---
type: "Bill"
title: "Middle Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide for a third judge"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 15-6-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the number of judges of superior courts, so as to provide for a third judge of the superior courts of the Middle Judicial Circuit; to provide for the appointment and term of such additional judge by the Governor; to authorize the governing authority of the counties comprising the Middle Judicial Circuit to provide facilities, office space, supplies, equipment, and personnel for such judges; to declare inherent authority; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2025_26"
identifier: "HB 1215"
citation: "Georgia HB 1215 (2025_26)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["COURTS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Brian Prince", "Butch Parrish", "Leesa Hagan", "Mack Jackson"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 16
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2026-02-05"
last_action: "2026-05-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6f979d97-c3aa-47c5-97c1-167d55220489"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "0ee930fa0dd41d8beb6dd8bf2e016e82a5693903211150d87d331a820093adcd"
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 1215 (2025_26) — Middle Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide for a third judge

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 15-6-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the number of judges of superior courts, so as to provide for a third judge of the superior courts of the Middle Judicial Circuit; to provide for the appointment and term of such additional judge by the Governor; to authorize the governing authority of the counties comprising the Middle Judicial Circuit to provide facilities, office space, supplies, equipment, and personnel for such judges; to declare inherent authority; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; 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 1215/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/249052.pdf)
2. **LC 49 2605/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/241669.pdf)
3. **SCSFA to HB 1215** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/248448.pdf)
4. **Sen Ctee Sub LC 49 2851S** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/247247.pdf)
5. **Sen Floor Amend 1 AM 49 0331** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/248333.pdf)
6. **Sen Floor Amend 1A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/248364.pdf)

## Votes

- House Vote #837 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **172–0** (pass) · lower
- House Vote #485 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **166–0** (pass) · lower
- Senate Vote #882 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **28–20** (pass) · upper
- Senate Vote #883 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **47–3** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Brian Prince — primary (person)
- Butch Parrish — primary (person)
- Leesa Hagan — primary (person)
- Mack Jackson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-05** House Hopper `introduction`
- **2026-02-05** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2026-02-06** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2026-02-06** House Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-02-09** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2026-02-09** House Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2026-02-10** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-25** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-25** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2026-03-31** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2026-03-31** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2026-04-02** House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub
- **2026-04-10** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-05-11** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2026-05-11** Act 450 `executive-signature`
- **2026-05-11** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6f979d97-c3aa-47c5-97c1-167d55220489`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).