SB157: SB157 Retirement; certain members or former members of the General Assembly to buy into the Georgia Legislative Retirement System; provide

26 LC 56 0306 Senate Bill 157 By: Senators Williams of the 25th, Burns of the 23rd, Harbin of the 16th, Walker III of the 20th and Strickland of the 42nd AS PASSED SENATE A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 47-6-40 of the Official Code of Georgia A nnotated, relating to1 qualifications for membership, irrevocable election for certain members of General2 Assembly, membership of persons who cease to become members before age 60, termination3 of membership, and application for additional creditable service, so as to provide for certain4 members or former members of the General Assembly to buy into the Georgia Legislative5 Retirement System; to provide for creditable service and the pa yment of the full actuarial6 value of such; to provide for procedures; to provide for notice to members and former7 members of the opportunity to buy into the system; to provide c onditions for an effective8 date and automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for9 other purposes.10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:11 SECTION 1.12 Code Section 47-6-40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to qualifications13 for membership, irrevocable election for certain members of General Assembly, membership14 of persons who cease to become members before age 60, terminati on of membership, and15 S. B. 157 - 1 - 26 LC 56 0306 application for additional creditable service, is amended by redesignating subsection (e) as16 subsection (f) and adding a new subsection (e) to read as follows:17 "(e)(1) A member or former member of the General Assembly may make an irrevocable18 election to become a member of this retirement system and may obtain creditable service19 for prior service as a member of the General Assembly as provided in this Code section. 20 In order to obtain such additional creditable service, the member or former member must:21 (A) Have served, at the time of the application, at least four years or two full terms as22 a member of the General Assembly;23 (B) Have never been a member of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System;24 (C) Submit an application to the board of trustees in such manner as the board deems25 appropriate; and26 (D) Pay to the board of trustees an amount determined by the board of trustees to be27 sufficient to cover the full actuarial cost of granting the creditable service as provided28 in this Code section. Such payment shall be made in conjunctio n with the member's29 application for membership;30 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, no credi table service shall be31 granted or obtained pursuant to this subsection if such service may be used to calculate32 creditable service under any other public retirement system created by this title.33 (3) By September 1, 2026, the Employees' Retirement System sha ll send a onetime34 notice to all members or former members of the General Assembly who meet the above35 criteria. Such notice shall:36 (A) Be in writing;37 (B) Be sent via United States mail to the member's last known mailing address;38 (C) Advise the member that he or she is eligible to retroactively become a member of39 the Georgia Legislative Retirement System for past years or past terms served; and40 S. B. 157 - 2 - 26 LC 56 0306 (D) Communicate the exact amount required to be paid pursuant to subparagraph (D)41 of paragraph (1) of this subsection, in order for a member or former member to receive42 creditable service in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System.43 (4) Any member of the General Assembly who obtains creditable service for prior44 service as a member of the General Assembly pursuant to paragra ph (1) of this45 subsection, whose service concluded before January 1, 2022, shall receive the monthly46 pension amount provided in subsection (d) of Code Section 47-6-80.47 (5) Any member of the General Assembly who obtains creditable service for prior48 service as a member of the General Assembly pursuant to paragra ph (1) of this49 subsection, whose service concluded on or after January 1, 2022 , shall receive the50 monthly pension amount provided in subsection (c.1) of Code Section 47-6-80."51 SECTION 2.52 This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, only if it is determined to have been53 concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia54 Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; other wise, this Act shall not55 become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its ent irety on July 1, 2026, as56 required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.57 SECTION 3.58 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.59 S. B. 157 - 3 -