ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA
2012
COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY AUTHO RITY O F THE STATE
Volume One Book One

COMPILER'S NOTE
General Acts and Resolutions of the 2012 Regular Session of the General Assembly of Georgia will be found in Volume One, Book One beginning at page 1. The Supplementary Appropriations Act for FY 2011- 2012 and the Appropriations Act for FY 2012-2013 will be found in the Volume One Appendix. These two Acts have been separately placed in the Appendix in order to maintain the special formatting and unique characteristics of the underlying bills. Local and Special Acts and Resolutions will be found in Volume Two beginning at page 3501. Home rule actions by counties and consolidated governments and by municipalities filed in the Office of the Secretary of State between June 1, 2011, and May 30, 2012, are printed in Volume Two beginning at pages 5687 and 5709, respectively.
There are no numbered pages between page 1366, the last page of Volume One, Book Two, and page 3501, the first page of Volume Two. This allows both volumes to be prepared simultaneously. Because of the number of pages in the volumes, Volume One has been divided into two books plus an appendix, and Volume Two has been divided into two books. The only page numbers in the Volume One Appendix will be those appearing in the underlying bills.
Indexes; lists of Acts, Bills, and Resolutions and their Georgia Laws page numbers; material related to courts; population charts; lists of members of the General Assembly; referendum results; the state auditor's report on funding of retirement bills; and the Governor's veto message are printed in Volume Three. Indexes cover material in both Volumes One and Two. The tabular indexes list matter by broad categories. The general index is a detailed alphabetical index by subject matter. When possible, general Acts have been indexed by reference to the titles of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated which they amend and the tabular index contains a list of Code sections which have been amended, enacted, or repealed.
Each Act and Resolution is preceded by a caption written by the compilers of the Georgia Laws solely to assist the reader in quickly determining the subject matter of the Act or Resolution. This caption includes the Act number assigned by the Governor and the House or Senate Bill or Resolution number which it was given when it was introduced in the General Assembly. These captions are not part of the Act or Resolution when they are enacted or adopted by the General Assembly. Each Act or Resolution which was signed by the Governor is followed by the approval date on which it was signed by the Governor.

GEORGIA LAWS 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME ONE
Acts and Resolutions of General Application .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia
Proposing Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Georgia.. . . . . . . . . . 1363 Supplementary Appropriations Act for FY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix General Appropriations Act for FY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix
VOLUME TWO
Acts and Resolutions of Local Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3501 County and Consolidated Government Home Rule Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5687 Municipal Home Rule Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5709
VOLUME THREE
Acts by Numbers-Page References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A Bills and Resolutions-Act Number References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Index-Tabular.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13A Index-General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51A Population of Georgia Counties-Alphabetically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106A Population of Georgia Counties-Numerically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110A Population of Municipalities-Alphabetically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115A Population of Municipalities-Numerically.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123A Population of Judicial Circuits.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131A Georgia Senate Districts, Alphabetically by County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136A Georgia Senators, Numerically by District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138A Georgia House Districts, Alphabetically by County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142A Georgia Representatives, Numerically by District.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144A Status of Referendum Elections.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154A Vetoes by the Governor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385A State Auditor's Report on Funding of Retirement Bills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395A Legislative Services Committee and Staff.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397A

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

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LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES AUTHORIZE SALE OR TRADE OF SURPLUS MOTOR VEHICLES; USE BY GEORGIA PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER.

No. 259 (House Bill No. 253).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department of Public Safety, so as to allow the commissioner of public safety, with the approval of the Board of Public Safety, to sell or trade surplus motor vehicles and use the proceeds of the sale or trade toward the purchase of new motor vehicles; to modify provisions relating to use of retired unmarked pursuit cars for training; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 2 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department of Public Safety, is amended by revising Code Section 35-2-57, relating to the use of retired unmarked pursuit cars for training, as follows:
"35-2-57. When an unmarked pursuit vehicle used by the Georgia State Patrol for the purpose of enforcing the traffic laws of this state is first removed from the field and will no longer be used on a regular basis for pursuit purposes, the commissioner of public safety is authorized, in his or her discretion, to make such pursuit vehicle available to the Georgia Public Safety Training Center for the purpose of training public safety officers pursuant to Chapter 5 of this title. Such vehicles may also be sold or traded pursuant to Code Section 35-2-58. Upon notification by the commissioner, the administrator of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center shall be authorized to take immediate possession of any such pursuit vehicle."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"35-2-58. (a) Any other provision of law notwithstanding, the commissioner, subject to approval by the board, shall have the power to sell or trade surplus motor vehicles no longer needed by

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

the department and use the proceeds from the sale or trade toward the purchase of new motor vehicles by the department. (b) Subject to approval by the board, available funds, and Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 50, the commissioner is authorized, in his or her discretion, to purchase new motor vehicles for use by the department. (c) The board shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Code section. The disposition of motor vehicles by the department shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 50 or subject to the procedures or approval of any other state agency."

SECTION 3. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved January 24, 2012.

__________

DEBTOR AND CREDITOR GARNISHMENTS; FILING OF ANSWERS; DELIVERY OF MONEY OR PROPERTY; ATTORNEY'S FEES; SERVICE OF ACTION.

No. 260 (House Bill No. 683).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 4 of Title 18 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to garnishment proceedings, so as to provide that the filing of certain answers on behalf of certain garnishees may be done by authorized officers or employees and shall not constitute the practice of law; to provide for definitions; to provide that delivery to the court of money or property that is subject to garnishment may likewise be accomplished by certain officers or employees of an entity; to conform the terminology of the chapter to reflect defined terms; to change provisions relating to service of garnishment actions; to increase the amount of attorney's fees a garnishee may deduct from the sums paid into court; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 4 of Title 18 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to garnishment proceedings, is amended by revising Code Section 18-4-1, relating to practice and procedure generally, as follows:
"18-4-1. (a) As used in this chapter, the terms 'garnishee answer,' 'garnishee's answer,' or 'answer of garnishee' means the response filed by a garnishee responding to a summons of garnishment detailing the property, money, or other effects of the defendant that are in the possession of the garnishee or declaring that the garnishee holds no such property, money, or other effects of the defendant. (b) The procedure in garnishment cases shall be uniform in all courts throughout this state; and, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, Chapter 11 of Title 9 shall apply in garnishment proceedings."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 18-4-3, relating to amendment of affidavits, bonds, or pleadings, as follows:
"18-4-3. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, any affidavit, bond, garnishee answer, or pleading required or permitted by this chapter shall be amendable at any time before judgment thereon."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended in Article 1, relating to general provisions, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"18-4-8. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Entity' means a public corporation or a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, professional corporation, firm, or other business entity other than a natural person. (2) 'Public corporation' means the State of Georgia or any department, agency, branch of government, or State of Georgia political subdivision, as such term is defined in Code Section 50-15-1, or any public board, bureau, commission, or authority created by the General Assembly. (b) When a garnishment proceeding is filed in a court under any provision of this chapter involving an entity as garnishee, the execution and filing of a garnishee answer may be done by an entity's authorized officer or employee and shall not constitute the practice of law. If a traverse or claim is filed to such entity's garnishee answer in a court of record, an attorney shall be required to represent such entity in further garnishment proceedings.

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

(c) An entity's payment into court of any property, money, or other effects of the defendant, or property or money which is admitted to be subject to garnishment, may be done by an entity's authorized officer or employee and shall not constitute the practice of law."

SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (i) of Code Section 18-4-20, relating to property subject to garnishment generally, as follows:
"(1) The name of the defendant, and, to the extent such would reasonably enable the garnishee to properly respond to the summons, all known configurations, nicknames, aliases, former or maiden names, trade names, or variations thereof; (2) The service address and the current addresses of the defendant and, to the extent such would reasonably enable the garnishee to properly respond to the summons of garnishment and such is reasonably available to the plaintiff, the past addresses of the defendant;"

SECTION 5. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 18-4-21, relating to the garnishment of salaries of officials and employees of the state and its political subdivisions, as follows:
"(a) Money due officials or employees of a municipal corporation or county of this state or of the state government, or any department or institution thereof, as salary for services performed for or on behalf of the municipal corporation or county of this state, or the state, or any department or institution thereof, shall be subject to garnishment, except in no event may the officials' or employees' salary for services performed for or on behalf of any municipal corporation or county of this state, or the state, or any department or institution thereof, be garnisheed where the judgment serving as a basis for the issuance of the summons of garnishment arises out of the liability incurred in the scope of the officials' or employees' governmental employment while responding to an emergency. In such cases, the summons shall be directed to such political entity and served upon the person authorized by law to draw the warrant on the treasury of the government or to issue a check for such salary due, or upon the chief administrative officer of the political subdivision, department, agency, or instrumentality; and such entity shall be required to respond to the summons in accordance with the mandate thereof and as provided by this chapter."

SECTION 6. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 18-4-23, relating to the manner of service of summons of garnishment on corporations, as follows:
"18-4-23. The method of service of a summons of garnishment shall be as provided in Code Section 9-11-4."

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SECTION 7. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 18-4-62, relating to the contents and service of the summons of garnishment and requirements for filing of an answer to the summons of garnishment, as follows:
"18-4-62. (a) The summons of garnishment shall be directed to the garnishee, commanding the garnishee to respond stating what money or other property is subject to garnishment. Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of this Code section, the garnishee's answer shall be filed with the court issuing the summons not sooner than 30 days and not later than 45 days after the service of the summons and shall be accompanied by the money or other property subject to garnishment. Upon the affidavit and summons being delivered to the sheriff, marshal, constable, or like officer of the court issuing the summons, it shall be his or her duty to serve the summons of garnishment, as set forth in Code Section 18-4-23, upon the person to whom it is directed and to make an entry of service upon the affidavit and return the affidavit to the court. The summons of garnishment shall state that if the garnishee fails to file a garnishee's answer to the summons, a judgment by default will be entered against the garnishee for the amount claimed by plaintiff against the defendant. (b) Under circumstances where the defendant has been an employee of the garnishee, and if the defendant is no longer employed by the garnishee, and if the garnishee has no money or property of the defendant subject to garnishment, the garnishee may immediately file the garnishee's answer; provided, however, that such garnishee's answer shall be filed not later than 45 days after the service of the summons. (c) If the garnishee is a bank or other financial institution and if the defendant does not have an active account with, and is not the owner of any money or property in the possession of, the bank or financial institution, then the garnishee may immediately file a garnishee's answer; provided, however, that such garnishee's answer shall be filed not later than 45 days after the service of the summons."

SECTION 8. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraphs (2), (4), and (6) of Code Section 18-4-66, relating to forms for postjudgment garnishment, as follows:
"(2) Summons of garnishment.

IN THE ______ COURT OF __________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

__________ Plaintiff
v.

)

)

)

)

Civil action

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

__________ Defendant Social security number
__________ Garnishee
__________ Address

)

File no. ____

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

SUMMONS OF GARNISHMENT

To: ______________ Garnishee

Amount claimed due by plaintiff

$________

(To be completed by plaintiff)

Plus court costs due on the summons

$________

(To be completed by the clerk)

YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to hold immediately all property, money, wages,

except what is exempt, belonging to the defendant, or debts owed to the defendant named

above at the time of service of this summons and between the time of service of this

summons and the time of making your garnishee answer. Not sooner than 30 days but

not later than 45 days after you are served with this summons, you are commanded to file

your garnishee answer in writing with the clerk of this court and serve a copy upon the

plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney named below. Money or other property subject to this

summons should be delivered to the court with your garnishee answer. Should you fail

to file a garnishee answer to this summons, a judgment will be rendered against you for

the amount the plaintiff claims due by the defendant.

Witness the Honorable ______________, Judge of said Court.

This ______ day of ______________, ____.

____________________ Clerk,
______ Court of ______ County ____________________ Plaintiff's attorney ______________ Address Service perfected on garnishee, this ____ day of ______________, ____.

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____________________ Deputy marshal, sheriff,
or constable"

"(4) Answer of garnishee.

IN THE ______ COURT OF __________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

__________ Plaintiff
v.
__________ Defendant
__________ Garnishee

)

)

)

)

Civil action

)

File no. ____

)

)

)

)

)

ANSWER OF GARNISHEE

1. At the time of service or from the time of service to the time of this garnishee answer, garnishee had in its possession the following described property of the defendant:
____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
2. At the time of service or from the time of service to the time of this garnishee answer, all debt accruing from garnishee to defendant is in the amount of $________.
3. $________ of the amount named in paragraph 2 was wages earned at the rate of $________ per ______ for the period beginning (date) , ____, through the time of making this garnishee answer. The amount of wages which is subject to this garnishment is computed as follows:
$ ________ Gross earnings $ ________ Total social security and withholding tax $ ________ Total disposable earnings $ ________ Amount of wages subject to garnishment
4. Garnishee further states: _________________________________________________.

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

____________________ Garnishee,
garnishee's attorney, or officer or employee of an entity garnishee
(CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE)"

"(6) Release of garnishment.

IN THE ______ COURT OF __________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

__________ Plaintiff
v.
__________ Defendant
__________ Garnishee
__________ Address

)

)

)

)

Civil action

)

File no. ____

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

RELEASE OF GARNISHMENT

To: ______________ Garnishee This is to notify you that you have been released from filing a garnishee answer to any and all summons of garnishment pending as of this date in the above-styled case. This release authorizes you to deliver to the defendant in garnishment any money or other property in your possession belonging to the defendant. This release does not terminate the garnishment proceedings, nor does this release relieve you of any obligation placed on you by the service of a summons of garnishment subsequent to this date. This ______ day of ______________, ____.

____________________ Clerk,
______ Court of ______ County"

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SECTION 9. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Sections 18-4-80 through 18-4-85, relating to the effect of release of the summons of garnishment on the garnishee, effect of defendant traverse on garnishee, contents of answer of garnishee, service of answer of garnishee on plaintiff or attorney, delivery to court of property admitted to be subject to garnishment, and traverse of answer of garnishee by plaintiff, respectively, as follows:
"18-4-80. A release of summons of garnishment shall relieve the garnishee from any obligation to file a garnishee answer to any summons of garnishment pending on the date of the release and shall authorize the garnishee to deliver to the defendant in garnishment any money or other property in the garnishee's possession belonging to the defendant. A release shall not operate as a dismissal of the garnishment proceedings.

18-4-81. When the defendant files his or her traverse, the garnishee is not relieved of filing a garnishee answer, nor is the garnishee relieved of delivering the money or other property of the defendant which is subject to the garnishment to the court, unless the defendant files in the clerk's office of the court where the garnishment is pending a bond with good security, in favor of the plaintiff, conditioned for the payment of any judgment that may be entered in the proceeding. The bond shall be subject to approval by the clerk of the court; and, upon receipt of a bond deemed acceptable by the clerk, it shall be the clerk's duty to issue a release of any summons of garnishment pending in the garnishment proceeding. If the plaintiff shall prevail in the proceeding, the plaintiff shall be entitled to entry of judgment upon such bond against the principal and securities therein, as judgment may be entered against securities upon appeal. If the defendant files a bond, no further garnishment process may be filed in any court by the plaintiff against the defendant until the issues raised by the defendant's pleadings are decided.

18-4-82. Within the time prescribed by Code Section 18-4-62, the garnishee shall file a garnishee answer describing what money or other property is subject to garnishment under Code Section 18-4-20. If the garnishee owes the defendant any sum for wages, the garnishee answer shall also state specifically when the wages were earned by defendant and whether they were earned as daily, weekly, or monthly wages. If the garnishee has been served with summons in more than one garnishment case involving the same defendant, the garnishee shall state in each garnishee answer that the money or other property is being delivered to the court subject to the claims of all the cases and shall give the numbers of all such cases in each garnishee answer. If the garnishee is unable to respond as provided for in this Code section, the garnishee's inability shall appear in the garnishee's answer, together with all the facts plainly, fully, and distinctly set forth, so as to enable the court to give judgment thereon.

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

18-4-83. All garnishee answers shall, concurrently with filing, be served upon the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney. Service may be shown by the written acknowledgment of the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney, or by the certificate of the garnishee or the garnishee's attorney, attached to the garnishee's answer, that a copy of the garnishee's answer was mailed to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney; provided, however, that no service shall be required unless the name and address of the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney shall appear on the face of the summons of garnishment; provided, further, that, if the garnishee fails to serve the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall be allowed 15 days from the time the plaintiff receives actual notice of the garnishee's answer to traverse the same.

18-4-84. Along with the garnishee's answer, the garnishee shall deliver to the court the money or other property admitted in the garnishee's answer to be subject to garnishment. If in responding to the summons of garnishment, as provided in Code Section 18-4-82, the garnishee shall state that the property of the defendant includes property in a safe-deposit box or similar property, the garnishee shall respond to the court issuing the summons of garnishment as to the existence of such safe-deposit box and shall hold any contents of such safe-deposit box until the earlier of:
(1) Further order of said court either releasing the garnishment or specifically requiring the garnishee to open such safe-deposit box and deliver any contents thereof to said court upon conditions prescribed by said court; or (2) The elapsing of 120 days from the date of filing of the garnishee answer to the summons of garnishment unless such time has been extended by the court.

18-4-85. If the garnishee's answer is served on the plaintiff as provided for in Code Section 18-4-83, the plaintiff or claimant shall traverse the garnishee's answer within 15 days after it is served, or the garnishee shall be automatically discharged from further liability with respect to the summons so answered."

SECTION 10. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Sections 18-4-90 through 18-4-92, relating to entry of default judgment upon the failure of garnishee to file an answer to the summons, relief of garnishment from default judgment, and the effect of garnishee's failure to respond properly to a summons of garnishment, respectively, as follows:
"18-4-90. In case the garnishee fails or refuses to file a garnishee answer by the forty-fifth day after service of the summons, the garnishee shall automatically be in default. The default may be opened as a matter of right by the filing of a garnishee answer within 15 days of the day of default and payment of costs. If the case is still in default after the expiration of the

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period of 15 days, judgment by default may be entered at any time thereafter against the garnishee for the amount claimed to be due on the judgment obtained against the defendant.

18-4-91. When a judgment is rendered against a garnishee under Code Section 18-4-90, on a motion filed not later than 60 days from the date the garnishee receives actual notice of the entry of the judgment against the garnishee, the garnishee may, upon payment of all accrued costs of court, have the judgment modified so that the amount of the judgment shall be reduced to an amount equal to the greater of $50.00 or $50.00 plus 100 percent of the amount by which the garnishee was indebted to the defendant from the time of service of the summons of garnishment through and including the last day on which a timely garnishee answer could have been made for all money, other property, or effects belonging to the defendant which came into the garnishee's hands from the time of service of the summons through and including the last day on which a timely answer could have been made and, in the case of garnishment of wages, less any exemption allowed the defendant by law. Notice to the garnishee by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery shall be sufficient notice as required in this Code section. On the trial of the motion, the burden of proof shall be upon any plaintiff who objects to the timeliness of the motion to establish that the motion was not filed within the time provided for by this Code section.

18-4-92. On the trial of the plaintiff's traverse, if the court finds the garnishee has failed to respond properly to the summons of garnishment, the court shall disallow any expenses claimed by the garnishee and enter a judgment for any money or other property delivered to the court with the garnishee's answer, plus any money or other property the court finds subject to garnishment which the garnishee has failed to deliver to the court; provided, however, that the total amount of such judgment shall in no event exceed the amount claimed due by the plaintiff, together with the costs of the garnishment proceeding."

SECTION 11. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 18-4-92.1, relating to relief of garnishee from liability, as follows:
"(a) A garnishee may be relieved from liability for failure to file a garnishee answer properly to the summons of garnishment if the plaintiff failed to provide the information required by subsection (i) of Code Section 18-4-20 that would reasonably enable the garnishee to respond properly to the summons of garnishment and a good faith effort to locate the requested property was made by the garnishee based on the information provided by the plaintiff. In determining whether a garnishee may be relieved of liability imposed by Code Section 18-4-92, the court shall consider and compare the accuracy and quantity of the information supplied by the plaintiff pursuant to subsection (i) of Code Section 18-4-20 with the manner in which the garnishee maintains and locates its records,

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

the compliance by the garnishee with its own procedures, and the conformity of the record systems and procedures with reasonable commercial standards prevailing in the area in which the garnishee is located."

SECTION 12. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 18-4-97, relating to the right of garnishee to actual reasonable expenses in making a true answer of garnishment, as follows:
"(a) The garnishee shall be entitled to the garnishee's actual reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, in preparing and filing a garnishee's answer to a summons of garnishment. The amount so incurred shall be taxed in the bill of costs and shall be paid by the party upon whom the cost is cast, as costs are cast in other cases. The garnishee may deduct $50.00 or 10 percent of the amount paid into court, whichever is greater, not to exceed $100.00, as reasonable attorney's fees or expenses. (b) If the garnishee can show that the garnishee's actual attorney's fees or expenses exceed the amount provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section, the garnishee shall petition the court for a hearing at the time of filing the garnishee's answer without deducting from the amount paid into court. Upon hearing from the parties, the court may enter an order for payment of actual attorney's fees or expenses proven by the garnishee to have been incurred reasonably in preparing and filing the garnishee's answer."

SECTION 13. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 18-4-110, relating to the right of the plaintiff who has obtained a money judgment to process of continuing garnishment, as follows:
"18-4-110. In addition to garnishment proceedings otherwise available under this chapter, in cases where a money judgment has been obtained in a court of this state or a federal court sitting in this state, the plaintiff shall be entitled to the process of continuing garnishment against any garnishee who is an employer of the defendant against whom the judgment has been obtained. Unless otherwise specifically provided in this article, the methods, practices, and procedures for continuing garnishment shall be the same as for any other garnishment as provided in this chapter, including, but not limited to, those proceedings after a garnishee's answer as provided in Code Section 18-4-89."
SECTION 14. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 18-4-112, relating to filing and contents of affidavit for continuing garnishment, as follows:

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"(c) The plaintiff, using either forms provided by the court or forms prepared by the plaintiff, shall cause forms sufficient for seven garnishee answers to a summons of continuing garnishment to be served on the garnishee along with the summons."

SECTION 15. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Sections 18-4-113 through 18-4-117, relating to the contents of the summons of continuing garnishment, traverse of answer of garnishee by plaintiff, entry of default judgment against garnishee, effect of and proceedings upon filing of traverse by defendant, and the effect of termination of the employment relationship between garnishee and defendant, respectively, as follows:
"18-4-113. (a) The summons of continuing garnishment shall be directed to the garnishee, who shall be required:
(1) To file a first garnishee answer no later than 45 days after service of summons of continuing garnishment, which garnishee answer shall state what property, money, or other effects of the defendant are subject to continuing garnishment from the time of service through and including the day of the first garnishee answer; (2) To file further garnishee answers for the remaining period covered by the summons of continuing garnishment. Further garnishee answers shall be filed no later than 45 days after the previous garnishee answer date. Further garnishee answers shall state what property, money, or other effects of the defendant are subject to continuing garnishment from the previous garnishee answer date through and including the date on which that next garnishee answer is filed. No subsequent garnishee answers shall be required on a summons of continuing garnishment if the last garnishee answer filed states what property, money, or other effects of the defendant are subject to continuing garnishment from the previous garnishee answer date to and including the one hundred seventy-ninth day after service of summons of continuing garnishment. The last garnishee answer shall be filed, notwithstanding the other provisions of this paragraph, no later than the one hundred ninety-fifth day after service. For purposes of this paragraph, 'previous garnishee answer date' means the date upon which the immediately preceding garnishee answer to the summons of continuing garnishment was filed as provided in this subsection; and (3) To accompany all such garnishee answers with any property, money, or other effects of the defendant admitted in the garnishee answer to be subject to continuing garnishment. (b) The summons of continuing garnishment shall state the requirements of subsection (a) of this Code section and shall inform the garnishee that failure to comply with such requirements may result in a judgment against the garnishee for the entire amount claimed due on the judgment against the defendant.

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

18-4-114. If the garnishee's answer is served on the plaintiff as provided in Code Section 18-4-83, the plaintiff shall traverse the garnishee answer within 15 days after it is served, or the garnishee shall be automatically discharged from further liability with respect to the summons so answered.

18-4-115. (a) If the garnishee fails or refuses to file a garnishee answer at least once every 45 days, the garnishee shall automatically become in default. The default may be opened as a matter of right by the filing of the required garnishee answer within 15 days after the day of default upon payment of costs. If the case is still in default after the expiration of such period of 15 days, judgment by default may be entered at any time thereafter against garnishee for the amount claimed to be due on the judgment obtained against the defendant. (b) The garnishee may obtain relief from default judgment entered as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section upon the same conditions as provided in Code Section 18-4-91.

18-4-116. (a) In a continuing garnishment proceeding, upon the filing of a traverse by defendant pursuant to Code Section 18-4-93, no further summons of garnishment may issue nor may any money delivered to the court as subject to garnishment be disbursed until the hearing is held upon defendant's traverse. The filing of a traverse by the defendant does not relieve the garnishee of the duties of filing a garnishee answer, of withholding property, money, or other effects subject to continuing garnishment, or of delivering to the court any property, money, or other effects subject to continuing garnishment. (b) Nothing in this Code section shall affect the right of the defendant to file bond under this chapter.

18-4-117. Notwithstanding the requirements of Code Section 18-4-113, if the employment relationship between the garnishee and the defendant does not exist at the time of the service of summons of continuing garnishment or terminates during the continuing garnishment, in any garnishee answer required by this article, the garnishee may state that the employment relationship between the garnishee and defendant does not exist or has been terminated, giving the date of termination if terminated on or after service of this summons of continuing garnishment. If no traverse is filed within 15 days after the garnishee answer is served as provided in Code Section 18-4-83, the garnishee shall be automatically discharged from further liability and obligation under Code Section 18-4-113 for that summons with respect to the period of continuing garnishment remaining after the employment relationship is terminated."

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

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SECTION 16. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraphs (2) and (3) of Code Section 18-4-118, relating to forms for continuing garnishment, as follows:
"(2) Summons of continuing garnishment.

IN THE ______ COURT OF __________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

__________ Plaintiff
v.
__________ Defendant Social security number
__________ Garnishee
__________ Address

)

)

)

)

Civil action

)

File no. ____

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

SUMMONS OF CONTINUING GARNISHMENT

To: ______________ Garnishee

Amount claimed due by plaintiff

$________

(To be completed by plaintiff)

Plus court costs due on this summons

$________

(To be completed by clerk)

YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to hold immediately all property, money, wages,

except what is exempt, belonging to the defendant, or debts owed to the defendant named

above at the time of service of this summons and between the time of service of this

summons to and including the one hundred seventy-ninth day thereafter. Not later

than 45 days after you are served with this summons, you are commanded to file

your garnishee answer in writing with the clerk of this court and serve a copy upon the

plaintiff or his attorney named below. This garnishee answer shall state what property,

money, and wages, except what is exempt, belonging to the defendant, or debts owed to

the defendant, you hold or owe at the time of service of this summons and between the

time of such service and the time of making your first garnishee answer. Thereafter, you

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

are required to file further garnishee answers no later than 45 days after your last garnishee answer. Every further garnishee answer shall state what property, money, and wages, except what is exempt, belonging to the defendant, or debts owed to the defendant, you hold or owe at and from the time of the last garnishee answer to the time of the current garnishee answer. The last garnishee answer required by this summons shall be filed no later than the one hundred ninety-fifth day after you receive this summons. Money or other property admitted in a garnishee answer to be subject to continuing garnishment shall be delivered to the court with your garnishee answers. Should you fail to file garnishee answers as required by this summons, a judgment will be rendered against you for the amount the plaintiff claims due by the defendant. Witness the Honorable ______________, Judge of said Court. This ______ day of ______________, ____.

____________________ Clerk,
______ Court of __________ County ____________________ Plaintiff's attorney ______________ Address Service perfected on garnishee, this ______ day of ______________, ____.

(3) Garnishee answer of continuing garnishment.

____________________ Deputy marshal, sheriff,
or constable

IN THE ________ COURT OF __________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

__________ Plaintiff
v.
__________ Defendant
__________ Garnishee

)

)

)

)

Civil action

)

File no. ____

)

)

)

)

)

)

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

17

__________

)

Address

)

GARNISHEE ANSWER OF CONTINUING GARNISHMENT
1. From the time of service of this summons of continuing garnishment, if this is the first garnishee answer to such summons, otherwise from the time of the last garnishee answer to this summons of continuing garnishment, until the time of this garnishee answer, garnishee had in garnishee's possession the following described property of the defendant:
____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
2. From the time of service of this summons of continuing garnishment, if this is the first garnishee answer to such summons, otherwise from the time of the last garnishee answer to this summons of continuing garnishment, until the time of this garnishee answer, all debts accruing from garnishee to the defendant are in the amount of $________.
3. $________ of the amount named in paragraph 2 was wages earned at the rate of $________ per ________ for the period beginning (date) , ____, through the time of making this garnishee answer. The amount of wages which is subject to this garnishment is computed as follows:
$________ Gross earnings $________ Total social security and withholding tax $________ Total disposable earnings $________ Amount of wages subject to continuing garnishment
4. ( ) If checked, defendant is not presently employed by this garnishee and, if employed by garnishee on or after service of this summons of continuing garnishment, was most recently terminated as of the ______ day of ______________, ____.
5. ( ) If checked, this is the last garnishee answer this garnishee is required to file to the presently pending summons of continuing garnishment in the above-styled case.
6. Garnishee further states: ________.

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

___________________ Garnishee,
garnishee's attorney, or officer or employee of an entity garnishee (CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE)"

SECTION 17. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Sections 18-4-133 through 18-4-135, relating to service of summons, filing further garnishee answers and tendering money, and period of attachment of writ of garnishment, respectively, as follows:
"18-4-133. (a) The summons of continuing garnishment for support shall be directed to the garnishee who shall be required to file a first garnishee answer no later than 45 days after service, which garnishee answer shall state what earnings were payable to the defendant from the time of service through and including the day of the first garnishee answer and the basis for the computation of same, including the rate of pay and hours worked, or salaries, commissions, or other basis of compensation. (b) The garnishee shall accompany such initial garnishee answer with money of the defendant admitted in the garnishee answer to be subject to continuing garnishment for support. In computing the amounts subject to this article, the provisions of subsection (f) of Code Section 18-4-20 shall control. (c) The money paid into court with the initial garnishee answer, after deduction for costs, shall be first applied to the periodic support payment accrued on a daily basis from the date of the affidavit of the plaintiff to the date of the initial garnishee answer. All sums in excess of such periodic payment shall be applied to the original arrearage. Original arrearage shall mean those arrears existing as of the date of the making of the plaintiff's affidavit, plus any amounts includable pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 18-4-134.

18-4-134. (a) If the amount claimed as original arrearage as of the date of the making of the plaintiff's affidavit is not satisfied by the money payable into court under the initial garnishee answer, after application of the funds as set forth in subsection (c) of Code Section 18-4-133, the garnishee shall file further garnishee answers no later than 45 days after the previous garnishee answer date, stating the earnings accrued and the basis of their accrual and tendering such money accruing in such period. The amounts paid into court pursuant to subsequent garnishee answers, over and above the periodic payment accruing within such period, shall be applied to the original arrearage until the same is retired. (b) If the earnings paid into court pursuant to any garnishee answer are less than the sums due under the periodic support requirement accruing over the same period of time, after allowance for any costs deductible from same, the resulting difference shall be added to the amount due as original arrearage until the same is retired by subsequent payments.

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

19

(c) The garnishee shall file additional garnishee answers until the original arrearage is retired and all periodic support payments are current. (d) Upon the termination of employment of the defendant by the garnishee, the garnishee shall be required to file a final garnishee answer stating the date and reason for the defendant's termination from employment and stating, to the best of the garnishee's information, the defendant's present residential address and employer.

18-4-135. The writ of garnishment described in this article shall attach for so long as the defendant is employed by the garnishee and shall not terminate until the original arrearage is retired. The garnishee may rely upon the information as to the termination date of the duty of support of any individual claimed in the affidavit of garnishment, the amount of the duty of periodic support to be paid, any sums paid by the defendant between the date of the filing of the plaintiff's affidavit and the date of the initial garnishee answer, and the amount of the original arrearage existing as of the date of the affidavit of garnishment, unless the same are traversed by the defendant and the court enters any finding otherwise."

SECTION 18. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 19. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved February 7, 2012.

__________

PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES PROFESSIONAL NURSES AND LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES; DEFINITION OF "APPROVED NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS".

No. 276 (House Bill No. 675).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 26 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to nurses, so as to revise the definitions of "approved nursing education programs" for registered professional nurses and licensed practical nurses; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

20

GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 26 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to nurses, is amended by revising paragraph (1.2) of Code Section 43-26-3, relating to definitions relative to registered professional nurses, as follows:
"(1.2) 'Approved nursing education program' located in this state means a nursing education program approved by the board as meeting criteria established by the board. An 'approved nursing education program' located outside this state means a nursing education program that the board has determined to meet criteria similar to and not less stringent than criteria established by the board for nursing education programs located in this state. In order to be approved by the board, a nursing education program must be one that is offered by:
(A) A unit of the University System of Georgia accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; (B) An institution of the Technical College System of Georgia accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; (C) A postsecondary institution of higher education that is accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education; or (D) A postsecondary institution of higher education that is not accredited in accordance with subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, but whose curriculum has been determined by the board to meet criteria similar to and not less stringent than criteria established by the board for other approved nursing education programs."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraph (1.1) of Code Section 43-26-32, relating to definitions relative to licensed practical nurses, as follows:
"(1.1) 'Approved nursing education program' located in this state means a nursing education program approved by the board as meeting criteria established by the board. An 'approved nursing education program' located outside this state means a nursing education program that the board has determined to meet criteria similar to and not less stringent than criteria established by the board for nursing education programs located in this state. In order to be approved by the board, a nursing education program must be one that is offered by:
(A) A unit of the University System of Georgia accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; (B) An institution of the Technical College System of Georgia; (C) A postsecondary institution of higher education that is accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education; or (D) A postsecondary institution of higher education that is not accredited in accordance with subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, but whose curriculum has been determined by

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

21

the board to meet criteria similar to and not less stringent than criteria established by the board for other approved nursing education programs."

SECTION 3. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved February 16, 2012.

__________

GENERAL ASSEMBLY REVISE CERTAIN HOUSE DISTRICTS.

No. 277 (House Bill No. 829).

AN ACT

To amend an Act to provide for the composition and number of state house districts, approved August 24, 2011 (Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 3), so as to revise the boundaries of certain state house districts; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to provide for delayed applicability under certain circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. An Act to provide for the composition and number of state house districts, approved August 24, 2011 (Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 3), is amended by amending the plan attached thereto and identified as "Plan: HSEPROP1 Plan Type: HOUSE Administrator: H167 User: STAFF" by revising the description of Districts 9, 10, 18, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 68, 98, 103, 104, 155, and 169 as follows:
"District 009 Dawson County VTD: 08501 - AMICALOLA 970100: 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083

22

GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

1084 1085 1086 1087 1094 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1142 1154 1160 1180 1189 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 VTD: 08502 - BLACKS VTD: 08503 - DAWSONVILLE VTD: 08504 - KILOUGH VTD: 08505 - PURDYS VTD: 08506 - SANFORD VTD: 08507 - ETOWAH VTD: 08508 - SAVANNAH Forsyth County VTD: 11709 - 09 Matt 130201: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3010 130203: 1011 1014 1015 Lumpkin County

District 010 Habersham County VTD: 13701 - CLARKESVILLE VTD: 13702 - CORNELIA VTD: 13703 - DEMOREST VTD: 13705 - MUD CREEK VTD: 13707 - DEEP CREEK 000100: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1011 1014 1016 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 2059 2084 2085 2086 2088 2092 2097 VTD: 13708 - FORK VTD: 13709 - BALDWIN VTD: 13710 - VIEW VTD: 13711 - FALLING WATER VTD: 13712 - BATESVILLE VTD: 13713 - FAIR PLAY VTD: 13714 - COOL SPRINGS

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

23

White County VTD: 311011 - BLUE CREEK VTD: 311041 - MOSSY CREEK VTD: 311051 - MT YONAH VTD: 311061 - NACOOCHEE VTD: 311081 - SHOAL CREEK 950201: 1007 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1045 1047 1048 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1066 1068 3026 3028 3035 3036 3037 3038 3039 3040 3041 3042 3043 3044 3045 3046 3047 3049 VTD: 311111 - WHITE CREEK"

"District 018 Carroll County VTD: 0451006 - KANSAS VTD: 0451240 - MT ZION VTD: 0451496 - BOWDON JUNCTION VTD: 045501 - BETHANY 910701: 1005 1006 1007 1010 1014 1015 1018 1022 1023 1030 1034 1052 1053 1054 1073 1074 1075 2000 2001 2003 2005 2006 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2026 2027 2034 3021 3022 3023 910703: 4000 4002 4003 4004 4005 4006 4007 4008 4009 4017 4027 4030 4031 4038 4039 4040 4041 4045 VTD: 045714A1 - WEST CARROLLTON VTD: 045714A2 - EAST CARROLLTON VTD: 045714A3 - BONNER 910701: 1016 1017 1019 1020 1021 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1031 1032 1033 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1055 1056 1057 1058 1060 1061 1076 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2047 2048 2049 2050 2052 2053 911000: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1024 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2013 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2023 2045 2046 2053 2054 2092 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005

24

GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

911100: 5000 5001 5002 5003 5004 5005 5006 5007 5008 5009 5010 5011 5012 5013 5014 5015 5016 5021 5031 VTD: 045714A5 - COUNTY ADMIN BUILDING VTD: 045714BN - EMC VTD: 045714BS - AGRICULTURAL ED 911000: 2009 2012 2016 2022 2024 2025 2026 2027 2044 2052 3006 3007 VTD: 045716 - NEW HOPE Haralson County VTD: 14302 - BREMEN VTD: 14303 - BUCHANAN VTD: 14304 - BUNCOMBE VTD: 14310 - SEVENTH VTD: 14311 - BEREA-STEADMAN VTD: 14312 - TALLAPOOSA VTD: 14313 - WACO"

"District 024 Forsyth County VTD: 11705 - 05 Coal Mountain 130202: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 130403: 3007 3008 VTD: 11707 - 07 Cumming VTD: 11709 - 09 Matt 130201: 3006 3007 3008 3009 130202: 1005 1006 130203: 2009 2010 2011 2012 130301: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 130403: 4000 4001 4002 4007 VTD: 11710 - 10 MIDWAY VTD: 11711 - 11 SAWNEE

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

25

VTD: 11715 - 15 Heardsville VTD: 11716 - 16 OTWELL VTD: 11720 - 20 PINEY GROVE 130406: 1000 2000 2001 3015 3016 3017 3018 VTD: 11723 - 23 BENTLEY VTD: 11728 - 28 MOUNTAINSIDE 130205: 3004 130403: 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 3004 3005 3014 130409: 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2036 VTD: 11729 - 29 POLO 130304: 2000 2005 130306: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 2000 2001 2002 2012 VTD: 11732 - 32 WEST"

"District 026 Forsyth County VTD: 11703 - 03 Chattahoochee VTD: 11704 - 04 Chestatee VTD: 11705 - 05 Coal Mountain 130101: 1008 130202: 1007 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 130205: 1000 1001 1002 1007 1008 1009 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2017 3000 3001 VTD: 11706 - 06 Crossroads VTD: 11708 - 08 Mashburn VTD: 11712 - 12 PLEASANT GROVE VTD: 11714 - 14 LAKELAND 130507: 1007 1008

26

GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

130508: 2000 2001 2003 130509: 1027 VTD: 11725 - 25 WINDERMERE VTD: 11726 - 26 LANIER VTD: 11727 - 27 CONCORD VTD: 11728 - 28 MOUNTAINSIDE 130205: 1004 1005 1006 3002 3003 3005 130403: 3000 3001 3002 3003 130409: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2013 130506: 2004 VTD: 11730 - 30 RIVERCLUB VTD: 11733 - 33 KEITH BRIDGE

District 027 Hall County VTD: 139015 - TADMORE 000102: 2059 2060 000701: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 000702: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1024 1025 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 VTD: 139016 - GLADE VTD: 139017 - LULA VTD: 139018 - CLERMONT VTD: 139019 - QUILLIANS VTD: 139020 - BARK CAMP VTD: 139021 - MURRAYVILLE VTD: 139022 - CHESTATEE VTD: 139023 - FORK VTD: 139024 - WHELCHEL

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

27

VTD: 139028 - GAINESVILLE III 000400: 1035 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2023 2024 2028 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 001004: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1025 1030 1031 1032 1034 1035 VTD: 139034 - GILLSVILLE VTD: 139035 - BIG HICKORY White County VTD: 311081 - SHOAL CREEK 950201: 1027 1051 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1067 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 3048 3050 3051 3052 3053 3054 3055 3056 3057 3058 3059 3060 3061 3062 3063 3064 3065 3066 3067 3068 3069 3070 3071 3072 3073 3074 3075 3076 3077 3078 3079 3080 3081 3082 3083 3084 3085 3086 3087 3088 3089 3090 3091 3092 3094

District 028 Banks County Habersham County VTD: 13704 - CENTER HILL VTD: 13706 - GLADE CREEK VTD: 13707 - DEEP CREEK 000100: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2040 2041 2042 2051 2052 2053 2054 2055 2056 2057 2058 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 2075 2076 2077 2078 2079 2080 2081 2082 2083 2087 2089 2090 2091 2093 2094 2095 2096 2103 2104 2105 2106 2109 2113 2114 2115 2116 2117 2118 2119 2120 2122 2123 2124 2125 2126 Stephens County

District 029 Hall County VTD: 139001 - WILSON I VTD: 139002 - WILSON II

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

000302: 3020 3022 4028 001002: 1000 1001 1002 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 001004: 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1043 1044 1045 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 VTD: 139003 - CHICOPEE 001101: 2067 001102: 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1037 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 001403: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1025 1026 1027 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 2008 2025 2026 2069 2070 2071 2072 VTD: 139025 - WEST WHELCHEL VTD: 139026 - GAINESVILLE I VTD: 139027 - GAINESVILLE II VTD: 139028 - GAINESVILLE III 000400: 2022 2025 2026 2027 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 000900: 3018 3019 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 4014 4015 4016 4017 4018 4019 001003: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

29

2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 001004: 1015 1021 1022 1023 1024 1026 1027 1028 1029 1033 1042 1047 001101: 1028 1067 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2054 2057 2058 2059 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2068 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033 3034 3035 3036 3037 3038 3039 3040 3041 3042 3043 3044 3045 3046 3047 3048 3049 3050 3051 3052 3053 3054 3055 3056 3057 3058 3059 3060 3061 3062 3063 3064 3065 3066 3067 3068 3069 3070 3071 001102: 1000 1001 1002 1003 VTD: 139029 - GAINESVILLE IV VTD: 139030 - GAINESVILLE V VTD: 139031 - RIVERBEND VTD: 139033 - NEW HOLLAND VTD: 139039 - WHELCHEL II

District 030 Hall County VTD: 139002 - WILSON II 001002: 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 VTD: 139003 - CHICOPEE 001102: 1031 1032 1035 1036 1038 1057 001301: 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033 3034 3035 3036 3037 3038 3039 3040 3041 3042 3058 3059 3062 3071 3072 3073 3089 3090 3091 3092 3093 3094

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001403: 2000 VTD: 139004 - OAKWOOD I VTD: 139005 - OAKWOOD II VTD: 139006 - OAKWOOD III VTD: 139007 - FLOWERY BRANCH VTD: 139008 - FLOWERY BRANCH VTD: 139009 - ROBERTS 001502: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2025 2026 2033 2039 001607: 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1028 2006 2007 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2022 2023 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2035 2043 2047 VTD: 139011 - MORGAN II VTD: 139012 - MORGAN III VTD: 139013 - CANDLER VTD: 139014 - AGRICULTURE CENTER VTD: 139015 - TADMORE 000701: 1021 2035 2036 2037 2048 2049 2050 000702: 1010 1011 2014 2015 2016 2017 001201: 3061 001202: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2038

GEORGIA LAWS 2012 SESSION

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VTD: 139032 - GAINESVILLE MILL VTD: 139038 - FRIENDSHIP III"

"District 068 Carroll County VTD: 0451122 - SANDHILL VTD: 0451152 - CENTER POINT VTD: 0451540 - FAIRFIELD VTD: 0451542 - HULETT VTD: 045501 - BETHANY 910600: 1075 2000 910701: 1003 1004 1008 1009 1064 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033 3034 3035 3036 3037 910702: 3027 3033 3034 3035 3053 3058 910703: 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 VTD: 045640 - V R COUNTY SOUTH VTD: 045641 - V R COUNTY NORTH VTD: 045642 - VILLA RICA CITY VTD: 045649 - TEMPLE COUNTY VTD: 045650 - TEMPLE CITY VTD: 045714A3 - BONNER 910701: 1011 Douglas County VTD: 0971260 - FAIRPLAY M S"

"District 098 Gwinnett County VTD: 135009 - PUCKETTS A VTD: 135024 - SUGAR HILL A 050105: 2038 2044 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033 3034 3035 3036 3037 3039 3040 3043 3044 3045 3046 3047 3048 3049 3050 3051 3052 3053 3054 3055 3056 3057 3058 3059 3060 3061 3062 3063 3064 3065 3066 3070 3071 3072 3073 3074

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

3075 3076 3077 3078 3079 3080 3081 3082 3083 3084 3085 3086 3087 3088 3089 050106: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1058 1059 1060 1061 1063 2000 2001 2005 2012 2022 2047 2048 2049 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3032 3036 3037 3038 4000 4001 4002 4003 4004 4005 4006 4007 4008 4009 4010 4017 4018 VTD: 135025 - SUGAR HILL B VTD: 135054 - SUGAR HILL C VTD: 135055 - SUGAR HILL D VTD: 135102 - PUCKETTS B VTD: 135130 - SUWANEE D VTD: 135136 - HOG MOUNTAIN C 050208: 1000 2005 050605: 2009 2012 2013 2014 2015 3000 3001 3002 3003 3006 3007 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 VTD: 135141 - SUGAR HILL G VTD: 135160 - PUCKETTS E"

"District 103 Gwinnett County VTD: 135027 - HOG MOUNTAIN B 050547: 1000 050548: 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 3008 3010 3011 3012 3013 050605: 2029 VTD: 135135 - PUCKETTS C VTD: 135136 - HOG MOUNTAIN C 050605: 2016 2017 2027 2028 3004 3005 VTD: 135137 - ROCKYCREEK B

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VTD: 135154 - PUCKETTS D VTD: 135158 - HOG MOUNTAIN D VTD: 135159 - DUNCANS D Hall County VTD: 139009 - ROBERTS 001607: 1000 1001 1002 1009 1027 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2008 2010 2019 2020 2021 2024 2025 2026 2034 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2044 2045 2046 3002 3005 3006 3012 VTD: 139010 - MORGAN I VTD: 139036 - FRIENDSHIP I VTD: 139037 - FRIENDSHIP II

District 104 Gwinnett County VTD: 135001 - HARBINS A VTD: 135003 - DACULA VTD: 135008 - DUNCANS A VTD: 135027 - HOG MOUNTAIN B 050548: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1020 1021 1024 1038 1047 050607: 1033 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 2019 2020 2021 050608: 3037 3038 3039 3040 VTD: 135028 - ROCKYCREEK A VTD: 135060 - LAWRENCEVILLE D 050520: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 3000 3010 050523: 1001 1003 1004 1005 050545: 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3028 3029 050548: 1023 1030 1031 1036 1037 1039 1040 1045 1046 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 VTD: 135129 - DUNCANS B VTD: 135133 - HARBINS B

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

VTD: 135151 - HARBINS C VTD: 135152 - ROCKYCREEK C VTD: 135157 - DUNCANS C"

"District 155 Ben Hill County Coffee County VTD: 0692 - AMBROSE VTD: 0694 - BROXTON 010100: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2054 2055 2056 2057 2058 2059 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 2075 2076 2077 2078 2079 2080 2081 2082 2083 2084 2085 2086 2095 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2108 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3018 3019 3032 3033 3035 3036 3040 3041 3042 3043 3044 3099 3100 010200: 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 Irwin County Tift County VTD: 27702 - BRIGHTON VTD: 27704 - CHULA VTD: 27708 - TY TY VTD: 27709 - TIFTON NORTHWEST Turner County" "District 169 Bacon County

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Coffee County VTD: 0691 - DOUGLAS VTD: 0693 - BRIDGETOWN VTD: 0694 - BROXTON 010100: 2087 2088 2089 2090 2091 2092 2093 2094 2096 2097 2098 2099 2102 3017 3029 3030 3031 3034 3037 3038 3039 3045 3046 3049 3050 3051 3052 3053 3054 3055 3056 3057 3058 3059 3060 3061 3062 3063 3064 3065 3066 3067 3068 3069 3070 3071 3072 3073 3074 3075 3076 3077 3078 3079 3080 3081 3082 3083 3084 3085 3086 3087 3088 3089 3090 3091 3092 3093 3094 3095 3096 3097 3098 3101 3102 3103 3104 010200: 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1117 1118 1193 VTD: 0695 - NICHOLLS VTD: 0696 - WEST GREEN Jeff Davis County VTD: 161301 - BLACKBURN 1 VTD: 161302 - BLACKBURN 2 VTD: 161401 - WHITEHEAD 1 VTD: 161402 - WHITEHEAD 2"

SECTION 2. This section shall become effective upon the approval of this Act by the Governor or upon this Act becoming law without such approval. The remaining sections shall become effective upon receipt of preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended; provided, however, that, if this Act has not received preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, by the time of the beginning of qualifying for the 2012 general primary, the remaining provisions of this Act shall not be effective for the primary and general elections of 2012 for the purpose of electing members of the House of Representatives who are to take office in 2013, but shall become effective on January 1, 2014, provided this Act has received preclearance as provided by law. If this Act has not received preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, by December 31, 2013, this Act shall stand automatically repealed by operation of law.

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SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved February 23, 2012.

__________

DEDICATION OF DEPUTY JAMES D. PAUGH MEMORIAL HIGHWAY.

No. 407 (House Resolution No. 1103).

A RESOLUTION

Honoring the life of Deputy James D. Paugh and dedicating a road in his memory; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Deputy James D. Paugh on October 23, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh was highly regarded by the citizens of his community and state and by local government officials as a person of unquestioned integrity and dedication to the sound principles of law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, known by friends and family as "J.D.," Deputy Paugh was a dedicated deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office for 17 years; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh's life was tragically cut short after stopping behind a vehicle on Interstate Route 520 in Augusta-Richmond County when the occupant of the vehicle opened fire upon him; and

WHEREAS, he exhibited extraordinary devotion to duty, outstanding loyalty, fine leadership, and meticulous attention to detail in all his duties, and his efficient and effective commitment to excellence was continually recognized by his peers; and

WHEREAS, a native of Augusta, Georgia, Deputy Paugh was the beloved son of Wayne and Anita Paugh and father of Brandon; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh was a dedicated public servant who will long be remembered for his courage and selflessness, and he will be missed by all who had the great fortune of knowing him.

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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the portion of Interstate Route 520 in Richmond County from Exit 2 (Wrightsboro Road) to Exit 3 (Gordon Highway) is dedicated as the Deputy James D. Paugh Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the Deputy James D. Paugh Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit appropriate copies of this resolution to the family of Deputy James D. Paugh and to the Department of Transportation.

Approved March 20, 2012.

__________

INSURANCE TRANSITION TO BIENNIAL RENEWAL OF LICENSES OF AGENTS, AGENCIES, SUBAGENTS,
COUNSELORS, AND ADJUSTERS.

No. 419 (House Bill No. 477).

AN ACT

To amend Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, so as to provide for the transition from an annual renewal to a biennial renewal of licenses of agents, agencies, subagents, counselors, and adjusters; to provide for promulgation of rules and regulations by the Commissioner; to provide for an effective date; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, is amended by revising Code Section 33-23-3, relating to agency licensing and annual renewal, transition from annual renewal to biennial renewal, and ownership restrictions, as follows:
"33-23-3. (a) Each principal office and each branch office of an agency as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 33-23-1 must obtain an agency license prior to

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

commencement of operations and renew such license biennially and prior to December 31 by filing application forms prescribed by the Commissioner. (a.1) All agency licenses that were issued with an expiration date of December 31, 2012, shall expire on that date, but shall be renewed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section. . (b) An agency shall be subject to all penalties, fines, criminal sanctions, and other actions authorized for agents under this chapter. (c) No person shall be an owner of an agency or, if the agency is a corporation, no person shall be an officer or director of such corporation or own 10 percent or more of the corporation if such person has had his or her license under this chapter refused, revoked, or suspended."

SECTION 2. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 33-23-18, relating to issuance of a license on a continuous basis, filing for continuation, continuing education requirements, and transition from annual renewal to biennial renewal, as follows:
"33-23-18. (a) All resident agent, limited subagent, adjuster, and counselor licenses, with the exception of temporary or probationary licenses, shall be issued on a biennial basis and shall expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month, except as provided in subsection (c.1) of this Code section. (b) Resident agent, limited subagent, adjuster, and counselor licenses may be renewed upon receipt by the Commissioner of evidence of such continuing education as the Commissioner may establish by rule or regulation and payment of such fees as are provided by law. (c) Renewal of the license on forms prescribed by rule or regulation must be made prior to the last day of the licensee's birth month and biennially thereafter, except as provided in subsection (c.1) of this Code section. (c.1) All licenses that expire on December 31, 2012, shall be transitioned to a biennial term and shall expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month, provided that, during the transition, the Commissioner may, as provided by rule or regulation, renew such licenses for a term greater or shorter than the biennial term and may prorate the license renewal fees. (d) Continuing education requirements imposed by the Commissioner pursuant to this Code section shall not exceed 15 classroom hours for each licensed individual who has held a license for less than 20 years during the year. For those individuals who have held a license for 20 years or more, the requirement shall be no more than ten classroom hours during the year. However, the Commissioner may provide by rule or regulation for continuing education requirements on a biennial basis. (e) Any individual who has been licensed as an agent for ten consecutive years or more and who does not perform any of the functions specified in paragraph (3) of subsection (a)

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of Code Section 33-23-1 other than receipt of renewal or deferred commissions shall be exempt from continuing education requirements; provided, however, that if such individual wishes to again perform any of the other functions specified in said paragraph, such individual must obtain approval from the Commissioner and comply with the requirements of this chapter, including without limitation the requirements for continuing education. The Commissioner may provide, by rule or regulation, for any other exemption to or reduction in continuing education required under this Code section. (f) Every individual required to participate in a continuing education program pursuant to this Code section, or such individual's insurer, shall furnish the Commissioner such information as the Commissioner deems necessary to verify compliance with the continuing education requirements. (g) The Commissioner by rule or regulation may establish the following:
(1) Staggered deadlines for the filing of forms for renewal of licenses and the corresponding required fees; and (2) Penalties and procedures for licensees who fail to comply with subsection (c) of this Code section."

SECTION 3. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 33-23-37, relating to licensing of a surplus lines broker, as follows:
"(b) Any person, while licensed as a resident agent as to property, casualty, and surety insurance and who is deemed by the Commissioner to be competent and trustworthy, may be licensed as a surplus lines broker as follows:
(1) Application to the Commissioner for the license shall be on forms furnished by the Commissioner; (2) The license fee shall be in an amount as provided in Code Section 33-8-1; (3) Each license shall be issued on a biennial basis and shall expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month and may be renewed by filing an application and paying the prescribed fee in accordance with this Code section except as provided in paragraph (3.1) of this subsection; (3.1) All licenses that expire on December 31, 2012, shall be transitioned to a biennial term, provided that, during the transition, the Commissioner may, as provided by rule or regulation, renew such licenses for a term greater or shorter than the biennial term and may prorate the license renewal fees; (4) Prior to the issuance of the license or any renewal of the license, the applicant shall file a bond with the Commissioner or his or her successor in office, for the benefit of any person injured by the violation of the conditions provided in this paragraph. The bond shall be executed by the applicant as principal and by a corporate surety authorized to do business in this state and shall be in the penal sum of $50,000.00, conditioned that the applicant will comply with the following:
(A) Place insurance only in compliance with Code Section 33-5-25;

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

(B) Remit promptly the taxes provided in Code Section 33-5-31; (C) Account to any person requesting him or her to obtain insurance for funds or premiums collected in connection with such insurance; and (D) Otherwise conduct business in accordance with this title. The bond shall not be terminated unless prior to such termination 30 days' written notice is filed with the Commissioner; and (5) Each applicant for a license to act as a surplus lines broker shall submit to a personal written examination to determine his or her competence, unless the applicant is licensed as a surplus lines broker in his or her home state."

SECTION 4. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved March 22, 2012.

__________

CRIMES AND OFFENSES CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES; DANGEROUS DRUGS; REVISE.

No. 434 (Senate Bill No. 370).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to controlled substances, so as to change certain provisions relating to Schedule I and V controlled substances; to provide for a short title; to change certain provisions relating to the definition of "dangerous drug"; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. This 2012 Act which provides for the annual update of the identity of controlled substances and dangerous drugs is dedicated to the memory of Chase Corbitt Burnett and shall be known and may be cited as "Chase's Law."

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SECTION 2. Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to controlled substances, is amended in Code Section 16-13-25, relating to Schedule I controlled substances, by adding a new subparagraph to paragraph (3) to read as follows:
"(GGG) Fluorophenylpiperazine (FPP);"

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 16-13-25, relating to Schedule I controlled substances, by revising paragraph (12) to read as follows:
"(12)Any of the following compounds, derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, unless specifically utilized as part of the manufacturing process by a commercial industry of a substance or material not intended for human ingestion or consumption, as a prescription administered under medical supervision, or research at a recognized institution, whenever the existence of these salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation:
(A) Naphthoylindoles; (B) Naphthylmethylindoles; (C) Naphthoylpyrroles; (D) Naphthylideneindenes; (E) Phenylacetylindoles; (F) Cyclohexylphenols; (G) Benzoylindoles; (H) Tricyclic benzopyrans; (I) Adamantoylindoles; (J) Indazole amides; (K) 2,3-Dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin -6-yl]-1-naphthalenylmethanone (WIN 55,212-2); or (L) Any compound, unless specifically excepted or listed in this or another schedule, structurally derived from 2-aminopropan-1-one by substitution at the 1-position with either phenyl, naphthyl, or thiophene ring systems, whether or not the compound is further modified in any of the following ways:
(i) By substitution in the ring system to any extent with alkyl, alkylenedioxy, alkoxy, haloalkyl, hydroxyl, or halide substitutions, whether or not further substituted in the ring system; (ii) By substitution at the 3-position with an acyclic alkyl substitution; or (iii) By substitution at the 2-amino nitrogen atom with alkyl, dialkyl, benzyl, or methoxybenzyl groups, or by inclusion of the 2-amino nitrogen atom in a cyclic structure."

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 16-13-29, relating to Schedule V controlled substances, by deleting "or" at the end of paragraph (4), by replacing the period at the end of paragraph (5) with "; or", and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(6) Ezogabine."

SECTION 5. Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 16-13-71, relating to the definition of dangerous drug, by adding new paragraphs to subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(14.5) Adenovirus;" "(17.3) Aflibercept;" "(17.7) Albiraterone;" "(72.43) Azficel-T; (72.45) Azilsartan;" "(78.3) Belatacept; (78.5) Belimumab;" "(104.5) Boceprevir;" "(106.5) Brentuxima vedotin;" "(154.5) Centruroides [Scorpion] Immune;" "(198.05) Clobazam;" "(208.5) Coccidioides immitis;" "(217.8) Crizotinib;" "(386.05) Fidaxomicin;" "(408.27) Gadobutrol;" "(464.07) Icatibant;" "(469.07) Indacaterol;" "(487.06) Ioflupane;" "(490.7) Ipilimumab;" "(520.5) Linagliptin;" "(842.18) Rilpivirine;" "(843.825) Rivaroxaban;" "(844.75) Roflumilast;" "(885.5) Spinosad;" "(931.553) Telaprevir;" "(964.7) Ticagrelor;" "(1025.2) Vandetanib;" "(1027.55) Vemuranfenib;" "(1030.5) Vilazodone;"

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SECTION 6. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved March 27, 2012.

__________

BANKING AND FINANCE GEORGIA MERCHANT ACQUIRER LIMITED PURPOSE BANK ACT; ENACT.

No. 435 (House Bill No. 898).

AN ACT

To amend Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to banking and finance, so as to enact the "Georgia Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank Act"; to provide for definitions; to provide for organization and control of merchant acquirer limited purpose banks; to provide for the promulgation of rules and regulations; to provide for requirements for articles of incorporation by merchant acquirer limited purpose banks; to provide for a registered agent requirement; to provide for applicable fees; to provide for a procedure for application approval and denial; to provide for the issuance and effect of certificates of incorporation; to provide for liability for conducting business as a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank without department approval; to provide for minimum requirements to operate as a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank; to provide for permissible activities of a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank; to provide for enforcement of rules and regulations; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

SECTION 1. Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to banking and finance, is amended by adding a new Chapter 9 to read as follows:

"CHAPTER 9

7-9-1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank Act.'

