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Contributions by Judges and Solicitors-General of State Courts; Employer Contributions; Reports Required

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The provisions of this Code section shall be applicable to judges and solicitors-general of state courts. The basis for employer and employee contributions to the fund with respect to a judge or solicitor-general of a state court shall be the actual earnable monthly compensation received as such judge or solicitor-general; provided, however, that for members who become members after July 1, 1998, such amount shall not exceed the earnable monthly compensation from state funds provided by law for superior court judges.
1. The employee contributions with respect to judges and solicitors-general of state courts who are compensated by earnable monthly compensation paid by the employing units which pay the costs of the operation of such courts shall be 7 1/2 percent of the amount of such earnable monthly compensation. A person to be designated by each such employing unit shall report the amount of such earnable monthly compensation to the board by not later than the fifteenth day of each calendar month. The employing units are authorized to pay any portion of the employee contribution and to deduct employee contributions from the earnable monthly compensation of such judges and solicitors-general and to pay the contributions into the fund. An employing unit which so elects to pay any portion of the employee contribution shall apply such provisions on behalf of all state court judges and solicitors-general employed by such employing unit now or in the future, and such provisions shall apply only to the earnable monthly compensation earned by the employing unit's state court judges and solicitors-general after the effective date of the election by such employing unit to pay such member's employee contributions. Such contributions shall be forwarded to the board at the same time the report of the earnable monthly compensation of such judges and solicitors-general is forwarded. The employing units are also authorized to make an additional deduction from such earnable monthly compensation to cover any required employee tax for social security coverage. The deduction from the earnable monthly compensation payable to such judges and solicitors-general of state courts shall be made, notwithstanding that such earnable monthly compensation fixed by law for such judges and solicitors-general is reduced thereby. Such judges and solicitors-general shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deductions made; and payment of such earnable monthly compensation, less such deductions, shall be a full and complete discharge of all claims and demands whatsoever for the services rendered by such judges and solicitors-general during the period covered by such payment.
2. The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia are authorized and directed to pay into the fund provided for by this chapter monthly employer contributions, including contributions to fund any creditable service authorized by this chapter. Such amounts are to be determined by the board and, together with employee contributions and the earnings of the fund, shall be an amount sufficient to fund the service and disability retirement benefits under this chapter. The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia are authorized and directed to pay from the funds appropriated or otherwise available any required employer contribution for social security coverage on such members.
1. It shall be the duty of each employing unit affected by this chapter to designate a responsible person to submit the reports and forward the employee contributions set forth in this Code section. It shall be the duty of the person so designated to comply with this Code section. If the required reports and employee contributions are not forwarded to the board or if duplicate copies of the reports are not directed to the Office of the State Treasurer, in accordance with this Code section, as appropriate, the Office of the State Treasurer is authorized to withhold any state payments payable to the governmental unit failing to forward such reports and employee contributions until such time as such reports and contributions have been received.
2. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each state court to notify The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia, and the board of directors of this retirement system of the election or appointment of a new state court judge or solicitor-general or the vacating of any such office. Such notification shall be made within two weeks of such election, appointment, or vacancy.
3. Each employing unit affected by this chapter shall provide The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia, and the board of directors of this retirement system with a list of all employees of the employing unit who are current members of this retirement system. Such report shall be made each calendar month.
All members shall retain, have, and be subject to all other rights, privileges, obligations, and duties otherwise provided for in this chapter; and all such other provisions shall remain of full force and effect with respect to any matter not specifically provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section.
The employee contributions described in this chapter that are paid by the employer are intended to be pick-up contributions in accordance with Section 414(h) of the federal Internal Revenue Code. Such contributions are mandatory, and no member is entitled under any circumstances to receive such contributions in cash in lieu of having them contributed to the retirement system. Such contributions shall be 100 percent vested for all purposes under the retirement system.

(Code 1981, §47-23-81, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 513, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 535, § 34/HB 460; Ga. L. 2009, p. 753, §§ 18, 19/SB 109; Ga. L. 2010, p. 863, § 2/SB 296; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 64/SB 436; Ga. L. 2014, p. 223, § 5/HB 843.)

The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2010, in paragraph (b)(2), substituted "The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia are" for "From funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of superior courts, the Department of Administrative Services is" at the beginning of the first sentence and, in the last sentence, substituted "Council of State Court Judges of Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia are" for "Department of Administrative Services is" and deleted "for the operation of the superior courts of the state" following "available"; and, in subsection (c), designated the existing provisions as paragraph (c)(1) and added paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3).

The 2010 amendments. The first 2010 amendment, effective July 1, 2010, substituted "Office of the State Treasurer" for "Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services" twice in the third sentence of paragraph (c)(1). The second 2010 amendment, effective July 1, 2010, substituted "The Council" for "the Council" near the beginning of paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3).

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, added subsection (e).

Editor's notes.

- 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."

Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 67, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "In the event of an irreconcilable conflict between a provision of Sections 62 through 64 of this Act and a provision of another Act enacted at the 2010 regular session of the General Assembly, the provision of such other Act shall control over this Act to the extent of the conflict."

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Reimbursed expenses are administrative expense and not salary.

- Under O.C.G.A. §§ 47-23-1,47-23-81, and47-23-100, "salary" is defined as the full rate of regular compensation for full working time. The Georgia Judicial Retirement System, in calculating a former solicitor general's benefits, was authorized to exclude from this definition sums the county paid to the solicitor general as reimbursement for office expenses that the county would otherwise have incurred - amounts that were not reported as income to the IRS. McKelvey v. Ga. Judicial Ret. Sys., 297 Ga. App. 650, 678 S.E.2d 120 (2009).

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