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Senate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 216: Georgia Judicial Retirement System; membership in the system for individuals employed as the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission; provide

Last action July 1, 2026 · Effective Date

Senate Bill 216 would let the director of Georgia's Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission join the Georgia Judicial Retirement System instead of the state employee retirement plan, starting July 1, 2026.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Currently the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, a state agency that investigates complaints against prosecutors, is a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia like most state workers. This bill would move that position into the Georgia Judicial Retirement System (O.C.G.A. Chapter 23 of Title 47), the pension system used by judges and solicitors-general. Anyone already holding the director job as of June 30, 2026 could choose to stay in the old system or switch to the new one by June 30, 2027, but switching requires paying the full actuarial cost of transferring their service credit. The bill also defines how the director's pay would count toward retirement contributions and benefits. The change only takes effect if state actuaries certify it is funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law; otherwise the whole act is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.

What the bill does

  • Creates a new Code section (47-23-43.2) making the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission a member of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System starting July 1, 2026.
  • Lets a current director who is already in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia choose to switch to the judicial system by June 30, 2027, instead of being switched automatically.
  • Requires anyone switching systems to pay the full actuarial cost of transferring their prior service credit, with funds moved between the two retirement systems.
  • Applies the judicial retirement system's existing rules for solicitors-general to the director position, and sets how the director's monthly pay counts for contributions and benefits.
  • Amends O.C.G.A. § 47-23-100 to add the director's average earnable monthly compensation as a form of salary counted under the retirement system.
  • Makes the whole act conditional: it only takes effect if state actuaries confirm it is funded, otherwise it is automatically repealed on July 1, 2026.

Who it affects

This bill directly affects the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, both current and future holders of that position, and the two state pension systems involved: the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and the Georgia Judicial Retirement System.

Why it matters

For the person serving as the commission's director, this could mean a different retirement plan with different benefit calculations than most state employees receive. The funding condition means the change may never take effect if it is not certified as actuarially sound.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 adds Code Section 47-23-43.2, making the director position a member of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System on and after July 1, 2026.
  • Section 1 lets a director employed as of June 30, 2026 keep their current retirement plan unless they elect to switch by June 30, 2027 and pay the full actuarial transfer cost.
  • Section 1 states that upon transfer, service credit only counts toward vesting for time actually worked and creditable in the prior system.
  • Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 47-23-100 to add average earnable monthly compensation as a defined form of salary for this member category.
  • Section 3 makes the act effective July 1, 2026 only if certified as funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, otherwise it is automatically repealed that same date.

From the bill

“each individual employed pursuant to subparagraph (c)(2)(C) of Code Section 15-18-32 shall become a member of this retirement system”

The core rule making the commission director a member of the judicial 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”

Explains how prior service credit carries over if the director switches retirement systems.

Discussed in meetings (11)

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.

  1. Senate Retirement Committee, February 24, 2026

    From 0:19:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 216 would clarify retirement coverage for the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, allowing eligible participants to move from the Employees’ Retirement System into the Judicial Retirement System. The sponsor described July 2026 eligibility provisions and requirements to notify the board and pay amounts needed to complete the transfer. Asked whether a favorable vote expressed any view on the commission’s constitutionality, the sponsor said it did not. The commission’s director said only one person was currently affected and argued that the change would help attract district attorneys, solicitors general or judges to future director vacancies. Another member questioned a projected $86,000 increase in the Employees’ Retirement System’s accrued liability and a higher contribution rate. A retirement adviser said the assets transferred could exceed the liability removed, depending on assumptions about vesting and retirement, but emphasized not knowing the individual’s circumstances. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.

  2. Senate Rules Committee, March 3, 2026

    From 0:19:01 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 216 would make the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission eligible for the judicial retirement system. No substantive questions followed. Members selected it during the second round of calendar choices, and it was included in the approved slate.

  3. Senate floor session, March 4, 2026 (legislative day 27)

    From 5:34:15 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk described SB 216 as permitting the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to join the judicial retirement system. The sponsor said a transferring member could receive credit equal to service earned in the employees’ retirement system. The sponsor said employee and employer contributions, with interest, would transfer, and the member would pay any additional amount needed to cover the full actuarial cost. No opposing speeches followed. The Senate passed the bill 49-2.

  4. House Retirement Committee, March 17, 2026

    From 0:13:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would allow the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to participate in the Judicial Retirement System beginning July 1, 2026. The sponsor explained that an existing director who was not already a member would remain in the Employees’ Retirement System unless they elected to transfer by June 30, 2027, with required notification. Asked why the change was proposed, the sponsor said it would align retirement treatment for officials performing comparable oversight work. Members also asked which nonjudges belonged to the judicial system. The commission’s executive director identified elected district attorneys, solicitors general and legislative counsel among its members. The director said access to that system would help recruit experienced prosecutors to lead the commission, describing two potential candidates with eight years of service who would not consider leaving a system in which benefits vest after ten years. A committee member reported that the Senate vote was 49 to 2. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.

  5. House Rules Committee, March 19, 2026

    From 0:42:24 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would allow the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to move from the Employees' Retirement System to the Judicial Retirement System. The sponsor said most applicants for the director position had been district attorneys who qualified for judicial retirement. A committee member contrasted the lack of employee-system cost-of-living increases for about 15 years with annual increases in the judicial system. The sponsor agreed that the employee system had been neglected, especially since 2008. A separate exchange addressed early-morning Senate committee scheduling, with the sponsor saying this bill had gone through the regular retirement committee process before crossover. The committee later placed the bill on the Legislative Day 34 calendar without voiced opposition.

  6. House floor session, March 19, 2026 (legislative day 34)

    From 2:00:21 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2869

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The House sponsor said SB 216 would allow the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to join the Georgia Judicial Retirement System. The sponsor said the single current director could transfer from the Employees' Retirement System under a structured process that addresses associated costs and preserves earned service credit. The sponsor described the change as consistent treatment of comparable judicial roles. There were no questions. The House passed the bill, 165 to 0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-07-01Effective Date
  2. 2026-05-11Act 488
  3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
  4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
  5. 2026-03-19House Passed/Adopted (House)
  6. 2026-03-19House Third Readers (House)
  7. 2026-03-18House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  8. 2026-03-09House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (15 actions)
  1. 2026-03-06House First Readers (House)
  2. 2026-03-04Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  3. 2026-03-04Senate Third Read (Senate)
  4. 2026-02-26Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  5. 2026-02-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
  6. 2025-02-20Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  7. 2025-02-19Senate Hopper (Senate)

Sponsors

  • Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)Primary sponsor
  • Blake Tillery (R, SD-19)
  • Brian Strickland (R, SD-42)
  • Max Burns (R, SD-23)
  • Ed Setzler (R, SD-37)
  • Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)
  • Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
  • Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
  • Marty Harbin (R, SD-16)
  • Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)
  • Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
  • Joseph Gullett (R, HD-19)

Votes

  1. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

    49 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 1 excused)

    PASSAGE: Senate Vote #631

  2. PassedHouse voteMarch 19, 2026

    165 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 6 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #726

Topics

  • public employee pensions
  • prosecuting attorneys
  • state retirement systems
  • judicial branch employees

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