7-9-2. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Commissioner' means the commissioner of banking and finance. (2) 'Corporation' means a corporation organized under the laws of this state, the United States, or any other state, territory, or dependency of the United States or under the laws of a foreign country. (3) 'Department' means the Department of Banking and Finance. (4) 'Eligible organization' means a corporation that at all times maintains an office in the State of Georgia at which it or its parent, affiliates, or subsidiaries employ at least 250 persons residing in this state who are directly or indirectly engaged in merchant acquiring activities or settlement activities, including providing the following services related to merchant acquiring activities or settlement activities, either for the eligible organization or on behalf of others:
(A) Administrative support; (B) Information technology support; (C) Financial support; and (D) Tax and finance support. (5) 'Holding company' means any company that controls a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. For purposes of this paragraph, the terms 'company' and 'control' shall have the meanings set forth in Code Section 7-1-605. (6) 'Merchant' means an individual or entity authorized by a payment card network to accept payments in exchange for goods or services. (7) 'Merchant acquirer limited purpose bank' means a corporation organized under this chapter and the activities of which are limited to those permitted under Code Section 7-9-11. (8) 'Merchant acquiring activities' means the various activities associated with effecting transactions within payment card networks, including obtaining and maintaining membership in one or more payment card networks; signing up and underwriting merchants to accept payment card network branded payment cards; providing the means to authorize valid card transactions at client merchant locations; facilitating the clearing and settlement of the transactions through a payment card network; providing access to

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one or more payment card networks to merchant acquirer limited purpose bank affiliates, customers, or customers of its affiliates; sponsoring the participation of merchant acquirer limited purpose bank affiliates, customers, or customers of its affiliates in one or more payment card networks; and conducting such other activities as may be necessary, convenient, or incidental to effecting transactions within payment card networks. (9) 'Payment card network' means any organization, group, system, or other collection of individuals or entities that is organized to allow participants to accept or make payments for goods or services using a credit card, debit card, or any other payment device. (10) 'Self-acquiring activities' means the act of a merchant, for itself or through an affiliated entity, engaging in merchant acquiring or settlement activities on its own behalf for payments it, or its affiliated entity, receives for goods and services it, or its affiliated entity, provides to consumers. (11) 'Settlement activities' means the processing of payment card transactions to send to a payment card network for processing, to make payments to a merchant, and, ultimately, for cardholder billing.

7-9-3. A corporation that performs merchant acquiring activities or settlement activities in this state may elect to obtain a charter from the department. Those corporations chartered by the department shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations adopted by the department for purposes of regulating chartered merchant acquirer limited purpose banks. The department shall have no authority to regulate a corporation performing merchant acquiring activities or settlement activities that has not been chartered by the department.

7-9-4. (a) A corporation that seeks to be chartered shall file an application with the department and shall pay applicable fees established by regulation of the department to defray the costs of the investigation and review of the application. (b) The department shall, by regulation, prescribe annual examination fees, charter fees, registration fees, and supervision fees to be paid by each merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. In addition, the department may, by regulation, prescribe reasonable application and related fees, special investigation fees, hearing fees, and fees to provide copies of any book, account, report, or other paper filed in its office or for any certification thereof or for processing any papers as required by this title. The department, in its discretion, may require the payment of such fees in any manner deemed to be efficient, including collection through automated clearing-house arrangements or other electronic means, so that the state receives funds no later than the date the payment is required to be made. (c) The merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall have, within one year after the date it receives its charter, no fewer than 50 employees located in this state devoted to merchant

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acquiring activities; provided, however, a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank may contract with an eligible organization for the performance of merchant acquiring activities, settlement activities, or any of the other services identified in paragraph (4) of Code Section 7-9-2, and when a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank enters into such contracts with an eligible organization for merchant acquiring activities, settlement activities, or any other services identified in paragraph (4) of Code Section 7-9-2, the minimum number of employees in this state shall be determined by the commissioner at a level to assure the continued and substantive presence of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank in this state for the purpose of conducting its corporate affairs and operations. If a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank contracts with an eligible organization that is an affiliate of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank, the commissioner shall consider the eligible organization's or its parent's, affiliates', or subsidiaries' employees engaged on behalf of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank as employees of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank for purposes of complying with this subsection.

7-9-5. (a) A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall have articles of incorporation signed by the incorporator and shall set forth in the English language:
(1) The name of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank; (2) The street address and county where the main office will be located; (3) The name of the initial registered agent; (4) The street address where its initial registered office will be located; (5) A statement that 'This corporation is subject to the "Georgia Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank Act"'; (6) The aggregate number of shares which the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall have authority to issue, and:
(A) If the shares are to consist of one class only, the par value of each of the shares; or (B) If the shares are to be divided into classes, the number of shares of each class, the par value of each share of each class, a description of each class, and a statement of the preferences, redemption provisions, qualifications, limitations, restrictions, and the special or relative rights granted to or imposed upon the shares of each class; (7) The term for which the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank is to exist, which shall be perpetual unless otherwise limited; and (8) Any provision not inconsistent with law which the incorporators may choose to include for the regulation of the internal affairs and business of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. (b) It shall not be necessary to set forth in the articles of incorporation any of the corporate or operational powers set forth in this chapter. (c) The applicant shall file with the department, in triplicate, the articles of incorporation, together with any fee required by the department. Such filing shall constitute an application for a charter and approval to operate as a merchant acquirer limited purpose

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bank. Immediately upon the filing of the articles of incorporation, the department shall

certify one copy thereof and return it to the applicant, who shall, in conformity with Code

Section 7-1-7 and on the next business day following the filing of the articles, transmit for

publication in the newspaper which is the official organ of the county where the merchant

acquirer limited purpose bank will be located a copy of the articles or, in lieu thereof, a

statement that reads substantially as follows:

'An application for a charter to operate as a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank to be

known as the

and to be located at

in

County, Georgia, will be made to the Secretary of State of Georgia in accordance with

Chapter 9 of Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, known as the "Georgia

Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank Act." A copy of the articles of incorporation

of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank and the application have been

filed with the Department of Banking and Finance.'

The articles of incorporation or the statement must be published once a week for two

consecutive weeks with the first publication occurring within ten days of receipt by the

newspaper of the articles of incorporation or statement.

(d) Each merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall name a registered agent and inform

the department and the Secretary of State of its current registered agent.

(e) The administration of business and affairs of a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank

shall be the responsibility of a board of directors consisting of at least three directors, a

majority of whom shall be residents of this state.

7-9-6. (a) An application to the department to charter a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall include:
(1) Any information desired by the department in order to evaluate the proposed institution which shall be made available in the form specified by the department; (2) A certificate of the Secretary of State showing that the proposed name of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank has been reserved pursuant to Code Section 7-1-131; and (3) Applicable fees established by regulation of the department to defray the expense of the investigation required by Code Section 7-9-7. (b) An application to the department to own or control a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall include: (1) Any information desired by the department in order to evaluate the proposed transaction which shall be made available in the form specified by the department; and (2) Applicable fees established by regulation of the department to defray the expense of the investigation.

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7-9-7. (a)(1) Upon receipt of the articles of incorporation and the filings and fees from the applicant as required under this chapter, the department shall conduct such investigation as it may deem necessary to ascertain whether it should approve the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. The department shall approve the charter of a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank if it determines in its discretion that: (A) The articles of incorporation and supporting items satisfy the requirements of this chapter; (B) The character and fitness of the applicant, directors, and proposed officers are such as to warrant the belief that the business of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank will be honestly and efficiently conducted; and (C) The capital structure of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank is adequate in relation to the amount and character of the anticipated business of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. (2) Within 90 days after receipt of the articles of incorporation and the filings and fees from the applicant as required by this chapter, the department shall approve or disapprove the charter of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. The department may impose conditions to be satisfied prior to the issuance of its approval of the charter of a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. If the department, in its discretion, approves the charter of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank with or without conditions, it shall deliver its written approval of the articles of incorporation and charter to the Secretary of State and notify the applicant of its action. If the department, in its discretion, disapproves the charter of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank, it shall notify the applicant of its disapproval of the charter and state generally the unfavorable factors influencing its decision. The decision of the department shall be conclusive, except that it may be subject to judicial review as provided in Code Section 7-1-90.
(b) In the event the department denies an application to charter a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank or an application to own or control a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank, the applicant may submit a new application at any time following notice of final denial. The applicant shall not be prejudiced by any prior denials by the department.

7-9-8. The Secretary of State shall immediately issue a certificate of incorporation to a proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank upon submission of:
(1) Written approval of the articles of incorporation by the department with a copy attached; (2) An affidavit executed by the duly authorized agent or publisher of a newspaper swearing that the articles of incorporation or a summary statement publication as provided for in Code Section 7-9-5 have been published; and (3) All required fees and charges required by law

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so long as name of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank continues to be reserved or is available. The Secretary of State shall retain on file a copy of the certificate, the articles of incorporation, the department's approval of the articles of incorporation, and the publisher's certificate.

7-9-9. (a) The corporate existence of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall begin upon the issuance of a certificate of incorporation by the Secretary of State. Those persons who subscribed for shares prior to filing of the articles, or their assignees, shall be shareholders in the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. The department shall have full authority to regulate and supervise the activities of promoters, incorporators, subscribers for shares, and all persons soliciting offers to subscribe for shares in any merchant acquirer limited purpose bank established under this chapter. Any corporation in the process of seeking approval of a charter as a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall be classified as a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank in formation and persons named in the articles of incorporation or approved by the department as initial directors of such entity shall not be considered 'agents' or 'broker-dealers' as defined in Code Section 10-5-2. (b) A certificate of incorporation shall be conclusive evidence that a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank has been incorporated; however, the state may institute proceedings to dissolve, wind up, and terminate a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank in conformity with Code Section 7-1-92 and applicable provisions of this chapter. (c) A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank may begin business when:
(1) Capital stock of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank satisfies the requirements of Code Section 7-9-11; (2) Bylaws of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank have been filed with the department; (3) A registered agent and registered office for the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank has been designated in conformity with Code Section 7-1-132; (4) The merchant acquirer limited purpose bank has been organized and is ready to begin the business for which it was incorporated; (5) All conditions imposed by the department in giving its approval of the charter of the proposed merchant acquirer limited purpose bank under this chapter have been satisfied; and (6) The department has received an affidavit attesting that the requirements of this subsection have been satisfied signed by the president or secretary and at least a majority of the directors of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank.

7-9-10. The applicant who charters a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank which transacts business before its capital stock have been paid in as required under this chapter shall be jointly and severally liable to creditors for the amounts not paid in by subscribers or any

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other deficiencies. Such liability shall be deemed an asset of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank and may be enforced by it, its successors or assignees, by a shareholder suing derivatively, or by a receiver appointed by the department.

7-9-11. A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall at all times maintain capital stock and paid-in surplus as required by policies of the department but in no event less than $3 million.

7-9-12. (a) A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall only accept deposits from a corporation that owns a majority of the shares of the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank. A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall not operate in any manner that attracts depositors from the general public, and no deposit shall be withdrawn by the depositor by check or similar means for payment to third parties or others. A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall not accept 'brokered deposits' as that term is defined in the Federal Deposit Insurance Act as such existed on January 1, 2012, or the regulations adopted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in force and effect on January 1, 2012. (b) A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall conduct its deposit-taking activities only from a single location within this state. (c) A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank may apply to receive deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or its successor agency. (d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Code section, the business conducted by a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall be merchant acquiring activities. (e) A merchant acquirer limited purpose bank shall not engage in self-acquiring activities.

7-9-13. (a) All merchant acquirer limited purpose banks chartered by the department shall be subject to supervision, regulation, and examination by the department, including, but not limited to, the examination powers as provided in Code Sections 7-1-64 through 7-1-73, and the department shall have all enforcement powers provided in this title. (b) In the event any chartered merchant acquirer limited purpose bank does not conduct its activities within the limitations provided in Code Section 7-9-11, the department may require such merchant acquirer limited purpose bank to cease all unauthorized activities. In the event such chartered merchant acquirer limited purpose bank fails to abide by such order, the department may:
(1) Impose upon the chartered merchant acquirer limited purpose bank or its parent holding company a penalty of up to $10,000.00 per day for each day such order is violated; and (2) Require divestiture of such chartered merchant acquirer limited purpose bank by any holding company not qualified to acquire such chartered merchant acquirer limited

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purpose bank on the date it ceased to operate within the limitations imposed by Code Section 7-9-11 and became a bank for purposes of this title. (c) The department shall have the power to promulgate rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this chapter."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved March 28, 2012.

__________

COURTS ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS IN CIRCUITS WITH POPULATION OF 103,000 - 135,000; REPEAL.

No. 502 (House Bill No. 929).

AN ACT

To repeal an Act creating the office of assistant district attorney in each judicial circuit having a population of not less than 103,000 and not more than 135,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1970 or any future such census, approved March 31, 1976 (Ga. L. 1976, p. 3584), as amended, particularly by an Act approved April 15, 1992 (Ga. L. 1992, p. 1679); to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. An Act creating the office of assistant district attorney in each judicial circuit having a population of not less than 103,000 and not more than 135,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1970 or any future such census, approved March 31, 1976 (Ga. L. 1976, p. 3584), as amended, particularly by an Act approved April 15, 1992 (Ga. L. 1992, p. 1679), is hereby repealed.

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SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 11, 2012.

__________

MILITARY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND VETERANS AFFAIRS QUALIFICATIONS FOR ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL.

No. 533 (House Bill No. 800).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 38-2-152 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to assistant adjutants general, eligibility, appointment, duties, compensation, and tenure, so as to change certain qualifications for the position of assistant adjutant general; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 38-2-152 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to assistant adjutants general, eligibility, appointment, duties, compensation, and tenure, is amended by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a) The Governor shall appoint an assistant adjutant general for army and an assistant adjutant general for air to assist the adjutant general in the discharge and performance of his or her duties. Each of the assistant adjutants general, at the time of appointment, shall be a federally recognized officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher. An officer who has retired or resigned from the Georgia National Guard or any other component of the Army or Air Force shall be eligible for appointment as assistant adjutant general for army or air; provided, however, that the officer shall have served in a federally recognized status in the active Army or Air National Guard or any other component of the Army or Air Force, as appropriate, and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher; and provided, further, that the appointment of the officer shall be within five years after the date of his or her retirement or resignation and prior to his or her attaining age 60. Each of the assistant adjutants general shall have the rank of not less than brigadier general, the specific rank to be determined by the Governor. Each of the officers shall receive the pay and allowances for his or her rank as provided by law for an officer of equivalent rank in the

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regular armed forces of the United States. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the adjutant general, and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified as provided by law, the assistant adjutant general who is senior in rank shall perform the duties required of the adjutant general in connection with the military division, as provided by law. Assistant adjutants general shall hold no other state office, and they shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 11, 2012.

__________

COURTS LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORIZE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS AND SOLICITORS-GENERAL TO BRING ACTIONS TO ENFORCE STATUTE RELATING TO VEHICLES OVERTAKING SCHOOL BUSES; PROVIDE FOR ACTING SOLICITOR-GENERAL; PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS IN MUNICIPAL COURT; JURISDICTION OF MUNICIPAL COURTS.

No. 534 (Senate Bill No. 352).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 18 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prosecuting attorneys, so as to authorize district attorneys and solicitors-general to bring actions to enforce Code Section 40-6-163, relating to vehicles overtaking school buses; to provide for an acting solicitor-general of a state court in the event of the death or resignation of a solicitor-general; to provide for prosecuting attorneys in municipal courts, and courts exercising municipal court jurisdiction; to provide for the appointment, compensation, oath of office, duties, and authority of such prosecuting attorneys; to authorize the appointment of staff; to amend Chapter 32 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to municipal courts, so as to provide for jurisdiction in transactions in drug objects in violation of Code Section 16-13-32; to provide for disposition of fines and the transfer of cases; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 18 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prosecuting attorneys, is amended by revising paragraph (5) of Code Section 15-18-6, relating to the duties of district attorneys, as follows:
"(5) To prosecute civil actions to enforce any civil penalty set forth in Code Section 40-6-163 and to prosecute or defend any other civil action in the prosecution or defense of which the state is interested, unless otherwise specially provided for;"

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-18-66, relating to duties of solicitors-general of state courts, as follows:
"(4) To prosecute civil actions to enforce any civil penalty set forth in Code Section 40-6-163 and when authorized by law to prosecute or defend any civil action in the state court in the prosecution or defense of which the state is interested, unless otherwise specially provided for;"

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"15-18-70.1. (a) Upon the death or resignation of a solicitor-general, the chief assistant solicitor-general or, if there is no chief assistant solicitor-general, the assistant solicitor-general senior in time of service shall perform the duties of the deceased or resigned solicitor-general until such official's successor is appointed or elected and qualified. An assistant solicitor-general performing the duties of a deceased or resigned solicitor-general shall be compensated as provided for acting solicitor-generals in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-18-70. (b) If there is no assistant solicitor-general available to perform the duties of the deceased or resigned solicitor-general as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, the presiding judge may request the assistance of the district attorney of the judicial circuit in which such county is located or another solicitor-general of a state court to prosecute cases until a solicitor-general is appointed or elected and qualified as provided by subsection (b) of Code Section 15-18-60. Any such district attorney or solicitor-general who is acting pursuant to this subsection shall be reimbursed by the county governing authority for actual expenses incurred while assisting in the state court pursuant to this subsection."

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SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 5

15-18-90. The provisions of this article shall apply to a municipality authorized by the provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 32 of Title 36 to establish and maintain a municipal court, including a municipality for which a county is furnishing municipal court services pursuant to a contract authorized by Article 9 of Chapter 10 of this title.

15-18-91. (a) Subject to the provisions of this article, the governing authority of a municipality shall be authorized to create the office of prosecuting attorney of the municipal court. A copy of the resolution or ordinance creating the office of prosecuting attorney of the municipal court shall be provided to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia. (b) It shall be the duty of the municipal court clerk, or such other person designated by the governing authority of a municipality, to notify the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia of the name of any person appointed to be the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court within 30 days of such appointment. (c) Unless otherwise provided by the charter of such municipality or other local law, the prosecuting attorney of the municipal court shall serve a term of office to be determined by the governing authority of such municipality. (d) The governing authority of a municipality shall also be authorized to contract with the district attorney of the judicial circuit in which such municipality is located or the solicitor-general of the state court of the county in which such municipality is located for such officer to perform the duties of the prosecuting attorney in such municipal court. Any district attorney or solicitor-general entering into any such contract may assign such other members of his or her staff to prosecute in the municipal court.

15-18-92. (a) Any person appointed as the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall be a member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia and admitted to practice before the appellate courts of this state. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-18-21 or subsection (b) of 15-18-72, an assistant district attorney or assistant solicitor-general may be appointed as the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court with the prior written consent of the district attorney or solicitor-general who employs such assistant district attorney or assistant solicitor-general. Such consent may be withdrawn at any time by the employing district attorney or solicitor-general. Notice that consent for such appointment is being withdrawn shall be done in writing to the governing authority of such municipality not less

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than 30 days prior to the day that such assistant district attorney or assistant solicitor-general shall cease to serve as the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court.

15-18-93. In addition to the oaths prescribed by Chapter 3 of Title 45, relating to official oaths, the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall take and subscribe to the following oath: 'I swear (or affirm) that I will well, faithfully, and impartially and without fear, favor, or affection discharge my duties as prosecuting attorney of the (City) (Town) of (here state the municipality).'

15-18-94. (a) Unless otherwise provided by local law, the governing authority of the municipality shall determine whether the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall be a full-time or part-time prosecuting attorney. (b) Any full-time prosecuting attorney of a municipal court and any full-time employees of the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall not engage in the private practice of law. (c) Any part-time prosecuting attorney of a municipal court and any part-time assistant prosecuting attorney of a municipal court may engage in the private practice of law, but shall not practice in the municipal court or appear in any matter in which that prosecuting attorney has exercised jurisdiction.

15-18-95. If the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court is disqualified from engaging in the prosecution of a particular case or is unable to perform the duties of said office due to illness or incapacity, the governing authority shall provide for the appointment of a substitute prosecuting attorney. At any time in which a substitute prosecuting attorney is not available or an appointment has not been made, the city attorney of the applicable municipality may serve as the substitute prosecuting attorney until such time as a prosecuting attorney or substitute prosecuting attorney is available or appointed.

15-18-96. (a) The prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall have the duty and authority to represent the municipality:
(1) In the municipal court: (A) In the prosecution of any violation of the laws or ordinances of such municipality which is within the jurisdiction of such municipal court and punishable by confinement or a fine or both or by a civil penalty authorized by Code Section 40-6-163; and (B) In the prosecution of any violation of state laws which by general law municipal courts have been granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of such offenses, specifically

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including those offenses described in Chapter 32 of Title 36 and Code Section 40-13-21; (2) In the appeal of any case prosecuted in the municipal court to the superior court or the appellate courts of this state; (3) In any case in which the defendant was convicted in the municipal court and is challenging such conviction through habeas corpus; (4) To administer the oaths required by law to the bailiffs or other officers of the court and otherwise to aid the presiding judge in organizing the court as may be necessary; and (5) To perform such other duties as are or may be required by law or ordinance or which necessarily appertain to such prosecuting attorney's office. (b) The prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall have the authority to: (1) File, amend, and prosecute any citation, accusation, summons, or other form of charging instrument authorized by law for use in the municipal court; (2) Dismiss, amend, or enter a nolle prosequi on any accusation, citation, or summons filed in the municipal court as provided by law, except that the prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall not have the authority to dismiss or enter a nolle prosequi in any case in which the accused is charged with a violation of state law other than one which the municipal court has jurisdiction to try and dispose of such offense without the consent of the proper prosecuting officer having jurisdiction to try and dispose of such offense. As used in this paragraph, the term 'proper prosecuting officer' means, in the case of felonies, the district attorney and, in the case of misdemeanors, the solicitor-general in counties where there is a state court, or in counties where there is no solicitor-general, the district attorney; (3) Reduce to judgment any fine, forfeiture, or restitution imposed by the municipal court as part of a sentence in an ordinance case or forfeiture of a recognizance which is not paid in accordance with the order of the court. A prosecuting attorney of a municipal court may institute such civil action in the courts of this state or of the United States or any of the several states to enforce such judgment against the property of the defendant; and (4) Request and utilize the assistance of any other municipal prosecutor, solicitor-general, assistant solicitor-general, district attorney, assistant district attorney, or other attorney employed by an agency of this state or its political subdivisions or authorities in the prosecution of any criminal action. (c) The provisions of this Code section shall not be deemed to restrict, limit, or diminish any authority or power of the district attorney or any solicitor-general to represent this state in any criminal case in which the accused is charged with a felony or misdemeanor, when the municipal court is acting as a court of inquiry pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 17 or setting bail for any such offense, other than one which the municipal court has, by law, jurisdiction to try and dispose of.

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15-18-97. The prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall be compensated by the municipality as provided by local law or, in the absence of such local law, as provided by the governing authority of such municipality. The prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall be entitled to be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of his or her official duties in the same manner and rate as other municipal employees.

15-18-98. The prosecuting attorney of a municipal court may employ such additional assistant prosecuting attorneys and other employees or independent contractors as may be provided for by local law or as may be authorized by the governing authority of the municipality. The prosecuting attorney of a municipal court shall define the duties and fix the title of any attorney or other employee of the prosecuting attorney's office. Personnel employed pursuant to this Code section shall be compensated by the municipality.

15-18-99. Any assistant prosecuting attorney or other attorney at law employed by the municipality for the purposes of prosecuting in the municipal court shall be a member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia or satisfy the provisions of Code Section 15-18-22."

SECTION 5. Chapter 32 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to municipal courts, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"36-32-6.1. (a) The municipal court of any municipality shall be granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of cases where a person is charged with transactions in drug related objects in violation of Code Section 16-13-32 if the offense occurred within the corporate limits of such municipality. The jurisdiction of any such court shall be concurrent with the jurisdiction of any other courts within the county having jurisdiction to try and dispose of such cases. (b) Any fines arising from the prosecution of such cases shall be retained by the municipality and shall be paid into the treasury of such municipality. (c) Any defendant charged with transactions in drug related objects in violation of Code Section 16-13-32 in a municipal court shall be entitled, upon request, to have the case against him or her transferred to the court having general misdemeanor jurisdiction in the county where the alleged offense occurred. (d) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to give any municipality the right to impose a fine or punish by imprisonment in excess of the limits as set forth in the municipality's charter."

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SECTION 6. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 11, 2012.

__________

LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENT GUARANTEED ENERGY SAVINGS PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS.

No. 556 (Senate Bill No. 113).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 36-91-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions relative to public works construction projects, so as to define "public works construction"; to amend Chapter 37 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to guaranteed energy savings performance contracts, so as to clarify that the authority of counties and municipal corporations to enter into such contracts is in addition to and does not change or conflict with any otherwise existing authority to enter into such contracts; to provide for definitions; to change certain provisions relating to government units entering into guaranteed energy savings performance contracts; to change certain provisions relating to guaranteed energy savings contracts provisions; to change certain provisions relating to review of capital improvement projects; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 36-91-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions relative to public works construction projects, is amended by revising paragraph (12) as follows:
"(12) 'Public works construction' means the building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing of any public structure or building or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property other than those projects covered by Chapter 4 of Title 32 or by Chapter 37 of Title 50. Such term does not include the routine operation, repair, or

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maintenance of existing structures, buildings, or real property, or any energy savings performance contract or any improvements or installations performed as part of an energy savings performance contract."

SECTION 2. Chapter 37 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to guaranteed energy savings performance contracts, is amended by revising paragraph (6) of Code Section 50-37-2, relating to definitions relative to guaranteed energy savings performance contracts, as follows:
"(6) 'Governmental unit' means any authority, board, bureau, commission, department, agency, or institution of state or local government, including, but not limited to, any state-aided institution, or any county, municipal corporation, consolidated government, or school district which has the authority to contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or repair of any public building or other public work."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-37-3, relating to governmental units entering into guaranteed energy savings performance contracts, as follows:
"50-37-3. (a) Where not otherwise authorized by another provision of general law or local Act, a governmental unit may enter into a guaranteed energy savings performance contract with a qualified provider in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The provisions of this chapter shall apply only to contracts entered into by a governmental unit pursuant to the authority granted by this chapter. (b) Reserved. (c) When a governmental unit is acting pursuant to the power granted by this chapter and not under any otherwise applicable law, the process of implementing guaranteed energy savings performance contracts for governmental units shall be subject to the following:
"(1) The authority shall be authorized to assemble a list of prequalified energy services providers. The director shall attempt to use objective criteria in the selection process. The criteria for evaluation shall include the following factors to assess the capability of the qualified energy services provider in the areas of design, engineering, installation, maintenance, and repairs associated with guaranteed energy savings performance contracts: postinstallation project monitoring, data collection, and verification of and reporting of savings; overall project experience and qualifications; management capability; ability to access long-term sources of project financing; experience with projects of similar size and scope; and other factors determined by the director to be relevant and appropriate and relate to the ability to perform the project. The prequalification term of the established list of qualified energy services providers shall be three years. The director may add additional qualified energy services providers to the list of qualified energy services providers at any time during the prequalification term.

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A qualified energy services provider may be removed from the list upon a determination by the director that said qualified energy services provider fails to meet the criteria for continued inclusion; and (2) Before entering into a guaranteed energy savings performance contract under this chapter, a governmental unit that is a state agency shall issue a request for proposals from at least three qualified energy services providers on the prequalifications list prepared and maintained by the director. Before entering into a guaranteed energy savings performance contract under this chapter, a governmental unit that is a county, municipality, or other local governmental entity shall be required to issue a request for proposals from at least two qualified energy services providers if such providers are available. In addition, a local governmental entity shall publicly advertise the energy services contract opportunity and post notice of such opportunity in the local governmental entity's office and, if available, on the governmental entity's Internet website. A local governmental entity shall not be required to request proposals from providers on the prequalifications list maintained by the director or otherwise be required to utilize the authority's list of prequalified energy services providers. (3) A governmental unit may thereafter award the guaranteed energy savings performance contract to the qualified energy services provider that best meets the needs of the governmental unit, which need not be the lowest cost provided. A preliminary technical proposal shall be prepared by the qualified energy services provider in response to the request for proposals. Factors to be included in selecting the most qualified energy services provider for award of the guaranteed energy savings performance contract shall include, but not be limited to, the experience of the provider, quality of the project approach, type of technology employed by the provider, overall benefits to the governmental unit, and other factors determined by the governmental unit to be relevant to the implementation of the project. (d) The governmental unit shall select the qualified energy services provider that best meets the needs of the governmental unit in accordance with criteria established by the governmental unit. (e) Before executing the guaranteed energy savings performance contract, the qualified energy services provider shall provide the governmental unit with an energy audit report summarizing recommendations for energy conservation measures based on anticipated energy, operational water, or waste-water cost savings or revenue increases resulting from the energy conservation measures. The energy audit report shall include estimates of all costs of installation, maintenance, repairs, and debt service and estimates of the amounts by which energy or operating costs will be reduced. (f) A governmental unit may enter into guaranteed energy savings performance contracts with each qualified energy services provider selected in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The governmental unit may elect to implement the energy conservation measures in one or more phases with the selected qualified energy services provider."

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SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (g) of Code Section 50-37-4, relating to guaranteed energy savings contracts provisions, as follows:
"(g) Upon execution of a guaranteed energy savings performance contract that reduces the governmental unit's annual electric usage by more than 100 megawatt hours, the governmental unit shall provide written notice to its utility providers describing the energy conservation measures to be installed. Additionally, the authority shall make publicly available an annual list of all guaranteed energy savings performance contracts that are signed in each calendar year."

SECTION 5. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-37-6, relating to review of capital improvement projects, as follows:
"50-37-6. Every state agency shall periodically review all proposed capital improvement projects for potential applicability of this chapter and shall first consider proceeding with a guaranteed energy savings performance contract under this chapter where appropriate."

SECTION 6. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 12, 2012.

__________

GENERAL ASSEMBLY REVISE CERTAIN STATE SENATORIAL DISTRICTS.

No. 568 (Senate Bill No. 430).

AN ACT

To amend an Act to provide for the composition and number of state senatorial districts, approved August 24, 2011 (Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 139), so as to revise the boundaries of certain state senate districts; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to

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provide for delayed applicability under certain circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. An Act to provide for the composition and number of state senatorial districts, approved August 24, 2011 (Ga. L. 2011, Ex. Sess., p. 139), is amended by amending the plan attached thereto and identified as "Plan: Senprop1 Plan Type: Senate Administrator: S028 User: Gina" by revising the description of Districts 5, 7, 12, 13, 23, 24, and 48 as follows:
"District 005 Gwinnett County VTD: 135013 - BERKSHIRE K VTD: 135017 - MARTINS A VTD: 135018 - MARTINS B VTD: 135020 - PINCKNEYVILLE A VTD: 135021 - PINCKNEYVILLE B VTD: 135023 - PINCKNEYVILLE D VTD: 135038 - PINCKNEYVILLE F VTD: 135039 - PINCKNEYVILLE G VTD: 135043 - MARTINS D VTD: 135050 - PINCKNEYVILLE I VTD: 135051 - PINCKNEYVILLE J VTD: 135058 - PINCKNEYVILLE K 050424: 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1011 1012 1013 1014 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 2001 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2015 VTD: 135060 - LAWRENCEVILLE D VTD: 135066 - PINCKNEYVILLE O VTD: 135071 - LAWRENCEVILLE F VTD: 135072 - MARTINS E VTD: 135074 - PINCKNEYVILLE Q VTD: 135078 - PINCKNEYVILLE R VTD: 135084 - LAWRENCEVILLE G VTD: 135086 - MARTINS F VTD: 135087 - PINCKNEYVILLE S VTD: 135110 - MARTINS G VTD: 135113 - PINCKNEYVILLE V VTD: 135114 - PINCKNEYVILLE W VTD: 135115 - MARTINS H

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VTD: 135116 - MARTINS I VTD: 135117 - MARTINS J VTD: 135123 - PINCKNEYVILLE Y 050419: 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 050422: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 3003 3005 VTD: 135127 - LAWRENCEVILLE J VTD: 135144 - LAWRENCEVILLE M"

"District 007 Atkinson County Bacon County Ben Hill County Berrien County Charlton County VTD: 0492 - FOLKSTON 010100: 4131 4133 4140 4141 4154 VTD: 0493B - BEND FIRE STATION VTD: 0493S - ST. GEORGE VTD: 0493T - TRADERS HILL 010100: 4109 4110 4111 4112 4116 4130 4132 4134 4152 4153 4155 010200: 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2037 2038 2039 2040 2045 2047 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2054 2055 2056 2057 2058 2059 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 2075 2076 2077 2078 2079 2080 2081 2082 2083 2084 2085 2086 2087 2088 2089 2090 2091 2092 2093 2094 2095 2096 2097 2098 2099 2100 2101 2102 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2108 2109 2110 2111 2112 2113 2114 2115 2116 2117 2118 2119 2120 2121 2122 2123 2124 2125 2126 2127 2128 2129 2130 2131 2132 2133 2134 2135 2136 2137 2138 2139 2140 2141 2142 2143 2144 2145 2146 2147 2148 2149 2150 2151 2152 2153 2154 2155 2156 2157 2158 2159 2160 2161 2162 2163 2164 2165 2166 2167 2168 2169 2170 2171 2172 2173 2174 2175 2176 2177 2178 2179 2180 2181 2182 2183 2184 2185 2186 2187 2188 2189 2190 2191 2192 2193 2194 2195 2196

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2197 2198 2199 2200 2201 2202 2203 2211 2212 2213 2214 2215 2216 2217 2218 2219 2220 2227 2228 2402 2413 2418 2419 2420 2421 2422 2423 2424 2425 VTD: 0495R - RACEPOND 010100: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1090 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1174 1187 1188 1319 1320 1321 1328 1329 2147 2148 2149 2158 2159 2160 2161 2163 2164 2165 2168 2169 2170 2193 2194 2195 2196 2197 2198 2199 2200 2201 2202 2203 2204 2205 2206 2449 2450 2451 2452 2453 Coffee County Irwin County Pierce County Ware County Wilcox County VTD: 3154A - ROCHELLE SOUTH 960400: 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1110 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1145 1149 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 1171 1172 1175 1176 1177 1178 1179 1180 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1197 1198 1199 VTD: 3155A - ABBEVILLE SOUTH"

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"District 012 Baker County Calhoun County Clay County Dougherty County Mitchell County VTD: 205BA - BACONTON VTD: 205CN - CAMILLA NORTH VTD: 205CS - CAMILLA SOUTH Quitman County Randolph County Stewart County Sumter County VTD: 26117 - THOMSON VTD: 261C1-27 - REES PARK 950200: 1012 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1025 1026 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 2016 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2028 2044 2046 2054 2055 2056 2057 2062 2063 2064 2069 2070 2071 2075 3002 3005 3006 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3018 3019 3020 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033 3034 3035 3036 3038 3039 3040 4000 4004 4005 4006 4007 4008 4009 4010 4011 4012 4013 4014 4015 4016 4017 4018 4019 4020 4021 4022 4023 4024 4025 4026 4027 4030 950300: 1025 1027 1031 1032 1033 1036 1037 950600: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1036 1037 1038 3008 3013 3014 3015 3017 950700: 2014 2016 2017 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3026 3027 3032 3042 VTD: 261C2-27 - GSW CONF CENTER VTD: 261C3-27 - REC DEPT VTD: 261E-27 - AIRPORT 950500: 2031 2032 2033 2034 950700: 1012 1013 1023 1024 1025 1031 1032 1038 1042 1050 4027

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VTD: 261N-26 - CONCORD VTD: 261O-26 - PLAINS VTD: 261W-27 - AG CENTER Terrell County Webster County

District 013 Crisp County Dodge County Dooly County Lee County Sumter County VTD: 26115 - LESLIE VTD: 26128 - CHAMBLISS VTD: 26129 - ANDERSONVILLE VTD: 261C1-27 - REES PARK 950200: 2014 2035 2036 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2076 2077 950300: 1029 1030 1067 VTD: 261E-27 - AIRPORT 950200: 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1013 1014 1024 1027 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2031 2032 2033 2034 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2045 2047 2048 2058 2059 2060 2061 2065 2066 2067 2068 2072 2074 2078 3000 3001 3003 3004 3007 3016 3017 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3037 3041 950500: 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 950700: 1000 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1027 1028 1033 1034 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2043 2044 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3034 3035 3036 3037 3038 3043 3044 4000 4001 4005 4022 Tift County Turner County Wilcox County VTD: 3151A - ROCHELLE NORTH VTD: 3152A - ABBEVILLE NORTH

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

VTD: 3152B - PINEVIEW #2 VTD: 3153A - PITTS #3 VTD: 3154A - ROCHELLE SOUTH 960200: 1091 1094 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1124 1125 1129 1130 960400: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2044 Worth County"

"District 023 Burke County Columbia County VTD: 073020 - HARLEM MIDDLE SCHOOL VTD: 073021 - HARLEM BAPTIST VTD: 073030 - GROVETOWN CITY VTD: 073031 - GROVETOWN METHODIST VTD: 073032 - G A APOSTOLIC CHURCH VTD: 073076 - MARVIN METHODIST VTD: 073080 - WESTSIDE BAPT CHURCH VTD: 073090 - ABILENE BAPTIST VTD: 073100 - AUGUSTA CHRISTIAN VTD: 073108 - AUGUSTA CHRISTIAN VTD: 073115 - MARTINEZ BAPTIST Emanuel County VTD: 1070052 - CROSS-GREEN VTD: 1070057 - SUMMERTOWN VTD: 1071208 - BLUNDALE VTD: 1071333 - CANOOCHEE VTD: 1071429 - GARFIELD VTD: 1071452 - COWFORD VTD: 1071560 - TWIN CITY Glascock County Jefferson County Jenkins County Johnson County McDuffie County Richmond County VTD: 245704 - 704 VTD: 245705 - 705

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VTD: 245706 - 706 VTD: 245707 - 707 010104: 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 2015 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 3005 3006 3007 3008 3009 3019 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 010106: 2010 3002 3003 3011 VTD: 245802 - 802 VTD: 245804 - 804 010903: 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2060 2062 2063 2064 2082 2084 2085 2086 2087 2088 2089 2090 2091 2092 2093 2094 VTD: 245804H - 804H VTD: 245806 - 806 VTD: 245808 - 808 VTD: 245809 - 809 Screven County Warren County

District 024 Columbia County VTD: 073010 - KIOKEE BAPT CHURCH VTD: 073015 - LEWIS METHODIST VTD: 073016 - WOODLAWN BAPT CHURCH VTD: 073025 - BESSIE THOMAS VTD: 073026 - PHILADELPHIA CHURCH VTD: 073033 - GROVETOWN MIDDLE VTD: 073040 - EUBANK/BLANCHARD VTD: 073050 - BURKS MOUNT FIRE VTD: 073051 - DAMASCUS BAPT CHURCH VTD: 073060 - COL CTY BOARD VTD: 073061 - GREENBRIER HIGH VTD: 073062 - PARKWAY BAPT CHURCH VTD: 073063 - RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY VTD: 073064 - GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH VTD: 073065 - EVANS SANCTIFIED

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GENERAL ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS, VOL. I

VTD: 073070 - BLANCHARD PARK VTD: 073074 - MTZ COL FIRE DEPARTMENT VTD: 073075 - BROOKWOOD ELEMENTARY VTD: 073085 - TRINITY BAPT CHURCH VTD: 073105 - STEVENS CREEK VTD: 073106 - SAVANNAH RAPIDS VTD: 073107 - GOSPEL WATER VTD: 073109 - STEVENS CREEK VTD: 073110 - MTZ COL FIRE HD VTD: 073111 - LAKESIDE MIDDLE VTD: 073120 - GOLD CROSS EMS VTD: 073125 - CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOUR VTD: 073130 - WEST ACRES BAPTIST VTD: 073131 - RIVERSIDE BAPTIST VTD: 073132 - WESLEY METHODIST VTD: 073134 - COL CTY MAIN LIBRARY VTD: 073135 - BIBLE CATHEDRAL VTD: 073136 - BLUERIDGE ELEMENTARY VTD: 073137 - CHRIST THE KING Elbert County Hart County Lincoln County Oglethorpe County Richmond County VTD: 245707 - 707 010101: 1004 1005 1012 010104: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2018 2019 2039 2040 2046 2047 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 010106: 2005 2009 Taliaferro County Wilkes County"

"District 048 Fulton County VTD: 121AP09B - AP09B VTD: 121JC01 - JC01 VTD: 121JC02 - JC02

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VTD: 121JC03 - JC03 VTD: 121JC04A - JC04A VTD: 121JC04B - JC04B VTD: 121JC05 - JC05 VTD: 121JC06 - JC06 VTD: 121JC07 - JC07 VTD: 121JC08 - JC08 VTD: 121JC09 - JC09 VTD: 121JC10 - JC10 VTD: 121JC11 - JC11 VTD: 121JC12A - JC12A VTD: 121JC12B - JC12B VTD: 121JC13B - JC13B Gwinnett County VTD: 135007 - DULUTH A VTD: 135040 - PINCKNEYVILLE H VTD: 135048 - DULUTH B VTD: 135056 - DULUTH C VTD: 135057 - DULUTH D VTD: 135063 - PINCKNEYVILLE M VTD: 135077 - GOODWINS C VTD: 135082 - DULUTH E VTD: 135090 - LAWRENCEVILLE I VTD: 135095 - DULUTH F VTD: 135096 - DULUTH G VTD: 135097 - GOODWINS E VTD: 135099 - PINCKNEYVILLE T VTD: 135106 - SUWANEE C VTD: 135111 - DULUTH H VTD: 135121 - PINCKNEYVILLE X VTD: 135128 - GOODWINS H VTD: 135138 - DULUTH I VTD: 135140 - DULUTH J VTD: 135150 - DULUTH K VTD: 135155 - SUWANEE G VTD: 135163 - GOODWINS J"

SECTION 2. This section shall become effective upon the approval of this Act by the Governor or upon this Act becoming law without such approval. The remaining sections of this Act shall become effective upon receipt of preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting

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Rights Act of 1965, as amended; provided, however, that, if this Act has not received preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, by the time of the beginning of qualifying for the 2012 general primary, the remaining sections of this Act shall not be effective for the primary and general elections of 2012 for the purpose of electing members of the Senate who are to take office in 2013, but shall become effective on January 1, 2014, provided this Act has received preclearance as provided by law. If this Act has not received preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, by December 31, 2013, this Act shall stand automatically repealed by operation of law on January 1, 2014.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 13, 2012.

__________

EDUCATION MOTOR VEHICLES PENAL INSTITUTIONS DRUG AND ALCOHOL AWARENESS AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS; FREE MOTOR VEHICLE REPORTS; LIMITED DRIVING PERMITS FOR CERTAIN PERSONS; IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES; REVOCATION OF PROBATION.

No. 579 (Senate Bill No. 236).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 20-2-142 and Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prescribed courses and the development and dissemination of instructional materials on the effect of alcohol and drivers' licenses, respectively, so as to provide for matters relative to drivers' licenses of persons convicted of driving under the influence and the effect of driving under the influence; to provide for approval of out-of-state driver educational courses for certain children whose parents are in the active military service of the United States; to provide for a voluntary parent or guardian participation component in the alcohol and drug course required for obtaining a driver's license for a person under 18 years of age; to provide for a free motor vehicle report under certain circumstances; to provide for matters relative to drivers' licenses of persons convicted of driving under the influence; to allow certain drivers with suspended licenses to be issued limited driving permits; to provide for the issuance of a limited driving permit to a person convicted of driving under the influence subject to certain conditions; to amend Article 7 of Chapter 8 of

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Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to ignition interlock devices as probation condition, so as to provide the courts with more authority with regard to the availability of ignition interlock device limited driving permits or probationary licenses and habitual violator probationary licenses for drivers convicted of a second DUI; to provide a court the ability to issue a certificate for such permits and licenses; to change provisions relating to proof of compliance with Code Section 42-8-111; to provide for revocation of probation under certain circumstances; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 20-2-142 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prescribed courses and the development and dissemination of instructional materials on the effect of alcohol, is amended by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b)(1) The State Board of Education and the Board of Driver Services shall jointly establish an alcohol and drug course for the purpose of informing the young people of this state of the dangers involved in consuming alcohol or certain drugs in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle. The course shall be designed to generate greater interest in highway safety and accident prevention. The state board and the Board of Driver Services shall jointly, by rules or regulations, determine the contents of the course and its duration. The commissioner of driver services shall make available officers, employees, officials, agents, contractors, or other appropriate representatives as determined by the commissioner of driver services to teach the alcohol and drug course. The alcohol and drug course shall be offered periodically but not less than once annually in the public schools of this state to students in grades nine and above in the manner prescribed by the state board. (2) The alcohol and drug course required by this subsection shall make available as a part of such course a voluntary parent or guardian participation component which substantially complies with the following requirements:
(A) A joint session with the parent or guardian and child which provides opportunities for parents or guardians to voluntarily participate in the guidance and delivery of the antidrug and antialcohol instruction; and (B) A separate voluntary component solely for parental or guardian instruction that provides drug prevention strategies, legal accountability information, an opportunity for parent or guardian questions, and any other information that would offer parents or guardians a framework for the protection of their children from alcohol and other drug use. (3) All schools with grade nine or above which receive funds in any manner from the state shall make available to eligible students and their parents or guardians the alcohol and drug course provided in this subsection.

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(4) The commissioner of driver services shall make the alcohol and drug course, and instructors where necessary, available to the private schools in this state. In addition, the commissioner of driver services shall offer the alcohol and drug course periodically at various locations in this state in the manner provided by the Board of Driver Services. The commissioner shall also be authorized to offer such course electronically online or in such other manner as determined appropriate by the commissioner."

SECTION 2. Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to drivers' licenses, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (a.2) of Code Section 40-5-22, relating to persons not to be licensed and school attendance requirements, as follows:
"(2) The commissioner shall by rule or regulation establish standards for approval of any driver education course for purposes of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, provided that such course shall be designed to educate young drivers about safe driving practices and the traffic laws of this state and to train young drivers in the safe operation of motor vehicles, and provided, further, that the commissioner shall provide for the approval of courses from other states to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph for any child moving into this state within nine months of his or her sixteenth birthday when the child's parent is in the active military service of the United States."

SECTION 2A. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new subsection to Code Section 40-5-25, relating to driver's license application fees, to read as follows:
"(f) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best interests of this state to encourage alcohol and drug education to inform young people of the dangers involved in consuming alcohol or certain drugs while operating a motor vehicle. The General Assembly further finds that parental or guardian involvement in an alcohol and drug awareness program will assist in reducing the number of young persons involved in driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. To promote these purposes, where a parent or guardian successfully participates in the parent-guardian component of the alcohol and drug course required by subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-22 as prescribed in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-142, each parent or guardian shall be entitled to a one-time three-year online motor vehicle report."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsections (b), (b.1), and (c) of Code Section 40-5-57.1, relating to suspensions of licenses of persons under age 21, as follows:
"(b) A person whose driver's license has been suspended under subsection (a) of this Code section shall:
(1) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of this Code section and except as otherwise provided by paragraph (2) of this subsection:

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(A) Upon a first such suspension, be eligible to apply for license reinstatement and, subject to payment of required fees, have his or her driver's license reinstated after six months; and (B) Upon a second or subsequent such suspension, be eligible to apply for license reinstatement and, subject to payment of required fees, have his or her driver's license reinstated after 12 months; or (2)(A) Upon the first conviction of a violation of Code Section 40-6-391, with no arrest and conviction of and no plea of nolo contendere accepted to such offense within the previous five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, have his or her license suspended for a period of six months unless the driver's blood alcohol concentration at the time of the offense was 0.08 grams or more or the person has previously been subject to a suspension pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, in which case the period of suspension shall be for 12 months. (B) Upon the second conviction of a violation of Code Section 40-6-391 within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, have his or her license suspended for a period of 18 months. (C) Upon the third conviction of any such offense within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, be considered a habitual violator, and such person's license shall be revoked as provided for in Code Section 40-5-58. (b.1) In any case where a person's driver's license was administratively suspended as a result of a violation of Code Section 40-6-391 for which the person's driver's license has been suspended pursuant to this Code section, the administrative license suspension period and the license suspension period provided by this Code section may run concurrently, and any completed portion of such administrative license suspension period shall apply toward completion of the license suspension period provided by this Code section. (c)(1) Any driver's license suspended under subsection (a) of this Code section for commission of any offense other than violation of Code Section 40-6-391 shall not become valid and shall remain suspended until such person submits proof of completion of a defensive driving program approved by the department and pays the applicable reinstatement fee. Any driver's license suspended under subsection (a) of this Code section for commission of a violation of Code Section 40-6-391 shall not become valid and shall remain suspended until such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Drug or Alcohol Use Risk Reduction Program and pays the applicable reinstatement fee. (2) The reinstatement fee for a first such suspension shall be $210.00 or $200.00 if paid by mail. The reinstatement fee for a second or subsequent such suspension shall be $310.00 or $300.00 if paid by mail."

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SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 40-5-63.1, relating to clinical evaluations and treatment, as follows:
"40-5-63.1. In addition to any and all other conditions of license reinstatement, issuance, or restoration under Code Section 40-5-57.1, 40-5-58, 40-5-62, or 40-5-63, any person with two or more convictions for violating Code Section 40-6-391 within ten years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, shall be required to undergo a clinical evaluation and, if recommended as a part of such evaluation, shall complete a substance abuse treatment program prior to such license reinstatement, issuance, or restoration; provided, however, that such evaluation and treatment shall be at such person's expense except as otherwise provided by Code Section 37-7-120. Acceptable proof of completion of such a program shall be submitted to the department prior to license reinstatement, issuance, or restoration. For purposes of this Code section, a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of violating Code Section 40-6-391 and all prior accepted pleas of nolo contendere within ten years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, shall be considered and counted as convictions."

SECTION 5. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsections (a), (c), (c.1), and (e) of Code Section 40-5-64, relating to the issuance of limited driving permits for certain offenders, as follows:
"(a) To whom issued. (1) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of Code Section 40-5-57 or 40-5-63 or any other Code section of this chapter, any person who has not been previously convicted or adjudicated delinquent for a violation of Code Section 40-6-391 within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, may apply for a limited driving permit when and only when that person's driver's license has been suspended in accordance with paragraph (2) of subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22, subsection (d) of Code Section 40-5-57, paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-63, paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-67.2, or subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-57.1, when the person is 18 years of age or older and his or her license was suspended for exceeding the speed limit by 24 miles per hour or more but less than 34 miles per hour, and the sentencing judge, in his or her discretion, decides it is reasonable to issue a limited driving permit. (2) Any person whose driver's license has been suspended as a result of a second conviction for violating Code Section 40-6-391 within five years, as measured from the

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dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, may apply for a limited driving permit after serving at least 120 days of the suspension required for such conviction and providing a certificate of eligibility from a drug court program in the court in which he or she was convicted of the offense for which such suspension was imposed or proof of enrollment in clinical treatment as provided in Code Section 40-5-63.1. (3) To the extent a person is subject to more than one suspension for which a permit may be issued, the department shall not issue such permit unless the suspensions are for a conviction for driving under the influence in violation of Code Section 40-6-391 imposed pursuant to Code Section 40-5-63 and an administrative suspension imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-67.2 arising from the same incident." "(c) Standards for approval. The department shall issue a limited driving permit if the application indicates that refusal to issue such permit would cause extreme hardship to the applicant. Except as otherwise provided by subsection (c.1) of this Code section, for the purposes of this Code section, 'extreme hardship' means that the applicant cannot reasonably obtain other transportation, and therefore the applicant would be prohibited from: (1) Going to his or her place of employment; (2) Receiving scheduled medical care or obtaining prescription drugs; (3) Attending a college or school at which he or she is regularly enrolled as a student; (4) Attending regularly scheduled sessions or meetings of support organizations for persons who have addiction or abuse problems related to alcohol or other drugs, which organizations are recognized by the commissioner; (5) Attending under court order any driver education or improvement school or alcohol or drug program or course approved by the court which entered the judgment of conviction resulting in suspension of his or her driver's license or by the commissioner; (6) Attending court, reporting to a probation office or officer, or performing community service; or (7) Transporting an immediate family member who does not hold a valid driver's license for work, medical care, or prescriptions or to school. (c.1)(1) Exception to standards for approval. The provisions of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (c) of this Code section shall not apply and shall not be considered for purposes of granting a limited driving permit or imposing conditions thereon under this Code section in the case of a driver's license suspension under paragraph (2) of subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22. (2) An ignition interlock device limited driving permit shall be restricted to allow the holder thereof to drive solely for the following purposes:
(A) Going to his or her place of employment; (B) Attending a college or school at which he or she is regularly enrolled as a student;

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(C) Attending regularly scheduled sessions or meetings of treatment support organizations for persons who have addiction or abuse problems related to alcohol or other drugs, which organizations are recognized by the commissioner; and (D) Going for monthly monitoring visits with the permit holder's ignition interlock device service provider." "(e) Fees, duration, renewal, and replacement of permit. (1) A permit issued pursuant to this Code section shall be $25.00 and shall become invalid upon the driver's eighteenth birthday in the case of a suspension under paragraph (2) of subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22, upon the expiration of one year following issuance thereof in the case of a suspension for an offense listed in Code Section 40-5-54 or a suspension under Code Section 40-5-57 or a suspension in accordance with paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-63 for a violation of Code Section 40-6-391, or upon the expiration of 30 days in the case of an administrative license suspension in accordance with paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-67.2; except that such limited driving permit shall expire upon any earlier reinstatement of the driver's license. A person may apply to the department for a limited driving permit immediately following such conviction if he or she has surrendered his or her driver's license to the court in which the conviction was adjudged or to the department if the department has processed the citation or conviction. Upon the applicant's execution of an affidavit attesting to such facts and to the fact that the court had not imposed a suspension or revocation of his or her driver's license or driving privileges inconsistent with the driving privileges to be conferred by the limited driving permit applied for, the department may issue such person a limited driving permit. Permits issued pursuant to this Code section are renewable upon payment of a renewal fee of $5.00. Permits may be renewed until the person has his or her license reinstated for the violation that was the basis of the issuance of the permit. Upon payment of a fee in an amount the same as that provided by Code Section 40-5-25 for issuance of a Class C driver's license, a person may be issued a replacement for a lost or destroyed limited driving permit issued to him or her. (2) An ignition interlock device limited driving permit shall be valid for a period of eight months. Upon successful completion of eight months of monitoring of such ignition interlock device, the restriction for maintaining and using such ignition interlock device shall be removed, and the permit may be renewed for additional periods of six months as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection."

SECTION 6. Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to ignition interlock devices as probation condition, is amended by revising subsections (a), (b), and (c) of Code Section 42-8-111, relating to court ordered installation of ignition interlock devices, as follows:

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"(a) Upon a second or subsequent conviction of a resident of this state for violating Code Section 40-6-391 within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, for which such person is granted probation, the court shall issue a certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Such person shall have installed and shall maintain in each motor vehicle registered in such person's name for a period of not less than eight months a functioning, certified ignition interlock device; (2) Such person shall have installed and shall maintain in any other motor vehicle to be driven by such person for a period of not less than eight months a functioning, certified ignition interlock device, and such person shall not drive any motor vehicle whatsoever that is not so equipped during such period. Upon successful completion of eight months of monitoring of such ignition interlock device, the restriction for maintaining and using such ignition interlock device shall be removed, and the permit may be renewed for additional periods of six months as provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Code Section 40-5-64; and (3) Such person shall participate in a substance abuse treatment program as defined in paragraph (16.2) of Code Section 40-5-1 or a drug court program in compliance with Code Section 15-1-15 for a period of not less than 120 days. For the purposes of this subsection, a plea of nolo contendere shall constitute a conviction; and a conviction of any offense under the law of another state or territory substantially conforming to any offense under Code Section 40-6-391 shall be deemed a conviction of violating said Code section. (b) The court may, in its discretion, decline to issue a certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license for any reason or exempt a person from any or all ignition interlock device requirements upon a determination that such requirements would subject such person to undue financial hardship. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of Code Section 40-13-32 or 40-13-33, a determination of financial hardship may be made at the time of conviction or any time thereafter. (c) In the case of any person subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section, the court shall include in the record of conviction or violation submitted to the Department of Driver Services a copy of the certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license issued by the court or documentation of the court's decision to decline to issue such certificate. Such certificate shall specify any exemption from the installation requirements of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section and any vehicles subject to the installation requirements of paragraph (2) of such subsection. The records of the Department of Driver Services shall contain a record reflecting such certificate, and the person's driver's license, limited

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driving permit, or probationary license shall contain a notation that the person may only operate a motor vehicle equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device."

SECTION 7. Said article is further amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 42-8-112, relating to proof of compliance required for reinstatement of certain drivers' licenses and for obtaining probationary license, as follows:
"(a)(1) In any case where the court grants a certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license pursuant to Code Section 42-8-111 to a person whose driver's license is suspended pursuant to subparagraph (b)(2)(C) of Code Section 40-5-57.1 or paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-63, the Department of Driver Services shall not issue an ignition interlock device limited driving permit until after the expiration of 120 days from the date of the conviction for which such certificate was granted. (2) The Department of Driver Services shall condition issuance of an ignition interlock device limited driving permit for such person upon receipt of acceptable documentation of the following:
(A) That the person to whom such permit is to be issued has completed a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program; (B) That such person has completed a clinical evaluation as defined in Code Section 40-5-1 and enrolled in a substance abuse treatment program approved by the Department of Human Services or is enrolled in a drug court program; (C) That such person has installed an ignition interlock device in any vehicle that he or she will be operating; and (D) A certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license from the court that sentenced such person for the conviction that resulted in the suspension or revocation of his or her driver's license for which he or she is applying for a limited driving permit or probationary license. (b)(1) In any case where the court grants a certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license pursuant to Code Section 42-8-111 to a person whose driver's license is revoked as a habitual violator pursuant to Code Section 40-5-58, the Department of Driver Services shall not issue a habitual violator probationary license until after the expiration of two years from the date of the conviction for which such certificate was granted. (2) The Department of Driver Services shall condition issuance of a habitual violator probationary license for such person upon receipt of acceptable documentation of the following: (A) That the person to whom such license is to be issued has completed a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program;

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(B) That such person has completed a clinical evaluation as defined in Code Section 40-5-1 and enrolled in a substance abuse treatment program approved by the Department of Human Services or is enrolled in a drug court program; (C) That such person has installed an ignition interlock device in any vehicle that he or she will be operating; and (D) A certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license from the court that sentenced such person for the conviction that resulted in the suspension or revocation of his or her driver's license for which he or she is applying for a limited driving permit or probationary license. (3) In any case where installation of an ignition interlock device is required, failure to show proof of such device shall be grounds for refusal of reinstatement of such license or issuance of such habitual violator's probationary license or the immediate suspension or revocation of such license. (4) Any limited driving permit or probationary license issued to such person shall bear a restriction reflecting that the person may only operate a motor vehicle equipped with a functional ignition interlock device. No person whose limited driving permit or probationary license contains such restriction shall operate a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a functional ignition interlock device. (5)(A) Any person who has been issued an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or a habitual violator probationary license bearing an ignition interlock device condition shall maintain such ignition interlock device in any motor vehicle he or she operates to the extent required by the certificate of eligibility for such permit or probationary license issued to such person by the court in which he or she was convicted for not less than eight months. (B) Upon the expiration of such eight-month ignition interlock device limited driving permit or habitual violator probationary license, the driver may, if otherwise qualified, apply for renewal of such permit or probationary license without such ignition interlock device restriction."

SECTION 8. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 42-8-113, relating to renting, leasing, or lending motor vehicle to a probationer under this article prohibited, as follows:
"(a) No person shall knowingly rent, lease, or lend a motor vehicle to a person known to have had his or her driving privilege restricted as provided in this article, unless the vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device. Any person whose driving privilege is restricted as provided in this article shall notify any other person who rents, leases, or loans a motor vehicle to him or her of such driving restriction."

