Legislation that would pave the way for a fourth Superior Court judge in Henry County made it successfully through both houses of the Georgia General Assembly last month when the lawmakers reconvened after a COVID-19 shutdown.

  House Bill 786, sponsored by the county’s legislative delegation, passed the State Senate June 24 after being modified to include a request for one new judge in each of three circuits. That bill passed the State House in its amended form June 26, and it was sent to Gov. Brian Kemp June 30, according to the state’s website.

  The portion of the bill referring specifically to the Flint Judicial Circuit, which is Henry County, states that one additional judge will be added to increase the total number to four. That judge will be appointed by Kemp for a term beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The term will expire Dec. 31, 2024, with all subsequent judges for that seat being determined by nonpartisan election for four-year terms.

  This action was the result of a lengthy campaign by the current judiciary in Henry County for help in managing its ever-increasing caseload. That led to a study and eventual recommendation by the Judicial Council of Georgia.

  The current three-judge alignment has also been working shorthanded in recent months. Kemp appointed former Superior Court Judge Trea Pipkin in March to the Georgia Court of Appeals. His term on the bench in Henry County was set to end in December and he had already qualified for re-election. But because of the timing of the appointment and the recent impact of COVID-19 on county and state agencies, Pipkin’s name remained on the ballot in the delayed June nonpartisan election and there was no opposition.

  Kemp still has to appoint Pipkin’s successor and, in the meantime, a number of senior judges have been filling his seat, according to officials at the courthouse.