GA Code § 47-2-290 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 47 - Retirement and Pensions|Chapter 2 - Employees' Retirement System of Georgia|Article 8 - Provisions Applicable to Particular Groups of Employees|Part 9 - Judges and Other Court Employees; Certain County Employees|§ 47-2-290. Judges, Solicitors, and Other Employees of State Courts Subject to Merit System; Membership in Retirement System; Contributions; Exemptions

  The state courts of this state are declared to be adjuncts of the superior courts, the state courts having concurrent jurisdiction in all civil and criminal matters except those exclusively vested in the superior courts. All judges, solicitors, and other employees of any state court in this state shall be subject to a merit system of personnel administration as promulgated by each state court under which all such officers and employees shall perform services on the basis of merit, fitness, and efficiency. All such officers and employees are authorized to become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia in accordance with this chapter. The governing authority of each county of this state shall deduct or collect from each member the employee contributions required by this chapter and shall remit those contributions to the retirement system on a monthly basis. The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia is authorized and directed to pay from the funds appropriated or otherwise available the employer contribution required by this chapter for judges and employees of the state courts, which contribution shall be paid by The Council of State Court Judges of Georgia, upon receipt of an invoice from the retirement system. The Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia is authorized and directed to pay from the funds appropriated or otherwise available the employer contribution required by this chapter for solicitors-general of the state courts, which contribution shall be paid by the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia, upon receipt of an invoice from the retirement system.   All judges, solicitors, and other employees of any state court who were in service on December 1, 1952, shall be entitled to all benefits authorized under this chapter in the same manner as if they had been members of the retirement system on that date.   Reserved.   Code Section 47-2-291 shall not apply to judges and solicitors of the state courts who participate in the retirement system in their capacity as judges and solicitors; but all judges and solicitors so participating shall be entitled to credit for all their prior years of service rendered as judge or solicitor, or both.    (Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 305, §§ 1-5; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 47; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1402, § 19; Ga. L. 1994, p. 92, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 753, § 7/SB 109; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 64/SB 436; Ga. L. 2020, p. 474, § 4/SB 176.)    The 2009 amendment,  effective July 1, 2010, in subsection (a), in the fifth sentence, substituted "Council of State Court Judges of Georgia" for "commissioner of administrative services" twice, substituted "or otherwise available" for "for the operation of the superior courts of this state" in the middle, and inserted "for judges and employees of the state courts" near the end, and added the last sentence.    The 2010 amendment,  effective July 1, 2010, substituted "The Council" for "the Council" in the fifth sentence of subsection (a).    The 2020 amendment,  effective January 1, 2021, repealed and reserved former subsection (c), which read: "Subsection (b) of Code Section 47-2-110 shall not apply to the judges and solicitors of any state court, who may retire at their discretion at any time after becoming eligible to retire."   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."   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Section permissive, not mandatory.    - It is clear that, under the language of this statute, the General Assembly used permissive words and not mandatory provisions. A close analysis of the provisions reveals that the governing authority of the county in which the court is located can deduct or collect employee contributions only from members, and there is no authorization contained therein that contributions shall apply in a mandatory manner to all officers and employees of the courts. This restrictive language, considered with the permissive words "authorized to become members," clearly shows this statute to be permissive and not mandatory. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 225 (see O.C.G.A. § 47-2-290).    Person who is both state court judge and juvenile court judge  may simultaneously belong to the Employees' Retirement System, if otherwise eligible, and the Trial Judges and Solicitors Retirement Fund. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-6.    Ga. L. 1953, Jan.-Feb. Sess., p. 349, § 2 (see O.C.G.A. § 47-2-70) does not apply to Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 305, §§ 1-5 (see O.C.G.A. § 47-2-290). 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 225.    Merit system must be established  for employees on a court to come under the retirement system. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 226.    Statute has no effect upon jurisdiction of state courts. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-93 (see O.C.G.A. § 47-2-290).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 60A Am. Jur. 2d, Pensions and Retirement Funds, §§ 1166 et seq., 1182, 1197 et seq.   C.J.S.   - 67 C.J.S., Officers and Public Employees, §§ 161, 316 et seq.