--- title: HB 78. Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; total percentage of funds invested in alternative investments; raise limit collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb78 cite_as: HB 78, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb78 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb78.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb78/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69410 date: 2025-05-01 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb77.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb79.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1054 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb78.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 78 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-01 last_action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 sponsors: - Lehman Franklin - John Carson - Gary Richardson - Bill Yearta - Mike Cameron - Ricky Williams text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB78/2025 upstream_id: 1926286 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - public pensions - retirement systems - investment rules - firefighter pensions - state employee benefits --- # HB 78. Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; total percentage of funds invested in alternative investments; raise limit ## Text 25 LC 56 0319S/AP House Bill 78 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Franklin of the 160th, Carson of the 46th, Richardson of the 125th, Yearta of the 152nd, and Cameron of the 1st A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 7 of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the1 "Public Retirement Systems Investment Authority Law," so as to raise the limit for the total2 percentage of funds that the Employees' Retirement System of Ge orgia may invest in3 alternative investments; to raise the limit for the total percentage of funds that the Georgia4 Firefighters' Pension Fund may invest in alternative investment s; to provide for related5 matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Article 7 of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Geo rgia Annotated, the "Public9 Retirement Systems Investment Authority Law," is amended by rev ising paragraph (1) of10 subsection (d) of Code Section 47-20-87, relating to eligible l arge retirement systems11 authorized to invest in certain alternative investments, as follows:12 "(d)(1)(A) Alternative investments by an eligible large retirement system shall not in13 the aggregate exceed 10 percent of the eligible large retirement system's assets at any14 time.15 H. B. 78 - 1 - 25 LC 56 0319S/AP (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, altern ative investments by16 the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund shall not in the aggregate exceed 15 20 percent17 of its assets at any time.18 (B.1) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, alternative investments by19 the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund shall not in the a ggregate exceed 1520 percent of its assets at any time.21 (C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Te achers' Teachers22 Retirement System of Georgia shall not in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of such23 system's assets at any time.24 (D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Employees' Retirement25 System of Georgia shall not in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of such system's assets26 at any time."27 SECTION 2.28 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.29 H. B. 78 - 2 - ## 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 78 raises the share of investments that two Georgia public pension funds, the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund and the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, can put into alternative investments like private equity or hedge funds. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law caps how much of a public pension fund's assets can go into 'alternative investments,' a category that includes things like private equity, hedge funds, and other non-traditional holdings, as opposed to standard stocks and bonds. This cap is set out in the Public Retirement Systems Investment Authority Law (O.C.G.A. § 47-20-87). House Bill 78 amends that law by rewriting the subsection that lists the specific caps for different retirement systems. The bill's text clearly raises the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund's cap from 15 percent to 20 percent of its assets. The bill's title also states that it raises the cap for the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, and the revised text sets that system's limit at 5 percent of its assets, though the extracted text does not clearly show what the prior figure was. All other systems, including the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund and the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, keep their existing caps. The bill repeals conflicting laws and does not list a separate effective date beyond standard enactment. ### What it does - Rewrites O.C.G.A. § 47-20-87(d)(1), the section capping how much of a public pension fund's assets can go into alternative investments. - Raises the alternative investment cap for the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund from 15 percent to 20 percent of its total assets. - Sets the alternative investment cap for the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia at 5 percent of its assets, consistent with the bill's stated purpose of raising that system's limit. - Leaves the general 10 percent cap for other eligible large retirement systems, and the 15 percent cap for the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund, unchanged. - Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with these new caps. ### Who it affects The bill affects the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund and the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, along with the firefighters, state employees, and retirees whose pensions those funds manage. It also indirectly touches the investment managers and boards that oversee those funds' portfolios. ### Why it matters Raising the alternative investment caps lets these pension funds put more money into private equity, hedge funds, and similar assets, which can offer higher returns but also carry more risk and less liquidity than traditional stocks and bonds. This changes the investment options available to funds that pay retirement benefits for firefighters and state employees. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises paragraph (d)(1) of O.C.G.A. § 47-20-87, the section governing alternative investment limits for eligible large retirement systems. - Subparagraph (d)(1)(A) keeps the general rule that alternative investments cannot exceed 10 percent of an eligible large retirement system's assets. - Subparagraph (d)(1)(B) raises the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund's alternative investment cap from 15 percent to 20 percent of its assets. - Subparagraph (d)(1)(B.1) keeps the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund's cap at 15 percent of its assets. - Subparagraph (d)(1)(C) keeps the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia's cap at 5 percent of its assets. - Subparagraph (d)(1)(D) sets the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia's cap at 5 percent of its assets. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-01) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 (2025-05-01) - Sponsors: Lehman Franklin, John Carson, Gary Richardson, Bill Yearta, Mike Cameron, Ricky Williams - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69410 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,054 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb78.md?full=1