Georgia § 47-2-226 - Certain law enforcement officers permitted to obtain creditable service in retirement system under certain conditions; "law enforcement officer" defined; payment of full actuarial value to applicant.

§ 47-2-226. Certain law enforcement officers permitted to obtain creditable service in retirement system under certain conditions; "law enforcement officer" defined; payment of full actuarial value to applicant.

As used in this Code section, the term "law enforcement officer" means any member in service of the Uniform Division of the Department of Public Safety, any game warden of the Department of Natural Resources, any officer or agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, any district attorney investigator who is compensated from state funds pursuant to Code Section 15-18-14.1, any alcohol and tobacco officer or agent of the Department of Revenue, any investigator of the Department of Driver Services, and any criminal investigators or K9 handlers of the Department of Corrections. Any law enforcement officer who, prior to becoming a member of this retirement system, was employed by a local government in this state as a full-time employee, in a position in which he or she was vested with authority to enforce the criminal or traffic laws and with the power of arrest and whose duties include the preservation of public order, the protection of life and property, or the prevention, detection, or investigation of crime, shall be eligible to obtain creditable service under this Code section for his or her years of service in such capacity if: The member is not eligible to receive a present or future benefit from a defined benefit or defined contribution retirement or pension plan in which said member participated while employed by the local governing authority other than membership in the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund; and The member has been a member of the retirement system for at least ten years. Any member eligible as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section may obtain up to an additional five years of creditable service, not to exceed the actual number of years of service described in subsection (b) of this Code section. In order to obtain such additional creditable service, the member shall: Make application to the board of trustees in such manner and provide such documentation as the board deems appropriate; and 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. Upon receipt of an application for additional creditable service, the board of trustees shall certify to the applicant the amount of the payment required by paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this Code section. (Code 1981, § 47-2-226 , enacted by Ga. L. 2016, p. 365, § 1/HB 690; Ga. L. 2018, p. 150, § 1/HB 135; Ga. L. 2019, p. 808, § 7/SB 72.) Effective date. - This Code section became effective July 1, 2016. The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, in subsection (a), deleted "and" following "Code Section 15-18-14.1," in the middle, and added ", any investigator of the Department of Driver Services, and any criminal investigators or K9 handlers of the Department of Corrections" at the end; in subsection (b), inserted "in this state" near the middle, and inserted "for his or her years of service in such capacity" near the end; and, in paragraph (b)(1), substituted "is not eligible to receive a present or future benefit from" for "was not eligible for" near the beginning, and inserted "in which said member participated" in the middle. The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted "game warden" for "conservation ranger" in the middle of subsection (a).