Georgia Senate Bill SB216

Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/19/25
• Refer: 2/20/25
• Report Pass: 2/25/26
• Engrossed: 3/4/26
• Report Pass: 3/18/26
• Enrolled: 4/10/26

Caption

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

Summary

SB 216 amends Georgia’s Judicial Retirement System to add a new category of covered employees: individuals employed as the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission under Code Section 15-18-32(c)(2)(C). Beginning July 1, 2026, newly hired directors in that position would automatically become members of the Judicial Retirement System rather than the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia. The bill also creates a one-time election window for current employees in that role who are not already in the Judicial Retirement System, allowing them to transfer systems if they elect to do so by June 30, 2027 and pay the remaining actuarial cost of the transfer. The bill provides for the transfer of employer and employee contributions, with interest, from the Employees’ Retirement System to the Judicial Retirement System for eligible employees who elect to transfer. It also specifies that transferred service counts toward vesting only, and it defines earnable monthly compensation for these members as the full rate of regular monthly state-funded compensation for full working time. The measure is contingent on concurrent funding under Georgia’s Public Retirement Systems Standards Law and includes an automatic repeal if that funding condition is not met. In practical terms, SB 216 changes state retirement law by expanding membership eligibility in the Judicial Retirement System and creating a mechanism to move certain prosecutorial-commission staff between retirement systems. It affects retirement administration, contribution transfers, actuarial funding obligations, and benefit calculations for the affected director position, while leaving other retirement system members unchanged. The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and largely noncontroversial. It passed the Senate 46-2 and the House 163-0, indicating broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition in the recorded votes. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to identify detailed arguments for or against the measure. The main point of potential contention is fiscal and actuarial: the bill requires the transferring employee to pay the remaining actuarial cost of moving service into the Judicial Retirement System, and the act only takes effect if it is concurrently funded. That suggests lawmakers were attentive to the cost of expanding retirement coverage, but the overwhelming vote totals indicate those concerns did not generate significant resistance.

Impact

SB 216 amends Chapter 23 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated by creating a new retirement-system membership rule for the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission and by updating the definition of salary for affected members. It changes which state retirement system covers these employees, establishes transfer and contribution rules for current employees, and ties the bill’s effectiveness to concurrent funding under Georgia’s public retirement funding standards. The bill primarily affects state retirement administration, the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia, the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, and the small class of employees serving in the specified director role.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received positively and with little controversy. It passed the Senate by a wide margin, 46-2, and then passed the House unanimously, 163-0. The vote pattern suggests broad agreement that the retirement coverage change was appropriate and administratively manageable, with no significant organized opposition reflected in the available record.

Contention

The only notable area of contention is the cost and funding structure of the retirement change. The bill requires current eligible employees who elect to transfer systems to pay the remaining actuarial cost, and the act will not take effect unless it is concurrently funded under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law. That indicates concern about protecting the retirement systems from unfunded liabilities. No committee testimony or transcript is available, so there is no recorded dispute over policy merits, but the fiscal safeguards suggest that funding and actuarial impact were the main issues considered.