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SECTION 9. Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 42-8-117, relating to revocation of driving privilege for violation of probation, as follows:
"42-8-117. (a)(1) In the event the sentencing court revokes a person's probation after finding that such person has violated the terms of the certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license issued pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 42-8-111, the Department of Driver Services shall revoke that person's driving privilege for one year from the date the court revokes that person's probation. The court shall report such probation revocation to the Department of Driver Services by court order. (2) This subsection shall not apply to any person whose limited driving permit has been revoked under subsection (d) of Code Section 42-8-112.
(b) In the event the sentencing court revokes a person's probation after finding that such person has twice violated the terms of the certificate of eligibility for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit or probationary license issued pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 42-8-111 during the same period of probation, the Department of Driver Services shall revoke that person's driving privilege for five years from the date the court revokes that person's probation for a second time. The court shall report such probation revocation to the Department of Driver Services by court order."

SECTION 10. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 11. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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FIRE PROTECTION AND SAFETY GUARDIAN AND WARD HEALTH TERMINATION OF FIREFIGHTER CERTIFICATION UPON FELONY CONVICTION; EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH PHYSICIAN ORDER FOR LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT; CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR GUARDIANS AND CONSERVATORS; AUTHORIZE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TO ACCEPT BACKGROUND CHECKS FROM STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

No. 580 (House Bill No. 247).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 25 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions for firefighter standards and training, so as to provide for the automatic termination of the certification of a firefighter convicted of a felony; to amend Title 29 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to guardian and ward, so as to provide for matters relevant to guardians generally; to provide for an exemption from liability for persons who comply with a Physician Order for Life-sustaining Treatment; to provide for criminal background checks for persons seeking to become a guardian or conservator; to provide for a definition; to amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to emergency medical services personnel, so as to provide that the Department of Public Health shall accept criminal history background checks of applicants for certification from state and local law enforcement agencies; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 25 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions for firefighter standards and training, is amended by revising subsection (b) and paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Code Section 25-4-8, relating to qualifications of firefighters generally, as follows:
"(b) For the purposes of this Code section, a person shall be deemed to have been convicted of a crime if such person shall have pleaded guilty to a charge thereof before a court or federal magistrate or shall have been found guilty thereof by the decision or judgment of a court or federal magistrate or by the verdict of a jury, irrespective of the pronouncement of sentence or the suspension thereof, unless such plea of guilty or such decision, judgment, or verdict shall have been set aside, reversed, or otherwise abrogated by lawful judicial process or unless the person convicted of the crime shall have received

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a pardon therefor from the President of the United States or the governor or other pardoning authority in the jurisdiction where the conviction was had or shall have received a certificate of good conduct granted by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles pursuant to the provisions of law to remove a disability under law because of such conviction. Any person convicted of a felony while he or she is a certified firefighter shall have his or her certification revoked.
(c)(1) For the purposes of making determinations relating to eligibility under this Code section, a local fire department shall provide information relative to prospective employees to the local law enforcement agency and a state fire department shall provide information relative to prospective employees to a state law enforcement agency. Such local or state law enforcement agency shall be authorized to obtain conviction data with respect to such prospective employees of a local or state fire department as authorized in this subsection. The local or state law enforcement agency shall submit to the Georgia Crime Information Center two complete sets of fingerprints of the applicant for appointment or employment, the required records search fees, and such other information as may be required. Upon receipt thereof, the Georgia Crime Information Center shall promptly transmit one set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of bureau records and an appropriate report and shall retain the other set and promptly conduct a search of its own records and records to which it has access. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall notify the local or state law enforcement agency in writing of any derogatory finding, including, but not limited to, any conviction data regarding the fingerprint records check or if there is no such finding. All conviction data received by the local or state law enforcement agency shall not be a public record, shall be privileged, and shall not be disclosed to any other person or agency except as provided in this subsection and except to any person or agency which otherwise has a legal right to inspect the employment file. All such records shall be maintained by the local or state law enforcement agency pursuant to laws regarding such records and the rules and regulations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Crime Information Center, as applicable. As used in this subsection, 'conviction data' means a record of a finding or verdict of guilty or plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere with regard to any crime, regardless of whether an appeal of the conviction has been sought."

SECTION 2. Title 29 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to guardian and ward, is amended by revising subsection (k) of Code Section 29-4-18, relating to definitions, requirements, and termination of temporary medical consent guardianship, by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(3) Any person who acts in good faith in accordance with a Physician Order for Life-sustaining Treatment developed pursuant to subsection (l) of this Code section shall have all of the immunity granted pursuant to Code Section 31-32-10."

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SECTION 3. Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"29-9-19. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'criminal history record information' means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, accusations, information, or other formal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, sentencing, correctional supervision, and release. (b) The court may require a petitioner seeking to become a guardian or conservator, or a nominated guardian or conservator if such person is different from the petitioner, to submit to a criminal history records check. The petitioner or nominee shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center with the appropriate fee. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall promptly transmit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of its records and shall obtain a report containing criminal history record information. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall also promptly conduct a search of its records and any records to which it has access. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall provide a report of the petitioner's or nominee's criminal history record information to the court for its consideration in determining the suitability of the petitioner or nominee to serve as a guardian or conservator."

SECTION 4. Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to emergency medical services personnel, is amended by revising subsections (d) and (e) of Code Section 31-11-51, relating to certification and recertification of emergency medical technicians, as follows:
"(d) The department shall by rule or regulation, consistent with the requirements of this paragraph, establish a procedure for requesting a fingerprint based criminal history records check from the center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Fingerprints shall be in such form and of such quality as prescribed by the center and under standards adopted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Fees may be charged as necessary to cover the cost of the records search. An applicant may request that a criminal history records check be conducted by a state or local law enforcement agency or by a private vendor approved by the department. Fees for criminal history records checks shall be paid by the applicant to the entity processing the request at the time such request is made. The state or local law enforcement agency or private vendor shall remit payment to the center in such amount as required by the center for conducting a criminal history records check. The department shall accept a criminal history records check whether such request is made through a state or local law enforcement agency or through a private vendor approved by the department. Upon receipt of an authorized request, the center shall promptly cause such criminal records search to be conducted. The center shall notify the department in writing of any

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finding of disqualifying information, including, but not limited to, any conviction data regarding the fingerprint records check, or if there is no such finding. (e) Conviction data received by the department or a state or local law enforcement agency shall be privileged and shall not be a public record or disclosed to any person. Conviction data shall be maintained by the department and the state or local law enforcement pursuant to laws regarding such records and the rules and regulations of the center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Penalties for the unauthorized release or disclosure of conviction data shall be as prescribed by law or rule or regulation of the center or Federal Bureau of Investigation."

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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EDUCATION CARE OF DIABETES IN SCHOOL; TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL; MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PLANS; SCHOOL NURSE FUNCTIONS; MONITORING AND TREATMENT; IMMUNITY.

No. 581 (House Bill No. 879).

AN ACT

To amend Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, so as to provide for the care of students with diabetes in school; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for definitions; to provide for the training of designated school personnel; to provide for the submission of a diabetes medical management plan by parents or guardians for a student; to delineate the functions that may be performed by school nurses or trained diabetes personnel; to authorize a student to perform independent monitoring and treatment; to provide for immunity from civil liability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that impairs the body's ability to use food. Diabetes must be managed 24 hours a day in order to avoid the potentially life-threatening consequences of blood glucose levels that are either too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia), and to avoid or delay the serious long-term complications of high blood glucose levels which include blindness, amputation, heart disease, and kidney failure. (2) In order to manage their disease, students with diabetes must have access to the means to balance food, medications, and physical activity levels while at school and at school related activities; (3) Diabetes is generally a self-managed disease, and many students with diabetes are able to perform most of their own diabetes care tasks. Such students should be permitted to do so in the school setting. However, some students, because of age, inexperience, or other factors, need help with some or all of diabetes care tasks, and all students will need help in the event of a diabetes emergency; (4) The school nurse is the preferred person in the school setting to provide or facilitate care for a student with diabetes. Many schools in Georgia, however, do not have a full-time nurse, or a school nurse may not always be available on site. Thus, even when a nurse is assigned to a school full time, he or she will not always be available to provide direct care during the school day; (5) Diabetes management is needed at all times. Additional school personnel, who have completed training coordinated by the school nurse or other health care professional and who provide care under the supervision of the school nurse or other health care professional, need to be prepared to perform diabetes care tasks at school when a school nurse or other health care professional is not available. Preparations are needed to ensure that students with diabetes will be medically safe and have the same access to educational opportunities as all students in Georgia; and (6) Due to the significant number of students with diabetes, the effect of diabetes upon a student's ability to learn, and the risk for serious long-term and short-term medical complications, legislation in this state is necessary to address this issue.

SECTION 2. Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-779. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Diabetes medical management plan' means a document developed by the student's physician or other health care provider that sets out the health services, including the student's target range for blood glucose levels, needed by the student at school and is signed by the student's parent or guardian.

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(2) 'School' means any primary or secondary public school located within this state. (3) 'School employee' means any person employed by a local board of education or state chartered special school or any person employed by a local health department who is assigned to a public school. (4) 'Trained diabetes personnel' means a school employee who volunteers to be trained in accordance with this Code section. Such employee shall not be required to be a health care professional. (b)(1) No later than August 1, 2012, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Georgia Association of School Nurses, shall develop guidelines for the training of school employees in the care needed for students with diabetes. The training guidelines shall include instruction in:
(A) Recognition and treatment of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia; (B) Understanding the appropriate actions to take when blood glucose levels are outside of the target ranges indicated by a student's diabetes medical management plan; (C) Understanding physician instructions concerning diabetes medication dosage, frequency, and the manner of administration; (D) Performance of finger-stick blood glucose checking, ketone checking, and recording the results; (E) Administration of insulin and glucagon, an injectable used to raise blood glucose levels immediately for severe hypoglycemia, and the recording of results; (F) Performance of basic insulin pump functions; (G) Recognizing complications that require emergency assistance; and (H) Recommended schedules and food intake for meals and snacks, the effect of physical activity upon blood glucose levels, and actions to be implemented in the case of schedule disruption. (2) Each local board of education and state chartered special school shall ensure that the training outlined in paragraph (1) of this subsection is provided to a minimum of two school employees at each school attended by a student with diabetes. (3) A school employee shall not be subject to any penalty or disciplinary action for refusing to serve as trained diabetes personnel. (4) The training outlined in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be coordinated and provided by a school nurse or may be contracted out to be provided by another health care professional with expertise in diabetes. Such training shall take place prior to the commencement of each school year, or as needed when a student with diabetes is newly enrolled at a school or a student is newly diagnosed with diabetes. The school nurse or other contracted health care professional shall provide follow-up training and supervision. (5) Each local school system and state chartered special school shall provide information in the recognition of diabetes related emergency situations to all bus drivers responsible for the transportation of a student with diabetes.

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(c) The parent or guardian of each student with diabetes who seeks diabetes care while at school shall submit to the school a diabetes medical management plan which upon receipt shall be reviewed and implemented by the school.
(d)(1) In accordance with the request of a parent or guardian of a student with diabetes and the student's diabetes medical management plan, the school nurse or, in the absence of the school nurse, trained diabetes personnel shall perform functions including, but not limited to, responding to blood glucose levels that are outside of the student's target range; administering glucagon; administering insulin, or assisting a student in administering insulin through the insulin delivery system the student uses; providing oral diabetes medications; checking and recording blood glucose levels and ketone levels, or assisting a student with such checking and recording; and following instructions regarding meals, snacks, and physical activity. (2) The school nurse or at least one trained diabetes personnel shall be on site at each school and available during regular school hours to provide care to each student with diabetes as identified pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section. For purposes of field trips, the parent or guardian, or designee of such parent or guardian, of a student with diabetes may accompany such student on a field trip. (3) There shall be trained diabetes personnel at each school where a student with diabetes is enrolled, and a student's school choice shall in no way be restricted because the student has diabetes. (4) The activities set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not constitute the practice of nursing and shall be exempted from all applicable statutory and regulatory provisions that restrict what activities can be delegated to or performed by a person who is not a licensed health care professional. (e) Upon written request of a student's parent or guardian and if authorized by the student's diabetes medical management plan, a student with diabetes shall be permitted to perform blood glucose checks, administer insulin through the insulin delivery system the student uses, treat hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, and otherwise attend to the monitoring and treatment of his or her diabetes in the classroom, in any area of the school or school grounds, and at any school related activity, and he or she shall be permitted to possess on his or her person at all times all necessary supplies and equipment to perform such monitoring and treatment functions. (f) No physician, nurse, school employee, local school system, or state chartered special school shall be liable for civil damages or subject to disciplinary action under professional licensing regulations or school disciplinary policies as a result of the activities authorized or required by this Code section when such acts are committed as an ordinarily reasonably prudent physician, nurse, school employee, local school system, or state chartered special school would have acted under the same or similar circumstances. (g) A private school which complies with the requirements of this Code section shall have the same limited liability for such school and its employees in the same manner as for public schools as provided for in subsection (f) of this Code section."

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SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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CRIMES AND OFFENSES FALSE LIEN STATEMENTS AGAINST PUBLIC OFFICERS AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES; PENALTIES.

No. 582 (House Bill No. 997).

AN ACT

To amend Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, so as to provide for the new crime of false lien statements against public officers or public employees; to provide for definitions; to provide for penalties; to provide a cross-reference; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"16-10-20.1. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Public employee' means every person employed by the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government, or any department, board, bureau, agency, commission, or authority thereof, and any person employed by a county, municipality, consolidated government, or local board of education. (2) 'Public officer' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 21-5-3. (b) Notwithstanding Code Sections 16-10-20 and 16-10-71, it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly file a false lien or encumbrance in a public record or private record that is generally available to the public against the real or personal property of a public officer or public employee on account of the performance of such public officer or public employee's official duties, knowing or having reason to know that such lien or encumbrance is false or contains a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation.

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(c) Any person who violates subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one nor more than ten years, a fine not to exceed $10,000.00, or both."

SECTION 2. Said title is further amended by revising division (9)(A)(xv) of Code Section 16-14-3, relating to definitions for the "Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act," as follows:
"(xv) Article 4 of Chapter 10 of this title and Code Sections 16-10-20, 16-10-20.1, 16-10-23, and 16-10-91, relating to perjury and other falsifications;"

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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SOCIAL SERVICES DRUG TESTING FOR APPLICANTS FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES FUNDS; SANCTIONS.

No. 583 (House Bill No. 861).

AN ACT

To provide a short title; to provide a statement of legislative intent; to amend Article 9 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to temporary assistance for needy families, so as to define certain terms; to provide that the Department of Human Services shall create an established drug test to be administered to each applicant for temporary assistance for needy families; to provide requirements; to provide that each applicant shall undergo a drug test in order to qualify for benefits; to provide that any person who fails such drug test shall be ineligible to receive benefits; to provide for reapplication; to provide for children's benefits; to provide for confidentiality of records; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Social Responsibility and Accountability Act."

SECTION 2. It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
(1) Ensure that TANF funds are ultimately utilized for the intended purpose of alleviating the effects of poverty and are not diverted to illicit drug use; (2) Protect children of poverty by ensuring such funds strengthen family life and reduce the danger that illicit drugs will be introduced into the home environment; (3) Assist adults addicted to drugs to avoid the temptation and restructure their lives by focusing on employment and becoming better parents; and (4) Ensure that the government does not subsidize the public health risk posed by drug use and the associated criminal activities.

SECTION 3. Article 9 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to temporary assistance for needy families, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"49-4-193. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'established drug test' means the collection and testing of bodily fluids administered in a manner equivalent to that required by the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (53 C.F.R. 11979, et seq., as amended) or other professionally valid procedures approved by the department; provided, however, that where possible and practicable, a swab test shall be used in lieu of a urinalysis. (b) The department shall adopt rules and regulations for an established drug test which shall include the following:
(1) Which illegal drugs will be the subject of testing; (2) Methods for assuring minimal privacy intrusions during collection of body fluid specimens for such testing; (3) Methods for assuring proper storage, transportation, and handling of such specimens in order to ensure the integrity of the testing process; (4) The identity of those persons entitled to the results of such tests and methods for ensuring that only authorized persons are given access to such results; (5) A list of laboratories qualified to conduct established drug tests; (6) A list of approved substance abuse treatment providers; (7) Procedures for persons undergoing drug testing, prior to the collection of body fluid specimens for such testing, to provide information regarding use of any drug pursuant to

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a medical prescription or as otherwise authorized by law which may affect the results of such test; (8) A requirement that the test be conducted no later than 48 hours after the application is approved by the department for TANF eligibility. Proof of eligibility from the department shall be issued to the applicant. The applicant shall show proof of eligibility to an authorized test examiner prior to submitting to the test; and (9) A requirement that any applicant who demonstrates proof of active and current Medicaid benefits shall pay a drug screening application fee of no more than $17.00, and no authorized test examiner shall conduct a drug test if an applicant demonstrates active and current Medicaid benefits unless the applicant presents a receipt proving that he or she has paid the required drug screening application fee. Eligible applicants who do not have active and current Medicaid benefits shall be responsible for paying the full cost of administering the drug test upon presentation to an authorized examiner. (c) The department shall require a drug test consistent with subsection (b) of this Code section to screen each individual who applies for assistance. The cost of drug testing shall be the responsibility of the individual tested, provided that the individual does not submit proof of active Medicaid benefits to subsidize the cost of such drug testing pursuant to paragraph (9) of subsection (b) of this Code section. No assistance payment shall be delayed because of the requirements of this Code section, and any payments made prior to the department's receipt of a test result showing a failure shall be recoverable. (d) Any recipient of cash assistance under this article who tests positive for controlled substances as a result of a drug test required under this Code section shall be ineligible to receive TANF benefits as follows: (1) For a first positive result, the recipient shall be ineligible for TANF benefits for one month and until he or she tests negative in a retest; (2) For a second positive result, the recipient shall be ineligible for TANF benefits for three months and until he or she tests negative in a retest; and (3) For a third and each subsequent positive result, the recipient shall be ineligible for TANF benefits for one year and until he or she tests negative in a retest unless the individual meets the requirements of subsection (f) of this Code section. (e) The department shall: (1) Provide notice of drug testing to each individual at the time of application. The notice shall advise the individual that drug testing will be conducted as a condition for receiving TANF benefits and that the individual shall bear the cost of testing. If the individual tests negative for controlled substances, the department shall increase the amount of the initial TANF benefit by the amount paid by the individual for the drug testing. However, if the individual used an active and current Medicaid benefit pursuant to paragraph (9) of subsection (b) of this Code section to subsidize the cost of the test, the individual shall not be eligible for direct TANF reimbursement. The individual shall be advised that the required drug testing may be avoided if the individual does not apply for

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TANF benefits. Dependent children under the age of 18 are exempt from the drug testing requirement; (2) Require that for two-parent families, one parent shall comply with the drug testing requirement; (3) Require that any teen parent who is not required to live with a parent, legal guardian, or other adult caretaker relative shall comply with the drug testing requirement; (4) Advise each individual to be tested, before the test is conducted, that he or she may, but is not required to, advise the agent administering the test of any prescription or over the counter medication he or she is taking; (5) Require each individual to be tested to sign a written acknowledgment that he or she has received and understood the notice and advice provided under paragraphs (1) and (4) of this subsection; (6) Assure each individual being tested a reasonable degree of dignity while producing and submitting a sample for drug testing, consistent with the state's need to ensure the reliability of the sample; (7) Specify circumstances under which an individual who fails a drug test has the right to take one or more additional tests; (8) Inform an individual who tests positive for a controlled substance and is deemed ineligible for TANF benefits for one year pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of this Code section that the individual may reapply for those benefits six months after the date of the positive drug test if he or she meets the requirements of subsection (f) of this Code section; and (9) Provide any individual who tests positive with a list of substance abuse treatment providers approved by the department which are available in the area in which he or she resides. Neither the department nor the state shall be responsible for providing or paying for substance abuse treatment. (f) An individual who tests positive for an illegal drug and is denied TANF benefits for one year may reapply for TANF benefits after six months if the individual can document the successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program offered by a provider approved by the department. An individual who has met the requirements of this subsection and reapplies for TANF benefits shall also pass an initial drug test and meet the requirements of subsection (c) of this Code section. Any drug test conducted while the individual is undergoing substance abuse treatment shall meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this Code section. The cost of any drug testing provided under this Code section and substance abuse treatment shall be the responsibility of the individual being tested and receiving treatment. An individual who fails the drug test required under subsection (c) of this Code section may reapply for TANF benefits under this subsection only once. (g) If a parent is deemed ineligible for TANF benefits as a result of failing a drug test conducted under this Code section: (1) The dependent child's eligibility for TANF benefits shall not be affected;

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(2) An appropriate protective payee shall be designated to receive benefits on behalf of the child; and (3) The parent may choose to designate another individual to receive benefits for the parent's minor child. The designated individual must be an immediate family member or, if an immediate family member is not available or the family member declines the option, another individual approved by the department. The designated individual shall also undergo drug testing before being approved to receive benefits on behalf of the child. If the designated individual tests positive for controlled substances, he or she shall be ineligible to receive benefits on behalf of the child. (h) The results of any drug test done according to this Code section shall not be subject to disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspection of public records. Such results shall not be used as a part of a criminal investigation or criminal prosecution. Such results shall not be used in a civil action or otherwise disclosed to any person or entity without the express written consent of the person tested or his or her heirs or legal representative. All such records shall be destroyed and deleted five years after the date of the test. (i) No testing shall be required by the provisions of this Code section for any person whom the department determines is significantly hindered, because of a physical or mental handicap or developmental disability, from doing so or for any person enrolled in an enhanced primary care case management program operated by the Department of Community Health, Division of Medical Assistance to serve frail elderly and disabled beneficiaries to improve the health outcomes of persons with chronic health conditions by linking primary medical care with home and community based services. In addition, no testing shall be required by the provisions of this Code section for any individuals receiving or on a waiting list for long-term services and supports through a non-Medicaid home and community based services program or for any individual residing in a facility such as a nursing home, personal care home, assisted living community, intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, community living arrangement, or host home. (j) The department shall adopt rules to implement this Code section."

SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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MOTOR VEHICLES CANCELLATION OF CERTIFICATE OF TITLE FOR SCRAP METAL, DISMANTLED, OR DEMOLISHED TRAILERS.

No. 584 (House Bill No. 900).

AN ACT

To amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certificates of title for motor vehicles, so as to provide for the cancellation of a certificate of title for scrap metal, dismantled, or demolished trailers in a manner similar to motor vehicles, to help prevent trailer theft by persons seeking to sell stolen trailers for scrap metal; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certificates of title for motor vehicles, is amended by revising paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-3-36, relating to cancellation of certificates of title for scrap, dismantled, or demolished vehicles, salvage certificate of title, administrative enforcement, and removal of license plates, as follows:
"(a)(1) Any registered owner or authorized agent of a registered owner who in any manner sells or disposes of any vehicle, including a trailer, as scrap metal or parts only or who scraps, dismantles, or demolishes a vehicle shall within 72 hours mail or deliver the certificate of title to the commissioner for cancellation. (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, if the owner or authorized agent of the owner has not obtained a title in his or her name for the vehicle, including a trailer, to be transferred, or has lost the title for the vehicle or trailer to be transferred, he or she may sign a statement swearing that, in addition to the foregoing conditions, the vehicle or trailer is at least 12 model years old and is worth $850.00 or less, if the vehicle was used as a motor vehicle, or $1,700.00 or less if the vehicle was used as a trailer. The statement described in this paragraph may be used only to transfer such a vehicle to a licensed used motor vehicle parts dealer under Code Section 43-47-7 or scrap metal processor under Code Section 43-43-1. The department shall promulgate a form for the statement which shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) A statement that the vehicle or trailer shall never be titled again; it must be dismantled or scrapped; (B) A description of the vehicle including, where applicable, the year, make, model, vehicle identification number, and color;

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(C) The name, address, and driver's license number of the owner; (D) A certification that the owner:
(i) Never obtained a title to the vehicle in his or her name; or (ii) Was issued a title for the vehicle, but the title was lost or stolen; (E) A certification that the vehicle: (i) Is worth $850.00 or less, or $1,700.00 or less if the vehicle is a trailer; (ii) Is at least 12 model years old; and (iii) Is not subject to any secured interest or lien; (F) An acknowledgment that the owner realizes this form will be filed with the department and that it is a felony, punishable by imprisonment for not fewer than one nor more than three years or a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or both, to knowingly falsify any information on this statement; (G) The owner's signature and the date of the transaction; (H) The name, address, and National Motor Vehicle Title Information System identification number of the business acquiring the vehicle; (I) A certification by the business that $850.00 or less, or $1,700.00 or less if the vehicle is a trailer, was paid to acquire the vehicle; and (J) The business agent's signature and date along with a printed name and title if the agent is signing on behalf of a corporation."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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PROPERTY UNIFORM PARTITION OF HEIRS PROPERTY ACT; ENACT.

No. 585 (House Bill No. 744).

AN ACT

To amend Part 2 of Article 7 of Chapter 6 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to partition, so as to enact the "Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act"; to provide for a short title; to provide for definitions; to provide for applicability and its relationship to existing law; to provide for notice of certain actions for partition by posting a sign; to provide for partitioners; to provide for determining property value; to provide for cotenant buyouts; to provide for partition alternatives; to provide for consideration for partitions in kind; to provide for open-market sale, sealed bids, or public sale; to provide for

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reporting of open-market sales; to provide for uniform application and construction; to provide for construction with federal law; to amend Code Section 24-7-706 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to court appointed experts, so as to include cross-references; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act."

SECTION 2. Part 2 of Article 7 of Chapter 6 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to partition, is amended by adding a new subpart to read as follows:

"Subpart 3

44-6-180. As used in this subpart, the term:
(1) 'Ascendant' means an individual who precedes another individual in lineage in a direct line of ascent from the other individual. (2) 'Broker' means any individual or entity issued a broker's real estate license by the Georgia Real Estate Commission pursuant to Chapter 40 of Title 43. Such term shall include the broker's affiliated licensees. (3) 'Collateral' means an individual who is related to another individual under the law of intestate succession of this state but who is not the other individual's ascendant or descendant. (4) 'Descendant' means an individual who follows another individual in lineage in a direct line of descent from the other individual. (5) 'Heirs property' means real property held in tenancy in common which satisfies all of the following requirements on the date of the filing of a partition action:
(A) There is no agreement in a record binding all the cotenants which governs the partition of the property; (B) One or more of the cotenants acquired title from a relative, whether living or deceased; and (C) Any of the following applies:
(i) Twenty percent or more of the interests are held by cotenants who are relatives; (ii) Twenty percent or more of the interests are held by an individual who acquired title from a relative, whether living or deceased; or (iii) Twenty percent or more of the cotenants are relatives.

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(6) 'Partition by sale' means a court ordered sale of the entire heirs property, whether by public sale, sealed bids, or open-market sale conducted under Code Section 44-6-187. (7) 'Partition in kind' means the division of heirs property into physically distinct and separately titled parcels. (8) 'Record' means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. (9) 'Relative' means an ascendant, descendant, or collateral or an individual otherwise related to another individual by blood, marriage, adoption, or law of this state other than this subpart.

44-6-181. (a) This subpart shall apply to partition actions filed on or after January 1, 2013. (b) In an action to partition real property under subpart 1 or 2 of this part, the court shall determine whether the property is heirs property. If the court determines that the property is heirs property, the property shall be partitioned pursuant to this subpart unless all of the cotenants otherwise agree in a record.

44-6-182. If an order for service by publication of the summons for a writ of partition is granted and the court determines that the property may be heirs property, the plaintiff, not later than ten days after the court's determination that the property may be heirs property, shall post a sign in the right of way adjacent to the property which is the subject of the writ of partition, and the plaintiff shall maintain such sign while the action is pending. The sign shall state that a writ of partition has commenced, the name and address of the court in which the action is pending, and the common designation by which the property is known. The court may require the plaintiff to publish the name of the plaintiff and names of the known defendants on the sign.

44-6-183. If the court appoints partitioners as described in Code Section 44-6-163, each partitioner shall be a discreet person, disinterested, impartial, and not a party to or a participant in the writ of partition.

44-6-184. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, if the court determines that the property that is the subject of a partition action is heirs property, the court shall determine the fair market value of the property by ordering an appraisal pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section. (b) If all cotenants have agreed to the value of the property or to another method of valuation, the court shall adopt that value or the value produced by the agreed method of valuation.

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(c) If the court determines that the evidentiary value of an appraisal is outweighed by the cost of the appraisal, the court, after an evidentiary hearing, shall determine the fair market value of the property and send notice to the parties of the value. (d) If the court orders an appraisal, the court shall appoint a disinterested real estate appraiser licensed in this state to determine the fair market value of the property assuming sole ownership of the fee simple estate. Upon completion of the appraisal, the appraiser shall file a sworn or verified appraisal with the court. (e) If an appraisal is conducted pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section, not later than ten days after the appraisal is filed, the court shall send notice to each party with a known address, stating:
(1) The appraised fair market value of the property; (2) That the appraisal is available at the clerk's office; and (3) That a party may file with the court an objection to the appraisal not later than 30 days after the notice is sent, stating the grounds for the objection. (f) If an appraisal is filed with the court pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine the fair market value of the property not sooner than 30 days after a copy of the notice of the appraisal is sent to each party under subsection (e) of this Code section, whether or not an objection to the appraisal is filed under paragraph (3) of subsection (e) of this Code section. In addition to the court ordered appraisal, the court may consider any other evidence of value offered by a party. (g) After a hearing under subsection (f) of this Code section, but before considering the merits of the partition action, the court shall determine the fair market value of the property and send notice to the parties of the value.

44-6-185. (a) If any cotenant requests partition by sale, after the court determines the fair market value of the heirs property under Code Section 44-6-184 or accepts the evaluation of the property agreed to by all cotenants, the court shall send notice to the parties that any cotenant except a cotenant that requested partition by sale may buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale. (b) Not later than 45 days after the notice is sent under subsection (a) of this Code section, any cotenant except a cotenant that requested partition by sale may give notice to the court that it elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale. (c) The purchase price for each of the interests of a cotenant that requested partition by sale shall be the value of the entire parcel determined pursuant to Code Section 44-6-184 multiplied by the cotenant's fractional ownership of the entire parcel. (d) After expiration of the period in subsection (b) of this Code section:
(1) If only one cotenant elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale, the court shall notify all the parties of that fact; (2) If more than one cotenant elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale, the court shall allocate the right to buy those interests among the

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electing cotenants based on each electing cotenant's existing fractional ownership of the entire parcel divided by the total existing fractional ownership of all cotenants electing to buy and send notice to all the parties of that fact and of the price to be paid by each electing cotenant; or (3) If no cotenant elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale, the court shall send notice to all the parties of that fact and resolve the partition action under subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 44-6-186. (e) If the court sends notice to the parties under paragraphs (1) or (2) of subsection (d) of this Code section, the court shall set a date, not sooner than 60 days after the date the notice was sent, by which electing cotenants shall pay their apportioned price into the court. After this date: (1) If all electing cotenants timely pay their apportioned price into court, the court shall issue an order reallocating all the interests of the cotenants and disburse the amounts held by the court to the persons entitled to them; (2) If no electing cotenant timely pays its apportioned price, the court shall resolve the partition action under subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 44-6-186 as if the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale were not purchased; or (3) If one or more but not all of the electing cotenants fail to pay their apportioned price on time, the court shall give notice to the electing cotenants that paid their apportioned price of the interest remaining and the price for all that interest. (f) Not later than 20 days after the court gives notice pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (e) of this Code section, any cotenant that paid their apportioned price of the interest may elect to purchase all of the remaining interest by paying the entire price into the court. After the 20 day period: (1) If only one cotenant pays the entire price for the remaining interest, the court shall issue an order reallocating the remaining interest to that cotenant. The court shall issue promptly an order reallocating the interests of all of the cotenants and disburse the amounts held by it to the persons entitled to them; (2) If no cotenant pays the entire price for the remaining interest, the court shall resolve the partition action under subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 44-6-186 as if the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale were not purchased; or (3) If more than one cotenant pays the entire price for the remaining interest, the court shall reapportion the remaining interest among those paying cotenants, based on each paying cotenant's original fractional ownership of the entire parcel divided by the total original fractional ownership of all cotenants that paid the entire price for the remaining interest. The court shall issue promptly an order reallocating all of the cotenants' interests, disburse the amounts held by it to the persons entitled to them, and promptly refund any excess payment held by the court. (g) Not later than 45 days after the court sends notice to the parties pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, any cotenant entitled to buy an interest under this Code section may request the court to authorize the sale as part of the pending action of the

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interests of cotenants named as defendants and served with the writ or application for partition but that did not appear in the action. (h) If the court receives a timely request under subsection (g) of this Code section, the court, after hearing, may deny the request or authorize the requested additional sale on such terms as the court determines are fair and reasonable, subject to the following limitations:
(1) A sale authorized under this subsection may occur only after the purchase prices for all interests subject to sale under subsections (a) through (f) of this Code section have been paid into court and those interests have been reallocated among the cotenants as provided in those subsections; and (2) The purchase price for the interest of a nonappearing cotenant shall be based on the court's determination of the fair market value of the heirs property under Code Section 44-6-184 or the evaluation of the property agreed to by all cotenants.

44-6-186. (a)(1) If all the interests of all cotenants that requested partition by sale are not purchased by other cotenants pursuant to Code Section 44-6-185, or if after conclusion of the buyout under Code Section 44-6-185, a cotenant remains that has requested partition in kind, the court shall order partition in kind unless the court, after consideration of the factors listed in Code Section 44-6-187, finds that partition in kind will result in manifest prejudice to the cotenants as a group. In considering whether to order partition in kind, the court shall approve a request by two or more parties to have their individual interests aggregated. (2)(A) In determining under paragraph (1) of this subsection whether partition in kind would result in manifest prejudice to the cotenants as a group, the court shall consider the following: (i) Whether the heirs property practicably can be divided among the cotenants; (ii) Whether partition in kind would apportion the property in such a way that the aggregate fair market value of the parcels resulting from the division would be materially less than the value of the property if it were sold as a whole, taking into account the condition under which a court ordered sale likely would occur; (iii) Evidence of the collective duration of ownership or possession of the property by a cotenant and one or more predecessors in title or predecessors in possession to the cotenant who are or were relatives of the cotenant or each other; (iv) A cotenant's sentimental attachment to the property, including any attachment arising because the property has ancestral or other unique or special value to the cotenant; (v) The lawful use being made of the property by a cotenant and the degree to which the cotenant would be harmed if the cotenant could not continue the same use of the property; (iv) The degree to which the cotenants have contributed their pro rata share of the property taxes, insurance, and other expenses associated with maintaining ownership

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of the property or have contributed to the physical improvement, maintenance, or upkeep of the property; and (vii) Any other relevant factor. (B) The court shall not consider any one factor listed in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph to be dispositive without weighing the totality of all relevant factors and circumstances. (b) If the court does not order partition in kind under subsection (a) of this Code section, the court shall order partition by sale pursuant to Code Section 44-6-187 or, if no cotenant requested partition by sale, the court shall dismiss the action. (c) If the court orders partition in kind pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, the court may require that one or more cotenants pay one or more other cotenants amounts so that the payments, taken together with the value of the in-kind distributions to the cotenants, will make the partition in kind just and proportionate in value to the fractional interests held. (d) If the court orders partition in kind, the court shall allocate to the cotenants that are unknown, unlocatable, or the subject of a default judgment, if their interests were not bought out pursuant to Code Section 44-6-185, a part of the property representing the combined interests of these cotenants as determined by the court, and this portion of the property shall remain undivided.

44-6-187. (a) If the court orders an open-market sale of heirs property, the sale shall be an open-market sale unless the court finds that a sale by sealed bids or a public sale would be more economically advantageous and in the best interest of the cotenants as a group. (b) If the court orders an open-market sale and the parties, not later than ten days after the entry of the order, agree on a broker to offer the property for sale, the court shall appoint the broker and establish a reasonable commission. If the parties cannot agree on a broker, the court shall appoint a disinterested broker to offer the property for sale and shall establish a reasonable commission. The broker shall offer the property for sale in a commercially reasonable manner at a price no lower than the fair market value determined by the court under Code Section 44-6-184 or the valuation of the property agreed upon by the cotenants and on the terms and conditions established by the court. (c) If the broker appointed under subsection (b) of this Code section obtains within a reasonable time an offer to purchase the property for at least the fair market value determined by the court under Code Section 44-6-184 or the valuation of the property agreed upon by the cotenants:
(1) The broker shall comply with the reporting requirements in Code Section 44-6-188; and (2) The sale may be completed in accordance with state law other than this subpart. (d) If the broker appointed under subsection (b) of this Code section cannot obtain within a reasonable time an offer to purchase the property for at least the fair market value

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determined by the court under Code Section 44-6-184 or the valuation of the property agreed upon by the cotenants, the court, after hearing, shall:
(1) Approve the highest outstanding offer, if any; (2) Redetermine the value of the property and order that the property continue to be offered for an additional time; or (3) Order that the property be sold by sealed bids or at a public sale. (e) If the court orders a sale by sealed bids or a public sale, the court shall set terms and conditions of the sale. If the court orders a public sale, the public sale shall be conducted as a public sale in accordance with Code section 44-6-167. (f) If a purchaser is entitled to a share of the proceeds of the sale, the purchaser shall be entitled to a credit against the price in an amount equal to the purchaser's share of the proceeds.

44-6-188. (a) A broker appointed under subsection (b) of Code Section 44-6-187 to offer heirs property for open-market sale shall file a report with the court not later than seven days after receiving an offer to purchase the property for at least the value determined under Code Section 44-6-184 or 44-6-187. (b) The report required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall contain the following information:
(1) A description of the property to be sold to each buyer; (2) The name of each buyer; (3) The proposed purchase price; (4) The terms and conditions of the proposed sale, including the terms of any owner financing; (5) The amounts to be paid to lienholders; (6) A statement of contractual or other arrangements or conditions of the broker's commission; and (7) Other material facts relevant to the sale.

44-6-189. In applying and construing this subpart, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact the 'Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act.'

44-6-189.1. This subpart modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7003(b)."

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SECTION 3. Code Section 24-7-706 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to court appointed experts, is amended by revising the undesignated text as follows:
"Except as provided in Chapter 7 of Title 9 or Code Section 17-7-130.1, 17-10-66, 29-4-11, 29-5-11, 31-14-3, 31-20-3, 44-6-166.1, 44-6-184, or 44-6-187, the following procedures shall govern the appointment, compensation, and presentation of testimony of court appointed experts:"

SECTION 4. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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EVIDENCE REVISE SPOUSAL PRIVILEGES.

No. 586 (House Bill No. 711).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 5 of Title 24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to privileges, so as to change provisions relating to spousal privilege in criminal proceedings; to provide certain exceptions to the general rule of privilege; to provide for confidentiality of communications between a family violence or sexual assault victim and agents providing services to such victims at family violence shelters and rape crisis centers; to provide for definitions; to provide for a waiver of confidentiality; to provide for admissibility of certain evidence; to provide for exceptions; to provide for procedure; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 5 of Title 24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to privileges, is amended by revising Code Section 24-5-503, relating to husband and wife as witnesses for and against each other in criminal proceedings, as follows:

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"24-5-503. (a) A husband and wife shall be competent but shall not be compellable to give evidence in any criminal proceeding for or against each other. (b) The privilege created by subsection (a) of this Code section or by corresponding privileges in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 24-5-501 or subsection (a) of Code Section 24-5-505 shall not apply in proceedings in which:
(1) The husband or wife is charged with a crime against the person of a child under the age of 18, but such husband or wife shall be compellable to give evidence only on the specific act for which the accused is charged; (2) The husband or wife is charged with a crime against his or her spouse; (3) The husband or wife is charged with causing physical damage to property belonging to the husband and wife or to their separate property; or (4) The alleged crime against his or her current spouse occurred prior to the lawful marriage of the husband and wife."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"24-5-509. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Agent' means a current or former employee or volunteer of a program who has successfully completed a minimum of 20 hours of training in family violence and sexual assault intervention and prevention at a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council certified victim assistance program. (2) 'Family violence' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 19-13-1. (3) 'Family violence shelter' means a program whose primary purpose is to provide services to family violence victims and their families that is not under the direct supervision of a law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney's office, or a government agency. (4) 'Family violence victim' means a person who consults a family violence shelter for the purpose of securing advice or other services concerning an act of family violence, an alleged act of family violence, or an attempted act of family violence. (5) 'Government agency' means any agency of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of government or political subdivision or authority thereof of this state, any other state, the District of Columbia, the United States and its territories and possessions, or any foreign government or international governmental or quasi-governmental agency recognized by the United States or by any of the several states. (6) 'Negative effect of the disclosure of the evidence on the victim' shall include the impact of the disclosure on the relationship between the victim and the agent and the delivery and accessibility of services. (7) 'Program' means a family violence shelter or rape crisis center.

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(8) 'Rape crisis center' means a program whose primary purpose is to provide services to sexual assault victims and their families that is not under the direct supervision of a law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney's office, or a government agency. (9) 'Services' means any services provided to a victim by a program including but not limited to crisis hot lines, safe homes and shelters, assessment and intake, counseling, services for children who are victims of family violence or sexual assault, support in medical, administrative, and judicial systems, transportation, relocation, and crisis intervention. Such term shall not include mandatory reporting as required by Code Section 19-7-5 or 30-5-4. (10) 'Sexual assault' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 17-5-70. (11) 'Sexual assault victim' means a person who consults a rape crisis center for the purpose of securing advice or other services concerning a sexual assault, an alleged sexual assault, or an attempted sexual assault. (12) 'Victim' means a family violence victim or sexual assault victim. (b) No agent of a program shall be compelled to disclose any evidence in a judicial proceeding that the agent acquired while providing services to a victim, provided that such evidence was necessary to enable the agent to render services, unless the privilege has been waived by the victim or, upon motion by a party, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence at a pretrial hearing or hearing outside the presence of the jury that: (1) In a civil proceeding:
(A) The evidence sought is material and relevant to factual issues to be determined; (B) The evidence is not sought solely for the purpose of referring to the victim's character for truthfulness or untruthfulness; provided, however, that this subparagraph shall not apply to evidence of the victim's prior inconsistent statements; (C) The evidence sought is not available or already obtained by the party seeking disclosure; and (D) The probative value of the evidence sought substantially outweighs the negative effect of the disclosure of the evidence on the victim; or (2) In a criminal proceeding: (A) The evidence sought is material and relevant to the issue of guilt, degree of guilt, or sentencing for the offense charged or a lesser included offense; (B) The evidence is not sought solely for the purpose of referring to the victim's character for truthfulness or untruthfulness; provided, however, that this subparagraph shall not apply to evidence of the victim's prior inconsistent statements; (C) The evidence sought is not available or already obtained by the party seeking disclosure; and (D) The probative value of the evidence sought substantially outweighs the negative effect of the disclosure of the evidence on the victim. (c) If the court finds that the evidence sought may be subject to disclosure pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, the court shall order that such evidence be produced for the court under seal, shall examine the evidence in camera, and may allow disclosure

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of those portions of the evidence that the court finds are subject to disclosure under this Code section. (d) The privilege afforded under this Code section shall terminate upon the death of the victim. (e) The privilege granted by this Code section shall not apply if the agent was a witness or party to the family violence or sexual assault or other crime that occurred in the agent's presence. (f) The mere presence of a third person during communications between an agent and a victim shall not void the privilege granted by this Code section, provided that the communication occurred in a setting when or where the victim had a reasonable expectation of privacy. (g) If the victim is or has been judicially determined to be incompetent, the victim's guardian may waive the victim's privilege. (h) In criminal proceedings, if either party intends to compel evidence based on this Code section, the party shall file and serve notice of his or her intention on the opposing party at least ten days prior to trial, or as otherwise directed by the court. The court shall hold a pretrial hearing in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code section and determine the issue prior to trial."

SECTION 3. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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REVENUE AND TAXATION INCOME TAXES; EXCLUSION FOR CERTAIN INCOME OF CERTAIN DISABLED VETERANS.

No. 587 (House Bill No. 808).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 48-7-27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to computation of Georgia taxable net income, so as to provide for an exclusion applicable to certain income of certain disabled veterans; to provide an effective date; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 48-7-27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to computation of Georgia taxable net income, is amended in subsection (a) by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(12.1)(A) Disability income from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs received by a disabled veteran who is a citizen and resident of Georgia. (B) As used in this paragraph, the term 'disabled veteran' means any wartime veteran who was discharged under honorable conditions and who has been adjudicated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as being at least 90 percent totally and permanently disabled and entitled to receive service connected benefits and any veteran who is receiving or who is entitled to receive a statutory award from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for:
(i) Loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet; (ii) Loss or permanent loss of use of one or both hands; (iii) Loss of sight in one or both eyes; or (iv) Permanent impairment of vision of both eyes of the following status: Central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, with corrective glasses, or central visual acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a field defect in which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of visual field subtends on angular distance no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval and shall be applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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MOTOR VEHICLES PURPLE HEART LICENSE PLATES; INCLUDE CURRENTLY SERVING ARMED FORCES MEMBERS.

No. 588 (Senate Bill No. 473).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 40-2-84 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the issuance of license plates to veterans awarded Purple Hearts, so as to include persons still serving in the armed services; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 40-2-84 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the issuance of license plates to veterans awarded Purple Hearts, is amended by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)(1) Motor vehicle or motorcycle owners who are veterans of the armed forces of the United States who have been awarded the Purple Heart citation shall be eligible to receive a special and distinctive vehicle license plate for a private passenger car, motorcycle, or truck used for personal transportation, provided that the requisite number of applications is received by the commissioner as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section. Such license plate shall be issued in compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles as prescribed in Article 2 of this chapter. (2) For purposes of this Code section, the term 'veteran' shall include a member of the armed forces or reserves who is still serving on active duty after being awarded the Purple Heart citation."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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EDUCATION AUTOMATIC DECREASE IN SALARY OF TEACHER OR CERTIFICATED PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL FOR ANY SALARY INCREASE OR BONUS BASED ON FALSIFIED STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES.

No. 589 (House Bill No. 692).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to provide for the automatic decrease in the salary of a teacher or other certificated professional personnel for any salary increase or bonus provided based, in whole or in part, on the results of standardized test scores which were falsified or known or caused to be falsified by such teacher or professional; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 20-2-210, relating to annual performance evaluations of personnel employed by local education units for purposes of quality basic education, as follows:
"(c)(1) In making a determination of the academic gains of the students assigned to a teacher, evaluators should make every effort to have available and to utilize the results of a wide range of student achievement assessments, including those utilized by the teacher, set by the local board of education, or required under this article. It is recognized that in some instances a determination of the academic gains of the students assigned to a teacher is dependent upon student assessments which have not yet been administered at the time of the annual evaluation or, if they have been administered, the results of which are not yet available at the time of the annual evaluation. In such instances, the annual teacher evaluation shall be performed on the basis of information available at the time and shall be considered as the annual evaluation for the purposes of this article. As results of student assessments subsequently become available, an addendum to the annual evaluation shall be completed and become part of the teacher's cumulative evaluative record which may be used in a teacher's subsequent annual evaluations. (2) A teacher or other certificated professional personnel's salary increase or bonus that is based in whole or in part on an evaluation which included student assessment results, standardized test scores, or standardized test answers that were falsified by such teacher

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or professional or known or caused by such teacher or professional to have been falsified shall be automatically forfeited. A teacher or other certificated professional personnel shall forfeit his or her right or interest in such salary increase or bonus and shall be liable for the repayment of any and all amounts previously paid to him or her based, in whole or in part, on the results of falsified student assessment results, falsified standardized test scores, or falsified standardized test answers."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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COMMERCE AND TRADE CRIMES AND OFFENSES MOTOR VEHICLES SECONDARY METALS RECYCLERS; COMPREHENSIVE REVISION.

No. 590 (House Bill No. 872).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to selling and other trade practices, so as to provide for the comprehensive revision of provisions regarding secondary metals recyclers; to provide for definitions, procedures, conditions, limitations, and prohibitions relating to the buying and selling of regulated metal property; to provide that secondary metals recyclers shall only purchase coil and certain copper wire from certain persons; to provide that secondary metals recyclers shall only purchase burial objects from certain persons; to change certain provisions relating to records secondary metals recyclers are to required to maintain and provide to law enforcement; to change certain provisions relating to inspections by law enforcement officers; to change certain provisions relating to payment by secondary metals recyclers for regulated metal property; to provide for powers, duties, and authority of sheriffs and other law enforcement officers; to provide for registration and fees; to provide for certain data bases to be created and maintained and certain forms and rules and regulation to be promulgated therefor; to provide for criminal offenses and penalties; to provide for forfeiture of certain property and

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procedure therefor; to provide for local regulation of the sale and purchase of regulated metal property; to amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to theft, so as to make certain changes for purposes of conformity; to amend Code Section 40-3-36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to cancellation of certificate of title for scrap, dismantled, or demolished vehicles, salvage certificate of title, administrative enforcement, and removal of license plates, so as to revise certain provisions relating to the use of a form to transfer title to a motor vehicle to be sold or disposed of as scrap metal or parts; to provide for verification that a vehicle is not subject to any secured interest or lien; to provide for additional changes to said Code section, relating to the use of a form to transfer title to a motor vehicle to be sold or disposed of as scrap metal or parts and verification that a vehicle is not subject to any secured interest or lien, subject to a contingency; to provide for definitions; to amend Code Section 40-3-56 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to satisfaction of security interests and liens, so as to change certain provisions relating to the release of security interests and liens; to provide for related matters; to provide effective dates and contingencies; to provide for applicability; to amend an Act approved May 11, 2011 (Ga. L. 2011, p. 355), relating to drivers' licenses, so as to revise effective dates and a funding contigency; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1.

Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to selling and other trade practices, is amended by revising Article 14, relating to secondary metals recyclers, to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 14

10-1-350. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Aluminum property' means aluminum forms designed to shape concrete. (2) 'Burial object' means any product manufactured for or used for identifying or permanently decorating a grave site, including, without limitation, monuments, markers, benches, and vases and any base or foundation on which they rest or are mounted. (3) 'Coil' means any copper, aluminum, or aluminum-copper condensing coil or evaporation coil including its tubing or rods. The term shall not include coil from a window air-conditioning system, if contained within the system itself, or coil from an automobile condenser.

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(4) 'Copper property' means any copper wire, copper tubing, copper pipe, or any item composed completely of copper. (5) 'Deliverer' means any individual who takes or transports the regulated metal property to the secondary metals recycler. (6) 'Ferrous metals' means any metals containing significant quantities of iron or steel. (7) 'Law enforcement officer' means any duly constituted peace officer of the State of Georgia or of any county, municipality, or political subdivision thereof. (8) 'Nonferrous metals' means stainless steel beer kegs and metals not containing significant quantities of iron or steel, including, without limitation, copper, brass, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, nickel, and alloys thereof. (9) 'Person' means an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, trust, association, or any other legal entity. (10) 'Personal identification card' means a current and unexpired driver's license or identification card issued by the Department of Driver Services or a similar card issued by another state, a military identification card, or a current work authorization issued by the federal government, which shall contain the individual's name, address, and photograph. (11) 'Purchase transaction' means a transaction in which the secondary metals recycler gives consideration in exchange for regulated metal property. (12) 'Regulated metal property' means any item composed primarily of any ferrous metals or nonferrous metals and includes aluminum property, copper property, and catalytic converters but shall not include batteries, aluminum beverage containers, used beverage containers, or similar beverage containers. (13) 'Secondary metals recycler' means any person who is engaged, from a fixed location or otherwise, in the business in this state of paying compensation for regulated metal property that has served its original economic purpose, whether or not engaged in the business of performing the manufacturing process by which regulated metal property is converted into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value. (14) 'Seller' means the rightful owner of the regulated metal property or the individual authorized by the rightful owner of the regulated metal property to conduct the purchase transaction.

10-1-351. (a) No secondary metals recycler shall purchase any coil unless it is purchased from:
(1) A contractor licensed pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 43 who provides a copy of his or her valid license at the time of sale that is scanned or photocopied by the secondary metals recycler or whose scanned or photocopied license is on file with the secondary metals recycler; (2) A seller with verifiable documentation, such as a receipt or work order, indicating that the coils are the result of a replacement of condenser coils or a heating or

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air-conditioning system performed by a contractor licensed pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 43; or (3) A secondary metals recycler who provides the documentation required in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection received from a contractor or seller. (b) No secondary metals recycler shall purchase any copper wire which appears to have been exposed to heat, charred, or burned in an attempt to remove insulation surrounding it unless it is purchased from: (1) A contractor licensed pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 43 who provides a copy of his or her valid license at the time of sale that is scanned or photocopied by the secondary metals recycler or whose scanned or photocopied license is on file with the secondary metals recycler; (2) A seller with a copy of a police report showing that such seller's real property was involved in a fire; or (3) A secondary metals recycler who provides the documentation required in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection received from a contractor or seller.

10-1-352. No secondary metals recycler shall purchase a burial object unless it is purchased from:
(1) A funeral director licensed under the provisions of Chapter 18 of Title 43 or by another state who provides a copy of his or her valid license at the time of sale that is scanned or photocopied by the secondary metals recycler or whose scanned or photocopied license is on file with the secondary metals recycler; (2) A cemetery owner registered pursuant to Code Section 10-14-4 or with another state who provides a copy of his or her valid registration at the time of sale that is scanned or photocopied by the secondary metals recycler or whose scanned or photocopied registration is on file with the secondary metals recycler; (3) A manufacturer or distributor of burial objects who provides a copy of his or her valid business license at the time of sale that is scanned or photocopied by the secondary metals recycler and a letter from the owner or operator of the manufacturing or distributing business expressly recognizing the seller as an employee or authorized agent of the manufacturer or distributor or whose scanned or photocopied business license and letter are on file with the secondary metals recycler; (4) A seller with verifiable documentation, such as a receipt from or contract with a licensed funeral director, registered cemetery owner, or manufacturer or distributor of burial objects, evidencing that such person is the rightful owner of the burial object; or (5) A secondary metals recycler who provides the documentation required in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this Code section received from a funeral director, cemetery owner, manufacturer or distributor of burial objects, or a seller.

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10-1-353. (a) A secondary metals recycler shall maintain a legible record of all purchase transactions. Such record shall include the following information:
(1) The name and address of the secondary metals recycler; (2) The date of the transaction; (3) The weight, quantity, or volume and a description of the type of regulated metal property purchased in a purchase transaction. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'type of regulated metal property' shall include a general physical description, such as wire, tubing, extrusions, or castings; (4) A digital photograph or photographs or a digital video image or images of the regulated metal property which shows the regulated metal property in a reasonably clear manner; (5) The amount of consideration given in a purchase transaction for the regulated metal property and a copy of the check or voucher or documentation evidencing the electronic funds transfer given as consideration for such purchase transaction; (6) A signed and sworn affidavit from the seller stating that such person is the rightful owner of the regulated metal property or has been authorized to sell the regulated metal property being sold; (7) A signed and sworn affidavit from the seller stating that he or she understands that: 'A secondary metals recycler is any person who is engaged, from a fixed location or otherwise, in the business in this state of paying compensation for regulated metal property that has served its original economic purpose, whether or not engaged in the business of performing the manufacturing process by which regulated metal property is converted into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value. No ferrous metals, nonferrous metals, aluminum property, copper property, or catalytic converters (batteries, aluminum beverage containers, used beverage containers, or similar beverage containers are exempt) may be purchased by a secondary metals recycler unless such secondary metals recycler is a holder of a valid permit issued pursuant to Article 14 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated'; (8) A scanned or photocopied copy of a valid personal identification card of the seller and the deliverer, if such person is different from the seller; (9) A photograph, videotape, or digital recording depicting a recognizable facial image of the seller and the deliverer, if such person is different from the seller, employing technology allowing the image to be retained in electronic storage and in a transferable format; (10) The distinctive number from, and type of, the personal identification card of the seller and the deliverer, if such person is different from the seller; (11) The vehicle license tag number or vehicle identification number, state of issue, and the type of vehicle, if available, used to deliver the regulated metal property to the

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secondary metals recycler. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'type of vehicle' shall mean an automobile, pickup truck, van, or truck; and (12) A scanned or photocopied copy of the verifiable documentation, reports, licenses, and registrations, required pursuant to Code Sections 10-1-351 and 10-1-352. (b) A secondary metals recycler shall maintain or cause to be maintained the information required by subsection (a) of this Code section for not less than two years from the date of the purchase transaction. (c) When the metal being purchased is a motor vehicle, the seller shall either provide the title to such motor vehicle or fully execute a statement on a form as promulgated by the Department of Revenue in accordance with Code Section 40-3-36. The secondary metals recycler shall forward the title or form to the Department of Revenue within 72 hours of receipt of the title or form. (d) It shall be unlawful to make a false statement in executing the affidavit required by either paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection (a) of this Code section, and the making of a false statement shall be punishable as an act of false swearing under Code Section 16-10-71.

10-1-354. During the usual and customary business hours of a secondary metals recycler, a law enforcement officer shall, after properly identifying himself or herself as a law enforcement officer, have the right to inspect:
(1) Any and all regulated metal property in the possession of the secondary metals recycler; and (2) Any and all records required to be maintained under Code Section 10-1-353.

10-1-355. (a) A secondary metals recycler shall pay only by check, electronic funds transfer, or voucher for regulated metal property. (b) Any check, electronic funds transfer, or voucher shall be payable only to the person recorded as the seller of the regulated metal property to the secondary metals recycler. (c) Any voucher shall be provided to the seller at the time of the purchase transaction or mailed to the seller at the address indicated on the personal identification card of the seller presented at the time of such transaction. If the voucher is provided to the seller at the time of the purchase transaction and not mailed to the seller, the secondary metals recycler shall not redeem the voucher for three days from the date of the purchase transaction. The voucher shall include the date of purchase, name of the seller, the amount paid for the regulated metal property, a detailed description of the regulated metal property purchased, information as to whether the voucher was mailed or provided at the time of the purchase transaction, the first date on which the voucher may be redeemed, and the date on which the voucher expires. The voucher may only be redeemed for cash by the person whose name appears on the voucher as the seller or by such person's heirs or legal representative. If a voucher is not redeemed by the person whose name appears on the voucher as the seller

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or by such person's heirs or legal representative within six months of the date of the transaction, the voucher shall expire and the secondary metals recycler shall not be required to honor the voucher after the expiration date. (d) A secondary metals recycler shall be prohibited from: (1) redeeming or cashing any check or electronic funds transfer paid to a seller for regulated metal property; and (2) providing or permitting any mechanism on the premises of the secondary metals recycler for the redemption or cashing of any check or electronic funds transfer. (e) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to any transaction between business entities.

10-1-356. (a) Whenever a law enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe that any item of regulated metal property in the possession of a secondary metals recycler has been stolen, the law enforcement officer may issue a hold notice to the secondary metals recycler. The hold notice shall be in writing, shall be delivered to the secondary metals recycler, shall specifically identify those items of regulated metal property that are believed to have been stolen and that are subject to the notice, and shall inform the secondary metals recycler of the information contained in this Code section. Upon receipt of the notice issued in accordance with this Code section, the secondary metals recycler receiving the notice shall not process or remove the items of regulated metal property identified in the notice, or any portion thereof, from the premises of or place of business of the secondary metals recycler for 15 calendar days after receipt of the notice by the secondary metals recycler, unless sooner released by a law enforcement officer. (b) No later than the expiration of the 15 day period, a law enforcement officer may issue a second hold notice to the secondary metals recycler, which shall be an extended hold notice. The extended hold notice shall be in writing, shall be delivered to the secondary metals recycler, shall specifically identify those items of regulated metal property that are believed to have been stolen and that are subject to the extended hold notice, and shall inform the secondary metals recycler of the information contained in this Code section. Upon receipt of the extended hold notice issued in accordance with this Code section, the secondary metals recycler receiving the extended hold notice shall not process or remove the items of regulated metal property identified in the notice, or any portion thereof, from the premises of or place of business of the secondary metals recycler for 30 calendar days after receipt of the extended hold notice by the secondary metals recycler, unless sooner released by a law enforcement officer. (c) At the expiration of the hold period or, if extended in accordance with this Code section, at the expiration of the extended hold period, the hold is automatically released and the secondary metals recycler may dispose of the regulated metal property unless other disposition has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

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10-1-357. (a) If the secondary metals recycler contests the identification or ownership of the regulated metal property, the party other than the secondary metals recycler claiming ownership of any regulated metal property in the possession of a secondary metals recycler may, provided that a timely report of the theft of the regulated metal property was made to the proper authorities, bring an action in the superior or state court of the county in which the secondary metals recycler is located. The petition for such action shall include a description of the means of identification of the regulated metal property utilized by the petitioner to determine ownership of the regulated metal property in the possession of the secondary metals recycler. (b) When a lawful owner recovers stolen regulated metal property from a secondary metals recycler who has complied with the provisions of this article, and the seller or deliverer is convicted of theft by taking, theft by conversion, a violation of this article, theft by receiving stolen property, or criminal damage to property in the first degree, the court shall order the defendant to make full restitution, including, without limitation, attorneys' fees, court costs, and other expenses to the secondary metals recycler or lawful owner, as appropriate.

