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Senate Retirement Committee

Senate Retirement Committee, March 24, 2026

2025-2026 Regular Session · 310 CLOB · 33 min

This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays.

Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the summaries Georgia Commons wrote, under headings that name them, then the whole transcript with its times. View raw is the transcript alone.

The video is the General Assembly's, played from its Vimeo channel. Select any time below to play that moment. Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Agenda

Summary

Written by an AI model (gpt-6.1-sol) from the transcript. It is not part of the record, and the video is what was said.

The committee approved a measure that members described as giving experienced teachers a pathway back to the classroom amid a teacher shortage. The committee then approved HB 818, which the sponsor said would move Georgia Tax Court judges into the Judicial Retirement System while leaving court staff in the Employees’ Retirement System. Members asked about the financial effects of the transfer and retirement benefits for staff. Both measures passed by voice vote, with no opposition heard. The committee then adjourned.

Bills discussed (1)

Each account covers the stretch of the meeting it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda.

HB 818. Georgia Judicial Retirement System; membership for each judge employed full time in the Georgia Tax Court; provide

From 0:22:33 · turns 20 to 127

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.

Transcript

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  1. 0:19:36

    Our Senate retirement meeting, March 24th. We're a couple minutes late getting started. Y'all bear with us. I'm gonna ask the very Reverend Josh McLaurin to do us a prayer.

  2. 0:19:51

    Thank you very much, Matt. 10. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If everybody could bow your heads, please. Uh, Lord, thank you for having us here on a committee work day to do the people's business. Uh, it's busy as always this time of year, but it's our obligation to stay centered and reverent and remember the reasons for the work, and it's with that spirit that we're gonna listen to the witnesses and the bill sponsors today and, uh, do what we need to do to protect the people of Georgia. Thank you so much, uh, for everything, and, uh, in your name we pray. Amen.

  3. 0:20:19

    Amen. Thank you. Uh, Representative Ballard, we heard you. If you'll come on up to the table, we heard your bill and testimony, and, uh, I think we gave it a, a good vetting, and, uh, we need to get some teachers to work. And, uh, any, any of y'all have anything? Yes, sir. Representative. Senator Echols. Excuse me.

  4. 0:20:43

    I just, uh, I appreciate you bringing the bill, and I know it's similar to, um, Senator Hickman's, but at the appropriate time I'd make a motion to pass.

  5. 0:20:50

    Okay. Is, is there any other discussion or question? I... Okay, I guess now is the appropriate time.

  6. 0:21:00

    Mr. Chairman, I would just, I would just like to, to say that, uh, with the, with the, with the really severe teacher shortage that we have, uh, uh, the opportunity to have capable, committed, uh, professionals that have been in the classrooms for decades, uh, to have a pathway back to be there for, uh, the, the children. Uh, so I, I, I applaud the author and her bill, and, uh, I, I know we're ready to vote.

  7. 0:21:28

    Okay.

  8. 0:21:28

    Thank you.

  9. 0:21:28

    We have a motion by Senator Echols and a second by Senator Goodman. Any discussion?

  10. 0:21:38

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I did pray specifically that we would listen to the bill sponsor, but if the bill sponsor wants to waive, I'm sure we're happy to vote, unless there's anything you want to say.

  11. 0:21:46

    Absolutely.

  12. 0:21:46

    Just waive.

  13. 0:21:47

    Okay. All right. Very good. Well, we're ready to vote then.

  14. 0:21:48

    You, you will never, ever pass another bill without saying a word in your political career. All in favor say aye.

  15. 0:21:56

    Aye.

  16. 0:21:57

    Any opposed? Likewise. So carried. Thank you, ma'am.

  17. 0:22:00

    Thank you so much. I appreciate y'all.

  18. 0:22:02

    Thank you. Let's see. Uh, now we've got, um, Chairman Martin, if you'll come forward for us, please, sir.

  19. 0:22:12

    Mr. Chair, if it pleases the Chair, I'd like Representative Ballard to present this item.

  20. 0:22:20

    Well, you didn't see what she looked like after the first hearing.

  21. 0:22:23

    She was b- battered and, battered and, uh, bruised, uh, Mr. Chairman. Um, I- always glad to, to join you. Um, I, I've got for you today House Bill 818, LC 56-0391. And, um, just, uh, I'll be brief in it, but as, uh, a historical point, if, if, uh, you all recall, if you were here during the '24-'25 session or the '23-'24 session, I... What years am I thinking about here? The last session, not this one.

  22. 0:22:52

    That's right.

  23. 0:22:52

    We passed and put before the voters a constitutional amendment to move the tax tribunal to the judicial branch. Um, if you recall, the reason we did that is because it, it, it, uh, smoothed out the appeals process, uh, and it just made it better and more friendly for the taxpayer. The voters approved that, so, um, that was done in H.R. 598. The voters approved that in November 2024. Last year, HB 1267 passed, and that was the implementing language to actually move the court. Uh, that passed.

