HB818: HB818 Georgia Judicial Retirement System; membership for each judge employed full time in the Georgia Tax Court; provide

Georgia created a Tax Court under Article VI of the state constitution, but the law did not spell out retirement coverage for its judges. This bill amends the Georgia Judicial Retirement System law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 23 of Title 47) to make every judge working full time on the Tax Court a member of that retirement system starting July 1, 2026. Judges who join can transfer creditable service earned in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia into the judicial system, but only if they notify the retirement board within a year and pay whatever extra amount is needed to cover the full actuarial cost of that transfer. Their retirement pay would be calculated using their full monthly state salary, following the same rules used for state court solicitors-general. Other Tax Court staff would be covered under the standard new-agency rules in O.C.G.A. § 47-2-70.1. The whole act only takes effect if state actuaries certify it is properly funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise it is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.

• Makes each individual employed full time as a judge of the Georgia Tax Court a member of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System starting July 1, 2026.
• Allows those judges to transfer creditable service from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia if they apply within one year and pay the full actuarial cost of the transfer.
• Applies the retirement rules used for state court solicitors-general to these Tax Court judges, including how their earnable monthly compensation is calculated.
• Directs that all other Tax Court employees (non-judges) be covered under the existing new state agency rules in O.C.G.A. § 47-2-70.1.
• Adds a new rule for calculating average earnable monthly compensation for Tax Court judge members under the salary definition section of the retirement law.
• Ties the whole act's effectiveness to certification that it is funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2026 if not.

Full time judges of the Georgia Tax Court, other staff employed by that court, the Georgia Judicial Retirement System and its governing board, and the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, which would transfer funds and service credit for judges who elect to move their prior state service.

Tax Court judges would gain a defined path into the judicial retirement system rather than an ordinary state employee plan, potentially affecting their pension benefits and how much they must pay to carry over past state service. The funding condition means the change could ultimately not take effect at all.

• Section 1 adds new Code Section 47-23-51 making full time Georgia Tax Court judges members of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System on and after July 1, 2026.
• Section 1(b) sets a one-year window for judges to elect to transfer creditable service from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, contingent on paying the full actuarial transfer cost.
• Section 1(c) applies the retirement rules for state court solicitors-general to these judges and defines their earnable monthly compensation as their full regular monthly state salary.
• Section 1(d) places all other Tax Court employees under the existing new-state-agency provisions of O.C.G.A. § 47-2-70.1.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 47-23-100(a) to add a new paragraph (7) defining average earnable monthly compensation for members covered under the new Code Section 47-23-51.
• Section 3 conditions the act's effective date of July 1, 2026 on certified funding under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 20 of Title 47), with automatic repeal if funding is not certified.

1. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
3. 2026-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2026-02-17House Passed/Adopted (House)
5. 2026-02-17House Third Readers (House)
6. 2026-02-12House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
7. 2025-03-27House Second Readers (House)
8. 2025-03-25House First Readers (House)

• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)Primary sponsor
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 17, 2026

   158 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 10 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #520

• judicial retirement
• Georgia Tax Court
• state pensions
• court administration