10-1-358. This article shall not apply to purchases of regulated metal property from:
(1) Organizations, corporations, or associations registered with the state as charitable, philanthropic, religious, fraternal, civic, patriotic, social, or school-sponsored organizations or associations or from any nonprofit corporations or associations; (2) A law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity; (3) A trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator, or receiver who has presented proof of such status to the secondary metals recycler; (4) Any public official acting under judicial process or authority who has presented proof of such status to the secondary metals recycler; (5) A sale on the execution, or by virtue, of any process issued by a court if proof thereof has been presented to the secondary metals recycler; or (6) A manufacturing, industrial, or other commercial vendor that generates or sells regulated metal property in the ordinary course of its business, provided that such vendor is not a secondary metals recycler.

10-1-359. It shall be unlawful for:
(1) A secondary metals recycler to engage in the purchase or sale of regulated metal property between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M.; and (2) Any person to give a false or altered personal identification card, vehicle license tag number, or vehicle identification number to a secondary metals recycler as part of a purchase transaction.

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10-1-360. (a) It shall be unlawful for any secondary metals recycler to purchase regulated metal property in any amount without being registered pursuant to this Code section. If the secondary metals recycler is a person other than an individual, such person shall register with the sheriff of each county in which the secondary metals recycler maintains a place of business. If the secondary metals recycler is an individual, he or she shall register with the sheriff of the county in which he or she resides or if such individual is a nonresident of this state, he or she shall register with the sheriff of the county in Georgia where he or she primarily engages or intends to primarily engage in business as a secondary metals recycler. The secondary metals recycler shall declare on a form promulgated by the Secretary of State and provided by the sheriff that such secondary metals recycler is informed of and will comply with the provisions of this article. The forms and information required for such registration shall be promulgated by the Secretary of State. The sheriff shall register the secondary metals recycler and shall keep a record of each registration. Each registration shall be valid for a 12 month period. (b) The record of each registration shall be entered into an electronic data base accessible statewide. Such data base shall be established through coordination with the Secretary of State and shall be searchable by all law enforcement agencies in this state. (c) The sheriff shall be authorized to:
(1) Assess and require payment of a reasonable registration fee prior to registering the secondary metals recycler, not to exceed $200.00; (2) Delegate to personnel in the sheriff's office the registration of secondary metals recyclers and entering into the data base of the records of such registrations; and (3) Enter into contracts with the governing authority of a county, municipality, or consolidated government for such governing authority to provide for the registration of secondary metals recyclers and the entering into the data base of the records of such registrations by other law enforcement agencies or by staff of the governing authority. Any such contract shall provide for reimbursement to such governing authority for the registrations or entry of the records of such registrations into the data base. (d) Any secondary metals recycler convicted of violating this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

10-1-361. (a) Except as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 10-1-360, any person who buys or sells regulated metal property in violation of any provision of this article:
(1) For a first offense, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; (2) For a second offense, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature; and (3) For a third or subsequent offense, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years.

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(b) Any person who buys or sells regulated metal property in violation of any provision of this article shall be liable in a civil action to any person who was the victim of a crime involving such regulated metal property for the full value of the regulated metal property, any repairs and related expenses incurred as a result of such crime, litigation expenses, and reasonable attorneys' fees.

10-1-362. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Crime' means: (A) Theft by taking in violation of Code Section 16-8-2, theft by conversion in violation of Code Section 16-8-4, or theft by receiving stolen property in violation of Code Section 16-8-7 if the subject of the theft was regulated metal property; (B) Criminal damage to property in the first degree in violation of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 16-7-22; or (C) A criminal violation of this article.
(2) 'Proceeds' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 16-13-49. (3) 'Property' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 16-13-49. (b) The following are declared to be contraband, and no person shall have a property right in them: (1) Any property which is, directly or indirectly, used or intended for use in any manner to facilitate a crime and any proceeds derived or realized therefrom; and (2) Any weapon possessed, used, or available for use in any manner to facilitate a crime. (c) Any property subject to forfeiture pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be forfeited in accordance with the procedures set forth in Code Section 16-13-49.

10-1-363. (a) The General Assembly finds that this article is a matter of state-wide concern. This article supersedes and preempts all rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, and other laws adopted by any county, municipality, consolidated government, or other local governmental agency regarding the sale or purchase of regulated metal property except as allowed in this Code section. (b) Political subdivisions of this state may enact rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, and other laws:
(1) Affecting the land use and zoning relating to secondary metals recyclers; and (2) Issuing occupational tax certificates to secondary metals recyclers, imposing occupational taxes, imposing regulatory fees as allowed in Code Section 48-13-9, or revoking their occupational tax certificates."

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SECTION 1-2. Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to theft, is amended by revising paragraph (9) of subsection (a) of Code Section 16-8-12, relating to penalties for violation of Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9, as follows:
"(9) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection, if the property of the theft was regulated metal property, as such term is defined in Code Section 10-1-350, and the sum of the aggregate amount of such property, in its original and undamaged condition, plus any reasonable costs which are or would be incurred in the repair or the attempt to recover any property damaged in the theft or removal of such regulated metal property, exceeds $500.00, by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both."

SECTION 1-3. Code Section 40-3-36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to cancellation of certificate of title for scrap, dismantled, or demolished vehicles, salvage certificate of title, administrative enforcement, and removal of license plates, is amended by revising paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, if the owner or authorized agent of the owner has not obtained a title in his or her name for the vehicle to be transferred, or has lost the title for the vehicle to be transferred, he or she may sign a statement swearing that, in addition to the foregoing conditions, the vehicle is worth $850.00 or less and is at least 12 model years old. The statement described in this paragraph may be used only to transfer such a vehicle to a licensed used motor vehicle parts dealer under Code Section 43-47-7 or scrap metal processor under Code Section 43-43-1. The department shall promulgate a form for the statement which shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) A statement that the vehicle shall never be titled again; it must be dismantled or scrapped; (B) A description of the vehicle including the year, make, model, vehicle identification number, and color; (C) The name, address, and driver's license number of the owner; (D) A certification that the owner:
(i) Never obtained a title to the vehicle in his or her name; or (ii) Was issued a title for the vehicle, but the title was lost or stolen; (E) A certification that the vehicle: (i) Is worth $850.00 or less; (ii) Is at least 12 model years old; and (iii) Is not subject to any secured interest or lien; (F) An acknowledgment that the owner realizes this form will be filed with the department and that it is a felony, punishable by imprisonment for not fewer than one

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nor more than three years or a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or both, to knowingly falsify any information on this statement; (G) The owner's signature and the date of the transaction; (H) The name, address, and National Motor Vehicle Title Information System identification number of the business acquiring the vehicle; (I) A certification by the business that $850.00 or less was paid to acquire the vehicle; (J) A certification that the business has verified by an on-line method determined by the commissioner that the vehicle is not currently subject to any secured interest or lien; provided, however, that such certification shall not be required until such an on-line method has been established and is available; and (K) The business agent's signature and date along with a printed name and title if the agent is signing on behalf of a corporation. (3)(A) The secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor shall mail or otherwise deliver the statement required under paragraph (2) of this subsection to the department within 72 hours of the completion of the transaction, requesting that the department cancel the Georgia certificate of title and registration. (B) Notwithstanding the requirement to mail or otherwise deliver the statement required under paragraph (2) of this subsection to the department, the department shall provide a mechanism for the receipt of the information required to be obtained in the statement by electronic means, at no cost to the secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor, in lieu of the physical delivery of the statement, in which case the secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor shall maintain the original statement for a period of not less than two years. (C) Within 48 hours of each day's close of business, the secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor who purchases or receives motor vehicles for scrap or for parts shall deliver in a format approved by the department, either by facsimile or by other electronic means to be made available by the department by January 1, 2012, a list of all such vehicles purchased that day for scrap or for parts. That list shall contain the following information:
(i) The name, address, and contact information for the reporting entity; (ii) The vehicle identification numbers of such vehicles; (iii) The dates such vehicles were obtained; (iv) The names of the individuals or entities from whom the vehicles were obtained, for use by law enforcement personnel and appropriate governmental agencies only; (v) A statement of whether the vehicles were, or will be, crushed or disposed of, or offered for sale or other purposes; (vi) A statement of whether the vehicle is intended for export out of the United States; and (vii) The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System identification number of the business acquiring the vehicle.

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There shall be no charge to a secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor associated with providing this information to the department. (D) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'motor vehicle' shall not include a vehicle which has been crushed or flattened by mechanical means such that it is no longer the motor vehicle as described by the certificate of title, or such that the vehicle identification number is no longer visible or accessible, in which case the purchasing or receiving secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor shall verify that the seller has reported the vehicles in accordance with this subsection. Such verification may be in the form of a certification from the seller or contract between the seller and the purchasing or receiving secondary metals recycler, used motor vehicle parts dealer, or scrap metal processor which clearly identifies the seller by a government issued photograph identification card, or employer identification number, and shall be maintained for a period of not less than two years. (E) The information obtained by the department in accordance with this subsection shall be reported to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, in a format which will satisfy the requirement for reporting this information, in accordance with rules adopted by the United States Department of Justice in 28 C.F.R. 25.56. (F) The information obtained by the department in accordance with this subsection shall be made available only to law enforcement agencies, and for purposes of canceling certificates of title, and shall otherwise be considered to be confidential business information of the respective reporting entities. (G) All records required under the provisions of this Code section shall be maintained for a period of two years by the reporting entity and shall include a scanned or photocopied copy of the seller's or seller's representative's driver's license or state issued identification card."

SECTION 1-4. Said Code section is further amended by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(j) As used in this Code section, the terms: (1) 'Scrap metal processor' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 43-43-1. (2) 'Secondary metals recycler' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 10-1-350. (3) 'Used motor vehicle parts dealer' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 43-47-2."

SECTION 1-5. Code Section 40-3-56 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to satisfaction of security interests and liens, is amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (a) and revising subsection (c) as follows:

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"(a)(1) If any security interest or lien listed on a certificate of title is satisfied, the holder thereof shall, within ten days, execute a release in the form the commissioner prescribes and mail or deliver the release to the commissioner and the owner, provided that as an alternative to a handwritten signature, the commissioner may authorize use of a digital signature as long as appropriate security measures are implemented which assure security and verification of the digital signature process, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner. For the purposes of the release of a security interest or lien the 'holder' of the lien or security interest is the parent bank or other lending institution and any branch or office of the parent institution may execute such release." "(c) Except for liens and security interests listed on certificates of title for mobile homes, cranes, or vehicles which weigh more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, which shall be satisfied only in conformity with subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section, any lien or security interest for a vehicle which is 11 model years old or less shall be considered satisfied and release shall not be required after ten years from the date of issuance of a title on which such lien or security interest is listed. For a vehicle which is 12 model years old and greater, any lien or security interest shall be considered satisfied and a release shall not be required after four years from the date of issuance of a title on which such lien or security interest is listed. None of the provisions of this Code section shall preclude the perfection of a new lien or security agreement, or the perfection of an extension of a lien or security agreement beyond a period of ten years for a vehicle which is 11 model years old or less or beyond a period of more than four years for a vehicle which is 12 model years old or greater, by application for a new certificate of title on which such lien or security agreement is listed. In order to provide for the continuous perfection of a lien or security interest originally entered into for a period of more than ten years for a vehicle which is 11 model years old or less or more than four years for a vehicle which is 12 model years old and greater, other than a mobile home, crane, or vehicle which weighs more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, an application for a second title on which the lien or security interest is listed must be submitted to the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized tag agent before ten years from the date of the original title on which such lien or security interest is listed. Otherwise the lien or security interest shall be perfected as of the date of receipt of the application by the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent."

PART II SECTION 2-1.

Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to selling and other trade practices, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"10-1-360.1. (a) Each secondary metals recycler shall provide all of the information required by subsection (a) of Code Section 10-1-353 for each transaction, except for the amount of

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consideration given in a purchase transaction for the regulated metal property specified in paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of such Code section, to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. (b) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall establish and maintain a data base of all information required to be provided pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section. Such data base shall be accessible and searchable by all law enforcement agencies in this state. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall promulgate rules and regulations and establish procedures necessary to carry into effect, implement, and enforce the provisions of this Code section. Such rules and regulations shall include, but shall not be limited to, the time, manner, and method of the transmittal of the information by the secondary metals recyclers to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation."

PART IV SECTION 4-1.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to all offenses committed on or after such date. (b) Part II of this Act shall become effective only upon the effective date of a specific appropriation of funds for the purposes of this Act as expressed in a line item making specific reference to such funds in a General Appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly.

SECTION 4-2. (1) An Act approved May 11, 2011 (Ga. L. 2011, p. 355) is amended by revising Section 21 as follows:

"SECTION 21. (a) Sections 1 through 22 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2012. (b) Section .2 of this Act shall become effective only upon the effective date of a specific appropriation of funds for the purposes of Section .2 of this Act as expressed in a line item making specific reference to the full funding of Section .2 of this Act in an appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly. (c)(1) Paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-3-36, as amended in Section .1 of this Act, shall become effective on January 1, 2012. (2) All other provisions of Section .1 shall become effective on July 1, 2012."

SECTION 4-3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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EQUITY SOCIAL SERVICES ENACT GEORGIA TAXPAYER PROTECTION FALSE CLAIMS ACT; REVISE STATE FALSE MEDICAID CLAIMS ACT.

No. 591 (House Bill No. 822).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 3 of Title 23 and Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to equitable remedies and proceedings generally and public assistance, respectively, so as to comprehensively address the submission of false claims to the state, the Georgia Medicaid program, and local governments; to enact the "Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act"; to provide for a short title; to provide for definitions; to provide for liability to this state for certain false claims; to provide for civil actions for false claims submitted to this state or to local governments; to provide for exclusions for certain civil actions; to provide for procedure; to provide for burden of proof; to provide for statute of limitations; to provide for venue; to provide for civil investigative demands; to provide for remedies under other laws; to provide for severability; to provide for construction; to substantially revise the "State False Medicaid Claims Act"; to change and provide for definitions; to change the elements of false or fraudulent Medicaid claims; to redirect proceeds from the Indigent Care Trust Fund to the Georgia Department of Community Health; to provide for the Attorney General to intervene in a civil action; to repeal provisions relating to employee discrimination or harassment by an employer while an employee pursues a civil action under the "State False Medicaid Claims Act" and provide for remedies for such conduct and other conduct involving employees, contractors, and agents; to change and create provisions relating to the statute of limitations; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1.

Part I of this Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act."

SECTION 1-2. Chapter 3 of Title 23 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to equitable remedies and proceedings generally, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:

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"ARTICLE 6

23-3-120. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Claim' means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property, and whether or not this state or a local government has title to such money or property that is:
(A) Presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the state or local government; (B) Made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money or property is to be spent or used on the state's or local government's behalf or to advance a state or local government program or interest, and if the state or local government:
(i) Provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; or (ii) Will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded. Such term shall not include requests or demands for money or property that the state or local government has paid to an individual as compensation for state or local government employment or as an income subsidy with no restrictions on that individual's use of the money or property. (2) 'Knowing' and 'knowingly' mean that a person, with respect to information: (A) Has actual knowledge of the information; (B) Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or (C) Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information. No proof of specific intent to defraud is required. (3) 'Local government' means any Georgia county, municipal corporation, consolidated government, authority, board of education or other local public board, body, or commission, town, school district, board of cooperative educational services, local public benefit corporation, hospital authority, taxing authority, or other political subdivision of the state or of such local government, including MARTA. (4) 'Material' means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property. (5) 'Obligation' means an established duty, whether fixed or not, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee based or similar relationship, from law or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment. (6) 'State' means the State of Georgia and any state department, board, bureau, division, commission, committee, public benefit corporation, public authority, council, office, or other governmental entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for this state.

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23-3-121. (a) Any person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity that:
(1) Knowingly presents or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval; (2) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim; (3) Conspires to commit a violation of paragraph (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of this subsection; (4) Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the state or local government and knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, less than all of that money or property; (5) Being authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used, or to be used, by the state or local government and, intending to defraud the state or local government, makes or delivers the receipt without completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true; (6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from an officer or employee of the state or local government who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property; or (7) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state or local government, or knowingly conceals, knowingly and improperly avoids, or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state or a local government shall be liable to the State of Georgia for a civil penalty of not less than $5,500.00 and not more than $11,000.00 for each false or fraudulent claim, plus three times the amount of damages which the state or local government sustains because of the act of such person. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section notwithstanding, if the court finds that: (1) The person committing the violation of this subsection furnished officials of the state or local government responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to such person about the violation within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first obtained the information; (2) Such person fully cooperated with any government investigation of such violation; and (3) At the time such person furnished the state or local government with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced under this article with respect to such violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into such violation, the court may assess not more than two times the amount of the actual damages which the state or local government sustained because of the act of such person. (c) A person violating any provision of this Code section shall also be liable to the state or local government for all costs, reasonable expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees

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incurred by the state or local government in prosecuting a civil action brought to recover the damages and penalties provided under this article. (d) Any information furnished pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be exempt from disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. (e) This Code section shall not apply to claims, records, or statements made concerning taxes under the revenue laws of this state.

23-3-122. (a) The Attorney General shall be authorized to investigate suspected, alleged, and reported violations of this article. If the Attorney General finds that a person has violated or is violating this article, then the Attorney General may bring a civil action against such person under this article. The Attorney General may delegate authority to a district attorney or other appropriate official of a local government to investigate violations that may have resulted in damages to such local government under Code Section 23-3-121 and may delegate to the local government the authority to bring a civil action on its own behalf, or on behalf of any subdivision of such local government, to recover damages sustained by such local government as a result of such violations, as well as all multiple damages, costs, expenses, attorney's fees, and civil penalties available under Code Section 23-3-121. The Attorney General may delegate to a district attorney or local government the authority to pursue an action brought by a private person under subsection (b) of this Code section. Notwithstanding any such delegation of authority, the Attorney General shall retain the authority to continue or discontinue the prosecution of any such action and to withdraw any such authority previously delegated to a district attorney or local government.
(b)(1) Subject to the exclusions set forth in this Code section, a civil action under this article may also be brought by a private person upon written approval by the Attorney General. A civil action shall be brought in the name of the State of Georgia or local government, as applicable. The civil action may be dismissed only if the Attorney General gives written consent to the dismissal stating the reasons for consenting to such dismissal and the court enters an order approving the dismissal. (2) A copy of the complaint and written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information the person possesses shall be served on the Attorney General by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. The complaint shall be filed in camera and under seal, shall remain under seal for at least 60 days, and shall not be served on the defendant until the court so orders. The state or, if delegated the authority by the Attorney General, local government may elect to intervene and proceed with the action within 60 days after the Attorney General receives both the complaint and the material evidence and information. (3) The state or, if delegated the authority by the Attorney General, the local government may, for good cause shown, move the court for extensions of the time during which the complaint remains under seal under paragraph (2) of this subsection. Any such motions may be supported by affidavits or other submissions in camera. The defendant shall not

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be required to respond to any complaint filed under this Code section until 30 days after the complaint is unsealed and served upon the defendant. (4) Before the expiration of the 60 day period or any extensions obtained under paragraph (3) of this subsection, the state or local government shall:
(A) Proceed with the civil action, in which case the civil action shall be conducted by the state or local government; or (B) Notify the court that it declines to take over the civil action, in which case the person bringing the civil action shall have the right to proceed with the civil action. (5) When a person brings a civil action under this subsection, no person other than the state or, if delegated the authority by the Attorney General, the local government may intervene or bring a related civil action based on the facts underlying the pending civil action. (6) Any evidence and information provided to the Attorney General or his or her designee, including any district attorney or local government, by a private person in connection with an action under this Code section shall not constitute public records and shall be exempt from disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. Any such evidence also shall be protected by the common interest privilege and work product doctrine. To effectuate the law enforcement purposes of this article in combating fraud and false claims directed at the public's funds, it is the public policy of this state that private persons be authorized to take actions to provide to the Attorney General or local government such information and evidence. (c)(1) If the state or local government elects to intervene and proceeds with the civil action, it shall have the primary responsibility for prosecuting the civil action and shall not be bound by an act of the person bringing such civil action. Such person shall have the right to continue as a party to the civil action, subject to the limitations set forth in this subsection. (2) If the Attorney General has consented to a dismissal or elected not to proceed with a civil action, a local government may dismiss the civil action, notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the civil action, if the person has been notified by the local government of the filing of the motion and the court has provided the person with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion. (3) The state or local government may settle the civil action with the defendant, notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the civil action, if the court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, such hearing may be held in camera. (4) Upon a showing by the state or local government that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the civil action would interfere with or unduly delay the state or local government's litigation of the case, or would be repetitious, irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, the court may, in its discretion, impose limitations on the person's participation, such as:

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(A) Limiting the number of witnesses the person may call; (B) Limiting the length of the testimony of such witnesses; (C) Limiting the person's cross-examination of witnesses; or (D) Otherwise limiting the participation of the person in the litigation. (d) Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the civil action would be for purposes of harassment or would cause the defendant undue burden or unnecessary expense, the court may limit the participation of the person in the litigation. (e) If the state or local government elects not to proceed with the civil action, the person who initiated the civil action shall have the right to conduct the civil action. If the state or local government so requests, it shall be served with copies of all pleadings filed in the civil action and shall be supplied, without cost, with copies of all deposition transcripts. When a person proceeds with the civil action, the court may nevertheless permit the state or local government to intervene at a later date upon a showing of good cause. (f) Whether or not the state or local government proceeds with the civil action, upon a showing by the state or local government that certain actions of discovery by the person initiating the civil action would interfere with the state or local government's investigation or prosecution of a criminal or civil matter arising out of the same facts, the court may stay such discovery for a period of not more than 60 days. Such a showing shall be conducted in camera. The court may extend the 60 day period upon a further showing in camera that the state or local government has pursued the criminal or civil investigation or proceedings with reasonable diligence, and any proposed discovery in the civil action will interfere with the ongoing criminal or civil investigation or proceedings. (g) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this Code section, the state or local government may elect to pursue its claim through any alternate remedy available to the state or local government, including any administrative proceeding to determine a civil money penalty. If any such alternate remedy is pursued in another proceeding, the person initiating the civil action shall have the same rights in such proceeding as such person would have had if the civil action had continued under this Code section. Any finding of fact or conclusion of law made in such other proceeding that becomes final shall be conclusive on all parties to a civil action under this Code section. For purposes of this subsection, a finding or conclusion shall be deemed final if it has been finally determined on appeal to the appropriate court, if all time for filing such an appeal with respect to the finding or conclusion has expired, or if the finding or conclusion is not subject to judicial review. (h)(1) If the state or local government proceeds with a civil action brought by a private person under subsection (b) of this Code section, such person shall, subject to the second sentence of this paragraph, receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the civil action or settlement of the claim, depending upon the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the prosecution of the civil action. Where the civil action is one which the court finds to be based primarily on disclosures of specific information, other than information provided by the person bringing the civil

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action, relating to allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing; in a legislative, administrative, or State Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation; or from the news media, the court may award such sums as it considers appropriate, but in no case more than 10 percent of the proceeds, taking into account the significance of the information and the role of the person bringing such civil action in advancing the case to litigation. Any payment to a person under the first or second sentence of this paragraph shall be made from the proceeds. Any such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant. (2) If the state or local government does not proceed with a civil action under this Code section, the person bringing the civil action or settling the claim shall receive an amount which the court decides is reasonable for collecting the civil penalty and damages. Such amount shall be not less than 25 percent and not more than 30 percent of the proceeds of the civil action or settlement and shall be paid out of such proceeds. Such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant. (3) Whether or not the state or local government proceeds with the civil action, if the court finds that the civil action was brought by a person who planned and initiated the violation of this article upon which the civil action was brought, then the court may, to the extent the court considers appropriate, reduce the share of the proceeds of the civil action which the person would otherwise receive under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, taking into account the role of that person in advancing the case to litigation and any relevant circumstances pertaining to the violation. If the person bringing the civil action is convicted of criminal conduct arising from his or her role in the violation of this article, such person shall be dismissed from the civil action and shall not receive any share of the proceeds of the civil action. Such dismissal shall not prejudice the right of the State of Georgia to continue the civil action, represented by the Attorney General or local government attorney to whom the Attorney General has delegated authority. (4) If the state or local government does not proceed with the civil action and the person bringing the civil action conducts the civil action, the court may award to the defendant its reasonable attorney's fees and expenses against the person bringing the civil action if the defendant prevails in the civil action and the court finds that the claim of the person bringing the civil action was clearly frivolous, clearly vexatious, or brought primarily for purposes of harassment. (i) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'public employee,' 'public official,' and 'public employment' shall include federal, state, and local employees and officials. No civil action shall be brought under this article by a person who is or was a public employee or public official if the allegations of such action are substantially based upon:

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(1) Allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct which such person had a duty or obligation to report or investigate within the scope of his or her public employment or office; or (2) Information or records to which such person had access as a result of his or her public employment or office. (j)(1) No court shall have jurisdiction over a civil action brought under subsection (b) of this Code section against a member of the General Assembly or a member of the judiciary if the civil action is based on evidence or information known to the state when the civil action was brought. (2) In no event may a person bring a civil action under subsection (b) of this Code section which is based upon allegations or transactions which are the subject of a civil or administrative proceeding to which the State of Georgia is already party. (3) The court shall dismiss a civil action or claim under this Code section, unless opposed by the state or local government, if substantially the same allegations or transactions as alleged in the action or claim were publicly disclosed:
(A) In a state criminal, civil, or administrative hearing in which the state or local government or its agent is a party; (B) In a state or local government legislative or other state or local government report, hearing, audit, or investigation that is made on the public record or disseminated broadly to the general public; provided that such information shall not be deemed publicly disclosed in a report or investigation because it was disclosed or provided pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, the federal Freedom of Information Act, or under any other federal, state, or local law, rule, or program enabling the public to request, receive, or view documents or information in the possession of public officials or public agencies; or (C) From the news media, provided that such allegations or transactions are not publicly disclosed in the news media merely because information of allegations or transactions have been posted on the Internet or on a computer network, unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or local government, or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'original source' means a person who:
(i) Prior to a public disclosure under this paragraph, has voluntarily disclosed to the state or a local government the information on which allegations or transactions in a claim are based; or (ii) Has knowledge that is independent of and materially adds to the publicly disclosed allegations or transactions and who has voluntarily provided the information to the state or a local government before filing a civil action under this Code section. (k) The state or local government shall not be liable for expenses which a private person incurs in bringing a civil action under this article. (l)(1) Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole if that employee, contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner

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discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment because of lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent, or associated others in furtherance of a civil action under this Code section or other efforts to stop one or more violations of this article. (2) Relief under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status that the employee, contractor, or agent would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorney's fees. An action under this subsection may be brought in the appropriate superior court of this state for the relief provided in this subsection. (3) A civil action under this subsection shall not be brought more than three years after the date when the discrimination occurred.

23-3-123. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subsection (l) of Code Section 23-3-122, all civil actions under this article shall be filed pursuant to Code Section 23-3-122 within six years after the date the violation was committed or three years after the date when facts material to the right of civil action are known or reasonably should have been known by the state or local government official charged with the responsibility to act in the circumstances, whichever occurs last; provided, however, that in no event shall any civil action be filed more than ten years after the date upon which the violation was committed. (b) A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a trial or hearing conducted under Code Section 23-3-122 may be served at any place in this state. (c) For purposes of applying subsection (b) of Code Section 9-11-9, in pleading a civil action brought under this article, the qui tam plaintiff shall not be required to identify specific claims that result from an alleged course of misconduct or any specific records or statements used if the facts alleged in the complaint, if ultimately proven true, would provide a reasonable indication that one or more violations of Code Section 23-3-121 are likely to have occurred and if the allegations in the pleading provide adequate notice of the specific nature of the alleged misconduct to permit the state or a local government to investigate effectively and defendants to defend fairly the allegations made. (d) If the state or local government elects to intervene and proceed with a civil action brought under subsection (b) of Code Section 23-3-122, the state or local government may file its own complaint or amend the complaint of a person who has brought an action under such subsection to clarify or add detail to the claims in which the state or local government is intervening and to add any additional claims with respect to which the state or local government contends it is entitled to relief. For statute of limitations purposes, any such state or local government pleading shall relate back to the filing date of the complaint of the person who originally brought the action, to the extent that the claim of the state or

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local government arises out of the conduct, transactions, or occurrences set forth, or attempted to be set forth, in the prior complaint of that person. (e) In any action brought under Code Section 23-3-122, the plaintiff shall be required to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages, by a preponderance of the evidence. (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a final judgment rendered in favor of the state or local government or the United States in any criminal proceeding charging fraud or false statements, whether upon a verdict after trial or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, shall estop the defendant from denying the essential elements of the offense in any civil action which involves the same transaction as in the criminal proceeding and which is brought under subsection (a) or (b) of Code Section 23-3-122.

23-3-124. All civil actions brought under this article in a court of this state shall be brought in the county where the defendant or any one defendant, in the case of multiple defendants or defendants who are not residents of the State of Georgia, resides, can be found, transacts business, or commits an act in furtherance of the submittal of a false or fraudulent claim to the state or local government. Civil actions under this article may be brought in courts of the United States and other states if there is pendent jurisdiction.

23-3-125. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Custodian' means the custodian, or any deputy custodian, designated by the Attorney General under paragraph (1) of subsection (j) of this Code section. (2) 'Documentary material' includes the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart, or other document or data compilations stored in or accessible through computer or other information retrieval system, together with instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret such data compilations, and any product of discovery. (3) 'False claims law' means:
(A) This article; and (B) Any Act of Congress or of the legislature which prohibits or makes available to the federal government, state, or any local government in any court of this state, of another state or the District of Columbia, or of local government or of the United States any civil remedy with respect to any false claim against, bribery of, or corruption of any officer or employee of any state, the District of Columbia, local government, or the United States. (4) 'False claims law investigation' means any inquiry conducted by any false claims law investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of a false claims law.

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(5) 'False claims law investigator' means any attorney or investigator employed by the Department of Law or any other agency of the federal government, state, or any local government who is charged with the duty of enforcing or carrying into effect any false claims law, or any officer or employee of the state or local government or the United States acting under the direction and supervision of such attorney or investigator in connection with a false claims law investigation. (6) 'Official use' means any use that is consistent with the law and the regulations and policies of the Department of Law or any other agency of the federal government, state, or any local government participating in any of the matters in question, including use in connection with internal memoranda, and reports; communications between the Attorney General or any other agency of the federal government, state, or any local government participating in the matters in question and any other agency of the federal government, state, or any local government, or a contractor of an agency of the federal government, state, or any local government, undertaken in furtherance of a federal, state, or local government or other governmental investigation or prosecution of a case; interviews of any qui tam relator or other witness; oral examinations; depositions; preparation for and response to civil discovery requests; introduction into the record of a case or proceeding; applications, motions, memoranda, and briefs submitted to a court or other tribunal; and communications with federal, state, or local government or other governmental investigators, auditors, consultants and experts, the counsel of other parties, arbitrators, and mediators, concerning an investigation, case, or proceeding. (7) 'Person' means any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, including any state or local government or political subdivision of a state. (8) 'Product of discovery' includes:
(A) The original or duplicate of any deposition, interrogatory, document, thing, result of the inspection of land or other property, examination, or admission which is obtained by any method of discovery in any judicial or administrative proceeding of an adversarial nature; (B) Any digest, analysis, selection, compilation, or derivation of any item listed in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; and (C) Any index or other manner of access to any item listed in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. (b)(1) For purposes of this Code section, whenever the Attorney General, or his or her designee, has reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or information relevant to a false claims law investigation, the Attorney General, or his or her designee, may, before commencing a civil proceeding under subsection (a) of Code Section 23-3-122 or other false claims law, or making an election under subsection (b) of Code Section 23-3-122, issue in writing and cause to be served upon such person a civil investigative demand requiring such person to: (A) Produce such documentary material for inspection and copying;

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(B) Answer in writing written interrogatories with respect to such documentary material or information; (C) Give oral testimony concerning such documentary material or information; or (D) Furnish any combination of such documentary material, answers, or testimony. The Attorney General may delegate the authority to issue civil investigative demands under this subsection, including to a district attorney or other local government attorney. Whenever a civil investigative demand is an express demand for any product of discovery, the Attorney General, the deputy attorney general, or an assistant attorney general shall cause to be served, in any manner authorized by this Code section, a copy of such demand upon the person from whom the discovery was obtained and shall notify the person to whom such demand is issued of the date on which such copy was served. Any information obtained by the Attorney General or a designee of the Attorney General under this Code section may be shared with any qui tam relator if the Attorney General or such designee determine it is necessary as part of any false claims law investigation. (2)(A) Each civil investigative demand issued under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall state the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation of a false claims law which is under investigation and the applicable provision of law alleged to have been violated. (B) If such demand is for the production of documentary material, the demand shall:
(i) Describe each class of documentary material to be produced with such definiteness and certainty as to permit such documentary material to be fairly identified; (ii) Prescribe a return date for each such class which will provide a reasonable period of time within which the documentary material so demanded may be assembled and made available for inspection and copying; and (iii) Identify the false claims law investigator to whom such documentary material shall be made available. (C) If such demand is for answers to written interrogatories, the demand shall: (i) Set forth with specificity the written interrogatories to be answered; (ii) Prescribe dates at which time the answers to such written interrogatories shall be submitted; and (iii) Identify the false claims law investigator to whom such answers shall be submitted. (D) If such demand is for the giving of oral testimony, the demand shall: (i) Prescribe a date, time, and place at which the oral testimony shall be commenced; (ii) Identify a false claims law investigator who shall conduct the examination and the custodian to whom the transcript of such examination shall be submitted; (iii) Specify that such attendance and testimony are necessary to the conduct of the investigation; (iv) Notify the person receiving the demand of the right to be accompanied by an attorney and any other representative; and

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(v) Describe the general purpose for which the demand is being issued and the general nature of the testimony, including the primary areas of inquiry, which will be taken pursuant to the demand. (E) Any civil investigative demand issued under this Code section which is an express demand for any product of discovery shall not be returned or returnable until 20 days after a copy of such demand has been served upon the person from whom the product of discovery was obtained. (F) The date prescribed for the commencement of oral testimony pursuant to a civil investigative demand issued under this Code section shall be a date which is not less than seven days after the date on which such demand is received, unless the Attorney General or his or her designee determines that exceptional circumstances are present which warrant the commencement of such testimony within a lesser period of time. (G) The Attorney General or his or her designee shall not authorize the issuance under this Code section of more than one civil investigative demand for oral testimony by the same person unless the person requests otherwise or unless the Attorney General, after investigation, notifies that person in writing that an additional demand for oral testimony is necessary. (c)(1) A civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section shall not require the production of any documentary material, the submission of any answers to written interrogatories, or the giving of any oral testimony if such documentary material, answers, or testimony would be protected from disclosure under: (A) Standards applicable to subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum issued by a court of the state or of the United States to aid in a grand jury investigation; or (B) Standards applicable to discovery requests under Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act,' to the extent that the application of such standards to any such demand is appropriate and consistent with the provisions and purposes of this Code section. (2) Any such demand which is an express demand for any product of discovery supersedes any inconsistent order, rule, or provision of law, other than this Code section, preventing or restraining disclosure of such product of discovery to any person. Disclosure of any product of discovery pursuant to any such express demand shall not constitute a waiver of any right or privilege which the person making such disclosure may be entitled to invoke to resist discovery of trial preparation materials. (d)(1) Any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section may be served in this state by a false claims law investigator or by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, or deputy marshal at any place within the territorial jurisdiction of any court of this state. (2) Any such demand or any petition filed under subsection (k) of this Code section may be served upon any person who is not found within the territorial jurisdiction of any court of this state in such manner as applicable law prescribes for service outside this state. To the extent that the courts of this state can assert jurisdiction over any such person

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consistent with due process, any such court shall have the same jurisdiction to take any action respecting compliance with this Code section by any such person that such court would have if such person were personally within the jurisdiction of such court. Compliance with this Code section may also be enforced in courts of other states, of the District of Columbia, and of the United States. (e)(1) Service of any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section or of any petition filed under subsection (k) of this Code section may be made upon a partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity by:
(A) Delivering an executed copy of such demand or petition to any partner, executive officer, managing agent, or general agent of the partnership, corporation, association, or entity, or to any agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process on behalf of such partnership, corporation, association, or entity; (B) Delivering an executed copy of such demand or petition to the principal office or place of business of the partnership, corporation, association, or entity; or (C) Depositing an executed copy of such demand or petition via the United States Postal Service by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, addressed to such partnership, corporation, association, or entity at its principal office or place of business. (2) Service of any such demand or petition may be made upon any natural person by: (A) Delivering an executed copy of such demand or petition to the person; or (B) Depositing an executed copy of such demand or petition via the United States Postal Service by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, addressed to the person at the person's residence or principal office or place of business. (f) A verified return by the individual serving any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section or any petition filed under subsection (k) of this Code section setting forth the manner of such service shall be proof of such service. In the case of service by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, such return shall be accompanied by the return post office receipt or other receipt of delivery of such demand. (g)(1) The production of documentary material in response to a civil investigative demand served under this Code section shall be made under a sworn certificate, in such form as the demand designates, by: (A) In the case of a natural person, the person to whom the demand is directed; or (B) In the case of a person other than a natural person, a person having knowledge of the facts and circumstances relating to such production and authorized to act on behalf of such person. The certificate shall state that all of the documentary material required by the demand and in the possession, custody, or control of the person to whom the demand is directed has been produced and made available to the false claims law investigator identified in the demand.

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(2) Any person upon whom any civil investigative demand for the production of documentary material has been served under this Code section shall make such documentary material available for inspection and copying to the false claims law investigator identified in such demand at the principal place of business of such person, or at such other place as the false claims law investigator and the person thereafter may agree and prescribe in writing, or as the court may direct under paragraph (1) of subsection (k) of this Code section. Such documentary material shall be made so available on the return date specified in such demand, or on such later date as the false claims law investigator may prescribe in writing. Such person may, upon written agreement between the person and the false claims law investigator, substitute copies for originals of all or any part of such documentary material. (h) Each interrogatory in a civil investigative demand served under this Code section shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath and shall be submitted under a sworn certificate, in such form as the demand designates, by: (1) In the case of a natural person, the person to whom the demand is directed; or (2) In the case of a person other than a natural person, the person or persons responsible for answering each interrogatory. If any interrogatory is objected to, the reasons for the objection shall be stated in the certificate instead of an answer. The certificate shall state that all information required by the demand and in the possession, custody, control, or knowledge of the person to whom the demand is directed has been submitted. To the extent that any information is not furnished, the information shall be identified and reasons set forth with particularity regarding the reasons why the information was not furnished. (i)(1) The examination of any person pursuant to a civil investigative demand for oral testimony served under this Code section shall be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws of this state, or of the United States, or of the place where the examination is held. The officer before whom the testimony is to be taken shall put the witness on oath or affirmation and shall, personally or by someone acting under the direction of the officer and in the officer's presence, record the testimony of the witness. The testimony shall be taken stenographically and shall be transcribed. When the testimony is fully transcribed, the officer before whom the testimony is taken shall promptly transmit a copy of the transcript of the testimony to the custodian. This subsection shall not preclude the taking of testimony by any means authorized by and in a manner consistent with Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act.' (2) The false claims law investigator conducting the examination shall exclude from the place where the examination is held all persons except the person giving the testimony, the attorney for and any other representative of the person giving the testimony, the attorney for the state or local government, any person who may be agreed upon by the attorney for the state or local government and the person giving the testimony, the officer before whom the testimony is to be taken, and any stenographer taking such testimony.

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(3) The oral testimony of any person taken pursuant to a civil investigative demand served under this Code section shall be taken in the county within which such person resides, is found, or transacts business, or in such other place as may be agreed upon by the false claims law investigator conducting the examination and such person. (4) When the testimony is fully transcribed, the false claims law investigator or the officer before whom the testimony is taken shall afford the witness, who may be accompanied by counsel, a reasonable opportunity to examine and read the transcript, unless such examination and reading are waived by the witness. Any changes in form or substance which the witness desires to make shall be entered and identified upon the transcript by the officer or the false claims law investigator, with a statement of the reasons given by the witness for making such changes. The transcript shall then be signed by the witness, unless the witness in writing waives the signing, is ill, cannot be found, or refuses to sign. If the transcript is not signed by the witness within 30 days after being afforded a reasonable opportunity to examine it, the officer or the false claims law investigator shall sign it and state on the record the fact of the waiver, illness, absence, or the refusal to sign of the witness, together with the reasons, if any, given therefor. (5) The officer before whom the testimony is taken shall certify on the transcript that the witness was sworn by the officer and that the transcript is a true record of the testimony given by the witness, and the officer or false claims law investigator shall promptly deliver the transcript, or send the transcript by registered or certified mail, to the custodian. (6) Upon payment of reasonable charges therefor, the false claims law investigator shall furnish a copy of the transcript to the witness only, except that the Attorney General or his or her designee may, for good cause, limit such witness to inspection of the official transcript of the witness's testimony.
(7)(A) Any person compelled to appear for oral testimony under a civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section may be accompanied, represented, and advised by counsel. Counsel may advise such person, in confidence, with respect to any question asked of such person. Such person or counsel may object on the record to any question, in whole or in part, and shall briefly state for the record the reason for the objection. An objection may be made, received, and entered upon the record when it is claimed that such person is entitled to refuse to answer the question on the grounds of any constitutional or other legal right or privilege, including the privilege against self-incrimination. Such person may not otherwise object to or refuse to answer any question, and shall not, directly or through counsel, otherwise interrupt the oral examination. If such person refuses to answer any question, a petition may be filed in the superior court under paragraph (1) of subsection (k) of this Code section for an order compelling such person to answer such question.

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(B) If such person refuses to answer any question on the grounds of the privilege against self-incrimination, the testimony of such person may be compelled in accordance with the provisions of Title 24. (8) Any person appearing for oral testimony under a civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section shall be entitled to the same fees and allowances which are paid to witnesses in the superior courts and state courts of Georgia. (j)(1) The Attorney General shall designate a false claims law investigator to serve as custodian of documentary material, answers to interrogatories, and transcripts of oral testimony received under this Code section and shall designate such additional false claims law investigators as the Attorney General determines from time to time to be necessary to serve as deputies to the custodian. (2)(A) A false claims law investigator who receives any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony under this Code section shall transmit them to the custodian. The custodian shall take physical possession of such documentary material, answers, or transcripts and shall be responsible for the use made of them and for the return of documentary material under paragraph (4) of this subsection. (B) The custodian may cause the preparation of such copies of such documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony as may be required for official use by any false claims law investigator or other officer or employee of the Attorney General or any other agency of the state or local government participating in an investigation of the matters in question. Such documentary material, answers, and transcripts may be used by any such authorized false claims law investigator or other officer or employee in connection with the taking of oral testimony under this Code section. (C) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony, or copies thereof, while in the possession of the custodian, shall be available for examination by any individual other than a false claims law investigator or other officer or employee of the Attorney General or any other agency of the federal government or of a state or local government participating in an investigation of the matters in question authorized under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. The prohibition in the preceding sentence on the availability of documentary material, answers, or transcripts shall not apply if consent is given by the person who produced such documentary material, answers, or transcripts, or, in the case of any product of discovery produced pursuant to an express demand for such documentary material, consent is given by the person from whom the discovery was obtained. Nothing in this subparagraph is intended to prevent disclosure to the General Assembly, including any committee or subcommittee of the General Assembly, or to any other agency of the state or local government or the United States for use by such agency in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities.

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(D) While in the possession of the custodian and under such reasonable terms and conditions as the Attorney General shall prescribe:
(i) Documentary material and answers to interrogatories shall be available for examination by the person who produced such documentary material or answers, or by a representative of that person authorized by that person to examine such documentary material and answers; and (ii) Transcripts of oral testimony shall be available for examination by the person who produced such testimony, or by a representative of that person authorized by that person to examine such transcripts. (3) Whenever the Attorney General, an attorney for a local government, or an attorney for any agency of a local government participating in an investigation of the matter in question has been designated to appear before any court, grand jury, or state or local government or federal agency in any case or proceeding, the custodian of any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony received under this Code section may deliver to such attorney such documentary material, answers, or transcripts for official use in connection with any such case or proceeding as such attorney determines to be required. Upon the completion of any such case or proceeding, such attorney shall return to the custodian any such documentary material, answers, or transcripts so delivered which have not passed into the control of such court, grand jury, or agency through introduction into the record of such case or proceeding. (4) If any documentary material has been produced by any person in the course of any false claims law investigation pursuant to a civil investigative demand under this Code section, and: (A) Any case or proceeding before the court or grand jury arising out of such investigation, or any proceeding before any state or local government or federal agency involving such documentary material, has been completed; or (B) No case or proceeding in which such documentary material may be used has been commenced within a reasonable time after completion of the examination and analysis of all documentary material and other information assembled in the course of such investigation, the custodian shall, upon written request of the person who produced such documentary material, return to such person any such documentary material, other than copies furnished to the false claims law investigator under paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of this Code section or made for the state under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of this subsection, which has not passed into the control of any court, grand jury, or agency through introduction into the record of such case or proceeding. (5) In the event of the death, disability, or separation from service of the custodian of any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony produced pursuant to a civil investigative demand under this Code section, or in the event of the official relief of such custodian from responsibility for the custody and control of

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such documentary material, answers, or transcripts, the Attorney General or his or her designee shall promptly:
(A) Designate another false claims law investigator to serve as custodian of such documentary material, answers, or transcripts; and (B) Transmit in writing to the person who produced such documentary material, answers, or testimony notice of the identity and address of the successor so designated. Any person who is designated to be a successor under this paragraph shall have, with regard to such documentary material, answers, or transcripts, the same duties and responsibilities as were imposed by this Code section upon that person's predecessor in office, except that the successor shall not be held responsible for any default or dereliction which occurred before that designation. (k)(1) Whenever any person fails to comply with any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section, or whenever satisfactory copying or reproduction of any documentary material requested in such demand cannot be done and such person refuses to surrender such documentary material, the Attorney General or local government may file in any county or district in which such person resides, is found, or transacts business and serve upon such person a petition for an order of such court for the enforcement of the civil investigative demand. (2)(A) Any person who has received a civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section may file in the appropriate court and serve upon the false claims law investigator identified in such demand a petition for an order of the court to modify or set aside such demand. In the case of a petition addressed to an express demand for any product of discovery, a petition to modify or set aside such demand may be brought only in the superior court for any county in which the proceeding in which such discovery was obtained is or was last pending. Any petition under this subparagraph shall be filed:
(i) Within 20 days after the date of service of the civil investigative demand, or at any time before the return date specified in the demand, whichever date is earlier; or (ii) Within such longer period as may be prescribed in writing by any false claims law investigator identified in the demand. (B) The petition shall specify each ground upon which the petitioner relies in seeking relief under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and may be based upon any failure of the demand to comply with the provisions of this Code section or upon any constitutional or other legal right or privilege of such person. During the pendency of the petition in the court, the court may stay, as it deems proper, the running of the time allowed for compliance with the demand, in whole or in part, except that the person filing the petition shall comply with any portions of the demand not sought to be modified or set aside. (3)(A) In the case of any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section which is an express demand for any product of discovery, the person from whom such discovery was obtained may file in the superior court for the county in

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which the proceeding in which such discovery was obtained is or was last pending and serve upon any false claims law investigator identified in the demand and upon the recipient of the demand a petition for an order of such court to modify or set aside those portions of the demand requiring production of any such product of discovery. Any petition under this subparagraph shall be filed:
(i) Within 20 days after the date of service of the civil investigative demand, or at any time before the return date specified in the demand, whichever date is earlier; or (ii) Within such longer period as may be prescribed in writing by any false claims law investigator identified in the demand. (B) The petition shall specify each ground upon which the petitioner relies in seeking relief under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and may be based upon any failure of the portions of the demand from which relief is sought to comply with the provisions of this Code section or upon any constitutional or other legal right or privilege of the petitioner. During the pendency of the petition, the court may stay, as it deems proper, compliance with the demand and the running of the time allowed for compliance with the demand. (4) At any time during which any custodian is in custody or control of any documentary material or answers to interrogatories produced by, or transcripts of oral testimony given by, any person in compliance with any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section, such person and, in the case of an express demand for any product of discovery, the person from whom such discovery was obtained, may file in the superior court for any county within which the office of such custodian is situated and serve upon such custodian a petition for an order of such court to require the performance by the custodian of any duty imposed upon the custodian by this Code section. (5) Whenever any petition is filed under this subsection in any superior court for any county, such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter so presented and to enter such order or orders as may be required to carry out the provisions of this Code section. Any final order so entered shall be subject to appeal. Any disobedience of any final order entered under this Code section by any court shall be punished as a contempt of the court. (6) Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act,' shall apply to any petition filed in this state under this subsection, to the extent that such rules are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Code section. (l) Any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony provided under any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (b) of this Code section shall be exempt from disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.

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23-3-126. (a) The provisions of this article shall not be deemed exclusive, and the remedies provided for in this article shall be in addition to any other remedies provided for in any other law or available under common law. (b) This Act shall be broadly construed and applied to promote the public's interest in combating fraud and false claims directed at the public's funds.

23-3-127. If a civil action can be commenced pursuant to Article 7B of Chapter 4 of Title 49, the 'State False Medicaid Claims Act,' the claimant shall proceed under Article 7B of Chapter 4 of Title 49."

PART II SECTION 2-1.

Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public assistance, is amended by revising Article 7B, the "State False Medicaid Claims Act," as follows:

"ARTICLE 7B

49-4-168. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Claim' includes any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property, whether or not the Georgia Medicaid program or this state has title to such money or property, which is made to the Georgia Medicaid program, to any officer, employee, fiscal intermediary, grantee, agent, or contractor of the Georgia Medicaid program, or to other persons or entities if it results in payments by the Georgia Medicaid program, if the Georgia Medicaid program provides, has provided, or will provide any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; if the Georgia Medicaid program will reimburse the contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; or if the money or property is to be spent or used on behalf of or to advance the Georgia Medicaid program. A claim includes a request or demand made orally, in writing, electronically, or magnetically. Each claim may be treated as a separate claim. (2) 'Knowing' and 'knowingly' requires no proof of specific intent to defraud and means that a person, with respect to information:
(A) Has actual knowledge of the information; (B) Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or (C) Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information. (3) 'Material' means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.

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(4) 'Obligation' means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee based or similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from retention of any overpayment. (5) 'Person' means any natural person, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint-stock company, or any other entity with capacity to sue or be sued.

49-4-168.1. (a) Any person who:
(1) Knowingly presents or causes to be presented to the Georgia Medicaid program a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval; (2) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim; (3) Conspires to defraud the Georgia Medicaid program by getting a false or fraudulent claim allowed or paid; (4) Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used or to be used by the Georgia Medicaid program and knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, less than all of such property or money; (5) Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used, or to be used, by the Georgia Medicaid program and, intending to defraud the Georgia Medicaid program, makes or delivers the receipt without completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true; (6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from an officer or employee of the Georgia Medicaid program who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property; or (7) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit property or money to the Georgia Medicaid program, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit property or money to the Georgia Medicaid program, shall be liable to the State of Georgia for a civil penalty of not less than $5,500.00 and not more than $11,000.00 for each false or fraudulent claim, plus three times the amount of damages which the Georgia Medicaid program sustains because of the act of such person. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section notwithstanding, if the court finds that: (1) The person committing the violation of this subsection furnished officials of the Georgia Medicaid program with all information known to such person about the violation within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first obtained the information; (2) Such person fully cooperated with any government investigation of such violation; and (3) At the time such person furnished the Georgia Medicaid program with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative

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action had commenced under this article with respect to such violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into such violation, the court may assess not more than two times the amount of the actual damages which the Georgia Medicaid program sustained because of the act of such person. (c) A person violating any provision of subsection (a) of this Code section shall also be liable to this state for all costs of any civil action brought to recover the damages and penalties provided under this article.

49-4-168.2. (a) The Attorney General shall be authorized to investigate suspected, alleged, and reported violations of this article. If the Attorney General finds that a person has violated or is violating this article, then the Attorney General may bring a civil action against such person under this article. (b) Subject to the exclusions set forth in this Code section, a civil action under this article may also be brought by a private person. A civil action shall be brought in the name of the State of Georgia. The civil action may be dismissed only if the court and the Attorney General give written consent to the dismissal and state the reasons for consenting to such dismissal. (c) Where a private person brings a civil action under this article, such person shall follow the following special procedures:
(1) A copy of the complaint and written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information the person possesses shall be served on the Attorney General; (2) The complaint shall be filed in camera, shall remain under seal for at least 60 days, and shall not be served on the defendant until the court so orders. The purpose of the period under seal shall be to allow the Attorney General to investigate the allegations of the complaint. The Attorney General may elect to intervene and proceed with the civil action within 60 days after it receives both the complaint and the material evidence and information; (3) The Attorney General may, for good cause shown, move the court for extensions of the time during which the complaint remains under seal under paragraph (2) of this subsection. Any such motions may be supported by affidavits or other submissions in camera; (4) Before the expiration of the 60 day period or any extensions obtained under paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Attorney General shall:
(A) Proceed with the civil action, in which case the civil action shall be conducted by the Attorney General; or (B) Notify the court that it declines to take over the civil action, in which case the person bringing the civil action shall have the right to proceed with the civil action; (5) The defendant shall not be required to respond to any complaint filed under this Code section until 30 days after the complaint is unsealed and served upon the defendant; and

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(6) When a person brings a civil action under this subsection, no person other than the Attorney General may intervene or bring a related civil action based on the facts underlying the pending civil action. (d)(1) If the Attorney General elects to intervene and proceed with the civil action, he or she shall have the primary responsibility for prosecuting the civil action and shall not be bound by an act of the person bringing such civil action. Such person shall have the right to continue as a party to the civil action, subject to the limitations set forth in this subsection. (2) The Attorney General may dismiss the civil action, notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the civil action, if the person has been notified by the Attorney General of the filing of the motion and the court has provided the person with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion. (3) The Attorney General may settle the civil action with the defendant notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the civil action if the court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, such hearing may be held in camera. (4) Upon a showing by the Attorney General that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the civil action would interfere with or unduly delay the Attorney General's litigation of the case, or would be repetitious, irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, the court may, in its discretion, impose limitations on the person's participation, such as:
(A) Limiting the number of witnesses the person may call; (B) Limiting the length of the testimony of such witnesses; (C) Limiting the person's cross-examination of witnesses; or (D) Otherwise limiting the participation by the person in the litigation. (e) Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the civil action would be for purposes of harassment or would cause the defendant undue burden or unnecessary expense, the court may limit the participation by the person in the litigation. (f) If the Attorney General elects not to proceed with the civil action, the person who initiated the civil action shall have the right to conduct the civil action. If the Attorney General so requests, he or she shall be served with copies of all pleadings filed in the civil action and shall be supplied with copies of all deposition transcripts. When a person proceeds with the civil action, the court may nevertheless permit the Attorney General to intervene at a later date for any purpose, including, but not limited to, dismissal of the civil action notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the civil action if such person has been notified by the Attorney General of the filing of such motion and the court has provided such person with an opportunity for a hearing on such motion. (g) Whether or not the Attorney General proceeds with the civil action, upon a showing by the Attorney General that certain actions of discovery by the person initiating the civil action would interfere with the Attorney General's investigation or prosecution of a

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criminal or civil matter arising out of the same facts, the court may stay such discovery for a period of not more than 60 days. Such a showing shall be conducted in camera. The court may extend the 60 day period upon a further showing in camera that the Attorney General has pursued the criminal or civil investigation or proceedings with reasonable diligence and any proposed discovery in the civil action will interfere with the ongoing criminal or civil investigation or proceedings. (h) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, the Attorney General may elect to pursue this state's claim through any alternate remedy available to the Attorney General, including any administrative proceeding to determine a civil money penalty. If any such alternate remedy is pursued in another proceeding, the person initiating the civil action shall have the same rights in such proceeding as such person would have had if the civil action had continued under this Code section. Any finding of fact or conclusion of law made in such other proceeding that has become final shall be conclusive on all parties to a civil action under this Code section. For purposes of this subsection, a finding or conclusion is final if it has been finally determined on appeal to the appropriate court of the State of Georgia, if all time for filing such an appeal with respect to the finding or conclusion has expired, or if the finding or conclusion is not subject to judicial review.
(i)(1) If the Attorney General proceeds with a civil action brought by a private person under subsection (b) of this Code section, such person shall, subject to the second sentence of this paragraph, receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the civil action or settlement of the claim, depending upon the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the prosecution of the civil action. Where the civil action is one which the court finds to be based primarily on disclosures of specific information, other than information provided by the person bringing the civil action, relating to allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a legislative, administrative, or Attorney General hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, the court may award such sums as it considers appropriate, but in no case more than 10 percent of the proceeds, taking into account the significance of the information and the role of the person bringing such civil action in advancing the case to litigation. Any payment to a person under the first or second sentence of this paragraph shall be made from the proceeds. The remaining proceeds shall be payable to the State of Georgia, by and through the Georgia Department of Community Health, for the purposes of operating, sustaining, protecting, and administering the Georgia Medicaid program. Any such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant. (2) If the Attorney General does not proceed with a civil action under this Code section, the person bringing the civil action or settling the claim shall receive an amount which the court decides is reasonable for collecting the civil penalty and damages. Such amount shall be not less than 25 percent and not more than 30 percent of the proceeds of the civil

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action or settlement and shall be paid out of such proceeds. The remaining proceeds shall be payable to the State of Georgia, by and through the Georgia Department of Community Health, for the purposes of operating, sustaining, protecting, and administering the Georgia Medicaid program. Such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant. (3) Whether or not the Attorney General proceeds with the civil action, if the court finds that the civil action was brought by a person who planned and initiated the violation of Code Section 49-4-168.1 upon which the civil action was brought, then the court may, to the extent the court considers appropriate, reduce the share of the proceeds of the civil action which the person would otherwise receive under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, taking into account the role of that person in advancing the case to litigation and any relevant circumstances pertaining to the violation. If the person bringing the civil action is convicted of criminal conduct arising from his or her role in the violation of Code Section 49-4-168.1, such person shall be dismissed from the civil action and shall not receive any share of the proceeds of the civil action. Such dismissal shall not prejudice the right of the State of Georgia to continue the civil action, represented by the Attorney General. (4) If the Attorney General does not proceed with the civil action and the person bringing the civil action conducts the civil action, the court may award to the defendant its reasonable attorney's fees and expenses against the person bringing the civil action if the defendant prevails in the civil action and the court finds that the claim of the person bringing the civil action was clearly frivolous, clearly vexatious, or brought primarily for purposes of harassment. (5) The State of Georgia shall not be liable for expenses which a private person incurs in bringing a civil action under this article. (j) In no event may a person bring a civil action under this article which is based upon allegations or transactions which are the subject of a civil or administrative proceeding to which the State of Georgia is already party. (k) No civil action may be brought under this article with respect to any claim relating to the assessment, payment, nonpayment, refund, or collection of taxes pursuant to any provisions of Title 48. (l)(1) As used in this subsection, the term 'original source' means an individual who:
(A) Prior to public disclosure, has voluntarily disclosed to the Attorney General the information on which allegations or transactions in a claim are based; or (B) Has knowledge that is independent of and materially adds to publicly disclosed allegations or transactions and who has voluntarily provided such information to the Attorney General before filing a civil action under this Code section.

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(2) The court shall dismiss a civil action or claim under this Code section, unless opposed by the Attorney General, if substantially the same allegations or transactions as alleged in the action or claim were publicly disclosed:
(A) In any criminal, civil, or administrative hearing in which the State of Georgia or its employee, agent, or contractor is a party; (B) In a congressional, legislative, or other state or federal report, hearing, audit, or investigation; or (C) From the news media, unless the civil action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the civil action is an original source of the information.

49-4-168.3. (a) In any civil action brought under this article, the State of Georgia or person bringing the civil action shall be required to prove all essential elements of the cause of civil action, including damages, by a preponderance of the evidence. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this article, all civil actions brought under this article shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act.' (c) If the Attorney General elects to intervene and proceed with a civil action brought pursuant to this article, the Attorney General may file his or her own complaint or amend the complaint of a person who has brought a civil action under this article to clarify or add detail to the claims in which the Attorney General is intervening and to add any additional claims with respect to which the State of Georgia contends it is entitled to relief. For purposes of the statute of limitations, any such pleading by the Attorney General shall relate back to the filing date of the complaint of the person who originally brought the civil action, to the extent that the claim of the State of Georgia arises out of the conduct, transactions, or occurrences set forth, or attempted to be set forth, in the original complaint by such person.