  24. 0:23:23

    What you have today is House Bill 818, which moves the retirement of that judge who now sits in the judicial branch, um, to the judicial branch. That, that had previously been in the executive branch, so it was an ERS. This moves it i- into JRS. And the reason it's this year rather than last year is, as the chairman and the members know, uh, fiscal retirement bills have to lay over a year. So this is just completing the process of moving, uh, that position over. Um, when it was done last year, we didn't know who that was, who that, uh, was gonna be in that position.

  25. 0:23:55

    We now have that gentleman was sworn in last year... I'm sorry, last week. Um, and this would include that and all future, uh, judges that serve in, uh, the tax court. Um, be glad, Mr. Chairman, to go into specifics of the bill, um, but it, it basically puts the judge in the JRS. It leaves all the employees in the ERS, which I think is comparable with, uh, the other, uh, branches, the other courts in the judicial branch.

  26. 0:24:21

    Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for the author? Yes, sir.

  27. 0:24:26

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing the bill. Just a quick question. Um-

  28. 0:24:30

    Oh, there we are.

  29. 0:24:31

    Let's see. On one part here, it's got, you know, the, uh, under the, uh, ERS, it says the amount of unfunded actuarial accrued liability which will result from the bill be right at half a million dollars, but when you come back to the back on Exhibit A, it says $498. I just wondered, do you know? And I'm, I'm... It's not a leading question. I don't know.

  30. 0:24:52

    No, no, no. From, from, um... And I think we have Mr., um, the executive director of the ERS here. He c- he could correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the, the cost of that will, will move the, the gentleman's, uh, accrued, um, payments, interest, return on investment from ERS over to, uh, JRS. There may be, that, that 400 and some dollars may be, uh, a difference, and I would yield if the chair would allow to Mr. Popham to, uh-

  31. 0:25:17

    Certainly

  32. 0:25:17

    ... to make, uh-

  33. 0:25:18

    Mr. Popham, would you, uh, be able to...

  34. 0:25:22

    Do, do you want to share a spot with me, Jim, or shall I?

  35. 0:25:29

    Thank you, Mr. Popham, for being here. Um,

  36. 0:25:34

    thank you, sir.

  37. 0:25:35

    You're welcome. Um, I believe the 498 is $498,000. I think we're looking at a- It's not just a little rounding error. It's, it's 498.

  38. 0:25:46

    Okay. So it's in the thousands then.

  39. 0:25:47

    So it's about the half of that number that you were talking about before.

  40. 0:25:52

    So, I I I... If you could help me with this, 'cause I think it'd help me understand and f- and going forward too as well. In, in this handout that we've got from the Department of Audits.

  41. 0:26:06

    Mm-hmm.

  42. 0:26:06

    On the, the first page it says 498,000 and so you're right, on the back it says all amounts are in the thousands of dollars, so that would be 498,000. Okay.

  43. 0:26:16

    Yep.

  44. 0:26:18

    Makes sense. Is that a, is that a one-time expenditure or is that going to be...?

  45. 0:26:26

    That's the total amount of the liability associated with the bill. It would be amortized over a period of years.

  46. 0:26:31

    I gotcha. Okay. No worries. Just for my future understanding is one of the reasons I wanted to- ... so I could better, better read these.

  47. 0:26:38

    A- and to the Senator, uh, Senator Monacrez, the, the monies that the gentleman has paid into ERS will be transferred over to, to JRS.

  48. 0:26:46

    That's right. That's part of the reason for the liability to JRS.

  49. 0:26:48

    And that's the liability. That's part of the, the li- the reason there'll be a liability left in ERS and then it'll, it'll move f- move forward maybe with the-

  50. 0:26:54

    Yes, sir

  51. 0:26:55

    ... uh, the individual.

  52. 0:26:58

    So that, does that decrease the amount of liability to the ERS?

  53. 0:27:04

    It does.

  54. 0:27:04

    It does.

  55. 0:27:05

    It also decreases the assets, as the chairman pointed out, yeah.

  56. 0:27:07

    All right. So his assets that he has paid in will follow him over to JRS?

  57. 0:27:12

    Correct.

  58. 0:27:13

    Okay. I see Senator Orrock.

  59. 0:27:17

    Thank you very much. Um,

  60. 0:27:22

    a, a, a, a, a couple of questions if I may, Mr. Chair. Um-

  61. 0:27:24

    Certainly

  62. 0:27:24

    ... the, um... So this, uh, uh, as I understand it, th- this, this leaves other... Who, who does it leave in the ERS system? It move, it moves this, this judge, right?

  63. 0:27:41

    Yes.

  64. 0:27:41

    But, I mean, can you, can you, uh, expand on that? Thank you.

  65. 0:27:46

    Well, I guess if there was any staff associated, right?

  66. 0:27:48

    The, the, the staff would stay in ERS, and I believe that's consistent with the, the judicial branch. Al- all, all the-

  67. 0:27:53

    The, the staff is already in ERS-

  68. 0:27:55

    Yes, ma'am

  69. 0:27:55

    ... and would remain there?

