Senate Bill 157
By: Senators Williams of the 25th, Burns of the 23rd, Harbin of the 16th, Walker III of the
20th and Strickland of the 42nd
AS PASSED SENATE
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 47-6-40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
qualifications for membership, irrevocable election for certain members of General
Assembly, membership of persons who cease to become members before age 60, termination
of membership, and application for additional creditable service, so as to provide for certain
members or former members of the General Assembly to buy into the Georgia Legislative
Retirement System; to provide for creditable service and the payment of the full actuarial
value of such; to provide for procedures; to provide for notice to members and former
members of the opportunity to buy into the system; to provide conditions for an effective
date and automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 47-6-40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to qualifications
for membership, irrevocable election for certain members of General Assembly, membership
of persons who cease to become members before age 60, termination of membership, and
application for additional creditable service, is amended by redesignating subsection (e) as
subsection (f) and adding a new subsection (e) to read as follows:
<ins>"(e)(1) A member or former member of the General Assembly may make an irrevocable
election to become a member of this retirement system and may obtain creditable service
for prior service as a member of the General Assembly as provided in this Code section.
In order to obtain such additional creditable service, the member or former member must:
(A) Have served, at the time of the application, at least four years or two full terms as
a member of the General Assembly;
(B) Have never been a member of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System;
(C) Submit an application to the board of trustees in such manner as the board deems
appropriate; and
(D) Pay to the board of trustees an amount determined by the board of trustees to be
sufficient to cover the full actuarial cost of granting the creditable service as provided
in this Code section. Such payment shall be made in conjunction with the member's
application for membership;
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, no creditable service shall be
granted or obtained pursuant to this subsection if such service may be used to calculate
creditable service under any other public retirement system created by this title.
(3) By September 1, 2026, the Employees' Retirement System shall send a onetime
notice to all members or former members of the General Assembly who meet the above
criteria. Such notice shall:
(A) Be in writing;
(B) Be sent via United States mail to the member's last known mailing address;
(C) Advise the member that he or she is eligible to retroactively become a member of
the Georgia Legislative Retirement System for past years or past terms served; and
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<ins>(D) Communicate the exact amount required to be paid pursuant to subparagraph (D)
of paragraph (1) of this subsection, in order for a member or former member to receive
creditable service in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System.
(4) Any member of the General Assembly who obtains creditable service for prior
service as a member of the General Assembly pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection, whose service concluded before January 1, 2022, shall receive the monthly
pension amount provided in subsection (d) of Code Section 47-6-80.
(5) Any member of the General Assembly who obtains creditable service for prior
service as a member of the General Assembly pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection, whose service concluded on or after January 1, 2022, shall receive the
monthly pension amount provided in subsection (c.1) of Code Section 47-6-80."
</ins> SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, only if it is determined to have been
concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; otherwise, this Act shall not
become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2026, as
required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.