---
title: HB 1184. Military; treat retired officers the same as warrant officers and enlisted persons at the same grade as such members earned during their military service
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1184
cite_as: HB 1184, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1184
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1184.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1184/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72826
date: 2026-02-12
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1184.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1184
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-04
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Josh Bonner
- Brad Thomas
- Charles Cannon
- Bethany Ballard
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1184/2025
upstream_id: 2108117
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- state militia
- military retirement
- Georgia National Guard
- veterans
---
# HB 1184. Military; treat retired officers the same as warrant officers and enlisted persons at the same grade as such members earned during their military service
## Text
House Bill 1184
By: Representatives Bonner of the 73rd, Thomas of the 21st, Cannon of the 172nd, and Ballard
of the 147th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to state militia generally, so as to treat retired officers the same as
warrant officers and enlisted persons for purposes of transferring members of the organized
militia to the state retired list at the same grade as such members earned during their military
service; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to state militia generally, is amended by revising Code Section 38-2-9, relating to
state retired list, officers, enlisted persons, grade upon transfer to list, return to active duty,
and computation of time, as follows:
"38-2-9.
(a) Any member of the organized militia who has reached the age of 64 years may be
retired for the reason of age and transferred to the state retired list by the Governor. A
member may be retired for reason of age and transferred to the state retired list by the
Governor before reaching 64 years of age in order to conform to the laws and regulations
of the United States which are applicable to the organized militia.
(b) Any officer who has served for at least 20 years in the organized militia or in the
organized militia and the armed forces of the United States combined, upon his request,
may be transferred to the state retired list by the Governor in a grade which is one grade
higher than the highest grade previously held by him during such service. In computing
the 20 year period, service as an enlisted person shall be counted.
(c)(b) Any officer, warrant officer, or enlisted person who has served for at least 20 years
in the organized militia or in the organized militia and the armed forces of the United States
combined, upon his or her request, may be transferred to the state retired list by the
Governor in a grade equivalent to the highest grade held by him or her during such service.
If the grade was of officer grade, subsection (b) of this Code section will govern.
(d)(c) Upon the recommendation of the adjutant general, the Governor may order any
person on the state retired list to return to active duty and serve on military courts or
boards, perform staff duty in or with the organized militia, or, in time of emergency,
perform any military duty in or with the organized militia. In any such case, the person so
ordered shall rank in his or her grade at retirement from the date of the order.
(e)(d) Time spent on the state retired list shall not be credited in the computation of length
of service for seniority, pay, promotion, or otherwise, or any of the privileges and
exemptions pertaining thereto, except that time served on active duty by order of the
Governor shall be credited."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would end the practice of letting retired state militia officers transfer to the retired list at one grade higher than they actually held, putting them on the same footing as warrant officers and enlisted members.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law governing the state militia (O.C.G.A. § 38-2-9), an officer with at least 20 years of service could ask the Governor to be transferred to the state retired list at a grade one level higher than the highest grade the officer actually held during service. Warrant officers and enlisted members did not get that bonus; they could only retire at the grade equivalent to what they actually earned.
This bill removes that officer-only bonus. It deletes the subsection giving officers the one-grade boost and rewrites the remaining rule so that officers, warrant officers, and enlisted members are all treated the same: anyone with at least 20 years of combined militia or military service can retire at the grade equivalent to the highest grade they actually held. It also updates pronouns to include 'her' alongside 'him' throughout the section. Other parts of the retired-list rules, such as recall to active duty and how service time counts toward seniority, stay the same.
### What it does
- Deletes the rule letting retired militia officers transfer to the state retired list at a grade one level higher than they actually earned.
- Rewrites the retirement grade rule so officers, warrant officers, and enlisted persons all retire at the grade equivalent to the highest grade actually held.
- Keeps the 20-year service requirement, counting time in the organized militia or combined militia and U.S. armed forces service.
- Updates the law's language to refer to 'him or her' instead of only 'him' when describing retired members.
- Leaves unchanged the rules on recalling retired members to active duty and on how retired time counts toward seniority and pay.
### Who it affects
Members of Georgia's organized militia, particularly officers who serve at least 20 years and were previously eligible for a one-grade bump upon retirement, as well as warrant officers and enlisted personnel whose existing retirement grade rules remain the model applied to everyone.
### Why it matters
Retired officers in the Georgia militia would no longer receive an automatic grade bump above what they actually earned, which could affect their retirement rank, associated status, and any benefits tied to that grade, aligning their treatment with warrant officers and enlisted members.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 38-2-9(b) by removing the provision letting officers retire one grade above the highest grade they held.
- Section 1 revises the renumbered subsection so officers, warrant officers, and enlisted persons all transfer to the retired list at the grade equivalent to their highest grade held.
- The 20-year service requirement, combining militia and U.S. armed forces time, is retained for eligibility to request this retirement grade.
- The provision allowing the Governor to recall retired members to active duty for courts, boards, staff duty, or emergencies is preserved without substantive change.
- Section 2 repeals all conflicting laws, a standard clean-up provision.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-04)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-12)
- Sponsors: Josh Bonner, Brad Thomas, Charles Cannon, Bethany Ballard
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72826
> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1184.md?full=1