49-4-168.4. (a) Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make such employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment because of lawful acts done by such employee, contractor, agent or associated others in furtherance of a civil action under this Code section or other efforts to stop one or more violations of this article. (b) Relief under subsection (a) of this Code section shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status that such employee, contractor, or agent would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including

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litigation costs and reasonable attorney's fees. A civil action under this subsection may be brought in an appropriate court of this state for the relief provided in this Code section. (c) Notwithstanding Code Section 49-4-168.5, a civil action under this Code section may not be brought more than three years after the date when the discrimination occurred.

49-4-168.5. All civil actions under this article shall be filed pursuant to Code Section 49-4-168.2 within six years after the date the violation was committed, or four years after the date when facts material to the right of civil action are known or reasonably should have been known by the state official charged with the responsibility to act in the circumstances, whichever occurs last; provided, however, that in no event shall any civil action be filed more than ten years after the date upon which the violation was committed.

49-4-168.6. All civil actions brought against natural persons under this article shall be brought in the county where the defendant or, in the case of multiple defendants or of defendants who are not residents of the State of Georgia, in any county where any one defendant resides, can be found, transacts business, or commits an act in furtherance of the submittal of a false or fraudulent claim to the Georgia Medicaid program."

PART III SECTION 3-1.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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MOTOR VEHICLES TEMPORARY LICENSE PLATES FOR TRAILERS; FREE LICENSE PLATES FOR DISABLED VETERANS; SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES FOR CERTAIN VETERANS AND CERTAIN CAUSES; EXEMPTION FROM ANNUAL SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE RENEWAL FEE FOR CERTIFIED FIREFIGHTERS.

No. 594 (House Bill No. 732).

AN ACT

To amend Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles generally, so as to provide that temporary plates or "drive-out tags" may be issued for trailers; to provide that temporary transporter plates issued to motor vehicles may also be issued for the temporary transport of trailers; to amend Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prestige license plates and special plates for certain persons and vehicles, so as to allow for veterans deemed partially disabled to qualify for a free license plate and annual revalidation decal; to include persons still serving in the armed services; to provide for images to disabled veterans license plates; to add veterans who served in certain wars; to provide for special license plates for veterans and service members awarded certain distinguished service medals; to provide for license plates to promote prostate cancer awareness; to provide for a special license plate to promote lung cancer awareness, research, and treatment of lung cancer; to provide for a special license plate for supporting nurses in Georgia and the nursing profession; to provide for procedures; to provide that persons issued special license plates as certified firefighters shall be exempt from paying an annual special license plate renewal fee; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles generally, is amended by revising Code Section 40-2-38.1, relating to transporter license plate, as follows:
"40-2-38.1. (a) A person engaged in the business of the limited operation of a motor vehicle or trailer for any of the following purposes may obtain a transporter plate authorizing the movement of the vehicle for the specific purpose:

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(1) To facilitate the delivery of new or used motor vehicles, trucks, trailers, or buses between manufacturers, distributors, dealers, sellers, or purchasers; (2) To move a mobile office, a mobile classroom, a mobile or manufactured home, or a house trailer; (3) To drive a motor vehicle or pull a trailer that is part of the inventory of a dealer to and from a motor vehicle or trailer trade show or exhibition or to, during, and from a parade in which the motor vehicle or trailer is used; or (4) To drive special mobile equipment in any of the following circumstances:
(A) From the manufacturer of the equipment to a facility of a dealer; or (B) From one facility of a dealer to another facility of a dealer. (b) This Code section shall not be construed to require a motor vehicle or trailer dealer to obtain transporter plates in order to transport vehicles for sale or lease. (c) A person may obtain a transporter plate by filing an application with the Department of Revenue and paying the required fee. The fee for an initial transporter plate shall be $62.00 and the fee for all additional plates shall be $12.00. An application for a transporter plate must be on a form provided by the department and must contain the information required by the department. The department is authorized to promulgate regulations consistent with this Code section. (d) Transporter plates issued under this Code section shall be distinguishable from dealer, wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor plates, as provided for in Code Section 40-2-38. (e) During the year for which it is issued, a person may transfer a transporter plate from one vehicle to another so long as the vehicle is driven or pulled only for a purpose authorized by subsection (a) of this Code section. In order to obtain a transporter plate, an applicant must demonstrate to the department compliance with all applicable federal and state laws. (f) The license plates issued pursuant to this Code section shall be revoked and confiscated upon a determination after a hearing that an applicant has unlawfully used such license plates for purposes other than those expressly permitted by this Code section. (g) If a license plate issued pursuant to this Code section is lost or stolen, the dealer, manufacturer, distributor, or other party to whom the license plate was issued must immediately report the lost or stolen plate to local law enforcement agencies. If a replacement license plate is sought, the dealer, manufacturer, distributor, or other party to whom the license plate was issued shall file a notarized affidavit with the department requesting a replacement plate. Such affidavit shall certify under penalty of perjury that the license plate has been lost or stolen and that the loss has been reported to a local law enforcement agency. (h) This Code section shall not in any way apply to farm tractors. (i)(1) The expiration of a license plate issued pursuant to this Code section shall be the last day of the registration period as provided in division (a)(1)(A)(ii) of Code Section 40-2-21, except that for the purposes of this subsection, the registration period shall be determined by the first letter of the legal name of the business listed on the

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application for registration or renewal of registration. An application for renewal of registration shall not be submitted earlier than 90 days prior to the last day of the registration period. A penalty of 25 percent of the total registration fees due shall be assessed any person registering pursuant to this Code section who, prior to the expiration of such person's registration period, fails to apply for renewal or if having applied fails to pay the required fees. (2) A transition period shall commence on October 1, 2007, and conclude on December 31, 2007, for all existing registrations and any new registration applications presented prior to January 1, 2008. On or after January 1, 2008, new applications for registration shall be submitted and remain valid until the expiration of such registration as specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection. (j) The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this Code section."

SECTION 2. Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prestige license plates and special plates for certain persons and vehicles, is amended by revising Code Section 40-2-70, relating to free license plates and revalidation decals for disabled veterans, as follows:
"40-2-70. (a) Any citizen and resident of the State of Georgia who has been discharged from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable or who is currently serving in the armed forces, who is disabled to any degree specified and enumerated in Code Section 40-2-69, and who is the owner of a private passenger motor vehicle, but who cannot qualify under Code Section 40-2-69, shall be entitled to a special and distinctive automobile license plate. Such license plate shall be transferred to another vehicle acquired by such veteran or jointly by such veteran and his or her spouse as provided in Code Section 40-2-80. Such veteran shall be entitled to such plate regardless of whether he or she is suffering from a service connected or nonservice connected disability. (b) Such veteran must apply for such license plate and, upon compliance with the state motor vehicle laws for licensing of motor vehicles and without payment of the regular license fee for plates as prescribed under Article 7 of this chapter, such veteran shall be issued similar license plates as prescribed in Code Section 40-2-71 for private passenger cars. There shall be no charge for the additional plate issued such veteran under this Code section. There shall be no charge for revalidation decals for such plates. (c) If a veteran has not been certified as disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, such veteran may submit to the Department of Veterans Service such veteran's discharge papers and a certified statement from a physician, licensed under Chapter 34 of Title 43, certifying that in the opinion of such physician such veteran is disabled to a degree enumerated in Code Section 40-2-69. If the certificate from the physician indicates the qualifying disabilities which meet the standards of the United States

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Department of Veterans Affairs, the commissioner of veterans service shall submit a letter to the state revenue commissioner indicating that the veteran meets the requirements of this Code section and qualifies for a special license plate as provided in this Code section."

SECTION 3. Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-2-71, relating to design of disabled veteran plates and restrictions on issuance and transfer, as follows:
"40-2-71. (a) The commissioner is directed to furnish the license plates provided for in Code Sections 40-2-69 and 40-2-70. Such plates shall be printed in three colors: red, white, and blue. The commissioner is authorized and directed to design the license plate. Each plate shall contain, in bold characters, the name of the state, or abbreviation thereof, the year, the serial number, either the words 'Disabled Veteran' or 'Disabled Vet,' and an image of the International Symbol of Access which is at least one inch in height and is white on a blue background. (b) Such license plates so issued shall be transferred to another vehicle as provided in Code Section 40-2-80. (c) No disabled veteran shall be entitled to own or operate more than one vehicle with the free license plates provided by Code Sections 40-2-69, 40-2-70, and this Code section."

SECTION 4. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-84, relating to the issuance of license plates to veterans awarded Purple Hearts, as follows:
"(a)(1) Motor vehicle or motorcycle owners who are veterans of the armed forces of the United States who have been awarded the Purple Heart citation shall be eligible to receive a special and distinctive vehicle license plate for a private passenger car, motorcycle, trailer, or truck used for personal transportation, provided that the requisite number of applications is received by the commissioner as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section. Such license plate shall be issued in compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles as prescribed in Article 2 of this chapter. (2) For purposes of this Code section, the term 'veteran' shall include a member of the armed forces or reserves who is still serving on active duty after being awarded the Purple Heart citation."

SECTION 5. Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-2-85.1, relating to special and distinctive license plates for veterans, as follows:
"40-2-85.1. (a) For purposes of this Code section, the term:

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(1) 'Military medal award' means the following medals, decorations, or other recognition of honor for military service awarded by a branch of the United States military:
(A) Medal of Honor; (B) Bronze Star Medal; (C) Silver Star Medal; (D) Distinguished Service Cross; (E) Navy Cross; (F) Air Force Cross; (G) Defense Distinguished Service Medal; (H) Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal; (I) Distinguished Service Medal; (J) Navy Distinguished Service Medal; (K) Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; (L) Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal; (M) Defense Superior Service Medal; (N) Legion of Merit; (O) Distinguished Flying Cross; (P) Purple Heart; and (Q) Air Medal. (2) 'Served during active military combat' means active duty service in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Global War on Terrorism as defined by Presidential Executive Order 13289, Section 2, the war in Afghanistan, or the war in Iraq, which includes either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. (b)(1) Motor vehicle and trailer owners who are retired veterans of the armed forces of the United States, or who have received a military medal award, or persons who served during active military combat shall be eligible to receive special and distinctive vehicle license plates for private passenger cars, trucks, or recreational vehicles used for personal transportation. Eligibility to receive a special and distinctive vehicle license plate for persons who are no longer serving in the United States military shall be conditioned on such person having been discharged from military service under honorable conditions. Such license plates shall be issued in compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles as prescribed in Article 2 of this chapter. (2)(A) Motor vehicle and trailer owners who retired from active duty with the armed forces of the United States or have received a military medal award or served during active military combat shall be issued upon application for and upon compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles a retired veteran's license plate, military medal award recipient license plate, or commemorative service license plate for service during active military combat. One

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such license plate shall be issued without the requisite registration fee, manufacturing fee, or annual registration fee. (B) Each member or former member of the armed forces listed in subsection (b) of this Code section shall be entitled to no more than one such free license plate at a time; provided, however, that upon payment of a manufacturing fee of $25.00, a member shall be entitled to one additional such license plate. For each additional license plate for which a $25.00 manufacturing fee is required, there shall be an additional annual registration fee of $25.00 which fee shall be collected by the county tag agent at the time of collection of other registration fees and shall be remitted to the state as provided in Code Section 40-2-34. (c) The commissioner shall design a retired veteran's license plate, a military medal award recipient license plate, and a license plate to commemorate service with the United States armed forces during active military combat. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to enforce compliance with all state license laws relating to the use and operation of private passenger cars, trucks, and trailers before issuing these license plates in lieu of the regular Georgia license plates. The manufacturing fee for such special and distinctive license plates shall be $25.00. The commissioner is specifically authorized to promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to ensure compliance in instances where such vehicles have been transferred or sold. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, such plates shall be nontransferable. (d) The special and distinctive vehicle license plates shall be as prescribed in Article 2 of this chapter for private passenger cars, trucks, and trailers used for personal transportation. Such plates shall contain such words or symbols, in addition to the numbers and letters prescribed by law, so as to identify distinctively the owners as retired veterans of the armed forces of the United States, or recipients of a military medal award, or persons who served during active military combat and shall additionally, for such plates manufactured after July 1, 2001, identify distinctly the owner as a veteran of one of the following branches of the armed forces: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard. (e) The license plate issued pursuant to this Code section shall be transferred between vehicles as provided in Code Section 40-2-80. The spouse of a deceased veteran of the armed forces of the United States or of a deceased person who received a military medal award or who served during active military combat shall continue to be eligible to be issued a distinctive personalized license plate as provided in this Code section for any vehicle owned by such veteran ownership of which is transferred to the surviving spouse or for any other vehicle owned by such surviving spouse either at the time of the qualifying veteran's death or acquired thereafter, so long as such person does not remarry. (f) Special license plates issued under this Code section, except as provided in subparagraph (a)(2)(A) of this Code section, shall be renewed annually with a revalidation decal as provided in Code Section 40-2-31 without payment of an additional $25.00 annual registration fee. It shall be a requirement that a county name decal shall be affixed and displayed on license plates issued under this Code section."

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SECTION 6. Said article is further amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (a) and by adding three new paragraphs to subsection (m) of Code Section 40-2-86, relating to special license plates promoting certain beneficial projects and supporting certain worthy agencies, funds, or nonprofit corporations, to read as follows:
"(2) In accordance with Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(n) of the Constitution, the General Assembly has determined that the issuance of special license plates to support an agency or fund or a program beneficial to the people of this state that is administered by a nonprofit corporation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the Internal Revenue Code and dedicating a portion of the funds raised from the sale of these special license plates is in the best interests of the people of this state." "(10) A special license plate to support prostate cancer related awareness and research programs. The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection notwithstanding, from the additional $35.00 special license plate fee or special license plate renewal fee charged for the issuance and renewal of prostate cancer license plates authorized under this paragraph, $13.00 shall be deposited in the general fund and $22.00 shall be disbursed to the Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition to fund prostate cancer awareness, research, screening, and treatment related programs. (11) A special license plate to support lung cancer related awareness and research programs. The funds raised by the sale of this special license plate shall be disbursed as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection to the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund to fund lung cancer awareness, screening, research, and treatment related programs. (12) A special license plate to support Georgia nurses and charitable and philanthropic efforts to support, advance, and promote the nursing profession. The funds raised by the sale of this special license plate shall be disbursed as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection to the Georgia Nurses Foundation of the Georgia Nurses Association for carrying out such programs and purposes."

SECTION 7. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 40-2-86.1, relating to special license plates promoting certain beneficial projects and supporting certain worthy agencies, funds, or nonprofit corporations, as follows:
"(d) Any Georgia resident who is the owner of a motor vehicle, except a vehicle registered under the International Registration Plan, upon complying with the motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles and upon the payment of a manufacturing fee of $25.00 and a special license plate fee of $35.00, in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee, shall be able to apply for a special license plate listed in subsection (l) of this Code section. Revalidation decals shall be issued for special license plates in the same manner as provided for general issue license plates, with the addition of a $35.00 special license plate renewal fee, provided that special license plates

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issued pursuant to paragraph (9) of subsection (l) of this Code section shall be exempt from such special license plate renewal fee."

SECTION 8. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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CRIMES AND OFFENSES THEFT; REVISE PROVISIONS REGARDING REMOVAL OF SHOPPING CARTS.

No. 595 (House Bill No. 1093).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to theft, so as to change provisions relating to removal of shopping carts and the required posting of the Code section in stores and markets; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to theft, is amended by revising Code Section 16-8-21, relating to removal or abandonment of shopping carts, as follows:
"16-8-21. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'shopping cart' means those pushcarts of the type which are commonly provided by grocery stores, drugstores, or other merchant stores or markets for the use of the public in transporting commodities in stores and markets and incidentally from the store to a place outside the store. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to remove a shopping cart from the premises of the owner of such shopping cart without the consent, given at the time of such removal, of the owner or of his or her agent, servant, or employee. For the purpose of this Code section, the premises shall include all the parking area set aside by the owner or on behalf of the owner for the parking of cars for the convenience of the patrons of the owner. (c) It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon a shopping cart upon any public street, sidewalk, way, or parking lot other than a parking lot on the premises of the owner.

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(d) Any person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOCAL CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARDS; REVISE DEFINITION.

No. 596 (House Bill No. 93).

AN ACT

To amend Article 2 of Chapter 74 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government code enforcement boards created on or after January 1, 2003, so as to change a definition for purposes of said article; to change certain references to "code inspectors" to "code enforcement officers" in said article; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 2 of Chapter 74 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government code enforcement boards created on or after January 1, 2003, is amended by revising paragraph (1) of Code Section 36-74-21, relating to definitions relative to said article, as follows:
"(1) 'Code enforcement officer' means any person contracted with or employed by a county or municipality who has enforcement authority for health, safety, or welfare requirements and is authorized to issue citations or file formal complaints regarding the same."

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SECTION 2. Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 36-74-23, relating to initiating proceedings, time to correct violations, repeat violations, and hearings, as follows:
"36-74-23. (a) It shall be the duty of the code enforcement officer to initiate enforcement proceedings pursuant to the various codes; however, no member of a board shall have the power to initiate such enforcement proceedings. (b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this Code section, if a violation of any code or ordinance is found, the code enforcement officer shall notify the violator and give him or her a reasonable time to correct the violation. Should the violation continue beyond the time specified for correction, the code enforcement officer shall proceed with enforcement through the appropriate court or shall proceed with enforcement through the appropriate code enforcement board. If the code enforcement officer proceeds through a code enforcement board, the code enforcement officer shall notify an enforcement board and request a hearing. The code enforcement board shall schedule a hearing, and written notice of such hearing shall be hand delivered or made as provided in Code Section 36-74-29 to said violator. At the option of the code enforcement board, notice may additionally be served by publication or posting as provided in Code Section 36-74-29. If the violation is corrected and then recurs or if the violation is not corrected by the time specified for correction by the code enforcement officer, the case may be presented to the enforcement board even if the violation has been corrected prior to the board hearing, and the notice shall so state. (c) If a repeat violation is found, the code enforcement officer shall notify the violator but is not required to give the violator a reasonable time to correct the violation. The code enforcement officer, upon notifying the violator of a repeat violation, shall notify an enforcement board and request a hearing. The code enforcement board shall schedule a hearing and shall provide written notice pursuant to Code Section 36-74-29. The case may be presented to the enforcement board even if the repeat violation has been corrected prior to the board hearing, and the notice shall so state. (d) If the code enforcement officer has substantial reason to believe a violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety, and welfare or if the violation is irreparable or irreversible in nature, the code enforcement officer shall make a reasonable effort to notify the violator and may immediately notify the enforcement board and request a hearing."

SECTION 3. Said article is further amended by revising subsections (a) through (c) of Code Section 36-74-24, relating to calling of hearings and hearing proceedings, as follows:
"(a) Upon request of the code enforcement officer, or at such other times as may be necessary, the chairperson of an enforcement board may call a hearing of an enforcement board; a hearing also may be called by written notice signed by at least three members of a seven-member enforcement board or signed by at least two members of a five-member

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enforcement board. Minutes shall be kept of all hearings by each enforcement board, and all hearings and proceedings shall be open to the public. The local governing body may provide or assign clerical and administrative personnel to assist the enforcement board in the proper performance of its duties. (b) Each case before an enforcement board shall be presented by the local governing body attorney or by a code enforcement officer or other member of the administrative staff of the local governing body. (c) An enforcement board shall proceed to hear the cases on the agenda for that day. All testimony shall be under oath and shall be recorded. The enforcement board shall take testimony from the code enforcement officer and alleged violator. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but fundamental due process shall be observed and shall govern the proceedings."

SECTION 4. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 36-74-26, relating to administrative fines and public records, as follows:
"(a) An enforcement board, upon notification by the code enforcement officer that an order of the enforcement board has not been complied with by the set time may order the violator to pay an administrative fine in an amount specified in this Code section."

SECTION 5. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 36-74-29, relating to notice required and form of notice, as follows:
"(a) All notices required by this article shall be provided to the alleged violator by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested; by hand delivery by the sheriff or other law enforcement officer, code enforcement officer, or other person designated by the local governing body; or by leaving the notice at the violator's usual place of residence with any person residing therein who is above 15 years of age and informing such person of the contents of the notice."

SECTION 6. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 36-74-30, relating to other enforcement methods and probable cause for investigation required, as follows:
"(a) It is the intent of this article to provide an additional or supplemental means of obtaining compliance with local codes. Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit a local governing body through its code enforcement officer from enforcing its codes by any other lawful means including criminal and civil proceedings; provided, however, that a local governing body shall not pursue a specific instance of an alleged violation of an ordinance against one violator before both a code enforcement board and a magistrate, municipal, or other court authorized to hear ordinance violations."

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SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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COURTS BELL-FORSYTH AND PIEDMONT JUDICIAL CIRCUITS; ADDITIONAL JUDGE; GWINNETT JUDICIAL CIRCUIT; SELECTION OF CHIEF JUDGE.

No. 597 (Senate Bill No. 356).

AN ACT

To amend Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, so as to provide for an additional judge of the courts of the Bell-Forsyth and Piedmont judicial circuits; to provide for the initial appointment of such judges by the Governor; to provide for the election and terms of office of such judges; to provide for the compensation, salary, and expense allowance of such judges to be paid by the State of Georgia and the counties comprising the judicial circuits; to provide for jurors; to authorize the judges of the circuits to divide and allocate the work and duties thereof and provide for the duties of the chief judges and presiding judges; to provide for powers, duties, and responsibilities of judges of said circuits; to provide for additional court reporters and personnel and the compensation of such reporters and personnel; to declare inherent authority; to amend an Act entitled "An Act to amend Code Section 15-6-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the number of judges of superior court, so as to provide for an additional judge of the superior courts of Cobb, Cordele, Dublin, Enotah, and Gwinnett judicial circuits," approved May 29, 2007 (Ga. L. 2007, p. 695), so as to provide for the selection of the chief judge of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit; to provide effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1.

Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising paragraphs (5.1) and (32) of Code Section 15-6-2, relating to the number of superior court judges for each judicial circuit, as follows:

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"(5.1) Bell-Forsyth Circuit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3" "(32) Piedmont Circuit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4"

PART II SECTION 2-1.
A new judge of the superior court is added to the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit, thereby increasing to three the number of judges of said circuit.
SECTION 2-2. The additional judge of the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit shall be appointed by the Governor for a term beginning January 1, 2013, and expiring December 31, 2014, and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. His or her successor shall be elected in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the superior courts of this state at the nonpartisan judicial election in 2014, for a term of four years beginning on January 1, 2015, and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Future successors shall be elected at the nonpartisan judicial election each four years after such election for terms of four years and until their successors are elected and qualified. They shall take office on the first day of January following the date of the election.
SECTION 2-3. The additional judge of the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit shall have and may exercise all powers, duties, dignities, jurisdiction, privileges, and immunities of the present judges of the superior courts of this state. Any of the judges of said court may preside over any cause, whether in their own or in other circuits, and perform any official act as judge thereof, including sitting on appellate courts as provided by law.
SECTION 2-4. The chief judge of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit shall be the judge who has the most experience as a sitting judge of a superior court in the State of Georgia. The three judges of said court may adopt, promulgate, amend, and enforce such rules of practice and procedure in consonance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia as they deem suitable and proper for the effective transaction of the business of the court; and, in transacting the business of the court and in performing their duties and responsibilities, they shall equally share, divide, and allocate the work and duties to be performed by each. In the event of a disagreement between the judges as to the operation of the superior court, the majority shall rule, or failing a majority, the decision of the chief judge shall control.

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SECTION 2-5. The qualifications of such additional judge and his or her successors shall be the same as are now provided by law for all other superior court judges. The additional judge's compensation, salary, and expense allowance from the State of Georgia and from Forsyth County shall be the same as are now provided by law for all other superior court judges. The provisions, if any, enacted for the supplementation by Forsyth County of the salary of the judges of the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit shall also be applicable to the additional judge provided for by this Act.

SECTION 2-6. All writs, processes, orders, subpoenas, and any other official papers issuing out of the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit may bear teste in the name of any judge of said circuit and, when issued by and in the name of any of said judges of said circuit, shall be fully valid and may be held and determined before any judge of said circuit. All writs and processes in the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit shall be returnable to the terms of said superior court as they are now fixed and provided by law, or as they may hereafter be fixed or determined by law, and all terms of said courts shall be held in the same manner as though there were but one judge.

SECTION 2-7. The choosing of all jurors, whether grand or trial, may be by any of the judges of the superior court of said circuit; and any such judge of the superior court of said circuit shall have full power and authority to choose jurors for service in said court so as to have jurors for the trial of cases before each of said judges separately or before each of them at the same time.

SECTION 2-8. The three judges of the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit shall be authorized to employ an additional court reporter for such duties and for such compensation as such judges see fit, up to and including, but not exceeding, the remuneration of the present court reporters of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit as the same is now fixed or may hereafter be fixed. The additional judge shall be authorized to employ other court personnel on the same basis as other judges of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit.

SECTION 2-9. The governing authority of the county comprising the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit is authorized to provide suitable courtrooms, jury rooms, and chambers for the judges of the superior court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit upon the recommendation of said judges.

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PART III SECTION 3-1.

A new judge of the superior court is added to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, thereby increasing to four the number of judges of said circuit.

SECTION 3-2. The additional judge of the superior court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit shall be appointed by the Governor for a term beginning January 1, 2013, and expiring December 31, 2014, and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. His or her successor shall be elected in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the superior courts of this state at the nonpartisan judicial election in 2014, for a term of four years beginning on January 1, 2015, and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Future successors shall be elected at the nonpartisan judicial election each four years after such election for terms of four years and until their successors are elected and qualified. They shall take office on the first day of January following the date of the election.

SECTION 3-3. The additional judge of the superior court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit of Georgia shall have and may exercise all powers, duties, dignity, jurisdiction, privileges, and immunities of the present judges of the superior courts of this state. Any of the judges of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit may preside over any cause, whether in their own or in other circuits, and perform any official act as judge thereof, including sitting on appellate courts as provided by law.

SECTION 3-4. The qualifications of such additional judge and his or her successors and his or her compensation, salary, and expense allowance from the State of Georgia and from the counties of the superior court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit shall be the same as are now provided by law for all other superior court judges. The provisions, if any, enacted for the supplementation by the counties of said circuit of the salary of the judges of the superior court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit shall also be applicable to the additional judge provided for by this Act.

SECTION 3-5. All writs and processes in the superior court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit shall be returnable to the terms of said superior court as they are now fixed and provided by law, or as they may hereafter be fixed or determined by law, and all terms of said court shall be held in the same manner as though there were but one judge, it being the intent and purpose of this Act to provide four judges equal in jurisdiction and authority to attend and perform the

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functions, powers, and duties of the judges of said superior court and to direct and conduct all hearings and trials in said court.

SECTION 3-6. Upon and after qualification of the additional judge of the superior court of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, the judges of said court may adopt, promulgate, amend, and enforce such rules of practice and procedure in consonance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia as they deem suitable and proper for the effective transaction of the business of the court; and, in transacting the business of the court and in performing their duties and responsibilities, they shall share, divide, and allocate the work and duties to be performed by each. In the event of a disagreement among the judges as to the operation of the superior court, the majority shall rule, or failing a majority, the decision of the senior judge in point of service, who shall be known as the chief judge, shall control.

SECTION 3-7. The choosing of all jurors, whether grand or trial, may be by any of the judges of the superior court of the circuit; and any such judge shall have full power and authority to choose jurors for service in said court so as to have jurors for the trial of cases before any of said judges separately or before each of them at the same time.

SECTION 3-8. The judges of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit shall be authorized and empowered to appoint an additional court reporter for such circuit, whose compensation shall be as now or hereafter provided by law.

SECTION 3-9. All writs, processes, orders, subpoenas, and any other official paper issuing out of the superior courts of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit may bear teste in the name of any judge of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit and, when issued by and in the name of any judge of said circuit, shall be fully valid and may be heard and determined before the same or any other judge of said circuit. Any judge of said circuit may preside over any case therein and perform any official act as judge thereof.

SECTION 3-10. Upon request of any judge of the circuit, the governing authorities of the counties comprising the Piedmont Judicial Circuit shall be authorized to furnish the judges of said circuit with suitable courtrooms and facilities, office space, telephones, furniture, office equipment, supplies, and such personnel as may be considered necessary by the court to the proper function of the court. All of the expenditures authorized in this Act shall be expenses of the court and payable out of the county treasury as such.

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PART IV SECTION 4-1.

An Act entitled "An Act to amend Code Section 15-6-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the number of judges of superior court, so as to provide for an additional judge of the superior courts of Cobb, Cordele, Dublin, Enotah, and Gwinnett judicial circuits," approved May 29, 2007 (Ga. L. 2007, p. 695), is amended by revising Sections 6-5 and 6-6 as follows:

"SECTION 6-5. Upon and after qualification of the additional judge of the superior court of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit, the ten judges of said court shall be authorized to adopt, promulgate, amend, and enforce such rules of procedure in consonance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia as they deem suitable and proper for the effective transaction of the business of the court; and, in transacting the business of the court and in performing their duties and responsibilities, they shall divide and allocate the work and duties to be performed by each. In the event of a disagreement between or among said judges affecting the duties and responsibilities of the judges of the superior court of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit, the decision of the chief judge of the circuit shall be controlling.

SECTION 6-6. The chief judge of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit shall be elected from among the judges by a 50 percent vote of the total number of judges voting. In the event no person obtains at least 50 percent of the vote after three ballots, the chief judge shall be the eligible judge having the most seniority. The term for a chief judge shall be two years, and a person may be elected to successive terms. The chief judge shall be vested with the power to make all appointments whenever the law provides for the superior court judge to make appointments, except as herein provided."

PART V SECTION 5-1.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to limit or restrict the inherent powers, duties, and responsibilities of superior court judges provided by the Constitution and statutes of the State of Georgia.

SECTION 5-2. (a) For purposes of making the initial appointments of the judges to fill the superior court judgeships created by this Act, this Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or its becoming law without such approval. (b) For all other purposes, this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

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SECTION 5-3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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PENAL INSTITUTIONS PROHIBIT FIRST OFFENDER TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN
CRIMES INVOLVING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

No. 598 (Senate Bill No. 231).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 42-8-60 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to probation prior to adjudication of guilt, so as to prohibit first offender treatment for certain crimes involving law enforcement officers; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 42-8-60 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to probation prior to adjudication of guilt, is amended by revising subsection (d) as follows:
"(d) The court shall not sentence a defendant under the provisions of this article who has been found guilty of or entered a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere for:
(1) A serious violent felony as such term is defined in Code Section 17-10-6.1; (2) A sexual offense as such term is defined in Code Section 17-10-6.2; (3) Sexual exploitation of a minor as defined in Code Section 16-12-100; (4) Electronically furnishing obscene material to a minor as defined in Code Section 16-12-100.1; (5) Computer pornography and child exploitation, as defined in Code Section 16-12-100.2; or
(6)(A) Any of the following offenses when such offense is committed against a law enforcement officer while such officer is engaged in the performance of his or her official duties:
(i) Aggravated assault in violation of Code Section 16-5-21; (ii) Aggravated battery in violation of Code Section 16-5-24; or

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(iii) Obstruction of a law enforcement officer in violation of subsection (b) of Code Section 16-10-24, if such violation results in serious physical harm or injury to such officer. (B) As used in this paragraph, the term 'law enforcement officer' means: (i) A 'peace officer' as such term is defined in paragraph (8) of Code Section 35-8-2; (ii) A law enforcement officer of the United States government; (iii) A person employed as a campus police officer or school security officer; (iv) A conservation ranger; and (v) A jail officer employed at a county or municipal jail."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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CIVIL PRACTICE COURTS LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROPERTY STATE GOVERNMENT MODERNIZE STORAGE, COLLECTION, ACCESS, AND TRANSMITTAL OF DOCUMENTS HOUSED IN OFFICES OF CLERKS OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS; FILLING VACANCIES IN THE OFFICE OF CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT; BONDS; DUTIES OF CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT; JURORS.

No. 599 (House Bill No. 665).

AN ACT

To amend Titles 9, 15, and 44, Chapter 18 of Title 50, and Code Section 36-9-5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil practice, courts, property, state printing and documents, and storage of documents, respectively, so as to modernize provisions relating to storage, collection, access, and transmittal of documents housed in clerk of superior court offices; to provide for modern technological advances in electronic record keeping; to provide for storage of depositions; to allow superior court clerks to serve as clerks in other courts; to change provisions relating to the selection of the clerk of court when a vacancy occurs; to increase the bond required by the clerk of court; to change provisions relating to the clerk's duties; to change provisions relating to recordation and display of maps and plats; to change provisions relating to destruction of obsolete records and preservation of newspapers with legal advertisements; to change provisions relating to payment of costs;

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to remove provisions relating to punishment of clerks; to change provisions relating to the process for removal of clerks; to change provisions relating to the location of clerk's offices and office hours; to remove the fee system; to change provisions relating to cases transferred from magistrate to state or superior courts; to repeal provisions relating to disposition of books; to change provisions relating to recording property records; to change provisions relating to the release of a lien upon the filing of a bond; to change provisions relating to inspection of records; to change provisions relating to microform standards; to amend Code Section 1-3-1, Title 15, and Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to construction of statutes generally, courts, and penal institutions, respectively, so as to conform provisions and correct cross-references; to amend Chapter 12 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to juries, so as to clarify that certain persons shall be ineligible to serve as trial or grand jurors; to provide for the use of jurors summoned prior to the compilation of county master jury lists; to revise provisions relating to the qualifications of grand jurors; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1.

Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil practice, is amended by revising Code Section 9-11-29.1, relating to when depositions and other discovery material must be filed with court and custodian until filing, as follows:
"9-11-29.1. (a) Depositions and other discovery material otherwise required to be filed with the court under this chapter shall not be required to be so filed unless:
(1) Required by local rule of court; (2) Ordered by the court; (3) Requested by any party to the action; (4) Relief relating to discovery material is sought under this chapter and said material has not previously been filed under some other provision of this chapter, in which event copies of the material in dispute shall be filed by the movant contemporaneously with the motion for relief; or (5) Such material is to be used at trial or is necessary to a pretrial or posttrial motion and said material has not previously been filed under some other provision of this chapter, in which event the portions to be used shall be filed with the clerk of court at the outset of the trial or at the filing of the motion, insofar as their use can be reasonably anticipated by the parties having custody thereof, but a party attempting to file and use such material which was not filed with the clerk at the outset of the trial or at the filing of the motion shall show to the satisfaction of the court, before the court may authorize such filing and

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use, that sufficient reasons exist to justify that late filing and use and that the late filing and use will not constitute surprise or manifest injustice to any other party in the proceedings. (b) Until such time as discovery material is filed under paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) of this Code section, the original of all depositions shall be retained by the party taking the deposition and the original of all other discovery material shall be retained by the party requesting such material, and the person thus retaining the deposition or other discovery material shall be the custodian thereof. (c) When depositions and other discovery material are filed with the clerk of court as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, the clerk of court shall retain such original documents and materials until final disposition, either by verdict or appeal, of the action in which such materials were filed. The clerk of court shall be authorized thereafter to destroy such materials upon microfilming or digitally imaging such materials and maintaining such materials in a manner that facilitates retrieval and reproduction, so long as the microfilm and digital images meet the standards established by the Georgia Department of Archives and History; provided, however, that the clerk of court shall not be required to microfilm or digitally image depositions that are not used for evidentiary purposes during the trial of the issues of the case in which such depositions were filed."

SECTION 1-2. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 9-12-81, relating to the general execution docket, as follows:
"(a) The clerk of superior court of each county shall be required to keep a general execution docket in paper or electronic data base form."

SECTION 1-3. Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising Code Section 15-6-51, relating to eligibility to serve as city or state court clerk, as follows:
"15-6-51. The clerk of superior court shall be eligible to hold the office of clerk of the municipal, state, or other court in the counties of their residence, on taking the oath and giving bond and security as prescribed by law."

SECTION 1-4. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-53, relating to appointment of clerk by presiding judge, as follows:
"15-6-53. (a) In any county in which a chief deputy clerk has been appointed pursuant to Code Section 15-6-59, the chief deputy clerk shall become the clerk of superior court if the clerk of superior court dies, resigns, is removed from office pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 45-2-1, or otherwise vacates office. The chief deputy clerk shall hold office for the

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unexpired term of his or her predecessor, provided that more than two years of the clerk's term of office have expired at the time the clerk vacates office. If more than two years of the clerk's term of office have not expired at the time the clerk vacates office, a special election shall be held, as provided in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-540, at least 120 days but no later than 365 days after the date the vacancy occurred. The person elected on such date shall hold office for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor. The returns of the election shall be made to the Governor, who shall immediately commission the person elected clerk.
(b)(1) In any county in which a chief deputy clerk has not been appointed pursuant to Code Section 15-6-59, the probate judge shall immediately appoint a qualified person to serve as the interim clerk of superior court when the clerk vacates office for any reason. Such interim clerk shall serve in such capacity until the vacancy is filled pursuant to the provisions of this subsection; provided, however, that the interim clerk shall not serve more than one year. Any act done by the interim clerk during such period that the clerk could have done shall be valid. (2) When a vacancy is filled pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Code section and it is more than six months from the date when the clerk vacated office until the next general election is held, the election superintendent for the county shall call a special election to fill the vacancy, as provided in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-540, and such official shall give notice in one or more of the public newspapers of the county, if any, at the courthouse, and at three or more of the most public places of the county at least 30 days prior to the date of election. Such special election shall be held at least 120 days but no later than 365 days after the date the vacancy occurred. The person elected on such date shall hold office for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor. The returns of the election shall be made to the Governor, who shall immediately commission the person elected clerk."

SECTION 1-5. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-54, relating to the appointment by probate judge pending filling of vacancy and duration of appointment, as follows:
"15-6-54. Reserved."

SECTION 1-6. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-55, relating to emergency service by the probate court judge or clerk, as follows:
"15-6-55. (a) If as a result of any sudden emergency there is a vacancy in the office of clerk of superior court, and a person who meets the qualifications for a clerk of superior court as set forth in Code Section 15-6-50 cannot immediately fill the vacancy pursuant to Code Section 15-6-53, the judge of the probate court shall act as clerk of superior court for a

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period not to exceed 120 days. Any act done by the probate judge during such period that the clerk could have done shall be valid. (b) If there is a temporary absence of the clerk of superior court for any reason not specified in Code Section 15-6-53 or if the clerk of superior court for any reason does not act as clerk at the time provided by law for holding a term of the superior courts and there is no chief deputy clerk to perform such duties, notwithstanding local law, the judges of the superior court of the judicial circuit by a majority vote shall appoint an interim deputy clerk who shall hold the office of clerk during the term of court and for ten days thereafter. If a majority of the judges do not agree to the selection of the interim deputy clerk, the chief judge of the superior court shall select the interim deputy clerk. Any act which the chief deputy clerk or the appointed clerk does during such time which the clerk could have done shall be valid."

SECTION 1-7. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-56, relating to election to fill vacancy, term of office, and filling of vacancies in counties with chief deputy clerk, as follows:
"15-6-56. Reserved."

SECTION 1-8. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 15-6-58, relating to oath of office, as follows:
"(a) The clerks of superior courts, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, whether appointed, elected, or acting by operation of law besides the oath required of all civil officers, must take and subscribe to the following oath:
'I do swear or affirm that I will truly and faithfully enter and record all the orders, decrees, judgments, and other proceedings of the Superior Court of the County of ________, and all other matters and things which I am required by law to record; and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties required of me, to the best of my understanding. So help me God.'"

SECTION 1-9. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-59, relating to bond and appointment of deputies, as follows:
"15-6-59. (a) The clerk of each of the superior courts shall execute bond in the sum of $150,000.00, which amount may be increased in any county by local Act or by an ordinance or resolution of the governing authority. (b) The clerks of superior courts shall have the power to appoint a deputy or deputies and, upon making such appointment, shall require from such deputies a bond with good

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security. The deputies shall take the same oaths as the clerks do before entering upon the discharge of their duties. The oath shall be administered by the clerk of superior court and recorded on the minutes of the superior court. Powers and duties of deputy clerks shall be the same as those of the clerks, as long as their principals continue in office and not longer, for faithful performance of which they and their securities shall be bound. The clerks of superior courts shall also have the authority to appoint one of their deputies as chief deputy clerk."

SECTION 1-10. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-61, relating to duties of clerks generally, use of computerized record-keeping system, and printed copies of the grantor and grantee indices, as follows:
"15-6-61. (a) It is the duty of a clerk of superior court:
(1) To keep the clerk's office and all things belonging thereto at the county site and at the courthouse or at such other place or places as authorized by law; (2) To attend to the needs of the court through the performance of the duties of the clerk required and enumerated by law, or as defined in court order, or rules; (3) To issue and sign every summons, writ, execution, process, order, or other paper under authority of the court and attach seals thereto when necessary. The clerk shall be authorized to issue and sign under authority of the court any order to show cause in any pending litigation and any other order in the nature of a rule nisi, where no injunctive or extraordinary relief is granted; (4) To keep in the clerk's office the following:
(A) An automated civil case management system which shall contain separate case number entries for all civil actions filed in the office of the clerk, including complaints, proceedings, Uniform Interstate Family Support Act actions, domestic relations, contempt actions, motions and modifications on closed civil actions, and all other actions civil in nature except adoptions; (B) An automated criminal case management system which shall contain a summary record of all criminal indictments in which true bills are rendered and all criminal accusations filed in the office of clerk of superior court. The criminal case management system shall contain entries of other matters of a criminal nature filed with the clerk, including quasi-civil proceedings and entries of cases which are ordered dead docketed at the discretion of the presiding judge and which shall be called only at the judge's pleasure. When a case is thus dead docketed, all witnesses who may have been subpoenaed therein shall be released from further attendance until resubpoenaed; and (C) A docket, file, series of files, book or series of books, microfilm records, or electronic data base for recording all deeds, liens, executions, lis pendens, maps and plats, and all other documents concerning or evidencing title to real or personal property. When any other law of this state refers to a general execution docket, lis

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pendens docket, or attachment docket, such other law shall be deemed to refer to the docket or other record or records provided for in this subparagraph, regardless of the format used to store such docket; (5) To keep all the books, papers, dockets, and records belonging to the office with care and security and to keep the papers filed, arranged, numbered, and labeled, so as to be of easy reference; (6) To keep at the clerk's office all publications of the laws of the United States furnished by the state and all publications of the laws and journals of this state, all statute laws and digests, this Code, which shall be paid for from county or law library funds, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals reports, and all other law books or other public documents distributed to the clerk, for the public's convenience; provided, however, that the clerk may consent that these publications be maintained in the public law library; (7) To procure a substantial seal of office with the name of the court and the county inscribed thereon; (8) To make out and deliver to any applicant, upon payment to the clerk of legal fees, a correct transcript, properly certified, of any minute, record, or file of the clerk's office except for such records or documents which are, by provision of law, not to be released; (9) Upon payment of legal fees to the clerk, to make out a transcript of the record of each case to be considered by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals and a duplicate thereof numbered in exact accordance with the numbering of the pages of the original transcript of the record to be transmitted to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals; (10) To make a notation on all conveyances of real or personal property, including liens, of the date and time they were recorded, which shall be evidence of the facts stated. All liens or conveyances presented to the clerk for filing shall be on 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch or 8 1/2 inch by 14 inch paper or the digital equivalent and shall have a three-inch margin at the top to allow space for the clerk's notation required by this paragraph. The clerk shall not record any instrument or document conveying real or personal property, including liens, that is not prepared as required by this paragraph. The notation required by this paragraph may be made by the clerk or the clerk's deputy or employee by written signature, facsimile signature, mechanical printing, or electronic signature or stamp; (11) To attest deeds and other written instruments for registration; (12) To administer all oaths required by the court or that may otherwise be required by law and to record all oaths required by law; (13) To transmit to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority or its designated agent within 24 hours of filing of any financing statement, amendment to a financing statement, assignment of a financing statement, continuation statement, termination statement, or release of collateral, by facsimile or other electronic means, such information and in such form and manner as may be required by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, for the purpose of including such information in the central indexing system administered by such authority; provided,

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however, that weekends and holidays shall not be included in the calculation of the 24 hour period; (14) To remit to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority a portion of all fees collected with respect to the filings of financing statements, amendments to financing statements, assignments of financing statements, continuation statements, termination statements, releases of collateral, or any other documents related to personal property and included in the central index, in accordance with the rules and regulations of such authority regarding the amount and payment of such fees; provided, however, that such fees shall be remitted to the authority not later than the tenth day of the month following the collection of such fees, and the clerk shall not be required to remit such fees more often than once a week; (15) To participate in the state-wide uniform automated information system for real and personal property records, as provided for by Code Sections 15-6-97 and 15-6-98, and any network established by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority relating to the transmission and retrieval of electronic information concerning real estate and personal property data for any such information systems established by such authority so as to provide for public access to real estate and personal property information, including liens filed pursuant to Code Section 44-2-2 and maps and plats. Each clerk of superior court shall provide to the authority or its designated agent in accordance with the rules and regulations of the authority such real estate information concerning or evidencing title to real property and such personal property information or access to such information which is of record in the office of clerk of superior court and which is necessary to establish and maintain the information system, including information filed pursuant to Code Section 44-2-2 and maps and plats. Each clerk of superior court shall provide and transmit real estate and personal property information filed in the office of clerk of superior court, including information required by Code Section 44-2-2 and maps and plats, to the authority for testing and operation of the information system at such times and in such form as prescribed by the authority; (16) To participate in any network established by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority relating to the transmission and retrieval of electronic information concerning carbon sequestration results and related transactions for any such information systems established by such authority for purposes of the carbon sequestration registry established pursuant to Article 5 of Chapter 6 of Title 12, so as to provide for public access to carbon sequestration registry information. Each clerk of superior court shall provide to the authority or its designated agent in accordance with the rules and regulations of the authority such information evidencing carbon sequestration results and related transactions and access to such information which is of record in the office of clerk of superior court and which is necessary for purposes of the carbon sequestration registry. Each clerk of superior court shall provide and transmit carbon sequestration results and related transaction information filed in the office of clerk of superior court to the authority for testing and operation of the electronic information system for the carbon

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sequestration registry at such times and in such form as prescribed by the authority. Each clerk shall charge and collect such fees as may be established by the Georgia Superior Courts Clerks' Cooperative Authority, which shall be paid into the county treasury less and except any sums as are otherwise directed to be paid to the authority, all in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the authority pursuant to Code Section 15-6-97.2; (17) To file and transmit all civil case filing and disposition forms required to be filed pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 9-11-3 and subsection (b) of Code Section 9-11-58;
(18)(A) To transmit to the Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority within 30 days of filing the civil case filing and disposition forms prescribed in Code Section 9-11-133. (B) To electronically collect and transmit to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority all data elements required in subsection (g) of Code Section 35-3-36 in a form and format required by the Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority and The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia. The data transmitted to the authority pursuant to this Code section shall be transmitted to the Georgia Crime Information Center in satisfaction of the clerk's duties under subsection (g) of Code Section 35-3-36 and to the Georgia Courts Automation Commission which shall provide the data to the Administrative Office of the Courts for use of the state judicial branch. Public access to said data shall remain the responsibility of the Georgia Crime Information Center. No release of collected data shall be made by or through the authority; (19) To participate in agreements, contracts, and networks necessary or convenient for the performance of duties required by law; (20) To perform such other duties required by law or as necessarily appertain to the office of clerk of superior court; and (21) To keep an automated, computer based jury management system that facilitates the maintenance of the county master jury list pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 12 of this title unless this duty is delegated to a jury clerk as provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 15-12-11 or subsection (b) of Code Section 15-12-23. (b) Nothing in this Code section shall restrict or otherwise prohibit a clerk from electing to store for computer retrieval any or all records, dockets, indices, or files; nor shall a clerk be prohibited from combining or consolidating any books, dockets, files, or indices in connection with the filing for record of papers of the kind specified in this Code section or any other law, provided that any automated or computerized record-keeping method or system shall provide for the systematic and safe preservation and retrieval of all books, dockets, records, or indices. When the clerk of superior court elects to store for computer retrieval any or all records, the same data elements used in a manual system shall be used, and the same integrity and security maintained. Regardless of the automated or computerized system elected, each clerk shall maintain and make readily available to the

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public real estate grantor and grantee indices, which shall be updated regularly and prepared in compliance with paragraph (15) of subsection (a) of this Code section and Code Section 15-6-66. A clerk of superior court shall be deemed to satisfy the provisions of subsection (c) of Code Section 50-18-70 when on-site, electronic access to computerized indices of county records is provided to the public during regular business hours and in compliance with this Code section."

SECTION 1-11. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-62, relating to additional duties, as follows:
"15-6-62. (a) The clerk of superior court is required to record all the proceedings relating to any civil action or criminal case within six months after the final determination of the case. Such recording may be in well-bound books, on microfilm, or in digital format. If a clerk elects to record proceedings on microfilm or in digital format, he or she shall make available to the public a machine for reading and reproducing such microfilmed or digitally formatted records. If a clerk elects to record proceedings in digital format, the provisions of Code Section 15-6-62.1 shall apply. (b) Every clerk of superior court shall record, microfilm, or digitally image for the purpose of permanently preserving:
(1) Every part of the pleadings in every case; (2) All garnishments, affidavits, bonds, and answers thereto; (3) All attachment affidavits, bonds, and writs of attachment; and (4) All claim affidavits and bonds and all bonds given in any judicial proceeding. The clerk shall not allow any record to be taken from his or her office before recording them as required in this Code section. (c) Where any paper becomes lost or destroyed, a certified copy thereof from the clerk of superior court may be substituted. No fee shall be charged or collected for any such copy if the loss of the same is caused by or results from any negligence or fault of the clerk. (d) This Code section shall not apply to cases dismissed and settled before the record is made."

SECTION 1-12. Said title is further amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 15-6-66, relating to grantor-grantee index, as follows:
"(a) The clerk of superior court shall provide at the expense of each county a suitable duplex index book, or a series of books, or a card index, or a microfilm record, an electronic data base, or an electronic, computer-based document management system, or any combination of one or more of such systems, in which shall be indexed the name of the grantor and grantee of every instrument recorded pursuant to subparagraph (a)(4)(C) of

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Code Section 15-6-61. Such index shall include the character of the instrument, the book or location of the record, and the date of filing. (b) The name of the grantor listed in the index shall be the name of the owner of the title which such instrument purports to convey or affect, whether the instrument was executed by the owner or by some other person, firm, or corporation on behalf of such owner, and whether or not such owner is deceased."

SECTION 1-13. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-67, relating to recordation of maps and plats, and specifications, as follows:
"15-6-67. (a) The clerk of superior court shall file and record in his or her office maps or plats relating to real estate in the county. (b) Maps or plats to be filed and recorded in the office of clerk of superior court shall be prepared in accordance with the minimum standards and specifications adopted in the rules and regulations of the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors:
(1) Material. (A) Any such maps or plats shall be a good legible copy or commercial print reproduced from an original. (B) The clerk shall enter manually or electronically the filing date, plat book number, and page number on the plats and shall cause the same information to be entered electronically on the digital copy presented for filing and shall return an original physical copy of the plat with the filing information on it to the land surveyor or the person filing the same for record. The clerk shall permanently retain the original physical and digital copy of the plat. Both the filing information and plat shall serve as evidence of the original drawing. The physical copy, the digital copy, or both may be displayed to the public in compliance with Code Section 15-6-68;
(2) Caption. Maps or plats shall have a title or name which shall be contained in the caption, and the caption shall also provide the following information:
(A) The county, city, town, or village, land district and land lot, and subdivision, if the property lies within a particular subdivision; (B) The date of plat preparation and the date of the field survey; (C) The scale, stated and shown graphically; (D) The name, address, telephone number, and registration number of the land surveyor or the statement that he or she is the county surveyor and is not required by law to be a registered surveyor; and (E) All reproductions of original maps or plats shall bear the original signature, in a contrasting color of ink, of the registrant placed across the registration seal in order to be a valid or recordable map or plat. The provisions of this subparagraph shall apply to all maps or plats that are sealed by a land surveyor which depict and describe real

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property boundaries. Maps and plats which do not meet the requirements of this subparagraph shall not be sealed nor recorded; (3) Size. Maps or plats shall not be less than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches and not larger than 24 inches by 36 inches, provided that the clerk shall be authorized to file maps or plats in compliance with this subparagraph. When an original map or plat is submitted to the clerk for filing and recordation, the clerk shall be authorized to accept the plat for recordation only upon receiving a minimum of two properly signed reproductions of the original physical plat and a digital copy that has been created at full scale, properly signed and in an electronic format acceptable by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority. The digital copy shall be submitted via media approved by the clerk. (c) If the plat meets the requirements of subsections (b) and (d) of this Code section, it shall be the duty of the clerk of superior court to file and record such plat and digital image of such plat. (d) Whenever the municipal planning commission, the county planning commission, the municipal-county planning commission, or, if no such planning commission exists, the appropriate municipal or county governing authority prepares and adopts subdivision regulations, and upon receiving approval thereon by the appropriate governing authority, then no plat of subdivision of land within the municipality or the county shall be filed or recorded in the office of clerk of superior court of a county without the approval thereon of the municipal or county planning commission or governing authority and without such approval having been entered in writing on the plat by the secretary or other designated person of the municipal or county planning commission or governing authority. The clerk of superior court shall not file or record a plat of subdivision which does not have the approval of the municipal or county planning commission or governing authority as required by this subsection. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection to the contrary, no approval of the municipal or county planning commission or governing authority shall be required if no new streets or roads are created or no new utility improvements are required or no new sanitary sewer or approval of a septic tank is required. Any plat of survey containing thereon a certification from a licensed surveyor that the provisions relative to this subsection do not require approval of the municipal or county planning commission or governing authority shall entitle said plat to record. Any licensed surveyor who fraudulently certifies that a plat of survey does not require the approval specified in this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

SECTION 1-14. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-68, relating to display of maps and plats, index, land lot record, and notation of date and time on face of plat, as follows:
"15-6-68. (a) The clerk of each superior court shall provide books, binders, or any other alternative system, either manual or electronic, for providing public access to maps and plats. For all electronic images of plats submitted to the clerk on or after July 1, 2012, the clerk shall

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provide necessary equipment for printing either an entire full-size copy of each recorded plat or copies of sections of each entire recorded plat, printed in full scale. (b) The clerk of superior court shall provide an electronic, computer-based indexing system in which shall be indexed all maps or plats under the caption or name of the subdivision, if any, under the name of the owner or owners of the property mapped or platted, and also under the land lot number and district number if the land lies in that portion of the state which has been surveyed into land lots and districts. (c) In counties of this state that are divided into land lots, the clerk of superior court shall provide an electronic, computer-based system for maintaining and searching a record for each land lot and land district by listing all surveys made for each lot and where they are recorded. (d) The clerk shall note the date and time of the filing of a plat for record on the face of the plat."

SECTION 1-15. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-73, relating to destruction of obsolete records, as follows:
"15-6-73. (a) Clerks of superior court shall be authorized, from time to time, to destroy books containing records of instruments conveying personal property only, including bills of sale, mortgages, conditional sales contracts, retention title contracts, and bills of sale to secure debt, whenever the records are older than five years of age. (b) Every clerk of superior court shall be, from time to time, authorized to destroy original civil pleadings which have been recorded in the minutes or writ books of the court in every civil case which has been finally terminated for 20 years or more, except cases involving divorce, titles to land, legitimation of a child or children, and proceedings for adoption."

SECTION 1-16. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-74, relating to preservation of newspapers containing advertisements, as follows:
"15-6-74. (a) The clerk of superior court is required to procure and preserve for public inspection a complete file of all newspaper issues in which legal advertisements are published. (b) The issues of the newspapers so preserved shall be bound, microfilmed, photographed, or digitally imaged in a format approved by the clerk and such newspapers, microfilm, photographs, or copies thereof shall be maintained and made available to the public for a period of not less than 50 years, after which time the newspapers, microfilm, photographs, or copies thereof shall be preserved for historical purposes in electronic or micrographic format. (c) The clerk of superior court is authorized to enter into an agreement with either the judge of the probate court or the sheriff of the county, or both, relative to the binding,

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retention, microfilming, photographing, or digital imaging of the newspapers and their preservation and retention, in which event it shall be necessary that only one set of newspapers or copies thereof shall be retained in the county courthouse. Such set of newspapers or copies thereof shall include copies of the newspaper issues in which the clerk's advertisements appear and the newspaper issues in which the advertisements which the judge of the probate court or the sheriff, or both, are required to preserve and retain appear. The agreement shall specify the person who shall maintain and preserve the newspapers, microfilm, photographs, or digital copies. (d) Upon the request of a clerk of superior court, any journal or newspaper declared, made, or maintained as the official organ of any county for the publication of sheriff's sales, citations of probate court judges, or any other advertising commonly known in terms of 'official or legal advertising' shall provide to the clerk of superior court copies of such journal or newspaper containing legal advertisements, in digital format, as required by the clerk, when the clerk shall be required to comply with provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section. The copies shall be provided to the clerk, the judge of the probate court, and the sheriff by January 31 of the year following the year in which the newspaper served as the official legal organ of the county. The ability of a journal or newspaper to provide copies digitally or electronically may be a qualification by the clerk of superior court, the probate judge, and the sheriff in designating a journal or newspaper as the official legal organ of the county."

SECTION 1-17. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-79, relating to payment of unpaid costs in felony cases, as follows:
"15-6-79. Reserved."

SECTION 1-18. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-80, relating to payment of transcript costs to clerk before transmittal, as follows:
"15-6-80. In all cases certified to the appellate courts, the costs for preparing the transcript of the record shall be paid by the appellant to the clerk before the same is transmitted unless the judge presiding over the case being appealed approves an affidavit submitted to the judge by the appellant certifying that the appellant is unable to pay such costs or upon the appellant providing adequate security for such costs."

SECTION 1-19. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-82, relating to removal of superior court clerks, charges, and trial, as follows:

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"15-6-82. (a) Whenever the Governor determines that an investigation of a clerk of superior court of this state should be made as a result of criminal charges, alleged misconduct in office, or alleged incapacity of the clerk of superior court to perform the functions of his or her office, the Governor shall appoint an investigative committee consisting of two clerks of superior court who are members of The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia and the Attorney General to conduct an investigation. Such clerks of superior court may be from any two counties in the state other than the county of the clerk of superior court under investigation. The members of any such committee shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with an investigation. The funds necessary to conduct an investigation shall come from the funds appropriated to the executive branch of the state government. (b) Any member of the committee shall be authorized to administer oaths to any witness before the committee. The committee shall make a report of its investigation to the Governor within 30 days from the date of the appointment of both clerk members by the Governor. (c) If the committee recommends the suspension of the clerk of superior court, the Governor shall be authorized to suspend the clerk of superior court for a period of up to 60 days. In any case where a clerk of superior court has been suspended for 60 days, the Governor may extend the period of suspension for an additional 30 days. Upon such recommendation, the Governor shall also be authorized to request the district attorney of the county of the clerk's residence to bring a removal petition against the clerk in superior court based upon the evidence reported by the committee. After the filing of such petition, a clerk of superior court is subject to being removed from office by the judge of the court for any sufficient cause, including incapacity or misbehavior in office. The charges must be exhibited to the court in writing, and the facts tried by a jury. The clerk shall be entitled to a copy of the charges three days before trial. In the event that the Governor determines that further investigation should be made, the Governor may then order additional investigation by the committee, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, other law enforcement agencies of this state, or any special committee appointed by the Governor for such purpose. During any period of suspension, the clerk shall continue to hold office; however, the chief deputy clerk shall perform the duties of the clerk of superior court or, in the absence of a chief deputy clerk, an interim clerk shall be appointed as provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-6-53 to perform the duties of the clerk during the period of suspension. (d) If the clerk of superior court is indicted for a felony, the provisions of Code Section 45-5-6 shall apply."

