Section 47-2-296. County probation system employees

   (a) As used in this Code section, the term "local retirement system" means a retirement or pension system maintained by a county which includes as members thereof employees of the county probation system which becomes a part of the state-wide probation system, and the term includes any such retirement or pension created by law or created by ordinance or resolution of the county under the home rule provisions of the Constitution of Georgia.

(b) Any person becoming an employee of the state at any time on or after July 1, 1984, as a result of being employed by a county probation system which became a part of the state-wide probation system administered by the Department of Corrections shall have the options and rights provided for by this Code section, subject to the limitations of subsection (f) of this Code section. The options available to any such employee under this Code section must be exercised within six months after the date the applicable county probation system became a part of the state-wide probation system. The option provided by subsection (e) of this Code section must be exercised on or before the date the county probation system becomes a part of the state-wide probation system. Any such option shall be exercised by such employee notifying, in writing, the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, the commissioner of corrections, the governing authority of the applicable county, and, when applicable, the board of trustees or other managing body of any local retirement system of which the employee is a member. If the employee is a member of a local retirement system, such membership shall continue pending the exercise of an option provided by this Code section. The choice made by an employee in selecting an option provided by this Code section shall be irrevocable and may not at any time thereafter be rescinded or modified.

(c) If an employee subject to this Code section was a member of a local retirement system at the time the applicable county probation system became a part of the state-wide probation system, such employee, subject to the limitations of subsection (f) of this Code section, may either continue active membership in the local retirement system as provided in this subsection or become a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and transfer creditable service as an employee of the local retirement system to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section. Such employees who are subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this Code section shall have the additional option to retire under the local retirement system, if qualified therefor, as provided in said subsection (e). An employee electing to continue membership in a local retirement system shall have the right to continue such membership and the salary received by such employee as an employee of the Department of Corrections or other state department shall be the salary of such employee for all purposes under the local retirement system. If applicable to any such employee, any county supplement to the state salary of such employee shall be included as salary for the purposes of a local retirement system in which such employee continues membership. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection for the use of certain employer contributions to offset required employee contributions, such employee shall continue to pay the employee contributions required under the local retirement system; and, for such purposes, the Department of Corrections or other state department if the employee subsequently becomes employed by another department of the state government may enter into an agreement with the board of trustees or other managing body of the local retirement system whereby the department may deduct such employee contributions from the compensation of the employee and pay the amount deducted to the local retirement system. Employer contributions for continued membership in the local retirement system shall be computed at the same percentage rate applicable to all other state employees on the basis of the state salary paid to such employees electing to continue membership in the local retirement system and shall be paid by the Department of Corrections or by another state department when applicable to the local retirement system; provided, however, that, if the employer contributions paid by the Department of Corrections or other state department exceed the employer contributions applicable to all other employees of the local retirement system, the difference between the percentage rate of employer contributions paid by the Department of Corrections or other state department and the percentage rate of employer contributions applicable to all other employees of the local retirement system shall be applied to offset the percentage rate of employee contributions required of such state employees remaining in the local retirement system; provided, further, that, if the employer contributions to be paid by the Department of Corrections or other state department under this subsection would exceed the total employee and employer contributions required under the local retirement system, the Department of Corrections or other state department shall only be required to pay the total amount of such employee and employer contributions required under the local retirement system. An employee continuing membership under a local retirement system under this subsection shall retain all rights, benefits, and privileges under the local retirement system in the same manner and to the same extent as if the employee remained an employee of the county. An employee electing to continue membership in a local retirement system shall not be and may not become a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia.

