# Georgia HB 438: Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; allow certain sworn law enforcement officers to be eligible for retirement benefits at age 55; provisions

Georgia HB 438, Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; allow certain sworn law enforcement officers to be eligible for retirement benefits at age 55; provisions, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Shaw Blackmon (Republican), Beth Camp (Republican), Clint Crowe (Republican) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB438-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 438
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; allow certain sworn law enforcement officers to be eligible for retirement benefits at age 55; provisions
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-02-12
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Shaw Blackmon (Republican), Beth Camp (Republican), Clint Crowe (Republican), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Eddie Lumsden (Republican), Deborah Silcox (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Retirement, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (211 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Earlier retirement for Georgia public safety workers: benefit, high. The law sets normal retirement at age 55 with at least 10 years of credited service for covered Georgia employees. Covered jobs include specified Public Safety sworn officers, noncommissioned officers, troopers, and the commissioner and deputy commissioner. They also include Georgia Bureau of Inves…
- Stronger disability pensions for Georgia safety workers: benefit, high. The law expands permanent disability pension protection for covered contributing members of Georgia's Employees' Retirement System. Coverage includes specified Public Safety officers, noncommissioned officers, troopers, and the commissioner and deputy commissioner. It also includes Georgia Bureau o…
- Georgia officers can buy prior service credit: mixed, medium. The law broadens which Georgia officers qualify to buy pension credit for earlier full-time local-government law enforcement work. It includes specified Public Safety sworn officers, noncommissioned officers, troopers, and the commissioner and deputy commissioner. Members need at least 10 years in…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Shaw Blackmon (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Beth Camp (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Clint Crowe (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Bill Hitchens (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Eddie Lumsden (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Deborah Silcox (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Rick Williams (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-25 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 52 | 0 | 2 |
| 2026-03-04 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 159 | 0 | 4 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 439
- 2026-04-06: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-04: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-02-25: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2025-02-18: House Second Readers (House)
- 2025-02-13: House First Readers (House)
- 2025-02-12: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 438/AP* (v5): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247668)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 438/AP* (v5) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/247668)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB438-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).