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SECTION 1-20. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-86, relating to location of clerk's office in place other than courthouse, storage of records in different location, and county documents exception, as follows:
"15-6-86. (a) In the event that the space at the courthouse is inadequate for the clerk's office and the things belonging thereto, the clerk, in writing, may request the governing authority of the county to move his or her office to some other designated place in the county. In his or her request, the clerk shall state the inadequacy which exists. The governing authority shall be authorized to comply with the request but may only designate another place as the office of the clerk with the approval of the clerk. Such place must be owned by the county or a body politic and shall not be more than 500 feet from the courthouse at their nearest points. Notwithstanding local law, the judges of the superior court of the judicial circuit by a majority vote must give written consent before the clerk shall be authorized to move his or her office to such place; provided, however, that failing a majority agreement the chief judge of the judicial circuit shall make such determination. (b) In the event that space at the courthouse or other place where the office of the clerk is located is inadequate to ensure the safe storage of archival or inactive records, the clerk, after obtaining written approval from the governing authority of the county, may cause the records to be stored at a data storage and retrieval facility within the State of Georgia. The clerk shall give public notice of the place of storage by posting notice at the courthouse. If documents are stored in any place other than the location where the documents were created, filed, or recorded, the government entity shall:
(1) Bear all costs of transporting such documents back to the county of origin for purposes of responding to requests under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspections of public records; and (2) Provide by contract for:
(A) Specific retrieval times in which documents requested shall be delivered; and (B) Payment of additional fees by the person requesting the document from the clerk for expedited service. (c) In a county where the county site is located in an unincorporated area of the county and the county governing authority has constructed one or more permanent satellite courthouses within the county and has further designated each such structure as a courthouse annex or has otherwise established each such structure as an additional courthouse to the courthouse located at the county site, the clerk of superior court shall be authorized to maintain his or her offices and all things belonging thereto including the permanent records at one of the additional courthouse locations or at the courthouse at the county site. The clerk of superior court may, but shall not be required to, maintain a satellite office at an additional courthouse which is not the location of the clerk of superior court's main office where the permanent records are kept. No one may for any purpose remove records of the clerk of superior court from the courthouse or the clerk's satellite office without the written consent

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of the clerk; provided, however, that a judge or the judge's designee may check out a record or file for a case assigned to such judge upon providing a written receipt for such record or file to the clerk. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, county documents, as defined in subsection (c) of Code Section 36-9-5, shall be stored only in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 36-9-5."

SECTION 1-21. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-87, relating to use of photostatic and photographic equipment, as follows:
"15-6-87. (a) The county governing authority shall supply all fixtures, supplies, and equipment necessary for the proper functioning of the office of clerk of superior court. (b) All provisions of law relating to the filing, docketing, recording, keeping, copying, binding, indexing, certification, and furnishing of copies of records, including certified copies, and those provisions relating to the amount of fees of officers in connection therewith, as far as may be consistent with this Code section, shall apply to such digital, photographic, and electronic records and copies."

SECTION 1-22. Said title is further amended by repealing Code Section 15-6-87.1, relating to participation in state-wide county computerized information network and authorized fees, as follows: See Compilers Note, Page 200.

SECTION 1-23. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-88.1, relating to adjustment of schedule for certain counties containing federal land, as follows:
"15-6-88.1. Reserved."

SECTION 1-24. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-89, relating to additional remuneration for certain services, as follows:
"15-6-89. In addition to the minimum salary provided in Code Section 15-6-88 or any other salary provided by any applicable general or local law, each clerk of superior court of any county who also serves as clerk of a state court, court classified as a municipal court but funded through appropriations of the county governing authority, juvenile court, civil court under any applicable general or local law of this state or who performs duties pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-12-1.1 shall receive for his or her services in such other court a salary of not less than $323.59 per month, to be paid from the

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funds of the county. In the event any such court for which a clerk of superior court is serving as clerk is abolished, the clerk of superior court shall not be entitled to any salary heretofore received for service in such court."

SECTION 1-25. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-92, relating to continuation of fee system, as follows:
"15-6-92. Reserved."

SECTION 1-26. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-93, relating to office hours, as follows:
"15-6-93. (a) Except as provided in this Code section, the office of each clerk of superior court shall be open to conduct business Monday through Friday from at least 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. and shall not close for any period of time during such hours. (b) Any office of clerk of superior court which is open for operation on Saturday may close on one day Monday through Friday for a period of time equal to that period of time during which the office is open on Saturday. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as requiring any office of clerk of superior court to be open on any public holiday, legal holiday, day of rest, or other similar time that is recognized and designated as such by Georgia law or by the governing authority of the county. (c) This Code section shall only apply to the office of clerk of superior court if there is employed in that office at least one employee other than the clerk. (d) In any county of this state having a population of fewer than 10,000 persons according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census, the clerk of superior court may close such office for a designated lunch period if all other county offices in the county courthouse simultaneously close for a lunch period. The period of closing of the clerk's office shall coincide with the period for closing the other county offices. (e) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to require the office of clerk of superior court to be open if all other county offices are closed because of inclement weather or any other reason. (f) When it is necessary for the clerk of superior court to conduct necessary training of employees, the clerk may close his or her office for up to eight hours during any six-month period, provided that he or she gives at least ten days' notice to the public, or sooner with the approval of the chief judge of the superior court, prior to such closing, and provided, further, that there are no proceedings scheduled in superior court during the time of the closing. Proceedings shall include all civil or criminal hearings or trials, whether or not a jury is required.

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(g) When the clerk's office is closed for training purposes, the period of closure shall be deemed a legal holiday for such office and, therefore, all deadlines provided for by law for filing in the clerk's office any pleading, process, summons answer, or other document shall be extended to the next regular business day of the clerk's office. 'Business day' means a day on which the clerk's office is open for business and shall not include any Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday officially observed by the office as provided in this Code section."

SECTION 1-27. Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"15-6-100. No agreement by a clerk to acquire services, supplies, or equipment authorized by this article that requires expenditure of county funds may be entered into unless the funds to be obligated are included in the budget of the county for the operation of the clerk's office at the time of the execution of such agreement."

SECTION 1-28. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-10-87, relating to magistrate court filing fees to be transferred upon transfer of case to state or superior court, as follows:
"15-10-87. (a) When any case is transferred from the magistrate court to the state court or superior court, the magistrate court shall transmit to the state court clerk or superior court clerk the filing fee paid to the magistrate court. The state court clerk or superior court clerk shall file the case without further deposit against costs or filing fee, but as between the parties the costs shall be as in other cases in the state court or superior court. This subsection shall only apply to actions filed on or before June 30, 2012. (b) When any case is transferred from the magistrate court to the state court or superior court, the magistrate court shall transmit to the state court clerk or superior court clerk the filing fee paid to the magistrate court. The state court clerk or superior court clerk shall file the case without further deposit against costs or filing fee; provided, however, that all costs and filing fees shall be paid by the parties within 30 days. Failure to pay such costs and filing fees shall result in a dismissal of the transferred case unless there is good cause shown. The magistrate court clerk shall transmit to the clerk of the state court or superior court a certified copy of the contents of the entire file for the case being transferred. This subsection shall only apply to actions filed on or after July 1, 2012."

SECTION 1-29. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 15-13-33, relating to the table of fees to be kept, as follows:

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"(a) Every public official shall constantly keep and have posted in a conspicuous place in his or her office, the place where the business thereof is conducted, or in an electronic format accessible to the public a table of fees for his or her office stated in fair words and figures. "

SECTION 1-30. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-13-36, relating to restrictions on superior or state court clerks charging fees for certified copies of records, as follows:
"15-13-36. No clerk of any superior court or state court shall charge any fee for providing any certified copy of any record or portion thereof requested by a prosecuting attorney in this state for use in any criminal case."

SECTION 1-31. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-16-11, relating to disposition of books, as follows:
"15-16-11. Reserved."

SECTION 1-32. Code Section 36-9-5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to erection, repair, and furnishing of county buildings and storage of documents, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (c) as follows:
"(2) A county officer, the county board of tax assessors, or any other officer of the county having the responsibility or custody of any county documents set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall, at night or when the county office is closed, keep such county documents:
(A) In a fireproof safe or vault; (B) In fireproof cabinets; (C) On microfilm, pursuant to the standards set forth in Article 6 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, only if a security copy has been sent to the Georgia State Archives; (D) At a location not more than 100 miles from the county in a data storage and retrieval facility approved by the county governing authority within the State of Georgia which is in a building or facility which is in compliance with the fire safety standards applicable to archives and record centers as established by the National Fire Protection Association in Standard No. 232, as such standard was adopted on August 11, 1995. If documents are stored outside the county where the documents were created, the government entity shall bear all costs of transporting such documents back to the county of origin for purposes of responding to requests under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspections of public records. Such documents shall be made available to the requester; or

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(E) On any other electronic imaging medium that facilitates retrieval of such documents via electronic means, provided that such medium enables conversion of such documents to future electronic imaging technologies and provided that such custodian creates a daily computer-based backup of all archival documents stored on such medium."

SECTION 1-33. Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to property, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 44-2-14, relating to requirements for recordation, as follows:
"(a) Except for documents electronically filed as provided for in Chapter 12 of Title 10, and in other Code sections in this part, before any deed to realty or personalty or any mortgage, bond for title, or other recordable instrument executed in this state may be recorded, it shall be an original instrument and shall be attested or acknowledged as provided by law. However, nothing in this Code section shall dispense with another witness where an additional witness is required. This Code section shall not apply to transactions covered by Article 9 of Title 11."

SECTION 1-34. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 44-2-26, relating to recording of a plat or a copy of a plat, as follows:
"44-2-26. The owner of real property or of any interest therein or any holder of a lien thereon may have a plat of the property or a blueprint, tracing, digital copy, or other copy of a plat of the property recorded and indexed in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county in which the property or any part thereof is located. It shall be the duty of the clerk to record and index any plat or any blueprint, tracing, digital copy, or other copy of the plat that conforms with Code Section 15-6-67."

SECTION 1-35. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 44-5-30, relating to requisites of deeds to lands, as follows:
"44-5-30. Except for documents electronically filed as provided for in Chapter 12 of Title 10 and Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 2 of this title, a deed to lands shall be an original document, in writing, signed by the maker, and attested by at least two witnesses. It shall be delivered to the purchaser or his or her representative and be made on a good or valuable consideration. The consideration of a deed may always be inquired into when the principles of justice require it."

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SECTION 1-36. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 44-14-4, relating to the procedure for cancellation of mortgage, as follows:
"44-14-4. Any mortgagor who has paid off his or her mortgage may present the paid mortgage to the clerk of the superior court of the county or counties in which the mortgage instrument is recorded, together with the order of the mortgagee or transferee directing that the mortgage be canceled. After payment of the fee authorized by law, the clerk shall index and record, in the same manner as the original mortgage instrument is recorded, the canceled and satisfied mortgage instrument or such portion thereof as bears the order of the mortgagee or transferee directing that the mortgage be canceled, together with any order of the mortgagee or transferee directing that the mortgage be canceled. The clerk shall show on the index of the cancellation and on the cancellation document the deed book and page number where the original mortgage instrument is recorded. The clerk shall manually or through electronic means record across the face of the mortgage instrument the words 'satisfied' and 'canceled' and the date of the entry and shall sign his or her name thereto officially. The clerk shall also manually or electronically make a notation on the record of the mortgage to indicate where the order of the cancellation is recorded."

SECTION 1-37. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 44-14-364, relating to the release of a lien upon filing of bond, as follows:
"44-14-364. (a) When any person entitled under this part to claim a lien against any real estate located in this state files his or her lien in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county in which the real estate is located, the owner of the real estate or the contractor employed to improve the property may, before or after foreclosure proceedings are instituted, discharge the lien upon the approval of a bond by the clerk of superior court. The bond shall be conditioned to pay to the holder of the lien the sum that may be found to be due the holder upon the trial of any lien action that may be filed by the lienholder to recover the amount of his or her claim within 365 days from the time the claim of lien is filed. The bond shall be in double the amount claimed under that lien and shall be either a bond with good security approved by the clerk of superior court or a cash bond, except in cases involving a lien against the owner's domicile, in which event the bond shall be in the amount claimed under the lien. An owner or contractor may be required to provide supporting data to the clerk to prove the value of domiciled property when such property serves as a bond to discharge a lien provided for in this Code section. Upon the approval by the clerk of the bond provided for in this Code section, the real estate shall be discharged from the lien. For purposes of this subsection, the term 'domicile' means the established, fixed, permanent, or ordinary dwelling place of the owner.

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(b) Within seven days of filing the bond required by subsection (a) of this Code section and any attachments, the party filing such bond shall send a notice of filing such bond and a copy of the bond by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the lien claimant at the address stated on the lien or, if no such address is shown for the lien claimant, to the person shown as having filed such lien on behalf of the claimant at the indicated address of such person or, if the bond is filed by a contractor, to the owner of the property, provided that whenever the lien claimant or the owner is an entity on file with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division, sending the notice of filing such bond and a copy of the bond to the company's address or the registered agent's address on file with the Secretary of State shall be deemed sufficient; provided, however, that the failure to send the notice of filing the bond and copy of the bond shall not invalidate the bond for purposes of discharge of a claim of lien under this Code section. With respect to property bonds, the clerk shall not accept any real property bond unless the real property is scheduled in an affidavit attached thereto setting forth a description of the property and indicating the record owner thereof, including any liens and encumbrances and amounts thereof, the market value, and the value of the sureties' interest therein, which affidavit shall be executed by the owner or owners of the interest; the bond and affidavit shall be recorded in the same manner and at the same cost as other deeds of real property. So long as the bond exists, it shall constitute a lien against the property described in the attached affidavit. (c) The clerk of the superior court shall have the right to rely upon the amount specified in the claim of lien in determining the sufficiency of any bond to discharge under this Code section. The failure to specify both the amount claimed due under the lien and the date said claim was due shall result in such lien not constituting notice for any purposes. (d) The clerk of the superior court shall be held harmless for good faith regarding any discretionary act in connection with approval of any bond provided for in this Code section."

SECTION 1-38. Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state printing and documents, is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 50-18-70, relating to inspection of public records, as follows:
"(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-6-61, any computerized index of a county real estate deed records shall be printed or made available through electronic means for purposes of public inspection no less than every 30 days and any correction made on such index shall be made a part of the printout or made available through electronic means and shall reflect the time and date that said index was corrected."

SECTION 1-39. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-98, relating to title to records and access to records of constitutional officers, as follows:

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"(a) Title to any record transferred to the Georgia State Archives as authorized by this article shall be vested in the division. The division shall not destroy any record transferred to it by an agency without consulting with the proper official of the transferring agency prior to submitting a retention schedule requesting such destruction to the State Records Committee. Access to records of constitutional officers shall be at the discretion of the constitutional officer who created, received, or maintained the records, but no limitation on access to such records shall extend more than 25 years after creation of the records. As used in this Code section, the term 'constitutional officer' means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture, or Commissioner of Labor."

SECTION 1-40. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-18-120, relating to the authority for establishment of microform standards, as follows:
"50-18-120. The authority for the establishment of microform standards shall be vested in the State Records Committee. All powers and duties of the State Records Committee as provided in Article 5 of this chapter shall be applicable to the establishment and maintenance of microform standards in this state. With respect to microform standards for the courts, the concurrence of The Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia and the Judicial Council of Georgia shall be required for the establishment of such standards."

PART II SECTION 2-1.

Code Section 1-3-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to construction of statutes generally, is amended by revising division (d)(2)(A)(ii), as follows:
"(ii) Code Sections 15-6-88 through 15-6-91;"

SECTION 2-2. Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 15-1-10, relating to removal and storage of court records, as follows:
"(c) With the prior written consent of the governing authority of the county or municipality and the prior written consent of the chief judge, judge of the probate court, or chief magistrate of the affected court, the clerk of each superior court, state court, probate court, magistrate court, juvenile court, or municipal court in this state is authorized, but not required, to create and maintain digital copies of records, pleadings, orders, writs, process, and other documents submitted to or issued by the court in criminal, quasi-criminal, juvenile, or civil proceedings or in any proceedings involving the enforcement of ordinances of local governments. All digital copies created pursuant to this subsection

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shall be accurate copies of the original documents and shall be stored and indexed in such manner as to be readily retrievable in the office of the clerk during normal business hours. It shall be the duty of the clerk to provide and maintain software and computers, readers, printers, and other necessary equipment in sufficient numbers to permit the retrieval, duplication, and printing of such digitally stored documents in a timely fashion when copies are requested. A copy of such digitally stored document retrieved by the clerk shall be admissible in all courts in the same manner as the original document. If a backup copy is created pursuant to the process prescribed by subsections (b) and (c) of Code Section 15-6-62, the clerk is authorized to destroy the original document. This subsection shall not apply to documents or records which have been ordered sealed by the court nor to documents which are placed in evidence in a proceeding. The costs of creating and storing digital copies of documents and providing the necessary software and equipment to retrieve and reproduce such documents shall be paid from funds available for the operation of the court. The provisions of this subsection shall constitute an additional and alternative method of records management and shall not supersede or repeal Code Section 15-6-62, 15-6-62.1, 15-6-86, or 15-6-87."

SECTION 2-3. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-57, relating to election to break a tie, as follows:
"15-6-57. Should any two or more candidates at an election to fill a vacancy in the office of superior court clerk, or at a regular election, have the highest and an equal number of votes, the judge of the probate court shall set a date and advertise another election in the manner prescribed in Code Section 15-6-53 and shall do so until a choice is made."

SECTION 2-4. Said title is further amended by revising subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Code Section 15-6-90, relating to longevity increases, as follows:
"(b) The minimum salaries provided for in Code Sections 15-6-88 and 15-6-89, this Code section, and Code Section 15-6-91 shall be considered as salary only. Expenses for deputy clerks, equipment, supplies, copying equipment, and other necessary and reasonable expenses for the operation of a clerk's office shall come from funds other than the funds specified as salary in such Code sections. (c) This Code section shall not be construed to affect any local legislation, except where such local legislation provides for a salary lower than the salary provided in Code Sections 15-6-88 and 15-6-89, this Code section, and Code Section 15-6-91, in which event such Code sections shall prevail. (d) Code Sections 15-6-88 and 15-6-89, this Code section, and Code Section 15-6-91 shall not be construed to reduce the salary of any clerk of superior court presently in office."

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SECTION 2-5. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-91, relating to the effect of salary provisions on local legislation, as follows:
"15-6-91. All local legislation in effect on April 1, 1973, or enacted subsequent to April 1, 1973, and affecting compensation for clerks of superior courts of the various counties shall be of full force and effect except where such local legislation provides for a salary lower than the salary provided in Code Sections 15-6-88 through 15-6-90 and this Code section, in which event such Code sections shall prevail."

SECTION 2-6. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 15-16-8, relating to filling the vacancy in the office of sheriff, as follows:
"(b) If the probate judge fails to appoint a qualified person to discharge the duties of the sheriff until the vacancy is filled, the coroner of the county shall act as sheriff. If there is no coroner, the sheriff of any adjoining county is authorized to act as sheriff until the probate judge makes the appointment or an election is held."

SECTION 2-7. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 15-16-10, relating to duties of the sheriff and electronic storage, as follows:
"(b) If any sheriff or deputy fails to comply with any provision of subsection (a) of this Code section, he or she shall be fined for a contempt as the clerk of superior court is fined in similar cases. Code Section 15-16-26 shall also apply to sheriffs."

SECTION 2-8. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 15-16-26, relating to investigation of charges against the sheriff, as follows:
"(c) If the committee recommends the suspension of the sheriff, the Governor shall be authorized to suspend the sheriff for a period of up to 60 days. In any case where a sheriff has been suspended for 60 days, the Governor may extend the period of suspension for an additional 30 days. Upon such recommendation, the Governor shall also be authorized to request the district attorney of the county of the sheriff's residence to bring a removal petition against the sheriff pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 15-16-10 and Code Section 15-16-26 based upon the evidence reported by the committee. In the event that the Governor determines that further investigation should be made, he or she may then order additional investigation by the committee, by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, by other law enforcement agencies of this state, or by any special committee appointed by the Governor for such purpose."

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SECTION 2-9. Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to penal institutions, is amended by revising paragraph (5) of subsection (c) of Code Section 42-1-12, relating to the State Sexual Offender Registry, as follows:
"(5) Keep all records of sexual offenders in a secure facility in accordance with Code Sections 15-1-10, 15-6-62, and 15-6-62.1 until official proof of death of a registered sexual offender; thereafter, the records shall be destroyed."

SECTION 2-10. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 42-4-4, relating to duties of sheriff as to inmates and failure to comply, as follows:
"(c) Any sheriff or deputy who fails to comply with this Code section shall be fined for contempt, as is the clerk of the superior court in similar cases. The sheriff or deputy shall also be subject to removal from office as prescribed in Code Section 15-16-26."

PART III SECTION 3-1.

Chapter 12 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to juries, is amended by enacting a new Code Section 15-12-40 to read as follows:
"15-12-40. Any person who has been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court who has not had his or her civil rights restored and any person who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent shall not be eligible to serve as a trial juror."

SECTION 3-2. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (e) of Code Section 15-12-40.1, relating to the state-wide master jury list, driver's license information, list of registered voters, and random list of persons to comprise venire, as follows:
"(e) On and after July 1, 2012, in each county, upon court order, the clerk shall choose a random list of persons from the county master jury list to comprise the venire; provided, however, that jurors summoned prior to July 1, 2012, shall remain eligible to comprise the venire."

SECTION 3-3. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 15-12-60, relating to the qualifications of grand jurors, as follows:
"15-12-60. (a) Any citizen of this state 18 years of age or older who has resided in the county for at least six months preceding the time of service shall be eligible and liable to serve as a grand juror.

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(b) Any person who holds any elective office in state or local government or who has held any such office within a period of two years preceding the time of service as a grand juror shall not be eligible to serve as a grand juror. (c) Any person who has been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court who has not had his or her civil rights restored and any person who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent shall not be eligible to serve as a grand juror."

PART IV SECTION 4-1.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Compilers Note - Section 1-22 revised Code Section 15-6-87.1 by repealing it. The stricken text read as follows:
"15-6-87.1. Provided that the General Assembly appropriates the necessary funds for the establishment and operation of a state-wide county computerized information network, each clerk of a superior court shall participate in the network so as to provide local public access to any information which is filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to Title 14 and which is available through such a computerized information network. The network may be developed to provide each clerk of a superior court with additional public information. Each clerk of a superior court shall be authorized, but not required, to charge and collect a fee of not more than $2.00 for the first page and 50 per page for each additional page to recover the cost of providing a printed copy of any information which is available through the computerized information network."

Approved April 16, 2012.

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DOMESTIC RELATIONS FAMILY VIOLENCE; HOLDOVER PROVISIONS FOR APPOINTEES.

No. 600 (House Bill No. 733).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 13 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to family violence, so as to add holdover provisions for appointees; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 13 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to family violence, is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 19-13-32, relating to membership, terms, and filling of vacancies, as follows:
"(c) Members serving on July 1, 1996, or persons appointed to complete the unexpired terms of members serving on July 1, 1996, shall complete the terms for which they were appointed. The term of appointment shall be three years for initial successors to members appointed in accordance with the following provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section: paragraph (2) and divisions (ii), (iv), (vi), (viii), (x), and (xii) of subparagraph (E) of paragraph (4). The term of appointment shall be three years for the initial members appointed in accordance with subparagraphs (a)(4)(C) and (a)(4)(D) of this Code section. Initial successors to judicial members appointed to represent even-numbered judicial administrative districts shall be appointed for terms of three years. Two of the initial successors for members appointed in accordance with subparagraph (a)(4)(B) this Code section shall be appointed for terms of three years. The term of appointment shall be two years for initial successors to all other members except those serving ex officio. The letter of appointment shall set out the term for which each member is appointed. Thereafter, each member shall be appointed for a term of two years, and no member may serve more than two consecutive terms. Each member shall serve until the date his or her successor is appointed. All vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by an appointee of the original appointing official."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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EDUCATION REVISE REQUIREMENTS FOR CAPITAL OUTLAY FUNDING FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.

No. 602 (House Bill No. 760).

AN ACT

To amend Part 10 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to capital outlay funds for elementary and secondary education, so as to replace the exceptional growth program with an expansion of the maximum entitlement level for regular capital outlay earnings; to increase requirements relating to the advance funding program; to eliminate requirements for a nonbinding referendum for a school closure; to delete language relating to debt service credit, prototypical designs, and weighted full-time equivalent student counts; to delete obsolete provisions; to provide for redirect requests in the event of damage or destruction due to fire or natural disaster; to broaden eligibility for low-wealth capital outlay grants; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Part 10 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to capital outlay funds for elementary and secondary education, is amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising paragraphs (2), (7.1), (11), and (17) of subsection (b) as follows:
"(2) Reserved." "(11) 'Local wealth factor' is defined as the average of the property tax wealth factor and the sales tax wealth factor. The property tax wealth factor is determined by dividing the local school system's net equalized adjusted property tax digest per full-time equivalent student by the state-wide net equalized adjusted property tax digest per full-time equivalent student. The sales tax wealth factor is determined by dividing the local school system's 1 percent local sales tax wealth per full-time equivalent student by the state-wide 1 percent sales tax wealth per full-time equivalent student."

SECTION 2. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising paragraphs (1), (6), and (7) of subsection (c) as follows:
"(1) To adopt policies, guidelines, and standards for the annual physical facility and real property inventory required of each local school system. This inventory shall include, but not be limited to: parcels of land; number of educational facilities; year of

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construction and design; size, number, and type of construction space; amount of instructional space in permanent and temporary buildings; designations for each instructional space in permanent and temporary buildings occupied by designated state approved instructional programs, federal programs, or local programs not required by the state; local property assessment for bond purposes; outstanding school bonds; and buildings and facilities not in use or rented or leased to individuals or other agencies of government, or used for other than instructional programs required by this article, each identified by its current use. Department of Education staff shall annually review, certify the accuracy of, and approve each local school system's inventory;" "(6) To adopt policies, standards, and guidelines to ensure that the provisions of subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (k.1) of this Code section relating to uses of state capital outlay funds, state and local share of costs, entitlements, allocation of capital outlay funds, advance funding for certain construction projects, and consolidation of schools across system lines are carried out; "(7) To review and approve proposed sites and all architectural and engineering drawings and specifications on construction projects for educational facilities to ensure compliance with state standards and requirements, and inspect and approve completed construction projects financed in whole or in part with state funds. The state board may designate selected local units of administration which have staff qualified for such purposes to act on behalf of the Department of Education in such inspections;"

SECTION 3. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising paragraphs (1), (7), (8), and (9) of subsection (e) as follows:
"(1) To provide construction projects needed because of increased student enrollment or to replace educational facilities which have been abandoned or destroyed by fire or natural disaster and which shall consist of new buildings and facilities on new sites or new additions to existing buildings and facilities, or relocation of existing educational facilities or portions thereof to different sites;" "(7) To provide construction projects to renovate or modernize facilities which are historic landmarks and are registered as historic landmarks with the National Register of Historic Places or the Georgia Register of Historic Places or are certified by the state historic preservation officer as eligible for such registration in order to correct deficiencies which produce educationally obsolete, unsafe, inaccessible, energy inefficient, or unsanitary physical environments; provided, however, that local school boards shall be required to use the facility which is or is eligible to be a historic landmark as a public school. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code section and without regard to location or obsolescence, the state board shall allocate funds to renovate and modernize historic landmark facilities which meet the requirements of this paragraph in an amount which is the lesser of the cost of new construction to replace the historic landmark or the actual cost of such renovation and modernization; provided, however,

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that the renovated facility has an extended life comparable to that of a new facility; and provided, further, that the local school system shall provide the remaining necessary capital outlay funds to renovate the facility in accordance with all other requirements of this Code section. No lottery proceeds shall be appropriated from the Lottery for Education Account to fund any project or purpose authorized by this paragraph; and (8) To provide construction projects that serve cooperative efforts between local school systems and postsecondary institutions."

SECTION 4. Said part is further amended in code section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (f) as follows:
"(f) The state and each local school system shall provide capital outlay funds for educational facilities in accordance with this subsection as follows:
(1) The required local participation shall be no more than 20 percent nor less than 8 percent of the eligible project cost as determined by the local ability ratio. The local ability ratio is determined by multiplying the local wealth factor by 20 percent; and (2) The state shall participate in no more than 25 percent of the cost of construction projects related to damage to educational facilities caused by fire or natural disaster."

SECTION 5. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (g) as follows:
"(g)(1) In order to determine a reasonable total funding level for the purposes stated in subsection (e) of this Code section and to establish a fair and equitable distribution of funds to local school systems, the State Board of Education shall annually determine a level of authorization. Starting with fiscal year 2014 applications for funds and for each fiscal year thereafter, the new authorization level may equal zero but shall not exceed $300 million, adjusted annually to reflect the changes in the current annual construction cost data maintained by the Department of Education pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of this Code section. For purposes of deliberations with the Governor and the General Assembly regarding the amount of state funds to be appropriated, calculations shall be made for at least three levels below the $300 million maximum authorization, adjusted as specified in this paragraph. (2) In setting the annual authorization level under this subsection, the state board shall consider any previously authorized but unfunded amounts together with the total estimate of funds needed for school facilities in the state. Such total state facilities needs pursuant to this subsection shall be equal to the total facility improvement needs included in the most recent five-year educational facilities plan which has been reviewed by a survey team and approved by the state board. Such needs shall annually be adjusted downward for projects financed by either state or local funds and shall annually be adjusted upward or downward to reflect changes in the full-time equivalent student counts but shall not be

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otherwise adjusted upward except upon approval of a new or revised five-year plan

pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this Code section

.

(3) Each local school system shall be entitled to a portion of the total authorization set

by the state board annually under this subsection based on the ratio of that local school

system's needs as determined pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection to the total of

all local school systems' needs. In addition to the annual entitlement, the local school

system is eligible to receive any entitlement accrued from previous years for which state

funds have not yet been received. Any change in the method of determining entitlements

in subsequent years shall in no way affect the amount of previously accrued entitlements.

(4) In order to determine the amount of state funds to be requested for a given fiscal year

under this subsection, total new and accrued entitlements must be compared to the state

portion of the current cost estimates of the projects approved in the educational facilities

plan in priority order. Such comparison shall be made for each of the incremental

entitlement levels required in paragraph (1) of this subsection. In the event that projects

requested for funding exceed the total state entitlements and required local participation,

local school systems may elect to contribute additional local funding.

(5) The final level of entitlements actually authorized by the state board for a fiscal year

shall be that level which is consistent with the Appropriations Act for that year.

(6) The entitlements earned by a local school system as of June 30, 2012, pursuant to

former subsection (j) of this Code section as it existed on such date shall be combined

with any entitlements of such local school system earned pursuant to this subsection."

SECTION 6. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (h) as follows:
"(h) A local school system may receive state capital outlay funds for one construction project under the advance funding category to meet educational facilities needs due to the following:
(1) Extraordinary growth of student population in excess of the capacity of existing facilities; (2) Destruction of or damage to educational facilities by fire or natural disaster, limited by the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Code section; (3) Replacement of educational facilities which have been certified as hazards to health or safety; (4) Projects, in priority order, which would otherwise require more than five years of the combined annual entitlement and required local participation amounts, estimated in accordance with the total entitlement intended for authorization by the State Board of Education; and (5) Projects for consolidation of schools across local school system lines which have costs that exceed the combined annual entitlements of the participating local school

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systems. Such projects shall meet, with the exception of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the following conditions to qualify for advance funding:
(A) The local school systems have specifically requested funding under this subsection prior to submission of the annual budget request for the state board to the General Assembly; (B) Annual entitlements accrued under subsection (g) of this Code section have offset any advance funding previously granted, except that no more than five years of combined entitlements of the participating local school systems shall be required to offset advance funding for consolidation projects pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (e) of this Code section; (C) The projects to be funded are not in addition to projects funded for local school systems under the provisions of subsection (g) of this Code section in a given year; and (D) The required local participation and all other procedural requirements of this Code section are met."

SECTION 7. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising paragraph (5) of subsection (i) as follows:
"(5) The combined project total would otherwise require more than five years of the combined annual entitlement and required local participation, with said combined annual entitlement and required local participation amount estimated in accordance with the total entitlement intended for authorization by the state board;"

SECTION 8. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (j) as follows:
"(j) Reserved."

SECTION 9. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (k) as follows:
"(k) The State Board of Education shall request separate appropriations for each of the following categories:
(1) Regular entitlements pursuant to subsection (g) of this Code section; (2) Regular advance funding projects pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (h) of this Code section; (3) Construction projects resulting from the consolidation of schools across local school system lines pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (h) of this Code section; (4) Construction projects resulting from merger of local school systems pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-291; and

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(5) Advance funding projects for consolidation or reorganization of schools pursuant to subsection (i) of this Code section."

SECTION 10. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (k.1) as follows:
"(k.1) Prior to a local board of education's decision becoming effective to close any existing school where such closing results in the transporting of students from the school to be closed to any new or existing school or schools even though no additional capital funding is required as a result of the assignment thereto of those students from any school to be so closed, the local board of education shall conduct the following:
(1) The board of education must schedule and hold two public hearings and provide an opportunity for full discussion of the local board of education's proposal to close such school or schools; (2) The public hearings shall be advertised in a local newspaper of general circulation which shall be the same newspaper in which other legal announcements of the board of education are advertised and shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) Identification of each school to be closed and location of each new or existing school to which the students in the school or schools to be closed will be reassigned; (B) Proposed size of each new school in terms of number of students and grade configuration; (C) Proposed expansion of existing schools designed to accommodate students being reassigned from the school or schools to be closed; (D) Total cost, including breakdown for state and local shares, for school construction projects required to house students being reassigned from the school or schools to be closed. Local costs shall include identifying proposed sources of funds, whether from bond referendum proceeds or other sources; and (E) Plans for use or disposal of closed school property; and (3) The board of education shall request formal, written comments or suggestions regarding the system's organizational pattern or school sizes and shall allow appropriate discussion during the public hearings."

SECTION 11. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (l) as follows:
"(l) Facility projects requested pursuant to subsection (g) of this Code section;"

SECTION 12. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (n) as follows:

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"(n) The State Board of Education shall request funds for capital outlay purposes as defined in subsections (a) through(i) of this Code section for each school system and project, giving priority to elementary school construction projects where practicable. For each project, the state board shall present to the Appropriations Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House Education Committee, and the Senate Education and Youth Committee by object of expenditure all costs contributing to the construction project. This itemization shall include, but not be limited to, architectural fees, new construction, modification, and renovation costs for the project. Itemization for additions, modifications, and renovations shall include type of classrooms by purpose, estimated square footages, and costs for hallways, restrooms, administrative offices, lunchrooms, and media centers. Costs for new facilities shall be budgeted by the current construction cost times the total square footage required."

SECTION 13. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (o) as follows:
"(o) Reserved."

SECTION 14. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (p) as follows:
"(p) Reserved."

SECTION 15. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (q) as follows:
"(q) Construction projects which are identified by the local board pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this Code section and which contain a projected full-time equivalent student count of more than 200 students in an elementary school, 400 students in a middle school, and 500 students in a high school, as defined in subsection (c) of Code Section 20-2-291, or which contain all the students within the local school system for such respective school level shall be eligible to receive full capital outlay funding under the conditions specified in subsections (g), (h), and (i) of this Code section; provided, however, that nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed so as to require an existing school to change its current grade configuration."

SECTION 16. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by revising subsection (r) as follows:
"(r) Reserved."

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SECTION 17. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-260, relating to capital outlay funds generally, by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(t) In the event of destruction or damage to an educational facility caused by fire or natural disaster, if a local school system has insufficient funds to meet its required local participation, the school system may submit a request to the Department of Education for State Board of Education approval to redirect bond proceeds from a project which has not been started or in which a school system has not yet requested the full reimbursement. Such request to redirect shall be submitted by the board to the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission and the Office of Planning and Budget for approval. If such request is approved, the local school system shall apply for an equivalent amount of funds in the following year to replace the funds advanced to it pursuant to this subsection."

SECTION 18. Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-262, relating to low-wealth capital outlay grants to local school systems, as follows:
"20-2-262. (a) The General Assembly finds that many local school systems in Georgia have relatively weak local tax bases and are unable to raise revenues sufficient to meet their facility needs. The General Assembly further finds that even with current levels of state capital outlay support, these systems must wait for years before they can accumulate funds to initiate construction projects that are needed immediately. For some systems, the availability of the local option sales tax does not resolve their problem, because their commercial tax base is as meager as their property wealth. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for state capital outlay grants specifically targeted to low-wealth school systems, on a short-term basis, in order to help such systems initiate what they have been unable to accomplish with existing revenue sources. (b) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Equivalent millage' means, for a local school system that is eligible to receive local option sales tax proceeds for maintenance and operation purposes, the combination of property tax revenues and sales tax revenues representing the amount that would be generated by a designated rate of mills. (2) 'Full-time equivalent student count' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 20-2-260. (c) The State Board of Education shall provide eligible local school systems with low-wealth capital outlay grants as provided for in this Code section, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Such grants shall provide sufficient funds to cover 92 percent of the state eligible cost of the local school system's first priority project in the five-year facilities plan, as contained in the system's most recently approved local facilities plan. In addition, for each mill over 12 mills levied by the local school system or over an equivalent millage of 12 mills, the state board will authorize an additional 1

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percent of the state eligible cost of the local school system's first priority project in the five-year facilities plan, as contained in the system's most recently approved local facilities plan, up to a maximum of 8 additional mills. (d) Local school systems which meet the following criteria shall be eligible for a low-wealth capital outlay grant:
(1)(A)(i) The amount of sales tax revenues per unit in the full-time equivalent student count of the local school system is ranked in the bottom 25 percent of local school systems for sales tax revenues per unit in the full-time equivalent student count; and (ii) The value of property per unit in the full-time equivalent student count of the local school system is ranked in the bottom 25 percent of local school systems for value of property per unit in the full-time equivalent student count; or (B) For local school systems in which the amount of special purpose local option sales tax revenues is ranked in the bottom 25 percent of local school systems receiving such sales tax revenues, such systems may submit a request to the department for consideration; provided, however, that the local school system shall be required to commit the equivalent of five years of such revenues for the project. The department shall consider factors such as the high cost of a project, the local school system's ability to manage the project on its own, and the needs of the local school system, in determining whether to approve a project pursuant to this subparagraph; (2) The local school system's millage rate for maintenance and operation is at least 12 mills or an equivalent millage thereof; (3) A special purpose local option sales tax is in effect in the local school district or the local school system has in place a millage rate for debt service on bonds, or both; and (4) The local school system uses prototypical specifications as defined by the State Board of Education for the project. (e) No local school system qualifying for a low-wealth project pursuant to this Code section shall have a required local contribution, as determined pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section, that is greater than the revenue generated by the applicable special purpose local option sales tax revenue over its five-year period. In the event that the sum of such required local contribution and the low-wealth capital outlay grant determined pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section is less than the state eligible cost of the project, the state shall provide funds to make up the difference; provided, however, that the local school system shall repay the state such difference through future earned regular entitlements."

SECTION 19. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012; provided, however, that the Act shall apply beginning with Fiscal Year 2014 applications for funds and for each fiscal year thereafter.

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SECTION 20. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS STATE GOVERNMENT INVESTMENTS OF RETIREMENT SYSTEMS; DISCLOSURE EXEMPTIONS.

No. 603 (Senate Bill No. 402).

AN ACT

To amend Article 7 of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Investment Authority Law," so as to provide a short title; to define certain terms and limitations relating to certain types of investments; to provide that the provisions of this Act shall be applicable only to certain retirement systems and certain other large retirement systems; to provide that the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (T.R.S.) shall be exempt from the provisions of this Act; to provide that certain public retirement systems other than the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia may invest retirement system assets in certain types of alternative investments, private placements, and other private investments; to provide that such investments may be made up to a certain amount; to shield information related to such investment from public scrutiny; to provide that the director of certain retirement systems shall provide an annual report to the Governor and the chairpersons of the Senate and House of Representatives standing committees on retirement; to provide for the contents of such report; to provide for a code of ethics; to amend Code Section 50-18-72 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to when public disclosure of records is not required and disclosure exempting legal authority, so as to exempt certain public records from public inspection; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Employees' Retirement System of Georgia Enhanced Investment Authority Act."

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SECTION 2. Article 7 of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Investment Authority Law," is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 47-20-82, relating to investing funds, eligibility, and investment limitations, as follows:
"(c) Any investment limitation based upon the amount of the fund's assets shall relate to such assets on the basis of the assets' aggregate historical cost. For purposes of any investment made in alternative investments pursuant to Code Section 47-7-127 or 47-20-87, aggregate historical cost shall include all contractually committed, unpaid amounts."

SECTION 3. Said article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"47-20-87. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Alternative investments' means the following investments: (A) Privately placed investment pools, including, without limitation, private investment funds, such as: (i) Leveraged buyout funds; (ii) Mezzanine funds; (iii) Workout funds; (iv) Debt funds; (v) Venture capital funds; (vi) Merchant banking funds; and (vii) Funds of funds and secondary funds that include investments in privately placed investment pools described in this subparagraph, in each case whether structured as a partnership, limited liability company, trust, corporation, joint venture, or other entity or investment vehicle of any type; organized or operating in one of the states or territories of the United States or outside the United States; such pool will invest in the United States or outside the United States or any combination thereof; or such pool makes investments of the type described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph or other investments of any type or any combination thereof; (B) Private placements and other private investments, including without limitation: (i) Leveraged buyouts; (ii) Venture capital investment; (iii) Equity investments, including, without limitation, preferred and common stock; (iv) Warrants; (v) Options; (vi) Private investments in public securities; (vii) Recapitalizations;

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(viii) Privatizations; (ix) Mezzanine debt investments; (x) Distressed debt and equity investments, including, without limitation, cases in which the investor may take control of the issuer; (xi) Other debt investments, whether secured or unsecured, senior or subordinated, recourse or nonrecourse, convertible, or otherwise; (xii) Convertible securities; (xiii) Receivables; (xiv) Interests, as such term is referred to in 11 U.S.C. Sections 501 and 502; (xv) Claims, as such term is defined in 11 U.S.C. Section 101(5); (xvi) Debt and equity derivative instruments of all types; and (xvii) All other debt and equity private placements of all types, in each case whether issued by a partnership, limited liability company, trust, corporation, joint venture, or other entity or vehicle of any type or whether the issuer is organized or does business in one of the states or territories of the United States or outside the United States; and (C) Any distribution in kind received by an eligible large retirement system in connection with any investment described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph. (2) 'Eligible large retirement system' means a large retirement system as defined in subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-84; provided, however, that such term shall not include the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia. (b) In addition to the eligible investments authorized by Code Section 47-20-82, and without applicability of any restrictions set forth in Code Sections 47-20-83 and 47-20-84, an eligible large retirement system is authorized to invest in alternative investments in accordance with the provisions of this Code section. Further, when provisions of Code Section 47-20-83 or 47-20-84 or any provisions of this article other than this Code section limit a particular form of investment to a certain percentage of retirement system assets, the denominator will include alternative investments with all other investments, but the numerator for any such calculation shall not include any alternative investments, even if any such alternative investment is of a like kind as the investments that are included in the numerator. (c) An alternative investment shall not exceed in any case 20 percent of the aggregate amount of: (1) The capital to be invested in the applicable private pool, including all parallel pools and other related investment vehicles established as part of the investment program of the applicable private pool; and (2) The securities being issued in the applicable private placement, in each case determined at the time such alternative investment is initially either made or committed to be made, as applicable, but taking into consideration any investments that have previously been or are concurrently being made or committed to be made.

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Each alternative investment by an eligible large retirement system shall have previously been or shall be concurrently made or committed to be made by at least four other investors not affiliated with the issuer. At the time of initial investment, such investors shall not include any trustee of the eligible large retirement system making the investment or any public official as defined in paragraph (9) of Code Section 45-10-20. Such four other investors shall be investing on substantially the same terms and conditions as those applicable to the investment by the eligible large retirement system to the extent such other investors are similarly situated with the eligible large retirement system. Alternative investments shall only be made in private pools and issuers that have at least $100 million in assets, including committed capital, at the time the investment is initially made or committed to be made by an eligible large retirement system. (d) Alternative investments by an eligible large retirement system shall not in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of the eligible large retirement system assets at any time. The board of trustees of an eligible large retirement system shall have the discretion to designate whether any investment that is permitted to be made as an alternative investment pursuant to this Code section and that is also permitted to be made as an investment pursuant to Code Section 47-20-83 shall be treated for purposes of the 5 percent limitation and otherwise as an alternative investment made pursuant to this Code section or as an investment made pursuant to Code Section 47-20-83. If the eligible large retirement system is not in compliance with the limitations imposed by this subsection, it shall make a good faith effort to come into compliance within two years and in any event as soon as practicable thereafter; provided, however, that during any period of noncompliance, the eligible large retirement system shall not increase the percentage of its assets committed to be invested in alternative investments but shall be permitted during such period to continue to make investments as required by the then existing commitments of the eligible large retirement system to alternative investments made before the period of noncompliance. (e) The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. New commitments to alternative investments shall not in the aggregate exceed 1 percent of the retirement system assets in any calendar year until the first occurrence that 4 1/2 percent of the retirement system assets are invested in alternative investments, at which time there shall be no limit on the percentage of commitments that may be made in any calendar year, subject to compliance with the other provisions of this Code section. (f)(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'information' shall include, without limitation, preinvestment and postinvestment diligence information, including reviews and analyses prepared or provided by the issuer of a potential or actual alternative investment or prepared by or for an eligible large retirement system or otherwise relating to a potential or actual alternative investment.
(2) In addition to those records that are exempted from being open to inspection by the general public under Code Section 47-1-14 and except as otherwise provided in this

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subsection, an eligible large retirement system may in its discretion treat as confidential and withhold from public inspection and disclosure all information prepared or provided by the issuer of a potential or actual alternative investment or prepared by or for an eligible large retirement system or otherwise relating to a potential or actual alternative investment and held by an eligible large retirement system and may agree in making an alternative investment to treat such information as confidential and withhold it from public inspection and disclosure. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, any public retirement system created by this title, other than by Chapter 5 of this title, shall make publicly available the following information, but only to the extent the following information is otherwise available or maintained by said retirement system in the normal course and only after a period of one year from the date such records were created:
(A) The name of any alternative investment in which the retirement system has invested; excluding, in the case of an alternative investment in a privately placed investment pool, any information concerning the investments made by such privately placed investment pool; (B) The date the retirement system first invested in an alternative investment; (C) The aggregate amount of money, expressed in dollars, the retirement system has invested in alternative investments as of the end of any fiscal quarter; (D) The aggregate amount of money and the value of any in kind or other distribution, in each case, expressed in dollars, the retirement system received from alternative investments; (E) The internal rate of return or the result under any other such standard used by the retirement system in connection with alternative investments for the asset class and for the period for which the return or standard was calculated; and (F) The remaining cost of alternative investments in which the retirement system has invested as of the end of any fiscal quarter. (4) The provisions of this Code section shall not restrict access to information and records under process of law or by officers otherwise entitled to them for official purposes, but such information and records shall have the same confidential status under process or with such officers as it does in the hands of an eligible large retirement system, and such officers shall respect such confidentiality to the extent consistent with their separate powers and duties. (5) On the second Monday in March of each year, the director of any public retirement system created by this title, other than by Chapter 5 of this title, shall provide a report to the Governor and the chairpersons of the House and Senate standing committees on retirement detailing the performance of any investments made pursuant to this Code section, including, without limitation, a clear statement of the aggregate loss or profit on such investments for the preceding year. Such report shall also be posted on the retirement system's official website. This paragraph shall not be construed so as to require the disclosure of any information otherwise protected by this subsection.

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(g) Unless the information has been publicly released, preinvestment and postinvestment diligence information, including reviews and analyses, prepared or maintained by the eligible large retirement system or by an alternative investment firm shall be confidential and exempted from being open to inspection by the general public pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, except to the extent it is subject to disclosure from the requirements of subsection (f) of this Code section. (h) The respective boards of trustees of eligible large retirement systems making investments authorized by this Code section shall adopt a code of ethics for the consideration of and investment in and disposition of alternative investments. (i) Funds invested pursuant to this Code section and any return on such investment shall remain funds of the retirement system."

SECTION 4. Code Section 50-18-72 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to when public disclosure of records is not required and disclosure of exempting legal authority, is amended in subsection (a) by striking "or" at the end of paragraph (22), by replacing the period with "; or" at the end of paragraph (23), and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(24) Records that are expressly exempt from public inspection pursuant to Code Section 47-20-87."

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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COURTS CLERKS OF SUPERIOR COURT; REAL ESTATE AND PERSONAL PROPERTY FILING FEES; REMOVE SUNSET DATES.

No. 604 (House Bill No. 198).

AN ACT

To amend Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to clerks of superior courts, so as to remove the sunset date for real estate or personal property filing fees; to repeal the sunset dates of the state-wide uniform automated information system and for the collection and remittance of real estate or personal property filings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to clerks of superior courts, is amended by revising subsections (f) and (f.1) of Code Section 15-6-77, relating to fees to be collected by clerks of superior courts, as follows:
"(f) Sums for filing documents, instruments, etc., pertaining to real estate or personal property, such sums to include recording and returning where applicable, shall be as follows:
(1)(A)(i) Filing all instruments pertaining to real estate including deeds, deeds of trust, affidavits, releases, notices and certificates, and cancellation of deeds, first page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 9.50

Each page, after the first. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00

(ii) Filing all instruments pertaining to real estate and personal property including liens on real estate and personal property, notice filings for Uniform Commercial Code related real estate, tax liens, hospital liens, writs of fieri facias, notices of lis pendens, written information on utilities, cancellations of liens, and writs of fieri facias, first page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50

Each page, after the first. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00

(B) Filing and indexing financing statements, amendments to financing statements, continuation statements, termination statements, release of collateral, or other filing pursuant to Article 9 of Title 11, first page. . . . . . .

10.00

Each page, after the first. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00

(2) Filing maps or plats, each page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50

(3) For processing an assignment of a security deed, for each deed assigned. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50 "

SECTION 2. Said article is further amended by repealing subsection (c) of Code Section 15-6-97, relating to the development and implementation of a state-wide uniform automated information system.
SECTION 3. Said article is further amended by repealing subsection (d) of Code Section 15-6-98, relating to collection of fees and remittance to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority.

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SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 16, 2012.

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STATE GOVERNMENT OPEN MEETINGS; OPEN RECORDS; EXTENSIVE REVISION.

No. 605 (House Bill No. 397).

AN ACT

To amend Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, so as to comprehensively revise the provisions of law regarding open meetings and open records; to provide definitions relating to open meetings; to provide for the manner of closing meetings; to provide for open meetings; to provide for remedies for improperly closing meetings; to provide for notice of meetings; to provide for exceptions; to provide for certain privileges; to provide for sanctions; to provide for related matters; to provide for legislative intent regarding open records; to provide for definitions relating to open records; to provide for applicability; to provide for procedures regarding disclosure and enforcement of disclosure provisions; to provide for fees and the amount and manner of collection thereof; to provide for exceptions and exemptions; to provide for sanctions; to provide for related matters; to conform certain cross references; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, is amended by revising Chapter 14, relating to open and public meetings, as follows:

"CHAPTER 14

50-14-1. (a) As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Agency' means: (A) Every state department, agency, board, bureau, office, commission, public corporation, and authority;

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(B) Every county, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision of this state; (C) Every department, agency, board, bureau, office, commission, authority, or similar body of each such county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state; (D) Every city, county, regional, or other authority established pursuant to the laws of this state; and (E) Any nonprofit organization to which there is a direct allocation of tax funds made by the governing body of any agency as defined in this paragraph which constitutes more than 33 1/3 percent of the funds from all sources of such organization; provided, however, that this subparagraph shall not include hospitals, nursing homes, dispensers of pharmaceutical products, or any other type organization, person, or firm furnishing medical or health services to a citizen for which they receive reimbursement from the state whether directly or indirectly; nor shall this term include a subagency or affiliate of such a nonprofit organization from or through which the allocation of tax funds is made. (2) 'Executive session' means a portion of a meeting lawfully closed to the public. (3)(A) 'Meeting' means:
(i) The gathering of a quorum of the members of the governing body of an agency at which any official business, policy, or public matter of the agency is formulated, presented, discussed, or voted upon; or (ii) The gathering of a quorum of any committee of the members of the governing body of an agency or a quorum of any committee created by the governing body at which any official business, policy, or public matter of the committee is formulated, presented, discussed, or voted upon. (B) 'Meeting' shall not include: (i) The gathering of a quorum of the members of a governing body or committee for the purpose of making inspections of physical facilities or property under the jurisdiction of such agency at which no other official business of the agency is to be discussed or official action is to be taken; (ii) The gathering of a quorum of the members of a governing body or committee for the purpose of attending state-wide, multijurisdictional, or regional meetings to participate in seminars or courses of training on matters related to the purpose of the agency or to receive or discuss information on matters related to the purpose of the agency at which no official action is to be taken by the members; (iii) The gathering of a quorum of the members of a governing body or committee for the purpose of meeting with officials of the legislative or executive branches of the state or federal government at state or federal offices and at which no official action is to be taken by the members; (iv) The gathering of a quorum of the members of a governing body of an agency for the purpose of traveling to a meeting or gathering as otherwise authorized by this

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subsection so long as no official business, policy, or public matter is formulated, presented, discussed, or voted upon by the quorum; or (v) The gathering of a quorum of the members of a governing body of an agency at social, ceremonial, civic, or religious events so long as no official business, policy, or public matter is formulated, presented, discussed, or voted upon by the quorum. This subparagraph's exclusions from the definition of the term 'meeting' shall not apply if it is shown that the primary purpose of the gathering or gatherings is to evade or avoid the requirements for conducting a meeting while discussing or conducting official business. (b)(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, all meetings shall be open to the public. All votes at any meeting shall be taken in public after due notice of the meeting and compliance with the posting and agenda requirements of this chapter. (2) Any resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, or other official action of an agency adopted, taken, or made at a meeting which is not open to the public as required by this chapter shall not be binding. Any action contesting a resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, or other formal action of an agency based on an alleged violation of this provision shall be commenced within 90 days of the date such contested action was taken or, if the meeting was held in a manner not permitted by law, within 90 days from the date the party alleging the violation knew or should have known about the alleged violation so long as such date is not more than six months after the date the contested action was taken. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, any action under this chapter contesting a zoning decision of a local governing authority shall be commenced within the time allowed by law for appeal of such zoning decision. (c) The public at all times shall be afforded access to meetings declared open to the public pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section. Visual and sound recording during open meetings shall be permitted. (d)(1) Every agency subject to this chapter shall prescribe the time, place, and dates of regular meetings of the agency. Such information shall be available to the general public and a notice containing such information shall be posted at least one week in advance and maintained in a conspicuous place available to the public at the regular place of an agency or committee meeting subject to this chapter as well as on the agency's website, if any. Meetings shall be held in accordance with a regular schedule, but nothing in this subsection shall preclude an agency from canceling or postponing any regularly scheduled meeting. (2) For any meeting, other than a regularly scheduled meeting of the agency for which notice has already been provided pursuant to this chapter, written or oral notice shall be given at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to the legal organ in which notices of sheriff's sales are published in the county where regular meetings are held or at the option of the agency to a newspaper having a general circulation in such county at least equal to that of the legal organ; provided, however, that, in counties where the legal organ is

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published less often than four times weekly, sufficient notice shall be the posting of a written notice for at least 24 hours at the place of regular meetings and, upon written request from any local broadcast or print media outlet whose place of business and physical facilities are located in the county, notice by telephone, facsimile, or e-mail to that requesting media outlet at least 24 hours in advance of the called meeting. Whenever notice is given to a legal organ or other newspaper, that publication shall immediately or as soon as practicable make the information available upon inquiry to any member of the public. Upon written request from any local broadcast or print media outlet, a copy of the meeting's agenda shall be provided by facsimile, e-mail, or mail through a self-addressed, stamped envelope provided by the requestor. (3) When special circumstances occur and are so declared by an agency, that agency may hold a meeting with less than 24 hours' notice upon giving such notice of the meeting and subjects expected to be considered at the meeting as is reasonable under the circumstances, including notice to the county legal organ or a newspaper having a general circulation in the county at least equal to that of the legal organ, in which event the reason for holding the meeting within 24 hours and the nature of the notice shall be recorded in the minutes. Such reasonable notice shall also include, upon written request within the previous calendar year from any local broadcast or print media outlet whose place of business and physical facilities are located in the county, notice by telephone, facsimile, or e-mail to that requesting media outlet. (e)(1) Prior to any meeting, the agency or committee holding such meeting shall make available an agenda of all matters expected to come before the agency or committee at such meeting. The agenda shall be available upon request and shall be posted at the meeting site as far in advance of the meeting as reasonably possible, but shall not be required to be available more than two weeks prior to the meeting and shall be posted, at a minimum, at some time during the two-week period immediately prior to the meeting. Failure to include on the agenda an item which becomes necessary to address during the course of a meeting shall not preclude considering and acting upon such item.
(2)(A) A summary of the subjects acted on and those members present at a meeting of any agency shall be written and made available to the public for inspection within two business days of the adjournment of a meeting. (B) The regular minutes of a meeting subject to this chapter shall be promptly recorded and such records shall be open to public inspection once approved as official by the agency or its committee, but in no case later than immediately following its next regular meeting; provided, however, that nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit the earlier release of minutes, whether approved by the agency or not. Such minutes shall, at a minimum, include the names of the members present at the meeting, a description of each motion or other proposal made, the identity of the persons making and seconding the motion or other proposal, and a record of all votes. The name of each person voting for or against a proposal shall be recorded. It shall be presumed that the

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action taken was approved by each person in attendance unless the minutes reflect the name of the persons voting against the proposal or abstaining. (C) Minutes of executive sessions shall also be recorded but shall not be open to the public. Such minutes shall specify each issue discussed in executive session by the agency or committee. In the case of executive sessions where matters subject to the attorney-client privilege are discussed, the fact that an attorney-client discussion occurred and its subject shall be identified, but the substance of the discussion need not be recorded and shall not be identified in the minutes. Such minutes shall be kept and preserved for in camera inspection by an appropriate court should a dispute arise as to the propriety of any executive session. (f) An agency with state-wide jurisdiction or committee of such an agency shall be authorized to conduct meetings by teleconference, provided that any such meeting is conducted in compliance with this chapter. (g) Under circumstances necessitated by emergency conditions involving public safety or the preservation of property or public services, agencies or committees thereof not otherwise permitted by subsection (f) of this Code section to conduct meetings by teleconference may meet by means of teleconference so long as the notice required by this chapter is provided and means are afforded for the public to have simultaneous access to the teleconference meeting. On any other occasion of the meeting of an agency or committee thereof, and so long as a quorum is present in person, a member may participate by teleconference if necessary due to reasons of health or absence from the jurisdiction so long as the other requirements of this chapter are met. Absent emergency conditions or the written opinion of a physician or other health professional that reasons of health prevent a member's physical presence, no member shall participate by teleconference pursuant to this subsection more than twice in one calendar year.

50-14-2. This chapter shall not be construed so as to repeal in any way:
(1) The attorney-client privilege recognized by state law to the extent that a meeting otherwise required to be open to the public under this chapter may be closed in order to consult and meet with legal counsel pertaining to pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims, administrative proceedings, or other judicial actions brought or to be brought by or against the agency or any officer or employee or in which the agency or any officer or employee may be directly involved; provided, however, the meeting may not be closed for advice or consultation on whether to close a meeting; and (2) Those tax matters which are otherwise made confidential by state law.

50-14-3. (a) This chapter shall not apply to the following:
(1) Staff meetings held for investigative purposes under duties or responsibilities imposed by law;

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(2) The deliberations and voting of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; and in addition such board may close a meeting held for the purpose of receiving information or evidence for or against clemency or in revocation proceedings if it determines that the receipt of such information or evidence in open meeting would present a substantial risk of harm or injury to a witness; (3) Meetings of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or any other law enforcement or prosecutorial agency in the state, including grand jury meetings; (4) Adoptions and proceedings related thereto; (5) Gatherings involving an agency and one or more neutral third parties in mediation of a dispute between the agency and any other party. In such a gathering, the neutral party may caucus jointly or independently with the parties to the mediation to facilitate a resolution to the conflict, and any such caucus shall not be subject to the requirements of this chapter. Any decision or resolution agreed to by an agency at any such caucus shall not become effective until ratified in a public meeting and the terms of any such decision or resolution are disclosed to the public. Any final settlement agreement, memorandum of agreement, memorandum of understanding, or other similar document, however denominated, in which an agency has formally resolved a claim or dispute shall be subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of this title; (6) Meetings:
(A) Of any medical staff committee of a public hospital; (B) Of the governing authority of a public hospital or any committee thereof when performing a peer review or medical review function as set forth in Code Section 31-7-15, Articles 6 and 6A of Chapter 7 of Title 31, or under any other applicable federal or state statute or regulation; and (C) Of the governing authority of a public hospital or any committee thereof in which the granting, restriction, or revocation of staff privileges or the granting of abortions under state or federal law is discussed, considered, or voted upon; (7) Incidental conversation unrelated to the business of the agency; or (8) E-mail communications among members of an agency; provided, however, that such communications shall be subject to disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of this title. (b) Subject to compliance with the other provisions of this chapter, executive sessions shall be permitted for: (1) Meetings when any agency is discussing or voting to: (A) Authorize the settlement of any matter which may be properly discussed in executive session in accordance with paragraph (1) of Code Section 50-14-2; (B) Authorize negotiations to purchase, dispose of, or lease property; (C) Authorize the ordering of an appraisal related to the acquisition or disposal of real estate; (D) Enter into a contract to purchase, dispose of, or lease property subject to approval in a subsequent public vote; or

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(E) Enter into an option to purchase, dispose of, or lease real estate subject to approval in subsequent public vote. No vote in executive session to acquire, dispose of, or lease real estate, or to settle litigation, claims, or administrative proceedings, shall be binding on an agency until a subsequent vote is taken in an open meeting where the identity of the property and the terms of the acquisition, disposal, or lease are disclosed before the vote or where the parties and principal settlement terms are disclosed before the vote; (2) Meetings when discussing or deliberating upon the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a public officer or employee or interviewing applicants for the position of the executive head of an agency. This exception shall not apply to the receipt of evidence or when hearing argument on personnel matters, including whether to impose disciplinary action or dismiss a public officer or employee or when considering or discussing matters of policy regarding the employment or hiring practices of the agency. The vote on any matter covered by this paragraph shall be taken in public and minutes of the meeting as provided in this chapter shall be made available. Meetings by an agency to discuss or take action on the filling of a vacancy in the membership of the agency itself shall at all times be open to the public as provided in this chapter; (3) Meetings of the board of trustees or the investment committee of any public retirement system created by or subject to Title 47 when such board or committee is discussing matters pertaining to investment securities trading or investment portfolio positions and composition; and (4) Portions of meetings during which that portion of a record made exempt from public inspection or disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of this title is to be considered by an agency and there are no reasonable means by which the agency can consider the record without disclosing the exempt portions if the meeting were not closed.

