Chief Justice urges funding for statewide judicial protection, seeks partial pay annualization

The chief justice told the Senate appropriations subcommittee that the judiciary is asking the Senate to restore and expand funding for judicial security and to sustain recent pay reforms for state judges. Speaking to the committee, the chief justice said the budget includes two new coordinator positions ' a Director of Judicial Protective Services and an Operations Manager ' to lead threat assessment, training and coordination with local law enforcement for statewide judges.

He described the roles as coordinators rather than roaming law-enforcement officers: "They identify, they manage risk. They coordinate threat assessment. They do training," the chief justice said. He added the positions are meant to be a force multiplier so local resources can be mobilized when specific threats arise.

The chief justice said the House fully funded the annualization of a raise enacted last year and the judiciary appreciates that support. He asked that the Senate consider additional funding to keep the new pay structure from falling behind over time, though he acknowledged the full maximum-authorized-salary increase was not likely to be funded this year.

On security equipment, the chief justice asked the panel to restore a request for a Tahoe-style law-enforcement vehicle for statewide judges, saying it holds more people than the Explorer the House approved and better supports movement and emergency response. He also flagged a $79,074 omission: late ERS-contribution math tied to the new salary baseline that the House budget did not cover and asked the committee to include that amount if possible.

The chief justice closed by thanking the committee for prior investments and for the House's funding on staff annualization and other items that affect retention.

The committee asked how the proposed protective positions would be used and where vehicles would be stored; the chief justice said the positions will travel statewide and that vehicles would be kept at the Nathan Deal Judicial Center's secure lot. He said local law enforcement partners have been "outstanding" in supporting security measures and that the proposed positions would coordinate, not replace, those partners.

The committee did not take a vote; members asked technical questions about vehicle counts and daily use. The next procedural step is for the subcommittee to consider the chief justice's proposals as it develops its Senate budget recommendations.