to authorize the judges of such circuit to divide and allocate the work and duties thereof; to provide for the manner of impaneling jurors; to provide for an additional court reporter for such circuit; to authorize the governing authority of the counties comprising the Tifton Judicial Circuit to provide facilities, office space, supplies, equipment, and personnel for such judges; to declare inherent authority; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 906/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/229041.pdf)
2. **LC 48 1017/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/221011.pdf)
3. **LC 48 1069S/hcs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/222396.pdf)
4. **LC 48 1069S/hs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/221832.pdf)

## Votes

- Senate Vote #807 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **53–0** (pass) · upper
- House Vote #418 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **168–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bill Yearta — primary (person)
- Clay Pirkle — primary (person)
- Penny Houston — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-10** House Hopper `introduction`
- **2024-01-11** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2024-01-12** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2024-01-25** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-01-30** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2024-01-30** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2024-01-31** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-05** Senate Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-07** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2024-03-26** Senate Tabled
- **2024-03-26** Senate Taken from Table
- **2024-03-26** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2024-03-26** Senate Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2024-04-02** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-30** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-30** Act 503 `executive-signature`
- **2024-07-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2489d3f6-2926-45af-933c-91ab462551c6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).