Georgia § 47-1-9 - Crediting of time toward Georgia Legislative Retirement System; restriction on crediting; options for members; refund of contributions; construction of conflicting provisions.

§ 47-1-9. Crediting of time toward Georgia Legislative Retirement System; restriction on crediting; options for members; refund of contributions; construction of conflicting provisions.

Except as provided by subsection (b) of this Code section, any member of the General Assembly holding office on January 1, 1986, may obtain creditable service for membership in the General Assembly obtained on and after that date only for the purposes of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, and no service as a member of the General Assembly which is obtained after December 31, 1985, by any such member shall be creditable or used as creditable service for the purposes of any other public retirement or pension system of this state. Subject to the limitations of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly holding office on January 1, 1986, who: Was a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia on that date; and Received annual compensation as a member and officer of the General Assembly during calendar year 1985, on which employee contributions to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia were based, exceeding the average annual compensation of all members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia for calendar year 1985. Any member of the General Assembly subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection who continues to receive annual compensation on and after January 1, 1986, as a member and officer of the General Assembly exceeding the average annual compensation of all members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia may continue membership in said retirement system. Any person becoming a member of the General Assembly after December 31, 1985, shall be eligible to obtain creditable service as a member of the General Assembly only for the purposes of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, and no service as a member of the General Assembly which is obtained on or after January 1, 1986, by any such person shall be creditable or used as creditable service for the purposes of any other public retirement or pension system of this state. Notwithstanding any provisions of Chapter 6 of this title or any other law, any member of the General Assembly may withdraw from membership in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System and receive a refund of contributions to such system under Code Section 47-6-85. Any member exercising the option provided by this subsection may not at any time thereafter reestablish membership in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System or become a member of any public retirement or pension system while serving as a member of the General Assembly. The provisions of this Code section shall control over conflicting or inconsistent provisions of any other law of this state, specifically including any law relating to any public retirement or pension system of this state. It is the intention of the General Assembly that this Code section may not be repealed, superseded, or modified by implication through the enactment of any other law or through the amendment of any existing law, and any modification or repeal of the requirements of this Code section shall be accomplished only by amendment to or repeal of this specific Code section. (Code 1981, § 47-1-9 , enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1334, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 146, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 2/SB 436.) The 2010 amendment, effective July 1, 2010, deleted the former last sentence of paragraph (b)(2), which read: "If during any calendar year the annual compensation of any such member of the General Assembly is equal to or less than the average annual compensation of all members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia for that calendar year, then on the first day of January immediately following such calendar year such member of the General Assembly shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Code section, and for the purposes of this paragraph, any reference in said subsection (c) to January 1, 1986, shall mean the first day of January immediately following such calendar year."; deleted former subsection (c); and redesignated former subsections (d) through (f) as present subsections (c) through (e), respectively. Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 1985, p. 1334, § 3, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that that Act would become effective for administrative purposes upon its approval by the Governor or upon its otherwise becoming law and would become effective for all purposes on January 1, 1986. The Act was approved April 10, 1985. Ga. L. 1985, p. 1334, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provided as follows: "This Act is pursuant to the authority of Article III, Section X, Paragraph VI of the Constitution and pursuant to the specific authority of subparagraph (d) of said Paragraph VI, this Act is exempt from the provisions of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, known as the 'Public Retirement Systems Standards Law.' " Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "The intent of this Act is to repeal obsolete and inoperative provisions and to make certain stylistic corrections in Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. Nothing in this Act shall deny, abridge, increase, renew, revive, or on any way affect any right, benefit, option, credit, or election to which any person was entitled pursuant to such title on June 30, 2010, and the board of trustees of each public retirement system is authorized and directed to provide by regulation for the continuation of any such right, benefit, option, credit, or election not otherwise covered in this Act; provided, however, that any such right, benefit, option, credit, or election shall be subject to the statutory provisions in effect on June 30, 2010."