50-14-4. (a) When any meeting of an agency is closed to the public pursuant to any provision of this chapter, the specific reasons for such closure shall be entered upon the official minutes, the meeting shall not be closed to the public except by a majority vote of a quorum present for the meeting, the minutes shall reflect the names of the members present and the names of those voting for closure, and that part of the minutes shall be made available to the public as any other minutes. Where a meeting of an agency is devoted in part to matters within the exceptions provided by law, any portion of the meeting not subject to any such exception, privilege, or confidentiality shall be open to the public, and the minutes of such portions not subject to any such exception shall be taken, recorded, and open to public inspection as provided in subsection (e) of Code Section 50-14-1.
(b)(1) When any meeting of an agency is closed to the public pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, the person presiding over such meeting or, if the agency's policy so provides, each member of the governing body of the agency attending such meeting, shall

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execute and file with the official minutes of the meeting a notarized affidavit stating under oath that the subject matter of the meeting or the closed portion thereof was devoted to matters within the exceptions provided by law and identifying the specific relevant exception. (2) In the event that one or more persons in an executive session initiates a discussion that is not authorized pursuant to Code Section 50-14-3, the presiding officer shall immediately rule the discussion out of order and all present shall cease the questioned conversation. If one or more persons continue or attempt to continue the discussion after being ruled out of order, the presiding officer shall immediately adjourn the executive session.

50-14-5. (a) The superior courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to enforce compliance with the provisions of this chapter, including the power to grant injunctions or other equitable relief. In addition to any action that may be brought by any person, firm, corporation, or other entity, the Attorney General shall have authority to bring enforcement actions, either civil or criminal, in his or her discretion as may be appropriate to enforce compliance with this chapter. (b) In any action brought to enforce the provisions of this chapter in which the court determines that an agency acted without substantial justification in not complying with this chapter, the court shall, unless it finds that special circumstances exist, assess in favor of the complaining party reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. Whether the position of the complaining party was substantially justified shall be determined on the basis of the record as a whole which is made in the proceeding for which fees and other expenses are sought. (c) Any agency or person who provides access to information in good faith reliance on the requirements of this chapter shall not be liable in any action on account of having provided access to such information.

50-14-6. Any person knowingly and willfully conducting or participating in a meeting in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00. Alternatively, a civil penalty may be imposed by the court in any civil action brought pursuant to this chapter against any person who negligently violates the terms of this chapter in an amount not to exceed $1,000.00 for the first violation. A civil penalty or criminal fine not to exceed $2,500.00 per violation may be imposed for each additional violation that the violator commits within a 12 month period from the date that the first penalty or fine was imposed. It shall be a defense to any criminal action under this Code section that a person has acted in good faith in his or her actions."

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SECTION 2. Said title is further amended by revising Article 4 of Chapter 18, relating to inspection of public records, as follows:

"ARTICLE 4

50-18-70. (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions. The General Assembly further finds and declares that there is a strong presumption that public records should be made available for public inspection without delay. This article shall be broadly construed to allow the inspection of governmental records. The exceptions set forth in this article, together with any other exception located elsewhere in the Code, shall be interpreted narrowly to exclude only those portions of records addressed by such exception. (b) As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Agency' shall have the same meaning as in Code Section 50-14-1 and shall additionally include any association, corporation, or other similar organization that has a membership or ownership body composed primarily of counties, municipal corporations, or school districts of this state, their officers, or any combination thereof and derives more than 33 1/3 percent of its general operating budget from payments from such political subdivisions. (2) 'Public record' means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer based or generated information, data, data fields, or similar material prepared and maintained or received by an agency or by a private person or entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of an agency or when such documents have been transferred to a private person or entity by an agency for storage or future governmental use.

50-18-71. (a) All public records shall be open for personal inspection and copying, except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are specifically exempted from disclosure. Records shall be maintained by agencies to the extent and in the manner required by Article 5 of this chapter.
(b)(1)(A) Agencies shall produce for inspection all records responsive to a request within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of receipt of a request; provided, however, that nothing in this chapter shall require agencies to produce records in response to a request if such records did not exist at the time of the request. In those instances where some, but not all, records are available within three

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business days, an agency shall make available within that period those records that can be located and produced. In any instance where records are unavailable within three business days of receipt of the request, and responsive records exist, the agency shall, within such time period, provide the requester with a description of such records and a timeline for when the records will be available for inspection or copying and provide the responsive records or access thereto as soon as practicable. (B) A request made pursuant to this article may be made to the custodian of a public record orally or in writing. An agency may, but shall not be obligated to, require that all written requests be made upon the responder's choice of one of the following: the agency's director, chairperson, or chief executive officer, however denominated; the senior official at any satellite office of an agency; a clerk specifically designated by an agency as the custodian of agency records; or a duly designated open records officer of an agency; provided, however, that the absence or unavailability of the designated agency officer or employee shall not be permitted to delay the agency's response. At the time of inspection, any person may make photographic copies or other electronic reproductions of the records using suitable portable devices brought to the place of inspection. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an agency may, in its discretion, provide copies of a record in lieu of providing access to the record when portions of the record contain confidential information that must be redacted. (2) Any agency that designates one or more open records officers upon whom requests for inspection or copying of records may be delivered shall make such designation in writing and shall immediately provide notice to any person upon request, orally or in writing, of those open records officers. If the agency has elected to designate an open records officer, the agency shall so notify the legal organ of the county in which the agency's principal offices reside and, if the agency has a website, shall also prominently display such designation on the agency's website. In the event an agency requires that requests be made upon the individuals identified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the three-day period for response to a written request shall not begin to run until the request is made in writing upon such individuals. An agency shall permit receipt of written requests by e-mail or facsimile transmission in addition to any other methods of transmission approved by the agency, provided such agency uses e-mail or facsimile in the normal course of its business. (3) The enforcement provisions of Code Sections 50-18-73 and 50-18-74 shall be available only to enforce compliance and punish noncompliance when a written request is made consistent with this subsection and shall not be available when such request is made orally. (c)(1) An agency may impose a reasonable charge for the search, retrieval, redaction, and production or copying costs for the production of records pursuant to this article. An agency shall utilize the most economical means reasonably calculated to identify and produce responsive, nonexcluded documents. Where fees for certified copies or other copies or records are specifically authorized or otherwise prescribed by law, such specific

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fee shall apply when certified copies or other records to which a specific fee may apply are sought. In all other instances, the charge for the search, retrieval, or redaction of records shall not exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid full-time employee who, in the reasonable discretion of the custodian of the records, has the necessary skill and training to perform the request; provided, however, that no charge shall be made for the first quarter hour. (2) In addition to a charge for the search, retrieval, or redaction of records, an agency may charge a fee for the copying of records or data, not to exceed 10 per page for letter or legal size documents or, in the case of other documents, the actual cost of producing the copy. In the case of electronic records, the agency may charge the actual cost of the media on which the records or data are produced. (3) Whenever any person has requested to inspect or copy a public record and does not pay the cost for search, retrieval, redaction, or copying of such records when such charges have been lawfully estimated and agreed to pursuant to this article, and the agency has incurred the agreed-upon costs to make the records available, regardless of whether the requester inspects or accepts copies of the records, the agency shall be authorized to collect such charges in any manner authorized by law for the collection of taxes, fees, or assessments by such agency. (d) In any instance in which an agency is required to or has decided to withhold all or part of a requested record, the agency shall notify the requester of the specific legal authority exempting the requested record or records from disclosure by Code section, subsection, and paragraph within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days or in the event the search and retrieval of records is delayed pursuant to this paragraph or pursuant to subparagraph (b)(1)(A) of this Code section, then no later than three business days after the records have been retrieved. In any instance in which an agency will seek costs in excess of $25.00 for responding to a request, the agency shall notify the requester within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days and inform the requester of the estimate of the costs, and the agency may defer search and retrieval of the records until the requester agrees to pay the estimated costs unless the requester has stated in his or her request a willingness to pay an amount that exceeds the search and retrieval costs. In any instance in which the estimated costs for production of the records exceeds $500.00, an agency may insist on prepayment of the costs prior to beginning search, retrieval, review, or production of the records. Whenever any person who has requested to inspect or copy a public record has not paid the cost for search, retrieval, redaction, or copying of such records when such charges have been lawfully incurred, an agency may require prepayment for compliance with all future requests for production of records from that person until the costs for the prior production of records have been paid or the dispute regarding payment resolved. (e) Requests by civil litigants for records that are sought as part of or for use in any ongoing civil or administrative litigation against an agency shall be made in writing and copied to counsel of record for that agency contemporaneously with their submission to

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that agency. The agency shall provide, at no cost, duplicate sets of all records produced in response to the request to counsel of record for that agency unless the counsel of record for that agency elects not to receive the records. (f) As provided in this subsection, an agency's use of electronic record-keeping systems must not erode the public's right of access to records under this article. Agencies shall produce electronic copies of or, if the requester prefers, printouts of electronic records or data from data base fields that the agency maintains using the computer programs that the agency has in its possession. An agency shall not refuse to produce such electronic records, data, or data fields on the grounds that exporting data or redaction of exempted information will require inputting range, search, filter, report parameters, or similar commands or instructions into an agency's computer system so long as such commands or instructions can be executed using existing computer programs that the agency uses in the ordinary course of business to access, support, or otherwise manage the records or data. A requester may request that electronic records, data, or data fields be produced in the format in which such data or electronic records are kept by the agency, or in a standard export format such as a flat file electronic American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format, if the agency's existing computer programs support such an export format. In such instance, the data or electronic records shall be downloaded in such format onto suitable electronic media by the agency. (g) Requests to inspect or copy electronic messages, whether in the form of e-mail, text message, or other format, should contain information about the messages that is reasonably calculated to allow the recipient of the request to locate the messages sought, including, if known, the name, title, or office of the specific person or persons whose electronic messages are sought and, to the extent possible, the specific data bases to be searched for such messages. (h) In lieu of providing separate printouts or copies of records or data, an agency may provide access to records through a website accessible by the public. However, if an agency receives a request for data fields, an agency shall not refuse to provide the responsive data on the grounds that the data is available in whole or in its constituent parts through a website if the requester seeks the data in the electronic format in which it is kept. Additionally, if an agency contracts with a private vendor to collect or maintain public records, the agency shall ensure that the arrangement does not limit public access to those records and that the vendor does not impede public record access and method of delivery as established by the agency or as otherwise provided for in this Code section. (i) Any computerized index of county real estate deed records shall be printed for purposes of public inspection no less than every 30 days, and any correction made on such index shall be made a part of the printout and shall reflect the time and date that such index was corrected. (j) No public officer or agency shall be required to prepare new reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence at the time of the request.

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50-18-72. (a) Public disclosure shall not be required for records that are:
(1) Specifically required by federal statute or regulation to be kept confidential; (2) Medical or veterinary records and similar files, the disclosure of which would be an invasion of personal privacy; (3) Except as otherwise provided by law, records compiled for law enforcement or prosecution purposes to the extent that production of such records is reasonably likely to disclose the identity of a confidential source, disclose confidential investigative or prosecution material which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or persons, or disclose the existence of a confidential surveillance or investigation; (4) Records of law enforcement, prosecution, or regulatory agencies in any pending investigation or prosecution of criminal or unlawful activity, other than initial police arrest reports and initial incident reports; provided, however, that an investigation or prosecution shall no longer be deemed to be pending when all direct litigation involving such investigation and prosecution has become final or otherwise terminated; and provided, further, that this paragraph shall not apply to records in the possession of an agency that is the subject of the pending investigation or prosecution; (5) Individual Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Reports, except upon the submission of a written statement of need by the requesting party to be provided to the custodian of records and to set forth the need for the report pursuant to this Code section; provided, however, that any person or entity whose name or identifying information is contained in a Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Report shall be entitled, either personally or through a lawyer or other representative, to receive a copy of such report; and provided, further, that Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Reports shall not be available in bulk for inspection or copying by any person absent a written statement showing the need for each such report pursuant to the requirements of this Code section. For the purposes of this subsection, the term 'need' means that the natural person or legal entity who is requesting in person or by representative to inspect or copy the Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Report:
(A) Has a personal, professional, or business connection with a party to the accident; (B) Owns or leases an interest in property allegedly or actually damaged in the accident; (C) Was allegedly or actually injured by the accident; (D) Was a witness to the accident; (E) Is the actual or alleged insurer of a party to the accident or of property actually or allegedly damaged by the accident; (F) Is a prosecutor or a publicly employed law enforcement officer; (G) Is alleged to be liable to another party as a result of the accident; (H) Is an attorney stating that he or she needs the requested reports as part of a criminal case, or an investigation of a potential claim involving contentions that a roadway, railroad crossing, or intersection is unsafe;

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(I) Is gathering information as a representative of a news media organization; (J) Is conducting research in the public interest for such purposes as accident prevention, prevention of injuries or damages in accidents, determination of fault in an accident or accidents, or other similar purposes; provided, however, that this subparagraph shall apply only to accident reports on accidents that occurred more than 30 days prior to the request and which shall have the name, street address, telephone number, and driver's license number redacted; or (K) Is a governmental official, entity, or agency, or an authorized agent thereof, requesting reports for the purpose of carrying out governmental functions or legitimate governmental duties; (6) Jury list data, including, but not limited to, persons' names, dates of birth, addresses, ages, race, gender, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and when it is available, the person's ethnicity, and other confidential identifying information that is collected and used by the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia for creating, compiling, and maintaining state-wide master jury lists and county master jury lists for the purpose of establishing and maintaining county jury source lists pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 12 of Title 15; provided, however, that when ordered by the judge of a court having jurisdiction over a case in which a challenge to the array of the grand or trial jury has been filed, the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia or the clerk of the county board of jury commissioners of any county shall provide data within the time limit established by the court for the limited purpose of such challenge. Neither the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia nor the clerk of a county board of jury commissioners shall be liable for any use or misuse of such data; (7) Records consisting of confidential evaluations submitted to, or examinations prepared by, a governmental agency and prepared in connection with the appointment or hiring of a public officer or employee; (8) Records consisting of material obtained in investigations related to the suspension, firing, or investigation of complaints against public officers or employees until ten days after the same has been presented to the agency or an officer for action or the investigation is otherwise concluded or terminated, provided that this paragraph shall not be interpreted to make such investigatory records privileged; (9) Real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates, or other records made for or by the state or a local agency relative to the acquisition of real property until such time as the property has been acquired or the proposed transaction has been terminated or abandoned; (10) Pending, rejected, or deferred sealed bids or sealed proposals and detailed cost estimates related thereto until such time as the final award of the contract is made, the project is terminated or abandoned, or the agency in possession of the records takes a public vote regarding the sealed bid or sealed proposal, whichever comes first; (11) Records which identify persons applying for or under consideration for employment or appointment as executive head of an agency or of a unit of the University System of

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Georgia; provided, however, that at least 14 calendar days prior to the meeting at which final action or vote is to be taken on the position of executive head of an agency or five business days prior to the meeting at which final action or vote is to be taken on the position of president of a unit of the University System of Georgia, all documents concerning as many as three persons under consideration whom the agency has determined to be the best qualified for the position shall be subject to inspection and copying. Prior to the release of these documents, an agency may allow such a person to decline being considered further for the position rather than have documents pertaining to such person released. In that event, the agency shall release the documents of the next most qualified person under consideration who does not decline the position. If an agency has conducted its hiring or appointment process without conducting interviews or discussing or deliberating in executive session in a manner otherwise consistent with Chapter 14 of this title, it shall not be required to delay final action on the position. The agency shall not be required to release such records of other applicants or persons under consideration, except at the request of any such person. Upon request, the hiring agency shall furnish the number of applicants and the composition of the list by such factors as race and sex. The agency shall not be allowed to avoid the provisions of this paragraph by the employment of a private person or agency to assist with the search or application process; (12) Related to the provision of staff services to individual members of the General Assembly by the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office, the Senate Research Office, or the House Budget and Research Office, provided that this exception shall not have any application to records related to the provision of staff services to any committee or subcommittee or to any records which are or have been previously publicly disclosed by or pursuant to the direction of an individual member of the General Assembly; (13) Records that are of historical research value which are given or sold to public archival institutions, public libraries, or libraries of a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia when the owner or donor of such records wishes to place restrictions on access to the records. No restriction on access, however, may extend more than 75 years from the date of donation or sale. This exemption shall not apply to any records prepared in the course of the operation of state or local governments of the State of Georgia; (14) Records that contain information from the Department of Natural Resources inventory and register relating to the location and character of a historic property or of historic properties as those terms are defined in Code Sections 12-3-50.1 and 12-3-50.2 if the Department of Natural Resources through its Division of Historic Preservation determines that disclosure will create a substantial risk of harm, theft, or destruction to the property or properties or the area or place where the property or properties are located;

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(15) Records of farm water use by individual farms as determined by water-measuring devices installed pursuant to Code Section 12-5-31 or 12-5-105; provided, however, that compilations of such records for the 52 large watershed basins as identified by the eight-digit United States Geologic Survey hydrologic code or an aquifer that do not reveal farm water use by individual farms shall be subject to disclosure under this article; (16) Agricultural or food system records, data, or information that are considered by the Department of Agriculture to be a part of the critical infrastructure, provided that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the release of such records, data, or information to another state or federal agency if the release of such records, data, or information is necessary to prevent or control disease or to protect public health, safety, or welfare. As used in this paragraph, the term 'critical infrastructure' shall have the same meaning as in 42 U.S.C. Section 5195c(e). Such records, data, or information shall be subject to disclosure only upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction; (17) Records, data, or information collected, recorded, or otherwise obtained that is deemed confidential by the Department of Agriculture for the purposes of the national animal identification system, provided that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the release of such records, data, or information to another state or federal agency if the release of such records, data, or information is necessary to prevent or control disease or to protect public health, safety, or welfare. As used in this paragraph, the term 'national animal identification program' means a national program intended to identify animals and track them as they come into contact with or commingle with animals other than herdmates from their premises of origin. Such records, data, or information shall be subject to disclosure only upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction; (18) Records that contain site-specific information regarding the occurrence of rare species of plants or animals or the location of sensitive natural habitats on public or private property if the Department of Natural Resources determines that disclosure will create a substantial risk of harm, theft, or destruction to the species or habitats or the area or place where the species or habitats are located; provided, however, that the owner or owners of private property upon which rare species of plants or animals occur or upon which sensitive natural habitats are located shall be entitled to such information pursuant to this article; (19) Records that reveal the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, security codes, e-mail addresses, or any other data or information developed, collected, or received by counties or municipalities in connection with neighborhood watch or public safety notification programs or with the installation, servicing, maintaining, operating, selling, or leasing of burglar alarm systems, fire alarm systems, or other electronic security systems; provided, however, that initial police reports and initial incident reports shall remain subject to disclosure pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection;
(20)(A) Records that reveal an individual's social security number, mother's birth name, credit card information, debit card information, bank account information, account number, utility account number, password used to access his or her account,

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financial data or information, insurance or medical information in all records, unlisted telephone number if so designated in a public record, personal e-mail address or cellular telephone number, day and month of birth, and information regarding public utility, television, Internet, or telephone accounts held by private customers, provided that nonitemized bills showing amounts owed and amounts paid shall be available. Items exempted by this subparagraph shall be redacted prior to disclosure of any record requested pursuant to this article; provided, however, that such information shall not be redacted from such records if the person or entity requesting such records requests such information in a writing signed under oath by such person or a person legally authorized to represent such entity which states that such person or entity is gathering information as a representative of a news media organization for use in connection with news gathering and reporting; and provided, further, that such access shall be limited to social security numbers and day and month of birth; and provided, further, that the news media organization exception in this subparagraph shall not apply to paragraph (21) of this subsection. (B) This paragraph shall have no application to:
(i) The disclosure of information contained in the records or papers of any court or derived therefrom including without limitation records maintained pursuant to Article 9 of Title 11; (ii) The disclosure of information to a court, prosecutor, or publicly employed law enforcement officer, or authorized agent thereof, seeking records in an official capacity; (iii) The disclosure of information to a public employee of this state, its political subdivisions, or the United States who is obtaining such information for administrative purposes, in which case, subject to applicable laws of the United States, further access to such information shall continue to be subject to the provisions of this paragraph; (iv) The disclosure of information as authorized by the order of a court of competent jurisdiction upon good cause shown to have access to any or all of such information upon such conditions as may be set forth in such order; (v) The disclosure of information to the individual in respect of whom such information is maintained, with the authorization thereof, or to an authorized agent thereof; provided, however, that the agency maintaining such information shall require proper identification of such individual or such individual's agent, or proof of authorization, as determined by such agency; (vi) The disclosure of the day and month of birth and mother's birth name of a deceased individual; (vii) The disclosure by an agency of credit or payment information in connection with a request by a consumer reporting agency as that term is defined under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681, et seq.);

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(viii) The disclosure by an agency of information in its records in connection with the agency's discharging or fulfilling of its duties and responsibilities, including, but not limited to, the collection of debts owed to the agency or individuals or entities whom the agency assists in the collection of debts owed to the individual or entity; (ix) The disclosure of information necessary to comply with legal or regulatory requirements or for legitimate law enforcement purposes; or (x) The disclosure of the date of birth within criminal records. (C) Records and information disseminated pursuant to this paragraph may be used only by the authorized recipient and only for the authorized purpose. Any person who obtains records or information pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph and knowingly and willfully discloses, distributes, or sells such records or information to an unauthorized recipient or for an unauthorized purpose shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in Code Section 17-10-4. Any person injured thereby shall have a cause of action for invasion of privacy. (D) In the event that the custodian of public records protected by this paragraph has good faith reason to believe that a pending request for such records has been made fraudulently, under false pretenses, or by means of false swearing, such custodian shall apply to the superior court of the county in which such records are maintained for a protective order limiting or prohibiting access to such records. (E) This paragraph shall supplement and shall not supplant, overrule, replace, or otherwise modify or supersede any provision of statute, regulation, or law of the federal government or of this state as now or hereafter amended or enacted requiring, restricting, or prohibiting access to the information identified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and shall constitute only a regulation of the methods of such access where not otherwise provided for, restricted, or prohibited; (21) Records concerning public employees that reveal the public employee's home address, home telephone number, day and month of birth, social security number, insurance or medical information, mother's birth name, credit card information, debit card information, bank account information, account number, utility account number, password used to access his or her account, financial data or information other than compensation by a government agency, unlisted telephone number if so designated in a public record, and the identity of the public employee's immediate family members or dependents. This paragraph shall not apply to public records that do not specifically identify public employees or their jobs, titles, or offices. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term 'public employee' means any officer, employee, or former employee of: (A) The State of Georgia or its agencies, departments, or commissions; (B) Any county or municipality or its agencies, departments, or commissions; (C) Other political subdivisions of this state; (D) Teachers in public and charter schools and nonpublic schools; or

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(E) Early care and education programs administered through the Department of Early Care and Learning; (22) Records of the Department of Early Care and Learning that contain the: (A) Names of children and day and month of each child's birth; (B) Names, addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses of parents, immediate family members, and emergency contact persons; or (C) Names or other identifying information of individuals who report violations to the department; (23) Public records containing information that would disclose or might lead to the disclosure of any component in the process used to execute or adopt an electronic signature, if such disclosure would or might cause the electronic signature to cease being under the sole control of the person using it. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'electronic signature' has the same meaning as that term is defined in Code Section 10-12-2; (24) Records acquired by an agency for the purpose of establishing or implementing, or assisting in the establishment or implementation of, a carpooling or ridesharing program, including, but not limited to, the formation of carpools, vanpools, or buspools, the provision of transit routes, rideshare research, and the development of other demand management strategies such as variable working hours and telecommuting; (25)(A) Records the disclosure of which would compromise security against sabotage or criminal or terrorist acts and the nondisclosure of which is necessary for the protection of life, safety, or public property, which shall be limited to the following:
(i) Security plans and vulnerability assessments for any public utility, technology infrastructure, building, facility, function, or activity in effect at the time of the request for disclosure or pertaining to a plan or assessment in effect at such time; (ii) Any plan for protection against terrorist or other attacks that depends for its effectiveness in whole or in part upon a lack of general public knowledge of its details; (iii) Any document relating to the existence, nature, location, or function of security devices designed to protect against terrorist or other attacks that depend for their effectiveness in whole or in part upon a lack of general public knowledge; (iv) Any plan, blueprint, or other material which if made public could compromise security against sabotage, criminal, or terroristic acts; and (v) Records of any government sponsored programs concerning training relative to governmental security measures which would identify persons being trained or instructors or would reveal information described in divisions (i) through (iv) of this subparagraph. (B) In the event of litigation challenging nondisclosure pursuant to this paragraph by an agency of a document covered by this paragraph, the court may review the documents in question in camera and may condition, in writing, any disclosure upon

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such measures as the court may find to be necessary to protect against endangerment of life, safety, or public property. (C) As used in division (i) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the term 'activity' means deployment or surveillance strategies, actions mandated by changes in the federal threat level, motorcades, contingency plans, proposed or alternative motorcade routes, executive and dignitary protection, planned responses to criminal or terrorist actions, after-action reports still in use, proposed or actual plans and responses to bioterrorism, and proposed or actual plans and responses to requesting and receiving the National Pharmacy Stockpile; (26) Unless the request is made by the accused in a criminal case or by his or her attorney, public records of an emergency 9-1-1 system, as defined in paragraph (3) of Code Section 46-5-122, containing information which would reveal the name, address, or telephone number of a person placing a call to a public safety answering point. Such information may be redacted from such records if necessary to prevent the disclosure of the identity of a confidential source, to prevent disclosure of material which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or persons, or to prevent the disclosure of the existence of a confidential surveillance or investigation; (27) Records of athletic or recreational programs, available through the state or a political subdivision of the state, that include information identifying a child or children 12 years of age or under by name, address, telephone number, or emergency contact, unless such identifying information has been redacted; (28) Records of the State Road and Tollway Authority which would reveal the financial accounts or travel history of any individual who is a motorist upon any toll project; (29) Records maintained by public postsecondary educational institutions in this state and associated foundations of such institutions that contain personal information concerning donors or potential donors to such institutions or foundations; provided, however, that the name of any donor and the amount of donation made by such donor shall be subject to disclosure if such donor or any entity in which such donor has a substantial interest transacts business with the public postsecondary educational institution to which the donation is made within three years of the date of such donation. As used in this paragraph, the term 'transact business' means to sell or lease any personal property, real property, or services on behalf of oneself or on behalf of any third party as an agent, broker, dealer, or representative in an amount in excess of $10,000.00 in the aggregate in a calendar year; and the term 'substantial interest' means the direct or indirect ownership of more than 25 percent of the assets or stock of an entity; (30) Records of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or of any other transit system that is connected to that system's TransCard, SmartCard, or successor or similar system which would reveal the financial records or travel history of any individual who is a purchaser of a TransCard, SmartCard, or successor or similar fare medium. Such financial records shall include, but not be limited to, social security number, home

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address, home telephone number, e-mail address, credit or debit card information, and bank account information but shall not include the user's name; (31) Building mapping information produced and maintained pursuant to Article 10 of Chapter 3 of Title 38; (32) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection, any physical evidence or investigatory materials that are evidence of an alleged violation of Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 and are in the possession, custody, or control of law enforcement, prosecution, or regulatory agencies; (33) Records that are expressly exempt from public inspection pursuant to Code Sections 47-1-14 and 47-7-127; (34) Any trade secrets obtained from a person or business entity that are required by law, regulation, bid, or request for proposal to be submitted to an agency. An entity submitting records containing trade secrets that wishes to keep such records confidential under this paragraph shall submit and attach to the records an affidavit affirmatively declaring that specific information in the records constitute trade secrets pursuant to Article 27 of Chapter 1 of Title 10. If such entity attaches such an affidavit, before producing such records in response to a request under this article, the agency shall notify the entity of its intention to produce such records as set forth in this paragraph. If the agency makes a determination that the specifically identified information does not in fact constitute a trade secret, it shall notify the entity submitting the affidavit of its intent to disclose the information within ten days unless prohibited from doing so by an appropriate court order. In the event the entity wishes to prevent disclosure of the requested records, the entity may file an action in superior court to obtain an order that the requested records are trade secrets exempt from disclosure. The entity filing such action shall serve the requestor with a copy of its court filing. If the agency makes a determination that the specifically identified information does constitute a trade secret, the agency shall withhold the records, and the requester may file an action in superior court to obtain an order that the requested records are not trade secrets and are subject to disclosure; (35) Data, records, or information of a proprietary nature, produced or collected by or for faculty or staff of state institutions of higher learning, or other governmental agencies, in the conduct of, or as a result of, study or research on commercial, scientific, technical, or scholarly issues, whether sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or private concern, where such data, records, or information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted, or patented; (36) Any data, records, or information developed, collected, or received by or on behalf of faculty, staff, employees, or students of an institution of higher education or any public or private entity supporting or participating in the activities of an institution of higher education in the conduct of, or as a result of, study or research on medical, scientific, technical, scholarly, or artistic issues, whether sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or private entity, until such information is

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published, patented, otherwise publicly disseminated, or released to an agency whereupon the request must be made to the agency. This paragraph shall apply to, but shall not be limited to, information provided by participants in research, research notes and data, discoveries, research projects, methodologies, protocols, and creative works; (37) Any record that would not be subject to disclosure, or the disclosure of which would jeopardize the receipt of federal funds, under 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g or its implementing regulations; (38) Unless otherwise provided by law, records consisting of questions, scoring keys, and other materials constituting a test that derives value from being unknown to the test taker prior to administration which is to be administered by an agency, including, but not limited to, any public school, any unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, any public technical school, the State Board of Education, the Office of Student Achievement, the Professional Standards Commission, or a local school system, if reasonable measures are taken by the owner of the test to protect security and confidentiality; provided, however, that the State Board of Education may establish procedures whereby a person may view, but not copy, such records if viewing will not, in the judgment of the board, affect the result of administration of such test. These limitations shall not be interpreted by any court of law to include or otherwise exempt from inspection the records of any athletic association or other nonprofit entity promoting intercollegiate athletics; (39) Records disclosing the identity or personally identifiable information of any person participating in research on commercial, scientific, technical, medical, scholarly, or artistic issues conducted by the Department of Community Health, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, or a state institution of higher education whether sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or private entity; (40) Any permanent records maintained by a judge of the probate court pursuant to Code Section 16-11-129, relating to weapons carry licenses, or pursuant to any other requirement for maintaining records relative to the possession of firearms, except to the extent that such records relating to licensing and possession of firearms are sought by law enforcement agencies as provided by law; (41) Records containing communications subject to the attorney-client privilege recognized by state law; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply to the factual findings, but shall apply to the legal conclusions, of an attorney conducting an investigation on behalf of an agency so long as such investigation does not pertain to pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims, administrative proceedings, or other judicial actions brought or to be brought by or against the agency or any officer or employee; and provided, further, that such investigations conducted by hospital authorities to ensure compliance with federal or state law, regulations, or reimbursement policies shall be exempt from disclosure if such investigations are otherwise subject to the attorney-client privilege. Attorney-client communications, however, may be obtained

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in a proceeding under Code Section 50-18-73 to prove justification or lack thereof in refusing disclosure of documents under this Code section provided the judge of the court in which such proceeding is pending shall first determine by an in camera examination that such disclosure would be relevant on that issue. In addition, when an agency withholds information subject to this paragraph, any party authorized to bring a proceeding under Code Section 50-18-73 may request that the judge of the court in which such proceeding is pending determine by an in camera examination whether such information was properly withheld; (42) Confidential attorney work product; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply to the factual findings, but shall apply to the legal conclusions, of an attorney conducting an investigation on behalf of an agency so long as such investigation does not pertain to pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims, administrative proceedings, or other judicial actions brought or to be brought by or against the agency or any officer or employee; and provided, further, that such investigations conducted by hospital authorities to ensure compliance with federal or state law, regulations, or reimbursement policies shall be exempt from disclosure if such investigations are otherwise subject to confidentiality as attorney work product. In addition, when an agency withholds information subject to this paragraph, any party authorized to bring a proceeding under Code Section 50-18-73 may request that the judge of the court in which such proceeding is pending determine by an in camera examination whether such information was properly withheld; (43) Records containing tax matters or tax information that is confidential under state or federal law; (44) Records consisting of any computer program or computer software used or maintained in the course of operation of a public office or agency; provided, however, that data generated, kept, or received by an agency shall be subject to inspection and copying as provided in this article; (45) Records pertaining to the rating plans, rating systems, underwriting rules, surveys, inspections, statistical plans, or similar proprietary information used to provide or administer liability insurance or self-insurance coverage to any agency; (46) Documents maintained by the Department of Economic Development pertaining to an economic development project until the economic development project is secured by binding commitment, provided that any such documents shall be disclosed upon proper request after a binding commitment has been secured or the project has been terminated. No later than five business days after the Department of Economic Development secures a binding commitment and the department has committed the use of state funds from the OneGeorgia Authority or funds from Regional Economic Business Assistance for the project pursuant to Code Section 50-8-8, or other provisions of law, the Department of Economic Development shall give notice that a binding commitment has been reached by posting on its website notice of the project in conjunction with a copy of the Department of Economic Development's records documenting the bidding commitment

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made in connection with the project and the negotiation relating thereto and by publishing notice of the project and participating parties in the legal organ of each county in which the economic development project is to be located. As used in this paragraph, the term 'economic development project' means a plan or proposal to locate a business, or to expand a business, that would involve an expenditure of more than $25 million by the business or the hiring of more than 50 employees by the business; or (47) Records related to a training program operated under the authority of Article 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 20 disclosing an economic development project prior to a binding commitment having been secured, relating to job applicants, or identifying proprietary hiring practices, training, skills, or other business methods and practices of a private entity. As used in this paragraph, the term 'economic development project' means a plan or proposal to locate a business, or to expand a business, that would involve an expenditure of more than $25 million by the business or the hiring of more than 50 employees by the business. (b) This Code section shall be interpreted narrowly so as to exclude from disclosure only that portion of a public record to which an exclusion is directly applicable. It shall be the duty of the agency having custody of a record to provide all other portions of a record for public inspection or copying. (c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, an exhibit tendered to the court as evidence in a criminal or civil trial shall not be open to public inspection without approval of the judge assigned to the case. (2) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, in the event inspection is not approved by the court, in lieu of inspection of such an exhibit, the custodian of such an exhibit shall, upon request, provide one or more of the following:
(A) A photograph; (B) A photocopy; (C) A facsimile; or (D) Another reproduction. (3) The provisions of this article regarding fees for production of a record, including, but not limited to, subsections (c) and (d) of Code Section 50-18-71, shall apply to exhibits produced according to this subsection. (d) Any physical evidence that is used as an exhibit in a criminal or civil trial to show or support an alleged violation of Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 shall not be open to public inspection except by court order. If the judge approves inspection of such physical evidence, the judge shall designate, in writing, the facility owned or operated by an agency of the state or local government where such physical evidence may be inspected. If the judge permits inspection, such property or material shall not be photographed, copied, or reproduced by any means. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years, a fine of not more than $100,000.00, or both.

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50-18-73. (a) The superior courts of this state shall have jurisdiction in law and in equity to entertain actions against persons or agencies having custody of records open to the public under this article to enforce compliance with the provisions of this article. Such actions may be brought by any person, firm, corporation, or other entity. In addition, the Attorney General shall have authority to bring such actions in his or her discretion as may be appropriate to enforce compliance with this article and to seek either civil or criminal penalties or both. (b) In any action brought to enforce the provisions of this chapter in which the court determines that either party acted without substantial justification either in not complying with this chapter or in instituting the litigation, the court shall, unless it finds that special circumstances exist, assess in favor of the complaining party reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. Whether the position of the complaining party was substantially justified shall be determined on the basis of the record as a whole which is made in the proceeding for which fees and other expenses are sought. (c) Any agency or person who provides access to information in good faith reliance on the requirements of this chapter shall not be liable in any action on account of such decision.

50-18-74. (a) Any person or entity knowingly and willfully violating the provisions of this article by failing or refusing to provide access to records not subject to exemption from this article, by knowingly and willingly failing or refusing to provide access to such records within the time limits set forth in this article, or by knowingly and willingly frustrating or attempting to frustrate the access to records by intentionally making records difficult to obtain or review shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 for the first violation. Alternatively, a civil penalty may be imposed by the court in any civil action brought pursuant to this article against any person who negligently violates the terms of this article in an amount not to exceed $1,000.00 for the first violation. A civil penalty or criminal fine not to exceed $2,500.00 per violation may be imposed for each additional violation that the violator commits within a 12 month period from the date the first penalty or fine was imposed. It shall be a defense to any criminal action under this Code section that a person has acted in good faith in his or her actions. In addition, persons or entities that destroy records for the purpose of preventing their disclosure under this article may be subject to prosecution under Code Section 45-11-1. (b) A prosecution under this Code section may only be commenced by issuance of a citation in the same manner as an arrest warrant for a peace officer pursuant to Code Section 17-4-40; such citation shall be personally served upon the accused. The defendant shall not be arrested prior to the time of trial, except that a defendant who fails to appear for arraignment or trial may thereafter be arrested pursuant to a bench warrant and required to post a bond for his or her future appearance.

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50-18-75. Communications between the Office of Legislative Counsel and the following persons shall be privileged and confidential: members of the General Assembly, the Lieutenant Governor, and persons acting on behalf of such public officers; and such communications, and records and work product relating to such communications, shall not be subject to inspection or disclosure under this article or any other law or under judicial process; provided, however, that this privilege shall not apply where it is waived by the affected public officer or officers. The privilege established under this Code section is in addition to any other constitutional, statutory, or common law privilege.

50-18-76. No form, document, or other written matter which is required by law or rule or regulation to be filed as a vital record under the provisions of Chapter 10 of Title 31, which contains information which is exempt from disclosure under Code Section 31-10-25, and which is temporarily kept or maintained in any file or with any other documents in the office of the judge or clerk of any court prior to filing with the Department of Public Health shall be open to inspection by the general public, even though the other papers or documents in such file may be open to inspection.

50-18-77. The procedures and fees provided for in this article shall not apply to public records, including records that are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Code Section 50-18-72, which are requested in writing by a state or federal grand jury, taxing authority, law enforcement agency, or prosecuting attorney in conjunction with an ongoing administrative, criminal, or tax investigation. The lawful custodian shall provide copies of such records to the requesting agency unless such records are privileged or disclosure to such agencies is specifically restricted by law."

SECTION 3. Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 15-12-11, relating to appointment of court personnel in certain counties, juror questionnaires, and construction with other laws, as follows:
"(c) Juror questionnaires shall be confidential and shall be exempt from public disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50; provided, however, that jury questionnaires shall be provided to the court and to the parties at any stage of the proceedings, including pretrial, trial, appellate, or post-conviction proceedings, and shall be made a part of the record under seal. The information disclosed to a party pursuant to this subsection shall only be used by the parties for purposes of pursuing a claim, defense, or other issue in the case."

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SECTION 4. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-16-10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to duties of sheriffs, as follows:
"(10) To develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the security of the county courthouse and any courthouse annex. Prior to the implementation of any security plan, the plan shall be submitted to the chief judge of the superior court of the circuit wherein the courthouse or courthouse annex is located for review. The chief judge shall have 30 days to review the original or any subsequent security plan. The chief judge may make modifications to the original or any subsequent security plan. The sheriff shall provide to the county governing authority the estimated cost of any security plan and a schedule for implementation 30 days prior to adoption of any security plan. A comprehensive plan for courthouse security shall be considered a confidential matter of public security. Review of a proposed security plan by the governing authority shall be excluded fromthe requirements of Code Section 50-14-1. Such security plan shall also be excluded from public disclosure pursuant to paragraph (25) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72. The sheriff shall be the official custodian of the comprehensive courthouse security plan and shall determine who has access to such plan and any such access and review shall occur in the sheriff's office or at a meeting of the county governing authority held as provided in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Code Section 50-14-3; provided, however, that the sheriff shall make the original security plan available upon request for temporary, exclusive review by any judge whose courtroom or chambers is located within the courthouse or courthouse annex or by any commissioner of the county in which the courthouse or courthouse annex is located. The sheriff shall be responsible to conduct a formal review of the security plan not less than every four years."

SECTION 5. Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-55, relating to per diem, insurance, and expenses of local board members, as follows:
"(2) In any local school system for which no local Act is passed, members of the local board of education shall, when approved by the local board affected, receive a per diem of $50.00 for each day of attendance at a meeting, as defined in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-14-1, of the board, plus reimbursement for actual expenses necessarily incurred in connection therewith; provided, however, that in any independent school system with a full-time equivalent (FTE) program count of less than 4,000 students for which no local Act is passed, members of the local board of education may, when approved by the affected local board, receive a per diem of not less than $50.00 and not more than $100.00 for each day of attendance at a meeting, as defined in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-14-1, of the board, plus reimbursement for actual expenses. The accounts for such service and expenses shall be

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submitted for approval to the local school superintendent. In all school districts, the compensation of members of local boards shall be paid only from the local tax funds available to local boards for educational purposes. This paragraph shall apply only to local board of education members elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2010."

SECTION 6. Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 31-7-402, relating to content and form of notice to Attorney General, retention of experts, and payment of costs and expenses, as follows:
"(b) The Attorney General may prescribe a form of notice to be utilized by the seller or lessor and the acquiring entity and may require information in addition to that specified in this article if the disclosure of such information is determined by the Attorney General to be in the public interest. The notice to the Attorney General required by this article and all documents related thereto shall be considered public records pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50."

SECTION 7. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 31-7-405, relating to public hearing, expert or consultant required to testify, testimony, and representative of acquiring entity to testify, as follows:
"(a) Within 60 days after receipt of the notice under this article, the Attorney General shall conduct a public hearing regarding the proposed transaction in the county in which the main campus of the hospital is located. At such hearing, the Attorney General shall provide an opportunity for those persons in favor of the transaction, those persons opposed to the transaction, and other interested persons to be heard. The Attorney General shall also receive written comments regarding the transaction from any interested person, and such written comments shall be considered public records pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50."

SECTION 8. Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 33-2-8.1, relating to purpose of Code section, preparation by Commissioner of supplemental report on property and casualty insurance, contents of report, and request for information, as follows:
"(c) The Commissioner shall investigate every licensed property and casualty insurer that is designated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as needing immediate or targeted regulatory attention and shall include in his report the number of such insurers which his investigation confirms are in need of immediate or targeted regulatory attention and the names of such insurers which are in formal rehabilitation, liquidation, or conservatorship. The Commissioner shall obtain from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners the necessary information to implement this

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subsection and, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, shall withhold from public inspection any such information received from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners under an expectation of confidentiality."

SECTION 9. Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, is amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 36-76-6, relating to franchise fees, as follows:
"(d) The statements made pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section and any records or information furnished or disclosed by a cable service provider or video service provider to an affected local governing authority pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section shall be exempt from public inspection under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50."
SECTION 10. Code Section 38-3-152 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to creation and operation of building mapping information system, availability to government agencies, rules and regulations, federal funding sources, exemption of information from public disclosure, recommendations for training guidelines, and limitations, is amended by revising subsection (f) as follows:
"(f) Information provided to the agency under this article shall be exempt from public disclosure to the extent provided in paragraph (31) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72."
SECTION 11 Code Section 40-5-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to keeping of records of applications for licenses and information on licensees and furnishing of information, is amended by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b) The records maintained by the department on individual drivers are exempt from any law of this state requiring that such records be open for public inspection; provided, however, that initial arrest reports, incident reports, and the records pertaining to investigations or prosecutions of criminal or unlawful activity shall be subject to disclosure pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72 and related provisions. Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Reports shall be subject to disclosure pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72. The department shall not make records or personal information available on any driver except as otherwise provided in this Code section or as otherwise specifically required by 18 U.S.C. Section 2721."

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SECTION 12. Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and businesses, is amended by revising paragraph (4) of Code Section 43-34-7, relating to maintenance of roster by Georgia Composite Medical Board and confidentiality, as follows:
"(4) The deliberations of the board with respect to an application, an examination, a complaint, an investigation, or a disciplinary proceeding, except as may be contained in official board minutes; provided, however, that such deliberations may be released only to another state or federal enforcement agency or lawful licensing authority. Releasing the documents pursuant to this paragraph shall not subject any otherwise privileged documents to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50."

SECTION 13. Code Section 45-6-6 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to office property kept by officers subject to inspection by citizens, is amended by revising such Code section as follows:
"45-6-6. All books, papers, and other office property kept by any public officer under the laws of this state may be copied or inspected subject to the requirements of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50."

SECTION 14. Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public utilities, is amended by revising paragraph (13) of subsection (b) of Code Section 46-5-1, relating to exercise of power of eminent domain by telephone and telegraph companies; placement of posts and other fixtures; regulation of construction of fixtures, posts, and wires near railroad tracks; liability of telegraph and telephone companies for damages; required information; and due compensation, as follows:
"(13) The information provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection and any records or information furnished or disclosed by a telegraph or telephone company to an affected municipal authority pursuant to paragraph (12) of this subsection shall be exempt from public inspection under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. It shall be the duty of such telegraph or telephone company to mark all such documents as exempt from Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, and the telegraph or telephone company shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless any municipal authority and any municipal officer or employee in any request for, or in any action seeking, access to such records."

SECTION 15. Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 50-1-5, relating to meetings by teleconference or other similar means, as follows:

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"(b) Nothing in this Code section shall eliminate any otherwise applicable requirement for giving notice of any meeting. Likewise, nothing in this Code section shall create a requirement for giving notice of any meeting where it does not otherwise exist. The notice shall list each location where any member of the board, body, or committee plans to participate in the meeting if the meeting is otherwise open to the public; provided, however, it shall not be grounds to contest any actions of the board, body, or committee as provided in Code Section 50-14-1 if a member participates from a location other than the location listed in the notice. At a minimum, the notice shall list one specific location where the public can participate in the meeting if the meeting is otherwise open to the public. The notice shall further conform with the notice provisions of Code Section 50-14-1. Any meeting which is otherwise required by law to be open to the public shall be open to the public at each location listed in the notice or where any member of the board, body, or committee participates in the meeting."

SECTION 16. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 50-17-22, relating to the State Financing and Investment Commission, as follows:
"(c) Meetings. The commission shall hold regular meetings as it deems necessary, but, in any event, not less than one meeting shall be held in each calendar quarter. The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson, vice chairperson, or secretary and treasurer or a majority of the members of the commission. Meetings of the commission shall be subject to Chapter 14 of this title, and its records shall be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. The commission shall approve the issuance of public debt, as hereinafter provided, adopt and amend bylaws, and establish salaries and wages of employees of the commission only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of its members; all other actions of the commission may be taken upon the affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum present. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the commission. If any vote is less than unanimous, the vote shall be recorded in the minutes of the commission."

SECTION 17. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 50-29-2, relating to authority of public agencies that maintain geographic information systems to contract for the provision of services, fees, and contract provisions, as follows:
"(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, a county or municipality of the State of Georgia, a regional commission, or a local authority created by local or general law that has created or maintains a geographic information system in electronic form may contract to distribute, sell, provide access to, or otherwise market records or information maintained in such system and may license or establish fees for providing such records or information or providing access to such system."

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SECTION 18. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval, and the provisions of paragraph (47) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72 as enacted by this Act shall apply to any request for public records made prior to the effective date of this Act. Agencies shall be permitted to assert the provisions of paragraph (47) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-18-72 as enacted by this Act as a basis for withholding documents covered by that paragraph in any pending or subsequently filed litigation regarding a request that occurred prior to the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 19. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 17, 2012.

__________

REVENUE AND TAXATION AD VALOREM TAXES; REVISE FREEPORT EXEMPTIONS.

No. 606 (House Bill No. 48).

AN ACT

To amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to ad valorem tax exemptions, so as to revise and change certain provisions regarding applications for, waiver of, denial of, renewal of, and granting of freeport exemptions; to provide for level 1 and level 2 freeport exemptions; to provide for applicability to business inventory; to provide for procedures, conditions, and limitations; to provide an effective date; to provide for severability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to ad valorem tax exemptions, is amended by revising Code Section 48-5-48.1, relating to freeport exemption applications, waivers, denials, and renewals, as follows:
"48-5-48.1. (a) Any person, firm, or corporation seeking a level 1 freeport exemption from ad valorem taxation of certain tangible personal property inventory when such exemption has been

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authorized by the governing authority of any county or municipality after approval of the electors of such county or municipality pursuant to the authority of the Constitution of Georgia or Code Section 48-5-48.2 shall file a written application and schedule of property with the county board of tax assessors on forms furnished by such board. Such application shall be filed in the year in which exemption from taxation is sought no later than the date on which the tax receiver or tax commissioner of the county in which the property is located closes the books for the return of taxes. (b) The application for the level 1 freeport exemption shall provide for:
(1) A schedule of the inventory of goods in the process of manufacture or production which shall include all partly finished goods and raw materials held for direct use or consumption in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's manufacturing or production business in the State of Georgia; (2) A schedule of the inventory of finished goods manufactured or produced within the State of Georgia in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's manufacturing or production business when held by the original manufacturer or producer of such finished goods; and (3) A schedule of the inventory of finished goods which on January 1 are stored in a warehouse, dock, or wharf, whether public or private, and which are destined for shipment outside the State of Georgia and the inventory of finished goods which are shipped into the State of Georgia from outside this state and which are stored for transshipment to a final destination outside this state. The information required by Code Section 48-5-48.2 to be contained in the official books and records of the warehouse, dock, or wharf where such property is being stored, which official books and records are required to be open to the inspection of taxing authorities of this state and political subdivisions thereof, shall not be required to be included as a part of or to accompany the application for such exemption. (c)(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'file properly' shall mean and include the timely filing of the application and complete schedule of the inventory for which exemption is sought on or before the due date specified in subsection (a) of this Code section. (2) The failure to file properly the application and schedule shall constitute a waiver of the exemption on the part of the person, firm, or corporation failing to make the application for such exemption for that year as follows:
(A) The failure to report any inventory for which such exemption is sought in the schedule provided for in the application shall constitute a waiver of the exemption on the part of the person, firm, or corporation failing to so report for that taxable year in an amount equal to the difference between fair market value of the inventory as reported and the fair market value finally determined to be applicable to the inventory for which the exemption is sought; and (B) The failure to file timely such application and schedule shall constitute a waiver of the exemption until the first day of the month following the month such application and schedule are filed properly with the county tax assessor; provided, however, that

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unless the application and schedule are filed on or before June 1 of such year, the exemption shall be waived for that entire year. (d) Upon receiving the application required by this Code section, the county board of tax assessors shall determine the eligibility of all types of tangible personal property listed on the application. If any property has been listed which the board believes is not eligible for the exemption, the board shall issue a letter notifying the applicant that all or a portion of the application has been denied. The denial letter shall list the type and total fair market value of all property listed on the application for which the exemption has been approved and the type and total fair market value of all property listed on the application for which the exemption has been denied. The applicant shall have the right to appeal from the denial of the exemption for any property listed and such appeal shall proceed as provided in Code Section 48-5-311. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (c)(2)(A) of this Code section, the county board of assessors shall not send a second letter of notification denying the exemption of all or a portion of such property listed on the application on new grounds that could and should have been discerned at the time the initial denial letter was issued. (e) If the level 1 freeport exemption has been granted to a taxpayer for a taxable year, the county board of tax assessors shall issue a notice of renewal to the taxpayer for the immediately following taxable year. Such notice of renewal shall be issued not later than January 15 of such immediately following taxable year to facilitate the filing of a timely application and schedule by the taxpayer for such taxable year."

SECTION 2. Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 48-5-48.2, relating to the freeport exemption, as follows:
"48-5-48.2. (a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Level 1 Freeport Exemption.' (b) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Destined for shipment to a final destination outside this state' means, for purposes of a level 1 freeport exemption, that portion or percentage of an inventory of finished goods which the taxpayer can establish, through a historical sales or shipment analysis, either of which utilizes information from the preceding calendar year, or other reasonable, documented method, is reasonably anticipated to be shipped to a final destination outside this state. Such other reasonable, documented method may only be utilized in the case of a new business, in the case of a substantial change in scope of an existing business, or in other unusual situations where a historical sales or shipment analysis does not adequately reflect future anticipated shipments to a final destination outside this state. It is not necessary that the actual final destination be known as of January 1 in order to qualify for the exemption. (2) 'Finished goods' means, for purposes of a level 1 freeport exemption, goods, wares, and merchandise of every character and kind but shall not include unrecovered,

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unextracted, or unsevered natural resources or raw materials or goods in the process of manufacture or production or the stock in trade of a retailer. (3) 'Foreign merchandise in transit' means, for purposes of a level 1 freeport exemption, any goods which are in international commerce where the title has passed to a foreign purchaser and the goods are temporarily stored in this state while awaiting shipment overseas. (4) 'Raw materials' means, for purposes of a level 1 freeport exemption, any material, whether crude or processed, that can be converted by manufacture, processing, or a combination thereof into a new and useful product but shall not include unrecovered, unextracted, or unsevered natural resources. (5) 'Stock in trade of a retailer' means, for purposes of a level 1 freeport exemption, finished goods held by one in the business of making sales of such goods at retail in this state, within the meaning of Chapter 8 of this title, when such goods are held or stored at a business location from which such retail sales are regularly made. Goods stored in a warehouse, dock, or wharf, including a warehouse or distribution center which is part of or adjoins a place of business from which retail sales are regularly made, shall not be considered stock in trade of a retailer to the extent that the taxpayer can establish, through a historical sales or shipment analysis, either of which utilizes information from the preceding calendar year, or other reasonable, documented method, the portion or percentage of such goods which is reasonably anticipated to be shipped outside this state for resale purposes. (c) The governing authority of any county or municipality may, subject to the approval of the electors of such political subdivision, exempt from ad valorem taxation, including all such taxes levied for educational purposes and for state purposes, all or any combination of the following types of tangible personal property: (1) Inventory of goods in the process of manufacture or production which shall include all partly finished goods and raw materials held for direct use or consumption in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's manufacturing or production business in this state. The exemption provided for in this paragraph shall apply only to tangible personal property which is substantially modified, altered, or changed in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's manufacturing, processing, or production operations in this state. For purposes of this paragraph, the cleaning, drying, pest control treatment, or segregation by grade of grain, peanuts or other oil seeds, or cotton shall constitute substantial modification in the course of processing or production operations. For purposes of this paragraph, remanufacture of aircraft engines or aircraft engine parts or components shall constitute manufacturing operations in this state. Remanufacture of aircraft engines or aircraft engine parts or components means the substantial overhauling or rebuilding of aircraft engines or aircraft engine parts or components; (2) Inventory of finished goods manufactured or produced within this state in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's manufacturing or production business when held by the original manufacturer or producer of such finished goods. The exemption provided for

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in this paragraph shall be for a period not exceeding 12 months from the date such property is produced or manufactured; or (3) Inventory of finished goods which, on January 1, are stored in a warehouse, dock, or wharf, whether public or private, and which are destined for shipment to a final destination outside this state and inventory of finished goods which are shipped into this state from outside this state and stored for transshipment to a final destination outside this state, including foreign merchandise in transit. The exemption provided for in this paragraph shall be for a period not exceeding 12 months from the date such property is stored in this state. Such period shall be determined based on application of a first-in, first-out method of accounting for the inventory. The official books and records of the warehouse, dock, or wharf where such property is being stored shall contain a full, true, and accurate inventory of all such property, including the date of the receipt of the property, the date of the withdrawal of the property, the point of origin of the property, and the point of final destination of the same, if known. The official books and records of any such warehouse, dock, or wharf, whether public or private, pertaining to any such property for which a freeport exemption has been claimed shall be at all times open to the inspection of all taxing authorities of this state and of any political subdivision of this state. (d) Whenever the governing authority of any county or municipality wishes to exempt such tangible property from ad valorem taxation, as provided in this Code section, the governing authority thereof shall notify the election superintendent of such political subdivision, and it shall be the duty of said election superintendent to issue the call for an election for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the political subdivision the question of whether such exemption shall be granted. The referendum ballot shall specify as separate questions the type or types of property as defined in this Code section which are being proposed to be exempted from taxation. The election superintendent shall issue the call and shall conduct the election on a date and in the manner authorized under Code Section 21-2-540. (e) The governing authority of any county or municipality wherein an exemption has been approved by the voters as provided in this Code section may, by appropriate resolution, a copy of which shall be immediately transmitted to the state revenue commissioner, exempt from taxation 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent, 80 percent or all of the value of such tangible personal property as defined in this Code section; provided, however, that once an exemption has been granted, no reduction in the percent of the value of such property to be exempted may be made until and unless such exemption is revoked or repealed as provided in this Code section. An increase in the percent of the value of the property to be exempted may be accomplished by appropriate resolution of the governing authority of such county or municipality, and a copy thereof shall be immediately transmitted to the state revenue commissioner, provided that such increase shall be in increments of 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent, or 80 percent of the value of such tangible personal property as defined in this Code section, within the discretion of such governing authority.

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(f)(1) If more than one-half of the votes cast on such question are in favor of such exemption, then such exemption may be granted by the governing authority commencing on the first day of any ensuing calendar year; otherwise, such exemption may not be granted. This paragraph is intended to clearly provide that following approval of such exemption in such referendum, such exemption may be granted on the first day of any calendar year following the year in which such referendum was conducted. This paragraph shall not be construed to imply that the granting of such exemption could not previously be delayed to any such calendar year. (2) Exemptions may only be revoked by a referendum election called and conducted as provided in this Code section, provided that the call for such referendum shall not be issued within five years from the date such exemptions were first granted and, if the results of said election are in favor of the revocation of such exemptions, then such revocation shall be effective only at the end of a five-year period from the date of such referendum. (g) Level 1 freeport exemptions effected pursuant to this Code section may be granted either in lieu of or in addition to level 2 freeport exemptions under Code Section 48-5-48.6. (h) The commissioner shall by regulation adopt uniform procedures and forms for the use of local officials in the administration of this Code section."

SECTION 3. Said part is further amended by adding new Code sections to read as follows:
"48-5-48.5. (a) Any person, firm, or corporation seeking a level 2 freeport exemption from ad valorem taxation of certain tangible personal property inventory when such exemption has been authorized by the governing authority of any county or municipality after approval of the electors of such county or municipality pursuant to the authority of the Constitution of Georgia and Code Section 48-5-48.6 shall file a written application and schedule of property with the county board of tax assessors on forms furnished by such board. Such application shall be filed in the year in which exemption from taxation is sought no later than the date on which the tax receiver or tax commissioner of the county in which the property is located closes the books for the return of taxes. (b) The application for the level 2 freeport exemption shall provide for a schedule of the inventory of finished goods held by one in the business of making sales of such goods in this state.
(c)(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'file properly' shall mean and include the timely filing of the application and complete schedule of the inventory for which exemption is sought on or before the due date specified in subsection (a) of this Code section. (2) The failure to file properly the application and schedule shall constitute a waiver of the exemption on the part of the person, firm, or corporation failing to make the application for such exemption for that year as follows:

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(A) The failure to report any inventory for which such exemption is sought in the schedule provided for in the application shall constitute a waiver of the exemption on the part of the person, firm, or corporation failing to so report for that taxable year in an amount equal to the difference between fair market value of the inventory as reported and the fair market value finally determined to be applicable to the inventory for which the exemption is sought; and (B) The failure to file timely such application and schedule shall constitute a waiver of the exemption until the first day of the month following the month such application and schedule are filed properly with the county tax assessor; provided, however, that unless the application and schedule are filed on or before June 1 of such year, the exemption shall be waived for that entire year. (d) Upon receiving the application required by this Code section, the county board of tax assessors shall determine the eligibility of all types of tangible personal property listed on the application. If any property has been listed which the board believes is not eligible for the exemption, the board shall issue a letter notifying the applicant that all or a portion of the application has been denied. The denial letter shall list the type and total fair market value of all property listed on the application for which the exemption has been approved and the type and total fair market value of all property listed on the application for which the exemption has been denied. The applicant shall have the right to appeal from the denial of the exemption for any property listed, and such appeal shall proceed as provided in Code Section 48-5-311. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (c)(2)(A) of this Code section, the county board of assessors shall not send a second letter of notification denying the exemption of all or a portion of such property listed on the application on new grounds that could and should have been discerned at the time the initial denial letter was issued. (e) If the level 2 freeport exemption has been granted to a taxpayer for a taxable year, the county board of tax assessors shall issue a notice of renewal to the taxpayer for the immediately following taxable year. Such notice of renewal shall be issued not later than January 15 of such immediately following taxable year to facilitate the filing of a timely application and schedule by the taxpayer for such taxable year.

