(a) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this Code section, any member of the General Assembly holding office on January 1, 1986, may obtain creditable service for membership in the General Assembly obtained on and after that date only for the purposes of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, and no service as a member of the General Assembly which is obtained after December 31, 1985, by any such member shall be creditable or used as creditable service for the purposes of any other public retirement or pension system of this state.

(b)(1) Subject to the limitations of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly holding office on January 1, 1986, who:

(A) Was a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia on that date; and

(B) Received annual compensation as a member and officer of the General Assembly during calendar year 1985, on which employee contributions to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia were based, exceeding the average annual compensation of all members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia for calendar year 1985.

(2) Any member of the General Assembly subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection who continues to receive annual compensation on and after January 1, 1986, as a member and officer of the General Assembly exceeding the average annual compensation of all members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia may continue membership in said retirement system. If during any calendar year the annual compensation of any such member of the General Assembly is equal to or less than the average annual compensation of all members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia for that calendar year, then on the first day of January immediately following such calendar year such member of the General Assembly shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Code section, and for the purposes of this paragraph, any reference in said subsection (c) to January 1, 1986, shall mean the first day of January immediately following such calendar year.

(c)(1) Any member of the General Assembly holding office on January 1, 1986, who was a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia on that date and who is not subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section may:

(A) Cease to be an active contributing member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia effective on January 1, 1986, and retain all rights existing on that date under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia by not withdrawing employee contributions from said retirement system;

(B) Withdraw employee contributions from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, forfeit all rights under said system, and forfeit the right to become a member of any public retirement or pension system of this state as a member of the General Assembly; or (C) Transfer all creditable service under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia to the Georgia Legislative Retirement System effective January 1, 1986, and become an active contributing member of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System effective on that date with all creditable service thereunder which was transferred from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia.

(2) The members of the General Assembly affected thereby shall exercise the options specified by paragraph (1) of this subsection by not later than December 1, 1985. Any such option shall be exercised by written notification to the board of trustees of each retirement system affected by the option selected. By not later than November 1, 1985, the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia shall provide written notification of the requirements of this paragraph to each member of the General Assembly affected by the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(d) Any person becoming a member of the General Assembly after December 31, 1985, shall be eligible to obtain creditable service as a member of the General Assembly only for the purposes of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, and no service as a member of the General Assembly which is obtained on or after January 1, 1986, by any such person shall be creditable or used as creditable service for the purposes of any other public retirement or pension system of this state.

(e) Notwithstanding any provisions of Chapter 6 of this title or any other law, any member of the General Assembly may withdraw from membership in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System and receive a refund of contributions to such system under Code Section 47-6-85. Any member exercising the option provided by this subsection may not at any time thereafter reestablish membership in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System or become a member of any public retirement or pension system while serving as a member of the General Assembly.

(f) The provisions of this Code section shall control over conflicting or inconsistent provisions of any other law of this state, specifically including any law relating to any public retirement or pension system of this state. It is the intention of the General Assembly that this Code section may not be repealed, superseded, or modified by implication through the enactment of any other law or through the amendment of any existing law, and any modification or repeal of the requirements of this Code section shall be accomplished only by amendment to or repeal of this specific Code section.