(d) An employee who was a member of a local retirement system as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section may elect to become a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, except as otherwise provided by subsection (f) of this Code section. Any such employee so electing may obtain creditable service under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia for all accredited service previously rendered as an employee of the applicable local retirement system. For each employee so electing, the governing authority of the applicable county or the board of trustees or other managing body of the applicable local retirement system, within 30 days after receiving the notice provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section, shall pay to the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia a portion of the total employee contributions plus interest made by the employee to the local retirement system. This payment shall be equal to the employee contribution plus interest which would have been accumulated had the employee always been covered by the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. Any additional amount, as determined by the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, shall be paid by the local retirement system to a maximum of prior county contributions plus interest. Any further additional sum required will be paid by the local governing authority. These two sums together with the contributions of transferring employees plus interest shall be sufficient to grant the creditable service under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia authorized by this subsection without creating any accrued liability, as a result of granting such creditable service, against the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. The employee contributions paid to the board of trustees under this subsection shall be deposited by the board into the annuity savings fund as a credit to the member. Other funds paid to the board of trustees under this subsection shall be deposited by the board into the pension accumulation fund. Upon receiving the payments provided for by this subsection, the board of trustees shall enter the creditable service provided for by this subsection upon the records of the member. The employee contributions in an amount exceeding those necessary to cover the period of creditable service as a state employee under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia shall be refunded to the employee upon application to the board of trustees of the local retirement system.

(e) This subsection shall not apply to the employees of a county probation system of any county of this state having a population of 550,000 or more according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census. The employees of other county probation systems subject to the provisions of this Code section who were members of a local retirement system shall have the additional option of retiring under the local retirement system if such employees have sufficient creditable service under the local retirement system to qualify for retirement benefits. Such option may be exercised by any such employee making application for retirement to the board of trustees or other managing body of the local retirement system. Any such employee electing to retire under a local retirement system shall not be eligible to transfer any creditable service under the local retirement system to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and, if the employee accepts employment as an employee of the Department of Corrections, shall become a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia at the time the county probation system becomes a part of the state-wide probation system.

(f) This subsection shall apply only to employees of a county probation system of a county having a population of 600,000 or more according to the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census. The employees of any such county probation system who were members of a local retirement system and who have ten or more years of creditable service under the local retirement system at the time the county probation system becomes a part of the state-wide probation system shall not have the option to become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, and such employees shall continue active membership in the local retirement system. The provisions of subsection (c) of this Code section shall apply to such employees, except for the provisions of such subsection relative to the option to become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia.

(g) If an employee subject to this Code section was not a member of a local retirement system at the time the applicable county probation system became a part of the state-wide probation system, such employee shall become a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia effective on the date the county probation system became a part of the state-wide probation system. Any such member may purchase as creditable service under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia all or any portion of previous actual service rendered by the member as an employee of the applicable county probation system, except in those instances in which such member has retired or is receiving benefits from a local retirement system. Such creditable service may be purchased by the member's paying to the board of trustees all employee and employer contributions, plus regular interest thereon, under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia for the amount of creditable service claimed in an amount sufficient to grant creditable service under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia authorized by this subsection without creating any accrued liability, as a result of granting such creditable service, against the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. The basis for such employee and employer contributions shall be the compensation the member received upon first becoming an employee of the Department of Corrections. The time limitation for exercising options provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section shall not apply to the purchase of creditable service under this subsection. Any eligible member may purchase such creditable service at any time during the first five years of membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and parts of such creditable service may be purchased from time to time during such five-year period. The board of trustees may establish payment schedules for eligible members to purchase creditable service under this subsection.

(h) (1) The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to counties having a population of 550,000 or more according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census which had a county probation system whose employees are subject to the provisions of this Code section.

   (2) The governing authority of a county subject to this subsection is authorized to supplement the state salaries paid to employees of the Department of Corrections who were employees of the county's probation system prior to its becoming a part of the state-wide probation system. Such salary supplement, if any, shall be included in the salary of any such employee for all purposes under any local retirement system in which the employee remains a member pursuant to the authority or requirements of this Code section. Such salary supplement, if any, shall not be considered state salary for the purposes of any payments made from state funds to a local retirement system to reimburse such local retirement system for employer contributions that would be made under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia if such employees had become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to the provisions of this Code section.

(i) To the extent this Code section conflicts with or is inconsistent with the provisions of a local retirement or pension system affected by this Code section, whether such local retirement or pension system was created by law or by local ordinance, the provisions of this Code section shall control.

Code 1981, § 47-2-296, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1809, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 209, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 283, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1266, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2344, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 131, § 1.