---
title: HB 599. Teachers Retirement System of Georgia; employ certain beneficiaries as classroom teachers in a full-time capacity; extend program
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb599
cite_as: HB 599, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb599
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb599.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb599/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70725
date: 2025-02-27
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb598.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb600.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb599.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 599
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-24
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Sandy Donatucci
  - Shaw Blackmon
  - Chris Erwin
  - Ginny Ehrhart
  - Deborah Silcox
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB599/2025
upstream_id: 1982181
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - teacher retirement
  - teacher shortages
  - public school staffing
  - Teachers Retirement System of Georgia
  - education policy
---

# HB 599. Teachers Retirement System of Georgia; employ certain beneficiaries as classroom teachers in a full-time capacity; extend program

## Text

House Bill 599
By: Representatives Donatucci of the 105th, Blackmon of the 146th, Erwin of the 32nd, Ehrhart
of the 36th, and Silcox of the 53rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to retirement allowances, disability benefits, and spouses' benefits, so as to extend
the program to permit public school systems to employ certain beneficiaries of the Teachers
Retirement System of Georgia as classroom teachers in a full-time capacity to June 30, 2030;
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
retirement allowances, disability benefits, and spouses' benefits, is amended by revising Code
Section 47-3-127.1, relating to full-time employment of beneficiaries permitted under limited
conditions, required employer contributions, and areas of highest need, as follows:
"47-3-127.1.
(a) From July 1, 2022, until June 30, <del>2026</del> <ins>2030,</ins> notwithstanding the provisions of Code
Section 47-3-127, to the extent and under the conditions provided for in this Code section,
a public school system may employ a beneficiary who has obtained 30 years of creditable
service in this retirement system in a full-time capacity as a certified teacher of
pre-kindergarten through grade 12 who has as his or her primary responsibility the
academic instruction of students in a classroom in an area of highest need determined for
the RESA to which such public school system is assigned, provided that at least one year
has expired from the effective date of such beneficiary's retirement and he or she was not
restored to service as a teacher pursuant to Code Section 47-3-127 during such period of
time.
(b)(1) An individual employed as described in subsection (a) of this Code section shall
remain a beneficiary and shall continue to receive his or her retirement allowance and any
postretirement benefit adjustments for which he or she is eligible; provided, however, that
such service shall not constitute creditable service and shall not entitle such beneficiary
to a recomputation of retirement benefits upon cessation of such service.
(2) It shall be the duty of each beneficiary to notify an employer of his or her status as
a beneficiary prior to accepting employment with such employer.
(c)(1) Within 30 days of employing a beneficiary pursuant to this Code section, such
employer shall notify the board of trustees of such beneficiary's name, the amount of his
or her earnable compensation, a description of any other forms of remuneration to be
made, the number of hours to be worked, job responsibilities, and other such information
as the board of trustees may prescribe.
(2) An employer that employs a beneficiary pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code
section shall pay to the retirement system an amount equal to the product of:
(A) The combination of the rate required by this chapter for employer contributions
and employee contributions; and
(B) The earnable compensation of such beneficiary.
(3) A beneficiary shall not receive creditable service from or access to contributions
made as a result of payments required by paragraph (2) of this subsection, and he or she
shall be considered by the retirement system solely as a beneficiary.
(4) If an employer that is obligated to make contributions or reimbursements to the
retirement system pursuant to this Code section fails to make such contributions, any
unpaid amounts shall be deducted from any funds payable to such employer by the state,
including without limitation the Department of Education and the Board of Regents of
the University System of Georgia, and shall be paid to the retirement system.
(d)(1) As used in this Code section, 'area of highest need' means one of the three content
areas for which there are the greatest percentages of unfilled positions for classroom
teachers in a RESA.
(2) The areas of highest need shall be determined for each RESA annually by the
Department of Education after consultation with the Professional Standards Commission.
Such determinations shall be based upon a five-year average review of a survey reported
by local school systems to the Department of Education. The areas of highest need for
each RESA shall be reported to the retirement system on an annual basis beginning
July 1, 2022, and ending July 1, <del>2025</del> <ins>2029.
</ins> (e) Prior to July 1, <del>2025</del> <ins>2029,</ins> the state auditor shall conduct and publish a performance
audit concerning the provisions of this Code section to include a determination of the value
and necessity of the full-time employment of beneficiaries as permitted by this Code
section, as well as the effects of such employment on the local school systems, the
Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, and the teacher workforce as a whole for this
state.
(f) The provisions of this Code section shall not become part of the employment contract
and shall be subject to future legislation."
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.

House Bill 599 would extend, from 2026 to 2030, a Georgia program letting public school systems rehire certain retired teachers as full-time classroom teachers in subjects with the biggest staffing shortages.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law currently lets public school systems employ retired teachers with 30 years of service as full-time classroom teachers in an 'area of highest need,' meaning subjects with the highest share of unfilled teaching positions in their region, but only through June 30, 2026. House Bill 599 extends that window to June 30, 2030.
The bill also pushes back related deadlines: the Department of Education must keep reporting each region's areas of highest need to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia annually through July 1, 2029 (instead of 2025), and the state auditor's required performance audit of the program, which looks at its value, costs, and effects on schools and the teacher workforce, must happen before July 1, 2029 (instead of 2025). Rehired teachers stay classified as retirees, keep receiving their pension, and do not earn additional creditable service, while employers must pay both employer and employee contribution rates on their pay.

### What it does

- Extends the deadline for the full-time retired-teacher rehiring program under O.C.G.A. § 47-3-127.1 from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2030.
- Pushes back the deadline for the Department of Education's annual reporting of 'areas of highest need' to the retirement system from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2029.
- Delays the state auditor's required performance audit of the program from before July 1, 2025 to before July 1, 2029.
- Leaves unchanged the core rules: rehired retirees must have 30 years of creditable service, keep their pension without earning new creditable service, and employers must pay combined employer and employee contribution rates on their pay.

### Who it affects

Retired teachers with at least 30 years of service who might return to full-time classroom work, public school systems and Regional Educational Service Agencies (RESAs) that hire them, the Department of Education, the Professional Standards Commission, the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, and the state auditor's office.

### Why it matters

Without this extension, public school systems would lose the option to rehire experienced retired teachers full time in hard-to-staff subjects after June 30, 2026. The extension keeps that staffing tool available through 2030 and delays the state's formal review of whether the program is working.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-3-127.1 to change the program's end date from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2030.
- Rehired beneficiaries must have 30 years of creditable service, work full time as a pre-K through grade 12 certified teacher, and teach in an area of highest need for their assigned RESA.
- Employers must notify the board of trustees within 30 days of hiring a beneficiary, including pay, hours, and job duties.
- Employers must pay the retirement system an amount equal to combined employer and employee contribution rates applied to the beneficiary's pay; unpaid amounts can be deducted from state funds owed to the employer.
- The Department of Education, after consulting the Professional Standards Commission, must determine each RESA's areas of highest need annually and report them to the retirement system through July 1, 2029 (extended from 2025).
- The state auditor must complete a performance audit of the program's value and effects before July 1, 2029 (extended from 2025).
- Section 2 repeals all conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-24)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-27)
- Sponsors: Sandy Donatucci, Shaw Blackmon, Chris Erwin, Ginny Ehrhart, Deborah Silcox
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70725

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb599.md?full=1