  70. 0:27:56

    Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. They would remain there, and I believe that's consistent with, um, the judicial branch. Now, the, not everybody in the judicial branch is part of JRS.

  71. 0:28:03

    That's correct.

  72. 0:28:05

    I see. So they are part of the cohort that hadn't been getting, uh, a full COLA for 17 years. Is that right?

  73. 0:28:12

    Depends on whether or not they're hired on or after 7/1/2009. But yes, I take your point. They're part of ERS.

  74. 0:28:19

    And if they were hired after 2009?

  75. 0:28:23

    They're not eligible for a COLA, as you know.

  76. 0:28:26

    We're, we're, we're on a sad path here, I tell you what. It's time to move the needle.

  77. 0:28:33

    Well, if, if I could, Senator, and-

  78. 0:28:35

    Thank you

  79. 0:28:35

    ... and, you know, we, we talked about things.

  80. 0:28:36

    Mm-hmm.

  81. 0:28:36

    The, again, we're not penalizing them. The, the, they are in the system that they were hired into-

  82. 0:28:41

    Mm-hmm

  83. 0:28:41

    ... and we're making sure that we don't negatively impact them. It's just the j- the JRS is, is for the elected, you know, judges.

  84. 0:28:48

    Oh, I understand.

  85. 0:28:49

    Yes, ma'am.

  86. 0:28:49

    I just think they're already negatively impacted.

  87. 0:28:51

    Yep.

  88. 0:28:51

    You know?

  89. 0:28:52

    Yes, ma'am.

  90. 0:28:52

    The reality of their situation.

  91. 0:28:57

    Senator Hofstetler, I know you've got a question.

  92. 0:29:00

    Well, I, I apologize for coming in late, um, but I am trying to follow up on Senator Goodman's question. The 498,000, I'm trying to wrap my brain around that. So, um,

  93. 0:29:18

    are they... Uh, so, so basically that's what would be transferred out of ERS into the JRS?

  94. 0:29:27

    No. It's, that's not the exact dollar amount. Um, I don't know if that dollar amount is noted. Um, it also includes the idea that there are contribu- there are earnings on that money as well. So it's a present value of not just the money being transferred, but any future earnings that would've otherwise been expected to be accrued into ERS.

  95. 0:29:47

    Okay. So they don't retain any, any ERS, um... I mean, their plan's changing to JRS. There's no... So

  96. 0:30:01

    we're losing, we're losing the revenue that's transferring over, but we're also losing the liability.

  97. 0:30:06

    Correct.

  98. 0:30:07

    And apparently the net-

  99. 0:30:08

    So, so, so, so what's the, why, why the difference there is what I'm trying to-

  100. 0:30:11

    Well, apparently it doesn't offset. I don't know the calculation specifically.

  101. 0:30:14

    Uh-huh.

  102. 0:30:14

    But apparently the, the impact of the revenue loss is higher than the impact of the liability transfer.

  103. 0:30:21

    I, I, um, to, to the executive director, I think the, uh, ERS, it may have to do with ERS's current funding ratio may be the reason there's a difference.

  104. 0:30:33

    Could be.

  105. 0:30:34

    Would we be better off to let him take his money and go open an IRA somewhere else?

  106. 0:30:40

    Not compared to JRS, no. JRS is a, has a pretty, um, generous benefit, so he'll be better off in the JRS.

  107. 0:30:49

    But is the state gonna be better off?

  108. 0:30:52

    Well, the amount of the liability transfer isn't even enough to move the A deck by one basis point, so I don't think the state's gonna really notice in the... Again, this 498,000 is amortized over a period of 20 years.

  109. 0:31:04

    Okay.

  110. 0:31:05

    Um, so it's a negligible amount on an annual basis.

  111. 0:31:07

    And, and the bill also requires the, the individual to, to pay any actuarial costs that, when they enter the system-

  112. 0:31:14

    Mm-hmm. Okay

  113. 0:31:15

    ... to, to bring them up to, to that level.

  114. 0:31:17

    Okay.

  115. 0:31:24

    Anyone else have any questions or comments for the author?

  116. 0:31:41

    What is the will of the committee?

  117. 0:31:44

    Move do pass.

  118. 0:31:46

    Have a motion do pass by Senator McLaurin.

  119. 0:31:49

    I'll second.

  120. 0:31:50

    Have a second by Senator Goodman. Any discussion? Questions? Hearing none, all in favor say aye.

  121. 0:32:00

    Aye.

  122. 0:32:01

    Aye.

  123. 0:32:01

    Any opposed, like sign. So carried.

  124. 0:32:05

    A- and if it please the chair, uh, Senator s- um, Shawn Still will carry that in the Senate for us.

  125. 0:32:10

    Okay.

  126. 0:32:10

    Shawn Still.

  127. 0:32:12

    Okay. Thank you. Thank y'all.

  128. 0:32:13

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

  129. 0:32:14

    All right. No other business. Uh, we'll stand adjourned. Thank you.

  130. 0:32:52

    Pardon my

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