A bill that would give a raise to Chattooga County’s state court solicitor passed both houses of the Georgia General Assembly, but State Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) who initially supported the bill, told WZQZ News over the weekend that he would be asking Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to veto Senate Bill 616.

The bill was introduced in the state senate by Senator Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) and would have given a raise to Chattooga County State Court Solicitor Buddy Hill.  (You can see a copy of the legislation below.)

Rep. Lumsden told WZQZ News that he was not aware that Chattooga County Commissioner Blake Elsberry had not been consulted about the bill.  While the state court is set up by the authority of the state legislature, the funding for the state court comes from the county’s coffers.  Rep. Lumsden said that while he did sponsor the bill in the Georgia House, he did not know at the time that the county government had not been consulted about the pending pay raise for the county’s part-time state court solicitor.

Currently, the state court solicitor is provided an administrative assistant and his salary is 85% of the state court judge’s salary.  State Court Judge Jon Dennis’s salary is $45,000 per year.

Senator Mullis spoke with WZQZ News on Sunday and said, “I was trying to create uniform  compensation for the Solicitor General for the State Courts in my area. Catoosa,  Chattooga and Walker has State courts. Catoosa’s Solicitor General makes 85% of the State Court Judge’s compensation. I was attempting to propose Chattooga the same this session then Walker next session.  I’m certain that the Court would easily pay for itself. My mistake was that I didn’t consult with the Commissioner. I should have. I hope the Chattooga Solicitor General and the Commissioner can have a conversation and a discussion before the Governor does.”

Senator Mullis added, “The Governor’s office usually calls the jurisdiction  before signing or vetoing a local Bill to check on their prospective.”