A bill that would add a third judgeship for the State Court of Hall County was presented Thursday in the Georgia General Assembly.

The bill, House Bill 1456, was read for the first time and referred to the House Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

As a piece of local legislation, it is not subject to the same rules as general bills and so is not affected by the crossover day, which was March 11. That is the day when legislation must be passed by either the House or the Senate to be considered for passage in the current legislative session.

All members of Hall County’s legislative delegation have signed off on the bill, which under House rules traditionally ensures passage of local legislation. It is likely to be passed during this session.

Sponsors of the bill were Reps. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, James Mills, R-Gainesville, Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, and Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson.

The legislature will not be in session today, and there are six days remaining in this year’s session.

The legislation was presented at the request of Hall County Commissioners.

The Hall County Commission passed a resolution to seek the judgeship last month.

According to the legislation, the new judgeship would be effective July 1 and would be appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue for an initial term of office ending on Dec. 31, 2010. After that, a judge would be elected each four-year term.

The additional judgeship would cost the county $346,814 a year, which includes the judge’s salary, as well as salaries for support staff and office space and equipment.