GA HB928

Authorizes the Board of Trustees of Georgia's Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund to appoint and compensate a hearing officer to hold hearings, compile evidence, and submit recommendations to the board in any contested case, expanding the role beyond just disability benefits cases.

Grants the hearing officer broad powers including administering oaths, issuing subpoenas, regulating hearings, taking testimony by deposition, and excluding disruptive persons, with subpoena enforcement available through superior court contempt proceedings.

Requires the hearing officer to certify the entire hearing record and recommendation to the board within 30 days of closing evidence, after which the board must issue a decision with separate findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Provides that any party adversely affected by a final board decision may seek judicial review in the Superior Court of Spalding County within 30 days, with review confined to the record and reversal permitted only for constitutional violations, exceeding statutory authority, unlawful procedure, clearly erroneous findings, or arbitrary/capricious decisions.

Relocates and consolidates hearing officer provisions from the disability benefits section (Code Section 47-17-81) into a new standalone Code Section 47-17-27, making the hearing officer's authority applicable to all contested cases rather than solely disability claims.