Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 818: Georgia Judicial Retirement System; membership for each judge employed full time in the Georgia Tax Court; provide
Last action March 25, 2026 · Senate Read Second Time
House Bill 818 would make full-time judges on the new Georgia Tax Court members of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, letting them transfer prior state retirement service if they pay the full cost.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia created a Tax Court under the state constitution, and this bill sets up how its judges and staff fit into the state's retirement system for judges. Starting July 1, 2026, each full-time judge on the Georgia Tax Court would automatically become a member of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, the pension system that covers judges like solicitors-general of state courts. Judges could transfer creditable service they earned in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia into the judicial system, but only if they notify the retirement board within one year and pay the full actuarial cost of that transfer themselves. Their retirement pay would be based on their full monthly state salary. Other Tax Court employees, who are not judges, would be covered under existing rules for new state agencies instead. The whole law only takes effect if state actuaries certify it is properly funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; if not, it automatically repeals itself on July 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Automatically enrolls each full-time Georgia Tax Court judge in the Georgia Judicial Retirement System starting July 1, 2026.
- Allows those judges to transfer prior creditable service from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia if they request it within one year and pay the full actuarial cost.
- Defines a judge's earnable monthly compensation for retirement purposes as their full regular state salary for full-time work.
- Places non-judge Tax Court employees under the existing retirement rules that apply to new state agencies instead.
- Adds Tax Court judges' compensation to the list of pay categories counted under the retirement system's salary definition (O.C.G.A. § 47-23-100).
- Makes the whole Act effective only if state officials certify it meets funding standards under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, or else it repeals itself automatically on July 1, 2026.
Who it affects
Full-time judges of the newly established Georgia Tax Court, other Tax Court staff who are not judges, the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, and the Georgia Judicial Retirement System's board, which will manage new memberships, transfers, and contribution calculations.
Why it matters
Tax Court judges would gain access to the same pension system used by other Georgia judges, and could preserve retirement credit earned in prior state jobs if they pay for the transfer themselves. Whether this happens at all depends on a funding certification required by state law.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Section 47-23-51, making full-time Georgia Tax Court judges members of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System as of July 1, 2026.
- Section 1(b) lets judges transfer creditable service from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia within one year, if they pay the full actuarial cost of the transfer.
- Section 1(c) applies the same retirement rules used for state court solicitors-general to these judges and defines their earnable monthly compensation as their full state salary.
- Section 1(d) places non-judge Tax Court employees under the retirement provisions for new state agencies (O.C.G.A. § 47-2-70.1).
- Section 2 amends the salary definition in O.C.G.A. § 47-23-100 to include average earnable monthly compensation for these new members.
- Section 3 conditions the entire Act's effectiveness on a funding certification under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2026 if that certification fails.
From the bill
“On and after July 1, 2026, each individual employed full time as a judge in the Georgia Tax Court established by Article VI, Section I, Paragraph I of the Georgia Constitution shall become a member of this retirement system.”
“he or she shall receive service in this retirement system toward vesting only in the full amount of the service he or she rendered as an employee while he or she was a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia”
Discussed in meetings (8)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Retirement Committee, February 10, 2026
From 0:24:58 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 818 would place the Tax Court judge position in the Judicial Retirement System because the position had moved from the executive branch to the judicial branch. The sponsor explained that the earlier change from a tax tribunal to a court allowed appeals to go directly to the Court of Appeals rather than first to superior court. A committee member asked why the bill allows the current judge to remain in the Employees' Retirement System. The sponsor said the appointee already participates in that system and the intent was not to take away existing retirement benefits. The sponsor said future appointees would enter the judicial system. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.
House Rules Committee, February 17, 2026
From 0:55:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would align the Tax Court judge's retirement plan with the judicial branch following the court's transfer from the executive branch. The sponsor said voters had approved the constitutional amendment authorizing that transfer in 2024. No questions followed. Later, the committee placed the bill on the day's calendar without stated opposition.
House floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19)
From 2:33:00 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 641
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 818 would move the full-time Georgia Tax Court judge's retirement coverage from the Employees' Retirement System to the Georgia Judicial Retirement System. The sponsor described this as aligning retirement coverage with the court's move from the executive branch to the judicial branch under the 2024 constitutional amendment and related legislation. The sponsor said the judge's retirement assets and obligations would transfer, producing no cost to the state. There were no questions. The House passed the bill, 160 to 2.
Senate Retirement Committee, March 24, 2026
From 0:22:33 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 818 would complete the Georgia Tax Court’s move into the judicial branch by transferring the current judge and future judges from the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) to the Judicial Retirement System (JRS). Court staff would remain in ERS. The sponsor said the retirement change required a year’s delay under rules for retirement bills with financial effects. One member questioned an apparent discrepancy in the financial report. The ERS executive director clarified that the estimated liability was $498,000, not $498, and would be spread over 20 years. Another member asked why transferring both assets and obligations would leave a cost. The executive director said the estimate included lost future earnings, but did not know the precise calculation behind the difference. The executive director described the annual financial impact as negligible. The sponsor added that the judge must pay applicable actuarial costs upon entering JRS. A second member raised concerns about staff remaining in ERS without cost-of-living increases. The executive director said employees hired on or after July 1, 2009, were ineligible for those increases. The sponsor said staff would remain in their existing system without being negatively affected by this bill. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.
House Retirement Committee, March 30, 2026
From 0:34:04 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair explained that the substitute for SB 143 included language from HB 818 concerning tax court retirement coverage. The chair described it as addressing a recently appointed member transferring between retirement systems and said its first-year financial impact would be almost zero. A committee member said HB 818 had already passed the committee and the House and thanked the chair for including it. The language was incorporated into the firefighter substitute, which the committee later approved, rather than receiving a separate vote.
House Rules Committee, March 31, 2026
From 0:24:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: While presenting SB 143, the presenter said it incorporated HB 818. The presenter described that provision as moving the tax court judge's defined-benefit pension from ERS to TRS. The committee did not take a separate vote on HB 818.
Status timeline
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
Show full history (9 actions)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Chuck Martin (R, HD-49)
- Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
- Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)
- Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
- Stacey Evans (D, HD-57)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 17, 2026
160 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 10 excused)
Topics
- judicial retirement
- Georgia Tax Court
- public pensions
- state employee benefits