This year could be the year the Augusta Judicial Circuit gets a sixth judge.
Senate Bill 145, sponsored by Sens. Max Burns, Harold Jones II and Lee Anderson, provides for a sixth judge for the Augusta Judicial Circuit.
The bill calls for the governor to appoint the new judge, who would serve from Jan. 1, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2028. The judge’s successor would be elected in the 2028 nonpartisan judicial election.
The Augusta judiciary has expressed the need for a sixth judge since the Columbia County Circuit split off by itself three years ago, taking three of the Augusta Circuit’s eight judges with it.
The move left five judges for Richmond and Burke counties, the two counties left in the circuit, each doing the work of one-and-a-half judges, according to state criteria.
Senate Bill 145 passed the Senate Friday while a nearly identical House version of the bill, House Bill 515, also is pending.
With Crossover Day, the deadline for legislation to pass one of the General Assembly’s chambers, Thursday, Augusta legislators have several other bills pending. A few of them include:
- House Bill 498, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Heffner, D-Hephzibah, and other delegation members, is the “Garden City Charm and Tourism Act.” It allows the government to levy an up to 8% excise tax on stays in lodging such as hotels. The Augusta Commission voted earlier this year to increase the hotel-motel tax from 6% to 8%.
- Senate Bill 223, the “Pro People, Pro Business Act,” sponsored by Jones, D-Augusta, seeks to limit premises liability unless claimants can show certain conditions.
- Senate Resolution 98, sponsored by Jones and other Augusta legislators, commends the Paine College Women’s Golf Team.
- House Bill 144, sponsored by Rep. Mark Newton, R-Augusta, increases and extends tax credits and adds dentistry for medical professionals who provide preceptor rotations.
- House Bill 79, sponsored by Newton, the “Firearm Safe Handling and Secure Storage Tax Credit Act” creates a tax credit for individual expenses related to gun safety training and secure storage devices.
- House Bill 483, sponsored by Rep. Brian Prince, D-Augusta, provides protections for code enforcement inspectors.
