(a) Any person who is or was elected, appointed, or made a judge of the probate court by operation of law on or prior to January 1, 1990, shall satisfactorily complete the required initial training course in the performance of his or her duties conducted by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia and shall file a certificate of such training issued by such institute with the Probate Judges Training Council on or before December 31, 1990, in order to become a certified judge of the probate court. The time and place of such training course and number of hours shall be determined by the Probate Judges Training Council and the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia.

(b) Any person who is elected, appointed, or becomes a judge of the probate court by operation of law after January 1, 1990, and who does not satisfactorily complete the initial training course prescribed by the Probate Judges Training Council and the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia or who does not file a certificate of such training issued by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia with the Probate Judges Training Council within one year after taking office as a judge of the probate court shall, subject to subsection (d) of this Code section, become a certified judge of the probate court upon completion of such requirements at any later time.

(c) Each judge of the probate court shall be required to complete additional training prescribed by the Probate Judges Training Council and the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia during each year he or she serves as a judge of the probate court after the initial year of training and shall file a certificate of such additional training issued by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia with the Probate Judges Training Council.

(d) Any judge who fails to become a certified judge within one year after taking office as a judge of the probate court or to earn the required cumulative annual minimal credit hours of training during any one-year period after the initial year of training may be given a six-month administrative extension by the Probate Judges Training Council during which to fulfill this requirement. Individual requests for extensions beyond the initial six-month extension for reasons of disability, hardship, or extenuating circumstance may be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Probate Judges Training Council. Upon failure to earn the required hours within the six-month extension period or additional extension period or periods granted, the Probate Judges Training Council shall promptly notify the Judicial Qualifications Commission which shall recommend to the Supreme Court removal of the probate judge from office unless the Judicial Qualifications Commission finds that the failure was caused by facts beyond the control of the probate judge.

(e) All expenses of training authorized or required by this Code section, including any tuition which may be fixed by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education, shall be paid by the probate judge or probate judge elect taking the training; but the probate judge or probate judge elect shall be reimbursed by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia to the extent that funds are available to the institute for such purpose; provided, however, if such funds are not available, each probate judge or probate judge elect shall be reimbursed from county funds by action of the county governing authority.