48-5-48.6. (a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Level 2 Freeport Exemption.' (b) As used in this Code section, the term 'finished goods' means, for purposes of a level 2 freeport exemption, goods, wares, and merchandise of every character and kind constituting a business's inventory which would not otherwise qualify for a level 1 freeport exemption. (c) The governing authority of any county or municipality may, subject to the approval of the electors of such political subdivision, exempt from ad valorem taxation, including all such taxes levied for educational purposes and for state purposes, inventory of finished goods.

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(d) Whenever the governing authority of any county or municipality wishes to exempt such tangible property from ad valorem taxation, as provided in this Code section, the governing authority thereof shall notify the election superintendent of such political subdivision, and it shall be the duty of said election superintendent to issue the call for an election for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the political subdivision the question of whether such exemption shall be granted. The referendum ballot shall specify retail business inventory as the types of property as defined in this Code section which are being proposed to be exempted from taxation. The election superintendent shall issue the call and shall conduct the election on a date and in the manner authorized under Code Section 21-2-540. (e) The governing authority of any county or municipality wherein an exemption has been approved by the voters as provided in this Code section may, by appropriate resolution, a copy of which shall be immediately transmitted to the state revenue commissioner, exempt from taxation 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent, 80 percent, or all of the value of such tangible personal property as defined in this Code section; provided, however, that once an exemption has been granted, no reduction in the percent of the value of such property to be exempted may be made until and unless such exemption is revoked or repealed as provided in this Code section. An increase in the percent of the value of the property to be exempted may be accomplished by appropriate resolution of the governing authority of such county or municipality, and a copy thereof shall be immediately transmitted to the state revenue commissioner, provided that such increase shall be in increments of 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent, or 80 percent of the value of such tangible personal property as defined in this Code section, within the discretion of such governing authority.
(f)(1) If more than one-half of the votes cast on such question are in favor of such exemption, then such exemption may be granted by the governing authority commencing on the first day of any ensuing calendar year; otherwise, such exemption may not be granted. This paragraph is intended to clearly provide that following approval of such exemption in such referendum, such exemption may be granted on the first day of any calendar year following the year in which such referendum was conducted. This paragraph shall not be construed to imply that the granting of such exemption could not previously be delayed to any such calendar year. (2) Exemptions may only be revoked by a referendum election called and conducted as provided in this Code section, provided that the call for such referendum shall not be issued within five years from the date such exemptions were first granted and, if the results of said election are in favor of the revocation of such exemptions, then such revocation shall be effective only at the end of a five-year period from the date of such referendum. (g) Level 2 freeport exemptions effected pursuant to this Code section may be granted either in lieu of or in addition to level 1 freeport exemptions under Code Section 48-5-48.2. (h) The commissioner shall by regulation adopt uniform procedures and forms for the use of local officials in the administration of this Code section."

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SECTION 4. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 5. If any one or more provisions, Code sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words of this Act is found to be unconstitutional, the same is declared to be severable, and the balance of this Act shall remain effective notwithstanding such unconstitutionality. The General Assembly declares that it would have enacted this Act and each Code section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more provisions, Code sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words would be declared unconstitutional.

SECTION 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 17, 2012.

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AGRICULTURE MOTOR VEHICLES PROPERTY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMPREHENSIVE REVISION OF TAXATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES; REVISE CERTAIN INCOME TAX EXEMPTIONS, EXCLUSIONS, AND CREDITS; REVISE CERTAIN SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTIONS; REVISE TAXATION OF MACHINERY AND ENERGY USED IN MANUFACTURING AND AGRICULTURE.

No. 607 (House Bill No. 386).

AN ACT

To amend Titles 2, 40, 44, and 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to agriculture, motor vehicles, property, and revenue and taxation, respectively, so as to provide for the comprehensive revision of taxation of motor vehicles; to change certain provisions regarding tag agents; to provide for state and local title ad valorem tax fees as alternative ad valorem taxes; to provide for definitions; to provide for continuation of tag, revalidation, and registration fees; to provide for distribution of such state and local title ad valorem tax fees; to exclude certain vehicles from certain fees; to change certain provisions regarding

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classification of motor vehicles as a separate class of property for ad valorem tax purposes; to provide for an exemption from sales and use taxes only with respect to certain sales or purchases of certain motor vehicles; to provide for certain reports; to provide for certain penalties and sanctions; to provide for a study committee to review and report on such state and local title ad valorem tax fees; to change the personal exemption for married taxpayers filing an income tax return; to revise certain provisions regarding the exclusion of retirement income from taxable net income; to revise provisions relating to tax credits available to qualified donors of property for conservation purposes; to provide a maximum tax credit amount; to provide for additional requirements for donated conservation easements; to provide for certification procedures; to modify transferability of tax credits; to change certain provisions relating to the exemptions from sales and use tax for film producers and film production companies; to provide for revision of taxation of machinery and energy used in manufacturing and agriculture; to provide for the repeal of certain exemptions from state sales and use tax; to provide for a new exemption regarding the sale and use of machinery or equipment which is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property and the sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy, industrial materials, or packaging supplies; to provide for definitions; to provide for procedures, conditions, and limitations; to provide for an exemption for sales to, or use by, a qualified agriculture producer of agricultural production inputs, energy used in agriculture, and agricultural machinery and equipment; to provide for definitions; to provide for procedures, conditions, and limitations; to provide for powers, duties, and authority of the Commissioner of Agriculture; to provide for a local excise tax on energy used in manufacturing; to provide for a new exemption for construction materials used in competitive projects of regional significance for a limited period of time; to modify the exemption for jet fuel; to revise the definition of dealer in order to expand the limits of nexus with this state for purposes of collecting state sales and use tax; to provide for sales tax exemptions for certain items on specified dates; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to provide for applicability; to provide that existing prosecutions shall not abate; to provide for severability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1. Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles, is amended by revising Code Section 40-2-23, relating to county tax collectors and county tax commissioners' designation as tax agents, as follows: "40-2-23. (a) The tax collectors of the various counties of this state and the tax commissioners of those counties in which the duties of the tax collector are performed by a tax commissioner shall be designated as tag agents of the commissioner for the purpose of accepting

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applications for the registration of vehicles. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations for the purpose of delegating to such tag agents the custodial responsibility for properly receiving, processing, issuing, and storing motor vehicle titles or registrations, or both. (b) The duties and responsibilities of agents of the commissioner designated under this Code section shall be a part of the official duties and responsibilities of the county tax collectors and tax commissioners."

SECTION 1-2. Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising Code Section 48-5-441, relating to classification of motor vehicles and mobile homes as separate classes of tangible property for ad valorem tax purposes, as follows:
"48-5-441. (a)(1) For the purposes of ad valorem taxation, motor vehicles shall be classified as a separate and distinct class of tangible property. Such class of tangible property shall be divided into two distinct and separate subclasses of tangible property with one subclass including heavy-duty equipment motor vehicles as defined in Code Section 48-5-505 and the other subclass including all other motor vehicles. The procedures prescribed by this article for returning motor vehicles, excluding heavy-duty equipment motor vehicles as defined in Code Section 48-5-505, for taxation, determining the applicable rates for taxation, and collecting the ad valorem tax imposed on motor vehicles shall be exclusive. (2) This subsection shall not apply to motor vehicles subject to Code Section 48-5-441.1.
(b) For the purposes of ad valorem taxation, mobile homes shall be classified as a separate and distinct class of tangible property. The procedures prescribed by this article for returning mobile homes for taxation, determining the applicable rates for taxation, and collecting the ad valorem tax imposed on mobile homes shall be exclusive.
(c)(1) For the purposes of ad valorem taxation, commercial vehicles shall be classified as a separate and distinct class of tangible property. The procedures prescribed by this article for returning commercial vehicles for taxation and for determining the valuation of commercial vehicles shall be exclusive and as provided for in Code Section 48-5-442.1. All other procedures prescribed by this article for the taxation of motor vehicles shall be applicable to the taxation of commercial vehicles. (2) This subsection shall not apply to motor vehicles subject to Code Section 48-5-441.1."

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SECTION 1-3. Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"48-5-441.1. In accordance with Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(b)(3) of the Georgia Constitution, motor vehicles subject to the provisions of Code Section 48-5B-1 shall be classified as a separate and distinct class of tangible property for the purposes of ad valorem taxation."

SECTION 1-4. Said title is further amended by adding a new chapter to read as follows:

"CHAPTER 5B

48-5B-1. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Fair market value of the motor vehicle' means: (A) The average of the current fair market value and the current wholesale value of a motor vehicle for a vehicle listed in the current motor vehicle ad valorem assessment manual utilized by the state revenue commissioner in determining taxable value of a motor vehicle under Code Section 48-5-442; (B) For a used motor vehicle which is not so listed in such current motor vehicle ad valorem assessment manual, the value from the bill of sale or the value from a reputable used car market guide designated by the commissioner, whichever is greater; or (C) The fair market value determined by the state revenue commissioner from the bill of sale of a new motor vehicle for which there is no value under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, less any rebate and before any reduction for the trade-in value of another motor vehicle.
(2) 'Immediate family member' means spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. (3) 'Loaner vehicle' means a motor vehicle owned by a dealer which is withdrawn temporarily from dealer inventory for exclusive use as a courtesy vehicle loaned at no charge for a period not to exceed 30 days within a calendar year to any one customer whose motor vehicle is being serviced by such dealer. (4) 'Rental charge' means the total value received by a rental motor vehicle concern for the rental or lease for 31 or fewer consecutive days of a rental motor vehicle, including the total cash and nonmonetary consideration for the rental or lease, including, but not limited to, charges based on time or mileage and charges for insurance coverage or collision damage waiver but excluding all charges for motor fuel taxes or sales and use taxes. (5) 'Rental motor vehicle' means a motor vehicle designed to carry ten or fewer passengers and used primarily for the transportation of persons that is rented or leased without a driver.

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(6) 'Rental motor vehicle concern' means a person or legal entity which owns or leases five or more rental motor vehicles and which regularly rents or leases such vehicles to the public for value. (7) 'Trade-in value' means the value of the motor vehicle as stated in the bill of sale for a vehicle which has been traded in to the dealer in a transaction involving the purchase of another vehicle from the dealer.
(b)(1)(A) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any motor vehicle for which a title is issued in this state on or after March 1, 2013, shall be exempt from sales and use taxes to the extent provided under paragraph (92) of Code Section 48-8-3 and shall not be subject to the ad valorem tax as otherwise required under Chapter 5 of Title 48. Any such motor vehicle shall be titled as otherwise required under Title 40 but shall be subject to a state title fee and a local title fee which shall be alternative ad valorem taxes as authorized by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(b)(3) of the Georgia Constitution.
(B)(i) As used in this subparagraph, the term: (II) 'Local base amount' means $1 billion. (II) 'Local current collection amount' means the total amount of motor vehicle local ad valorem tax proceeds collected under this Code section and Chapter 5 of this title during the calendar year which immediately precedes the tax year in which the title ad valorem tax adjustments are required to be made under this subparagraph. (III) 'Local target collection amount' means an amount equal to the local base amount added to the product of 2 percent of the local base amount multiplied by the number of years since 2012 with a maximum amount of $1.2 billion. (IV) 'State base amount' means $535 million. (V) 'State current collection amount' means the total amount of motor vehicle state ad valorem tax proceeds collected under this Code section and Chapter 5 of this title during the calendar year which immediately precedes the tax year in which the state and local title ad valorem tax rate is to be reviewed for adjustment under division (xiv) of this subparagraph. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subdivision to the contrary, the term 'state current collection amount' for the 2014 calendar year for the purposes of the 2015 review under division (xiv) of this subparagraph shall be adjusted so that such amount is equal to the amount of motor vehicle state ad valorem tax proceeds that would have been collected under this Code section in 2014 if the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate was 7 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle less any trade-in value plus the total amount of motor vehicle state ad valorem tax proceeds collected under Chapter 5 of this title during 2014. (VI) 'State target collection amount' means an amount equal to the state base amount added to the product of 2 percent of the state base amount multiplied by the number of years since 2012.
(ii) The combined state and local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to:

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(I) For the period commencing March 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013, 6.5 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle less any trade-in value; (II) For the 2014 tax year, 6.75 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle less any trade-in value; and (III) Except as provided in division (xiv) of this subparagraph, for the 2015 and subsequent tax years, 7 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle less any trade-in value. (iii) For the period commencing March 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 57 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 43 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (iv) For the 2014 tax year, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 55 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 45 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (v) For the 2015 tax year, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 55 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 45 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (vi) For the 2016 tax year, except as otherwise provided in division (xiii) of this subparagraph, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 53.5 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 46.5 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (vii) For the 2017 tax year, except as otherwise provided in divisions (xiii) and (xiv) of this subparagraph, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 44 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 56 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (viii) For the 2018 tax year, except as otherwise provided in division (xiii) of this subparagraph, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 40 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 60 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (ix) For the 2019 tax year, except as otherwise provided in divisions (xiii) and (xiv) of this subparagraph, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 36 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 64 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (x) For the 2020 tax year, except as otherwise provided in division (xiii) of this subparagraph, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 34 percent of the

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tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 66 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (xi) For the 2021 tax year, except as otherwise provided in division (xiii) of this subparagraph, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 30 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 70 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (xii) For the 2022 and all subsequent tax years, except as otherwise provided in division (xiii) of this subparagraph for tax years 2022, 2023, and 2024 and except as otherwise provided in division (xiv) of this subparagraph for tax year 2023, the state title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 28 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph, and the local title ad valorem tax shall be at a rate equal to 72 percent of the tax rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. (xiii) Beginning in 2016, by not later than January 15 of each tax year through the 2022 tax year, the state revenue commissioner shall determine the local target collection amount and the local current collection amount for the preceding calendar year. If such local current collection amount is equal to or within 1 percent of the local target collection amount, then the state title ad valorem tax rate and the local title ad valorem tax rate for such tax year shall remain at the rate specified in this subparagraph for that year. If the local current collection amount is more than 1 percent greater than the local target collection amount, then the local title ad valorem tax rate for such tax year shall be reduced automatically by operation of this division by such percentage amount as may be necessary so that, if such rate had been in effect for the calendar year under review, the local current collection amount would have produced an amount equal to the local target collection amount, and the state title ad valorem tax rate for such tax year shall be increased by an equal amount to maintain the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate at the rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. If the local current collection amount is more than 1 percent less than the local target collection amount, then the local title ad valorem tax rate for such tax year shall be increased automatically by operation of this division by such percentage amount as may be necessary so that, if such rate had been in effect for the calendar year under review, the local current collection amount would have produced an amount equal to the local target collection amount, and the state title ad valorem tax rate for such tax year shall be reduced by an equal amount to maintain the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate at the rate specified in division (ii) of this subparagraph. In the event of an adjustment of such ad valorem tax rates, by not later than January 31 of such tax year, the state revenue commissioner shall notify the tax commissioner of each county in this state of the adjusted rate amounts. The effective date of such adjusted rate amounts shall be January 1 of such tax year.

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(xiv) In tax years 2015, 2018, and 2022, by not later than July 1 of each such tax year, the state revenue commissioner shall determine the state target collection amount and the state current collection amount for the preceding calendar year. If such state current collection amount is greater than, equal to, or within 1 percent of the state target collection amount after making the adjustment, if any, required in division (xiii) of this subparagraph, then the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph shall remain at the rate specified in such division. If the state current collection amount is more than 1 percent less than the state target collection amount after making the adjustment, if any, required by division (xiii) of this subparagraph, then the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph shall be increased automatically by operation of this division by such percentage amount as may be necessary so that, if such rate had been in effect for the calendar year under review, the state current collection amount would have produced an amount equal to the state target collection amount, and the state title ad valorem tax rate and the local title ad valorem tax rate for the tax year in which such increase in the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate shall become effective shall be adjusted from the rates specified in this subparagraph or division (xiii) of this subparagraph for such tax year such that the proceeds from such increase in the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate shall be allocated in full to the state. In the event of an adjustment of the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate, by not later than August 31 of such tax year, the state revenue commissioner shall notify the tax commissioner of each county in this state of the adjusted combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate for the next calendar year. The effective date of such adjusted combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate shall be January 1 of the next calendar year. Notwithstanding the provisions of this division, the combined state and local title ad valorem tax rate shall not exceed 9 percent. (xv) The state revenue commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary and appropriate to implement and administer this Code section, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations regarding appropriate public notification of any changes in rate amounts and the effective date of such changes and rules and regulations regarding appropriate enforcement and compliance procedures and methods for the implementation and operation of this Code section. (C) The application for title and the state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall be paid to the tag agent in the county in which the purchaser registers such motor vehicle and shall be paid at the time the purchaser applies for a title and registers such motor vehicle. A dealer of new or used motor vehicles may accept such application for title and state and local title ad valorem tax fees on behalf of the purchaser of a new or used motor vehicle for the purpose of delivering such title application and state and local title ad valorem tax fees to the county tag agent to obtain a tag and title for the purchaser of such motor vehicle.

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(D) There shall be a penalty imposed on any person who, in the determination of the commissioner, falsifies any information in any bill of sale used for purposes of determining the fair market value of the motor vehicle. Such penalty shall not exceed $2,500.00 as a state penalty and shall not exceed $2,500.00 as a local penalty as determined by the commissioner. Such determination shall be made within 60 days of the commissioner receiving information of a possible violation of this paragraph. (E) A dealer of new or used motor vehicles that accepts an application for title and state and local title ad valorem tax fees from a purchaser of a new or used motor vehicle and does not transmit such application for title and state and local title ad valorem tax fees to the county tag agent within 10 days following the date of purchase shall be liable to the county tag agent for an amount equal to 5 percent of the amount of such state and local title ad valorem tax fees. An additional 5 percent penalty shall be imposed for each subsequent month the payment is not transmitted. (F) A dealer of new or used motor vehicles that accepts an application for title and state and local title ad valorem tax fees from a purchaser of a new or used motor vehicle and converts such fees to his or her own use shall be guilty of theft by conversion and, upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in Code Section 16-8-12. (2) A person or entity acquiring a salvage title pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 40-3-36 shall not be subject to the fee specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection but shall be subject to a state title ad valorem tax fee in an amount equal to 1 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle. Such state title ad valorem tax fee shall be an alternative ad valorem tax as authorized by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(b)(3) of the Georgia Constitution. (c)(1) The amount of proceeds collected by tag agents each month as state and local title ad valorem tax fees, state salvage title ad valorem tax fees, administrative fees, penalties, and interest pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be allocated and disbursed as provided in this subsection. (2) For the 2013 tax year and in each subsequent tax year, the amount of such funds shall be disbursed within 30 days following the end of each calendar month as follows: (A) State title ad valorem tax fees, state salvage title ad valorem tax fees, administrative fees, penalties, and interest shall be remitted to the state revenue commissioner who shall deposit such proceeds in the general fund of the state less an amount to be retained by the tag agent not to exceed 1 percent of the total amount otherwise required to be remitted under this subparagraph to defray the cost of administration. Such retained amount shall be remitted to the collecting county's general fund. Failure by the tag agent to disburse within such 30 day period shall result in a forfeiture of such administrative fee plus interest on such amount at the rate specified in Code Section 48-2-40; and (B) Local title ad valorem tax fees, administrative fees, penalties, and interest shall be designated as local government ad valorem tax funds. The tag agent shall then distribute the proceeds as specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

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(3) The local title ad valorem tax fee proceeds required under this subsection shall be distributed as follows:
(A) The tag agent of the county shall within 30 days following the end of each calendar month allocate and distribute to the county governing authority and to municipal governing authorities, the board of education of the county school district, and the board of education of any independent school district located in such county an amount of those proceeds necessary to offset any reduction in ad valorem tax on motor vehicles collected under Chapter 5 of Title 48 in the taxing jurisdiction of each governing authority and school district from the amount of ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles collected under Chapter 5 of Title 48 in each such governing authority and school district during the same calendar month of 2012. This reduction shall be calculated by subtracting the amount of ad valorem tax on motor vehicles collected under Chapter 5 of Title 48 in each such taxing jurisdiction from the amount of ad valorem tax on motor vehicles collected under Chapter 5 of Title 48 in that taxing jurisdiction in the same calendar month of 2012. In the event that the local title ad valorem tax fee proceeds are insufficient to fully offset such reduction in ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles, the tag agent shall allocate a proportionate amount of the proceeds to each governing authority and to the board of education of each such school district, and any remaining shortfall shall be paid from the following month's local title ad valorem tax fee proceeds. In the event that a shortfall remains, the tag agent shall continue to first allocate local title ad valorem tax fee proceeds to offset such shortfalls until the shortfall has been fully repaid; and (B) Of the proceeds remaining following the allocation and distribution under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the tag agent shall allocate and distribute to the county governing authority and to municipal governing authorities, the board of education of the county school district, and the board of education of any independent school district located in such county the remaining amount of those proceeds in the manner provided in this subparagraph. Such proceeds shall be deposited in the general fund of such governing authority or board of education and shall not be subject to any use or expenditure requirements provided for under any of the following described local sales and use taxes but shall be authorized to be expended in the same manner as authorized for the ad valorem tax revenues on motor vehicles under Chapter 5 of Title 48 which would otherwise have been collected for such governing authority or board of education. Of such remaining proceeds:
(i) An amount equal to one-third of such proceeds shall be distributed to the board of education of the county school district and the board of education of each independent school district located in such county in the same manner as required for any local sales and use tax for educational purposes levied pursuant to Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 currently in effect. If such tax is not currently in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed to such board or boards of education in the same manner as if such tax were in effect;

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(ii)(I) Except as otherwise provided in this division, an amount equal to one-third of such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing authority of the county and the governing authority of each qualified municipality located in such county in the same manner as specified under the distribution certificate for the joint county and municipal sales and use tax under Article 2 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 currently in effect. (II) If such tax were never in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing authority of the county and the governing authority of each qualified municipality located in such county on a pro rata basis according to the ratio of the population that each such municipality bears to the population of the entire county. (III) If such tax is currently in effect as well as a local option sales and use tax for educational purposes levied pursuant to a local constitutional amendment, an amount equal to one-third of such proceeds shall be distributed in the same manner as required under subdivision (I) of this division and an amount equal to one-third of such proceeds shall be distributed to the board of education of the county school district. (IV) If such tax is not currently in effect and a local option sales and use tax for educational purposes levied pursuant to a local constitutional amendment is currently in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed to the board of education of the county school district and the board of education of any independent school district in the same manner as required under that local constitutional amendment. (V) If such tax is not currently in effect and a homestead option sales and use tax under Article 2A of Chapter 8 of Title 48 is in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing authority of the county, each qualified municipality, and each existing municipality in the same proportion as otherwise required under Code Section 48-8-104; and (iii)(I) An amount equal to one-third of such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing authority of the county and the governing authority of each qualified municipality located in such county in the same manner as specified under an intergovernmental agreement or as otherwise required under the county special purpose local option sales and use tax under Part 1 of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 currently in effect; provided, however, that this subdivision shall not apply if subdivision (III) of division (ii) of this subparagraph is applicable. (II) If such tax were in effect but expired and is not currently in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing authority of the county and the governing authority of each qualified municipality located in such county in the same manner as if such tax were still in effect according to the intergovernmental agreement or as otherwise required under the county special purpose local sales and use tax under Part 1 of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 for the 12 month period commencing at the expiration of such tax. If such tax is not renewed prior to the expiration of such 12 month period, such amount shall be distributed in accordance

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with subdivision (I) of division (ii) of this subparagraph; provided, however, that if a tax under Article 2 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 is not in effect, such amount shall be distributed in accordance with subdivision (II) of division (ii) of this subparagraph. (III) If such tax is not currently in effect in a county in which a tax is levied for purposes of a metropolitan area system of public transportation, as authorized by the amendment to the Constitution set out at Ga. L. 1964, p. 1008; the continuation of such amendment under Article XI, Section I, Paragraph IV(d) of the Constitution; and the laws enacted pursuant to such constitutional amendment, such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing body of the authority created by local Act to operate such metropolitan area system of public transportation. (IV) If such tax were never in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed in the same manner as specified under the distribution certificate for the joint county and municipal sales and use tax under Article 2 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 currently in effect; provided, however, that if such tax under such article is not in effect, such proceeds shall be distributed to the governing authority of the county and the governing authority of each qualified municipality located in such county on a pro rata basis according to the ratio of the population that each such municipality bears to the population of the entire county. (d)(1)(A) Upon the death of an owner of a motor vehicle which has not become subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section, the immediate family member or immediate family members of such owner who receive such motor vehicle pursuant to a will or under the rules of inheritance shall, subsequent to the transfer of title of such motor vehicle, continue to be subject to ad valorem tax under Chapter 5 of Title 48 and shall not be subject to the state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section unless the immediate family member or immediate family members make an affirmative written election to become subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. In the event of such election, such transfer shall be subject to the state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (B) Upon the death of an owner of a motor vehicle which has become subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section, the immediate family member or immediate family members of such owner who receive such motor vehicle pursuant to a will or under the rules of inheritance shall be subject to a state title ad valorem tax fee in an amount equal to one-quarter of 1 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle and a local title ad valorem tax fee in an amount equal to one-quarter of 1 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle. Such title ad valorem tax fees shall be an alternative ad valorem tax as authorized by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(b)(3) of the Georgia Constitution. (2)(A) Upon the transfer from an immediate family member of a motor vehicle which has not become subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section, the immediate family member or immediate family members who receive such motor

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vehicle shall, subsequent to the transfer of title of such motor vehicle, continue to be subject to ad valorem tax under Chapter 5 of Title 48 and shall not be subject to the state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section unless the immediate family member or immediate family members make an affirmative written election to become subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. In the event of such election, such transfer shall be subject to the state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (B) Upon the transfer from an immediate family member of a motor vehicle which has become subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section, the immediate family member who receives such motor vehicle shall transfer title of such motor vehicle to such recipient family member and shall be subject to a state title ad valorem tax fee in an amount equal to one-quarter of 1 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle and a local title ad valorem tax fee in an amount equal to one-quarter of 1 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle. Such title ad valorem tax fees shall be an alternative ad valorem tax as authorized by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(b)(3) of the Georgia Constitution. (C) Any title transfer under this paragraph shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the transferor and transferee that such persons are immediate family members to one another. There shall be a penalty imposed on any person who, in the determination of the state revenue commissioner, falsifies any material information in such affidavit. Such penalty shall not exceed $2,500.00 as a state penalty and shall not exceed $2,500.00 as a local penalty as determined by the state revenue commissioner. Such determination shall be made within 60 days of the state revenue commissioner receiving information of a possible violation of this paragraph. (3) Any individual who: (A) Is required by law to register a motor vehicle or motor vehicles in this state which were registered in the state in which such person formerly resided; and (B) Is required to file an application for a certificate of title under Code Section 40-3-21 or 40-3-32 shall only be required to pay state and local title ad valorem tax fees in the amount of 50 percent of the amount which would otherwise be due and payable under this subsection at the time of filing the application for a certificate of title, and the remaining 50 percent shall be paid within 12 months. (4) The state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for under this Code section shall not apply to corrected titles, replacement titles under Code Section 40-3-31, or titles reissued to the same owner pursuant to Code Sections 40-3-50 through 40-3-56. (5) Any motor vehicle subject to state and local title ad valorem tax fees under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section shall continue to be subject to the title, license plate, revalidation decal, and registration requirements and applicable fees as otherwise provided in Title 40 in the same manner as motor vehicles which are not

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subject to state and local title ad valorem tax fees under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (6) Motor vehicles owned or leased by or to the state or any county, consolidated government, municipality, county or independent school district, or other government entity in this state shall not be subject to the state and local title ad valorem tax fees provided for under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section; provided, however, that such other government entity shall not qualify for the exclusion under this paragraph unless it is exempt from ad valorem tax and sales and use tax pursuant to general law.
(7)(A) Any motor vehicle which is exempt from sales and use tax pursuant to paragraph (30) of Code Section 48-8-3 shall be exempt from state and local title ad valorem tax fees under this subsection. (B) Any motor vehicle which is exempt from ad valorem taxation pursuant to Code Section 48-5-478, 48-5-478.1, 48-5-478.2, or 48-5-478.3 shall be exempt from state and local title ad valorem tax fees under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (8) There shall be a penalty imposed on the transfer of all or any part of the interest in a business entity that includes primarily as an asset of such business entity one or more motor vehicles, when, in the determination of the state revenue commissioner, such transfer is done to evade the payment of state and local title ad valorem tax fees under this subsection. Such penalty shall not exceed $2,500.00 as a state penalty per motor vehicle and shall not exceed $2,500.00 as a local penalty per motor vehicle, as determined by the state revenue commissioner, plus the amount of the state and local title ad valorem tax fees. Such determination shall be made within 60 days of the state revenue commissioner receiving information that a transfer may be in violation of this paragraph. (9) Any owner of any motor vehicle who fails to submit within 30 days of the date such owner is required by law to register such vehicle in this state an application for a first certificate of title under Code Section 40-3-21 or a certificate of title under Code Section 40-3-32 shall be required to pay a penalty in the amount of 10 percent of the state title ad valorem tax fees and 10 percent of the local title ad valorem tax fees required under this Code section, plus interest at the rate of 1.0 percent per month, unless a temporary permit has been issued by the tax commissioner. The tax commissioner shall grant a temporary permit in the event the failure to timely apply for a first certificate of title is due to the failure of a lienholder to comply with Code Section 40-3-56, regarding release of a security interest or lien, and no penalty or interest shall be assessed. Such penalty and interest shall be in addition to the penalty and fee required under Code Section 40-3-21 or 40-3-32, as applicable. A new or used motor vehicle dealer shall be responsible for remitting state and local title ad valorem tax fees in the same manner as otherwise required of an owner under this paragraph and shall be subject to the same

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penalties and interest as an owner for noncompliance with the requirements of this paragraph. (10) The owner of any motor vehicle purchased in this state for which a title was issued in this state on or after January 1, 2012, and prior to March 1, 2013, shall be authorized to opt in to the provisions of this subsection at any time prior to January 1, 2014, upon compliance with the following requirements:
(A)(i) The total amount of state and local title ad valorem tax fees which would be due from March 1, 2013, to December 31, 2013, if such vehicle had been titled in 2013 shall be determined; and (ii) The total amount of state and local sales and use tax and state and local ad valorem tax under Chapter 5 of Title 48 which were due and paid in 2012 for that motor vehicle and, if applicable, the total amount of such taxes which were due and paid for that motor vehicle in 2013 shall be determined; and (B)(i) If the amount derived under division (i) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph is greater than the amount derived under division (ii) subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the owner shall remit the difference to the tag agent. Such remittance shall be deemed local title ad valorem tax fee proceeds; or (ii) If the amount derived under division (i) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph is less than the amount derived under division (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, no additional amount shall be due and payable by the owner. Upon certification by the tag agent of compliance with the requirements of this paragraph, such motor vehicle shall not be subject to ad valorem tax as otherwise required under Chapter 5 of Title 48 in the same manner as otherwise provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (11)(A) In the case of rental motor vehicles owned by a rental motor vehicle concern, the state title ad valorem tax fee shall be in an amount equal to .75 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle, and the local title ad valorem tax fee shall be in an amount equal to .75 percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle, but only if in the immediately prior calendar year the average amount of sales and use tax attributable to the rental charge of each such rental motor vehicle was at least $400.00 as certified by the state revenue commissioner. (B) Such title ad valorem tax fees shall be an alternative ad valorem tax as authorized by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(b)(3) of the Georgia Constitution. (12) A loaner vehicle shall not be subject to state and local title ad valorem tax fees under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section for a period of time not to exceed six months in a calendar year commencing on the date such loaner vehicle is withdrawn temporarily from inventory. Immediately upon the expiration of such six-month period, if the dealer does not return the loaner vehicle to inventory for resale, the dealer shall be responsible for remitting state and local title ad valorem tax fees in the same manner as otherwise required of an owner under paragraph (9) of this subsection

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and shall be subject to the same penalties and interest as an owner for noncompliance with the requirements of paragraph (9) of this subsection. (13) Any motor vehicle which is donated to a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code for the purpose of being transferred to another person shall, when titled in the name of such nonprofit organization, not be subject to state and local title ad valorem tax fees under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section but shall be subject to state and local title ad valorem tax fees otherwise applicable to salvage titles under paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (e) The fair market value of any motor vehicle subject to this Code section shall be appealable in the same manner as otherwise authorized for a motor vehicle subject to ad valorem taxation under Code Section 48-5-450. (f) Beginning in 2014, on or before January 31 of each year, the department shall provide a report to the chairpersons of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee showing the state and local title ad valorem tax fee revenues collected pursuant to this chapter and the motor vehicle ad valorem tax proceeds collected pursuant to Chapter 5 of this title during the preceding calendar year."

SECTION 1-5. Said title is further amended in Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from sales and use tax, by replacing "; or" with a semicolon at the end of paragraph (90), replacing the period at the end of paragraph (91) with "; or", and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(92) The sale or purchase of any motor vehicle titled in this state on or after March 1, 2013, pursuant to Code Section 48-5B-1. This exemption shall not apply to leases or rentals of motor vehicles or to those sales and use taxes collected pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 48-8-241."

PART II SECTION 2-1.

Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 48-7-26, relating to personal exemptions from income taxes, as follows:
"(b)(1) An exemption of $7,400.00 shall be allowed as a deduction in computing Georgia taxable income of a taxpayer and spouse, but only if a joint return is filed. If a taxpayer and spouse file separate returns, $3,700.00 shall be allowed to each person as a deduction in computing Georgia taxable income. (2) An exemption of $2,700.00 shall be allowed as a deduction in computing Georgia taxable income for all taxpayers other than taxpayers who qualify for the exemption provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

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(3) Commencing with the taxable year beginning January 1, 2003, an exemption of $3,000.00 for each dependent of a taxpayer shall be allowed as a deduction in computing Georgia taxable income of the taxpayer."

SECTION 2-2. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Code Section 48-7-27, relating to the computation of taxable net income, as follows:
"(5)(A) Retirement income otherwise included in Georgia taxable net income shall be subject to an exclusion amount as follows:
(i) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1989, and prior to January 1, 1990, retirement income not to exceed an exclusion amount of $8,000.00 per year received from any source; (ii) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1990, and prior to January 1, 1994, retirement income not to exceed an exclusion amount of $10,000.00 per year received from any source; (iii) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1994, and prior to January 1, 1995, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $11,000.00; (iv) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1995, and prior to January 1, 1999, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $12,000.00; (v) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1999, and prior to January 1, 2000, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $13,000.00; (vi) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2000, and prior to January 1, 2001, retirement income not to exceed an exclusion amount of $13,500.00 per year received from any source; (vii) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2001, and prior to January 1, 2002, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $14,000.00; (viii) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2002, and prior to January 1, 2003, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $14,500.00; (ix) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003, and prior to January 1, 2006, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $15,000.00; (x) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2006, and prior to January 1, 2007, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $25,000.00;

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(xi) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2007, and prior to January 1, 2008, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $30,000.00; (xii) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, and prior to January 1, 2012, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $35,000.00; and (xiii) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, retirement income from any source not to exceed an exclusion amount of $35,000.00 for each taxpayer meeting the eligibility requirement set forth in division (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (D) of this paragraph or an amount of $65,000.00 for each taxpayer meeting the eligibility requirement set forth in division (iii) of subparagraph (D) of this paragraph. (B) In the case of a married couple filing jointly, each spouse shall if otherwise qualified be individually entitled to exclude retirement income received by that spouse up to the exclusion amount. (C) The exclusions provided for in this paragraph shall not apply to or affect and shall be in addition to those adjustments to net income provided for under any other paragraph of this subsection. (D) A taxpayer shall be eligible for the exclusions granted by this paragraph only if the taxpayer: (i) Is 62 years of age or older but less than 65 years of age during any part of the taxable year; or (ii) Is permanently and totally disabled in that the taxpayer has a medically demonstrable disability which is permanent and which renders the taxpayer incapable of performing any gainful occupation within the taxpayer's competence; or (iii) Is 65 years of age or older during any part of the year. (E) For the purposes of this paragraph, retirement income shall include but not be limited to interest income, dividend income, net income from rental property, capital gains income, income from royalties, income from pensions and annuities, and no more than $4,000.00 of an individual's earned income. Earned income in excess of $4,000.00, including but not limited to net business income earned by an individual from any trade or business carried on by such individual, wages, salaries, tips, and other employer compensation, shall not be regarded as retirement income. The receipt of earned income shall not diminish any taxpayer's eligibility for the retirement income exclusions allowed by this paragraph except to the extent of the express limitation provided in this subparagraph. (F) The commissioner shall by regulation require proof of the eligibility of the taxpayer for the exclusions allowed by this paragraph. (G) The commissioner shall by regulation provide that for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1989, and ending before October 1, 1990, penalty and interest may be waived or reduced for any taxpayer whose estimated tax payments and tax withholdings are less than 70 percent of such taxpayer's Georgia income tax liability

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if the commissioner determines that such underpayment or deficiency is due to an increase in net taxable income attributable directly to amendments to this paragraph or paragraph (4) of this subsection enacted at the 1989 special session of the General Assembly and not due to willful neglect or fraud;"

PART III SECTION 3-1.

Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising Code Section 48-7-29.12, relating to tax credits for qualified donation of real property, carryover of credit, appraisals, transfer of credit, and penalty, as follows:
"48-7-29.12. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Conservation easement' means a nonpossessory interest in real property imposing limitations or affirmative obligations, the purposes of which are consistent with at least two conservation purposes. (2) 'Conservation purpose' means any of the following:
(A) Water quality protection for wetlands, rivers, streams, or lakes; (B) Protection of wildlife habitat consistent with state wildlife conservation policies; (C) Protection of outdoor recreation consistent with state outdoor recreation policies; (D) Protection of prime agricultural or forestry lands; and (E) Protection of cultural sites, heritage corridors, or archeological and historic resources. (3) 'Donated property' means the real property of which a qualified donation is made pursuant to this Code section. (4) 'Eligible donor' means any person who owns an interest in a qualified donation. (5) 'Fair market value' means the value of the donated property as determined pursuant to subsections (c.1) and (c.2) of this Code section. (6) 'Qualified donation' means the fee simple conveyance to the state; a county, a municipality, or a consolidated government of this state; the federal government; or a bona fide charitable nonprofit organization qualified under the Internal Revenue Code and, beginning on January 1, 2014, accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission of 100 percent of all right, title, and interest in the entire parcel of donated real property, and the donation is accepted by such state, county, municipality, consolidated government, federal government, or bona fide charitable nonprofit organization for use in a manner consistent with at least two conservation purposes. Such term shall also include the donation to and acceptance by the state; a county, a municipality, or a consolidated government of this state; the federal government; or a bona fide charitable nonprofit organization qualified under the Internal Revenue Code and, beginning on January 1, 2014, accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission of a conservation easement. Any real property which is otherwise required

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to be dedicated pursuant to local government regulations or ordinances or to increase building density levels shall not be eligible as a qualified donation under this Code section. Any real property which is used for or associated with the playing of golf or is planned to be so used or associated shall not be eligible as a qualified donation under this Code section. (7) 'Related person' has the meaning provided by Code Section 48-7-28.3. (8) 'Substantial valuation misstatement' means a valuation such that the claimed value of any property on the appraisal as submitted to the State Properties Commission is 150 percent or more of the amount determined to be the correct amount of such valuation pursuant to subsections (c.1) and (c.2) of this Code section. (b)(1) A taxpayer shall be allowed a state income tax credit against the tax imposed by Code Section 48-7-20 or Code Section 48-7-21 for each qualified donation under this Code section. (2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection and in subsection (d) of this Code section, such credit shall be limited to an amount not to exceed the lesser of $500,000.00, 25 percent of the fair market value of the donated real property as fair market value is established for the year in which the donation occurred, or 25 percent of the difference between the fair market value and the amount paid to the donor if the donation is effected by a sale of property for less than fair market value as established for the year in which the donation occurred. (3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, in the case of a taxpayer whose net income is determined under Code Section 48-7-23, the aggregate total credit allowed to all partners in a partnership shall be limited to an amount not to exceed the lesser of $500,000.00, 25 percent of the fair market value of the donated real property as fair market value is established for the year in which the donation occurred, or 25 percent of the difference between the fair market value and the amount paid to the donor if the donation is effected by a sale of property for less than fair market value as established for the year in which the donation occurred. (c) No tax credit shall be allowed under this Code section unless the taxpayer files with the taxpayer's income tax return a copy of the State Property Commission's determination and a copy of a certification issued by the Department of Natural Resources that the donated property is suitable for conservation purposes and meets the following additional requirements, where applicable: (1) Subdivision is prohibited for a donated property of less than 500 acres and limited to one subdivision for a donated property of 500 acres or more; (2) New construction on donated property of structures, roads, impoundments, ditches, dumping, or any other activity that would harm the protected conservation values of such donation is prohibited on such property; (3) New construction on donated property within 150 feet of any perennial or intermittent stream is prohibited;

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(4) A buffer of at least 100 feet on each side of any perennial streams on donated property which ensures at least 75 percent tree canopy evenly distributed after harvest is maintained and a buffer of at least 50 feet on each side of any intermittent streams on donated property which ensures at least 75 percent tree canopy evenly distributed after harvest is maintained; (5) Timber and agricultural activities undertaken on the donated property are prohibited unless in accordance with best management practices published by the State Forestry Commission or the Soil and Water Conservation Commission, as the case may be; (6) New construction on donated property causing more than 1 percent of such property's total surface area to be covered by impervious surfaces is prohibited; (7) Mining on the property is prohibited; and (8) Planting on the donated property of non-native invasive species listed in Category 1, Category 1 Alert, or Category 2 of the 'List of Non-Native Invasive Plants in Georgia' developed by the Georgia Exotic Pest Council is prohibited. (c.1) For each application for certification, the Department of Natural Resources shall require submission of an appraisal of the qualified donation by the taxpayer along with a nonrefundable $5,000.00 application fee; provided, however, that the nonrefundable application fee for property donated to the state shall be 1 percent of the total value of the donation, unless such donation is being made to qualify the state for a federal or state grant. The appraisal required by this subsection shall be a full narrative appraisal and include: (1) A certification page, as established by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, signed by the appraiser; and (2) An affidavit signed by the appraiser which includes a statement specifying:
(A) The value of the unencumbered property, the total value of the qualified donation in gross, and an accompanying statement identifying the methods used to determine such values; (B) Whether a subdivision analysis was used in the appraisal; (C) Whether the landowner or related persons own any other property, the value of which is increased as a result of the donation; and (D) That the appraiser is certified pursuant to Chapter 39A of Title 43. Appraisals received by the Department of Natural Resources shall be forwarded to the State Properties Commission for review. The State Properties Commission shall approve the appraisal amount submitted or recommend a lower amount based on its review and inform the Department of Natural Resources of its determination. The State Properties Commission shall be authorized to promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to administer the provisions of this subsection. Any appraisal deemed to contain a substantial valuation misstatement shall be submitted to the Georgia Real Estate Commission for further investigation and disciplinary action. Upon receipt of the State Properties Commission's determination, the Department of Natural Resources may proceed with the certification process.

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(c.2) The Board of Natural Resources shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer subsections (c) and (c.1) of this Code section. A final determination by the Department of Natural Resources or the State Properties Commission shall be subject to review and appeal under Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.'
(d)(1) In no event shall the total amount of any tax credit under this Code section for a taxable year exceed the taxpayer's income tax liability. In no event shall the total amount of the tax credit allowed to a taxpayer under subsection (b) of this Code section exceed $250,000.00 with respect to tax liability determined under Code Section 48-7-20 or $500,000.00 with respect to tax liability determined under Code Section 48-7-21. Any unused tax credit shall be allowed to be carried forward to apply to the taxpayer's succeeding ten years' tax liability. However, the amount in excess of such annual dollar limits shall not be eligible for carryover to the taxpayer's succeeding years' tax liability nor shall such excess amount be claimed by or reallocated to any other taxpayer. No such tax credit shall be allowed the taxpayer against prior years' tax liability. (2) Only one qualified donation may be made with respect to any real property that was, in the five years prior to donation, within the same tax parcel of record, except that a subsequent donation may be made by a person who is not a related person with respect to any prior eligible donors of any portion of such tax parcel. (d.1) Any tax credits under this Code section earned by a taxpayer in the taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and previously claimed but not used by such taxpayer against such taxpayer's income tax may be transferred or sold in whole or in part by such taxpayer to another Georgia taxpayer, subject to the following conditions: (1) The transferor may make only a single transfer or sale of tax credits earned in a taxable year; however, the transfer or sale may involve one or more transferees; (2) The transferor shall submit to the department a written notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits within 30 days after the transfer or sale of such tax credits. The notification shall include such transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, the remaining balance after transfer, all tax identification numbers for each transferee, the date of transfer, the amount transferred, and any other information required by the department; (3) Failure to comply with this subsection shall result in the disallowance of the tax credit until the taxpayer is in full compliance; (4) Any unused credit may be carried forward to subsequent taxable years provided that the transfer or sale of this tax credit does not extend the time in which such tax credit can be used. The carry-forward period for tax credit that is transferred or sold shall begin on the date on which the tax credit was originally earned; and (5) A transferee shall have only such rights to claim and use the tax credit that were available to the transferor at the time of the transfer. To the extent that such transferor did not have rights to claim and use the tax credit at the time of the transfer, the

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department shall either disallow the tax credit claimed by the transferee or recapture the tax credit from the transferee. The transferee's recourse is against the transferor. (e)(1) Whenever:
(A) Any person prepares an appraisal of the value of property and knows, or reasonably should have known, that the appraisal would be used in connection with a return or a claim for refund claiming a tax credit under this Code section; and (B) The claimed value of the property on such appraisal as submitted to the State Properties Commission results in a substantial valuation misstatement with respect to such property for purposes of claiming a tax credit under this Code section, then such person shall pay a penalty in the amount determined under paragraph (2) of this subsection. (2) The amount of the penalty imposed under paragraph (1) of this subsection on any person with respect to an appraisal shall be equal to the lesser of: (A) The greater of:
(i) Twenty-five percent of the difference between the amount of the tax credit claimed on the taxpayer's return or claim for refund and the amount of the tax credit to which the taxpayer is actually entitled, to the extent the difference is attributable to the misstatement described in paragraph (1) of this subsection; or (ii) Ten thousand dollars; or (B) One hundred twenty-five percent of the gross income received by the person described in paragraph (1) of this subsection for the preparation of the appraisal. (3) No penalty shall be imposed under paragraph (1) of this subsection if the person establishes to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the value established in the appraisal was more likely than not the proper value. (4) Except as otherwise provided, the penalty provided by this subsection shall be in addition to any other penalties provided by law. The amount of any penalty under this subsection shall be assessed within three years after the return or claim for refund with respect to which the penalty is assessed was filed, and no proceeding in court without assessment for the collection of such penalty shall be begun after the expiration of such period. Any claim for refund of an overpayment of the penalty assessed under this subsection shall be filed within three years from the time the penalty was paid. (f) No credit shall be allowed under this Code section with respect to any amount deducted from taxable net income by the taxpayer as a charitable contribution. (g) The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer this Code section."

SECTION 3-2. Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to property, is amended by adding a new subsection to Code Section 44-10-3, relating to the creation or alteration of conservation easements, as follows:

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"(f) No county, municipality, or consolidated government shall hold a conservation easement unless the encumbered real property lies at least partly within the jurisdictional boundaries of such county, municipality, or consolidated government."

PART IV SECTION 4-1. Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising paragraph (73) of Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from sales and use tax, as follows: "(73) Reserved;"

PART V SECTION 5-1. Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising paragraphs (25), (26), (27), (28), (29), (29.1), (34), (34.3), (35), (37), (49), (64), (77), (79), and (90) of Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from sales and use tax, as follows: "(25) Reserved; (26) Reserved; (27) Reserved; (28) Reserved; (29) Reserved; (29.1) Reserved;" "(34) Reserved;" "(34.3) Reserved;" "(35) Reserved;" "(37) Reserved;" "(49) Reserved;" "(64) Reserved;" "(77) Reserved;" "(79) Reserved;" "(90) Reserved; or"

SECTION 5-2. Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"48-8-3.2. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Consumable supplies' means tangible personal property, other than machinery, equipment, and industrial materials, that is consumed or expended during the manufacture of tangible personal property. The term includes, but is not limited to, water

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treatment chemicals for use in, on, or in conjunction with machinery or equipment and items that are readily disposable. The term excludes packaging supplies and energy. (2) 'Energy' means natural or artificial gas, oil, gasoline, electricity, solid fuel, wood, waste, ice, steam, water, and other materials necessary and integral for heat, light, power, refrigeration, climate control, processing, or any other use in any phase of the manufacture of tangible personal property. The term excludes energy purchased by a manufacturer that is primarily engaged in producing electricity for resale. (3) 'Equipment' means tangible personal property, other than machinery, industrial materials, and consumable supplies. The term includes durable devices and apparatuses that are generally designed for long-term continuous or repetitive use. Examples of equipment include, but are not limited to, machinery clothing, cones, cores, pallets, hand tools, tooling, molds, dies, waxes, jigs, patterns, conveyors, safety devices, and pollution control devices. The term includes components and repair or replacement parts. The term excludes real property. (4) 'Fixtures' means tangible personal property that has been installed or attached to land or to any building thereon and that is intended to remain permanently in its place. A consideration for whether tangible property is a fixture is whether its removal would cause significant damage to such property or to the real property to which it is attached. Fixtures are classified as real property. Examples of fixtures include, but are not limited to, plumbing, lighting fixtures, slabs, and foundations. (5) 'Industrial materials' means materials for future processing, manufacture, or conversion into articles of tangible personal property for resale when the industrial materials become a component part of the finished product. The term also means materials that are coated upon or impregnated into the product at any stage of its processing, manufacture, or conversion, even though such materials do not remain a component part of the finished product for sale. The term includes raw materials. (6) 'Local sales and use tax' means any sales tax, use tax, or local sales and use tax which is levied and imposed in an area consisting of less than the entire state, however authorized, including, but not limited to, such taxes authorized by or pursuant to constitutional amendment; by or pursuant to Section 25 of an Act approved March 10, 1965 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 2243), as amended, the 'Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act of 1965'; and by or pursuant to any article of this chapter. (7) 'Machinery' means an assemblage of parts that transmits force, motion, and energy one to the other in a predetermined manner to accomplish a specific objective. The term includes a machine and all of its components, including, but not limited to, belts, pulleys, shafts, gauges, gaskets, valves, hoses, pipes, wires, blades, bearings, operational structures attached to the machine, including stairways and catwalks, or other devices that are required to regulate or control the machine, allow access to the machine, or enhance or alter its productivity or functionality. The term includes repair or replacement parts. The term excludes real property and consumable supplies.

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(8) 'Machinery clothing' means felts, screen plates, wires, or any other items used to carry, form, or dry work in process through the manufacture of tangible personal property. (9) 'Manufacture of tangible personal property,' used synonymously with the term 'manufacturing,' means a manufacturing operation, series of continuous manufacturing operations, or series of integrated manufacturing operations engaged in at a manufacturing plant or among manufacturing plants to change, process, transform, or convert industrial materials by physical or chemical means into articles of tangible personal property for sale, for promotional use, or for further manufacturing that have a different form, configuration, utility, composition, or character. The term includes, but is not limited to, the storage, preparation, or treatment of industrial materials; assembly of finished units of tangible personal property to form a new unit or units of tangible personal property; movement of industrial materials and work in process from one manufacturing operation to another; temporary storage between two points in a continuous manufacturing operation; random and sample testing that occurs at a manufacturing plant; and a packaging operation that occurs at a manufacturing plant. (10) 'Manufacturer' means a person or business, or a location of a person or business, that is engaged in the manufacture of tangible personal property for sale or further manufacturing. To be considered a manufacturer, the person or business, or the location of a person or business, must be:
(A) Classified as a manufacturer under the 2007 North American Industrial Classification System Sectors 21, 31, 32, or 33, or North American Industrial Classification System industry code 22111 or specific code 511110; or (B) Generally regarded as being a manufacturer. Businesses that are primarily engaged in providing personal or professional services or in the operation of retail outlets, generally including, but not limited to, grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries, or restaurants, are not considered manufacturers. (11) 'Manufacturing plant' means any facility, site, or other area where a manufacturer engages in the manufacture of tangible personal property. (12) 'Packaging operation' means bagging, boxing, crating, canning, containerizing, cutting, measuring, weighing, wrapping, labeling, palletizing, or other similar processes necessary to prepare or package manufactured products in a manner suitable for sale or delivery to customers as finished goods or suitable for the transport of work in process at or among manufacturing plants for further manufacturing, and the movement of such finished goods or work in process to a storage or distribution area at a manufacturing plant. (13) 'Packaging supplies' means materials, including, but not limited to, containers, labels, sacks, boxes, wraps, fillers, cones, cores, pallets, or bags, used in a packaging operation solely for packaging tangible personal property. (14) 'Real property' means land, any buildings thereon, and any fixtures attached thereto.

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(15) 'Repair or replacement part' means a part for any machinery or equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property. Repair or replacement parts must be used to maintain, repair, restore, install, or upgrade such machinery or equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property. Examples of repair and replacement parts may include, but are not limited to, oils, greases, hydraulic fluids, coolants, lubricants, machinery clothing, molds, dies, waxes, jigs, and other interchangeable tooling. (16) 'Substantial purpose' means the purpose for which an item of tangible personal property is used more than one-third of the time of the total amount of time that the item is in use; alternatively, instead of time, the purpose may be measured in terms of other applicable criteria, including, but not limited to, the number of items produced. (b) The sale, use, or storage of machinery or equipment which is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property and the sale, use, storage, or consumption of industrial materials or packaging supplies shall be exempt from all sales and use taxation. (c)(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, the sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy which is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property at a manufacturing plant in this state shall be exempt from all sales and use taxation except for the sales and use tax for educational purposes levied pursuant to Part 2 of Article 3 of this chapter and Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph IV of the Constitution and except for local sales and use taxes for educational purposes authorized by or pursuant to local constitutional amendment. This exemption shall be phased in over a four-year period as follows:
(A) For the period commencing January 1, 2013, and concluding at the last moment of December 31, 2013, such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy shall be exempt from an amount equal to 25 percent of the total amount of state sales and use tax that would be collected at the rate of 4 percent on such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy and shall be exempt from an amount equal to 25 percent of the total amount of each local sales and use tax that would be collected at the rate of 1 percent on such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy; (B) For the period commencing January 1, 2014, and concluding at the last moment of December 31, 2014, such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy shall be exempt from an amount equal to 50 percent of the total amount of state sales and use tax that would be collected at the rate of 4 percent on such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy and shall be exempt from an amount equal to 50 percent of the total amount of each local sales and use tax that would be collected at the rate of 1 percent on such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy; (C) For the period commencing January 1, 2015, and concluding at the last moment of December 31, 2015, such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy shall be exempt from an amount equal to 75 percent of the total amount of state sales and use tax that would be collected at the rate of 4 percent on such sale, use, storage, or consumption

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of energy and shall be exempt from an amount equal to 75 percent of the total amount of each local sales and use tax that would be collected at the rate of 1 percent on such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy; and (D) On or after January 1, 2016, such sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy shall be fully exempt from such sales and use taxation. (2)(A) Any person making a sale of items qualifying for exemption under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be relieved of the burden of proving such qualification if the person making the sale receives a certificate from the purchaser certifying that the purchase is exempt under this subsection. (B) Any person who qualifies for the exemption under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall notify and certify to the person making the qualified sale that such exemption is applicable to the sale. (3) With respect to services which are regularly billed on a monthly basis, the exemption under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall become effective with respect to and the exemption shall apply to services billed on or after the effective date of this Code section. (4) If a competitive project of regional significance under paragraph (92) of Code Section 48-8-3 is started in a county or municipality, it shall not be subject to the phase-in period contained in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, but such project shall receive the full exemption provided for in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of this subsection notwithstanding the January 1, 2016, limitation in that subparagraph. (d) The exemptions under this Code section shall be applied as follows: (1) The manufacture of tangible personal property commences as industrial materials are received at a manufacturing plant and concludes once the packaging operation is complete and the tangible personal property is ready for sale or shipment, regardless of whether the manufacture of tangible personal property occurs at one or more separate manufacturing plants; (2) For machinery or equipment that has multiple purposes, some purposes necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property and some purposes not necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property, the substantial purpose of such machinery or equipment will prevail for purposes of determining the eligibility for exemption. The commissioner shall consider any reasonable methodology for measuring the substantial purpose of machinery or equipment for which the substantial purpose is not readily identifiable; (3) For leased machinery or equipment that did not qualify for an exemption at the date of lease inception and subsequently qualifies for the exemption under this Code section, the exemption shall apply to all lease payments made subsequent to such qualification; (4) Miscellaneous spare parts for which the ultimate use of the spare parts is unknown at the time of purchase are eligible for the exemption as repair or replacement parts. However, use tax must be accrued and remitted if spare parts are withdrawn from the inventory of spare parts and used for any purpose other than to maintain, repair, restore,

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install, or upgrade machinery or equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property; and (5) Energy necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property includes energy used to operate machinery or equipment, to create conditions necessary for the manufacture of tangible personal property, or to perform an actual part of the manufacture of tangible personal properly; energy used in administrative or other ancillary activities that are located and performed at the manufacturing plant so long as such activities primarily benefit such manufacture of tangible personal property; energy used in related operations that convey, transport, handle, or store raw materials or finished goods at the manufacturing plant; energy used for heating, cooling, ventilation, illumination, fire safety or prevention, and personal comfort and convenience of the manufacturer's employees at the manufacturing plant; and energy used for any other purpose at a manufacturing plant. (e) Examples that qualify as necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property include, but are not limited to: (1) Machinery or equipment used to convey or transport industrial materials, work in process, consumable supplies, or packaging materials at or among manufacturing plants or to convey and transport finished goods to a distribution or storage point at the manufacturing plant. Specific examples may include, but are not limited to, forklifts, conveyors, cranes, hoists, and pallet jacks; (2) Machinery or equipment used to gather, arrange, sort, mix, measure, blend, heat, cool, clean, or otherwise treat, prepare, or store industrial materials for further manufacturing; (3) Machinery or equipment used to control, regulate, heat, cool, or produce energy for other machinery or equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacture of tangible personal property. Specific examples may include, but are not limited to, boilers, chillers, condensers, water towers, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, heat exchangers, generators, transformers, motor control centers, solar panels, air dryers, and air compressors; (4) Testing and quality control machinery or equipment located at a manufacturing plant used to test the quality of industrial materials, work in process, or finished goods; (5) Starters, switches, circuit breakers, transformers, wiring, piping, and other electrical components, including associated cable trays, conduit, and insulation, located between a motor control center and exempt machinery or equipment or between separate units of exempt machinery or equipment; (6) Machinery or equipment used to maintain, clean, or repair exempt machinery or equipment; (7) Machinery or equipment used to provide safety for the employees working at a manufacturing plant, including, but not limited to, safety machinery and equipment required by federal or state law, gloves, ear plugs, face masks, protective eyewear, hard

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hats or helmets, or breathing apparatuses, regardless of whether the items would otherwise be considered consumable supplies; (8) Machinery or equipment used to condition air or water to produce conditions necessary for the manufacture of tangible personal property, including pollution control machinery or equipment and water treatment systems; (9) Pollution control, sanitizing, sterilizing, or recycling machinery or equipment; (10) Industrial materials bought for further processing in the manufacture of tangible personal property for sale or further processing or any part of the industrial material or by-product thereof which becomes a wasteful product contributing to pollution problems and which is used up in a recycling or burning process; (11) Machinery or equipment used in quarrying and mining activities, including blasting, extraction, and crushing; and (12) Energy used at a manufacturing plant."

SECTION 5-3. Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"48-8-3.3. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)(A) 'Agricultural machinery and equipment' means machinery and equipment used in the production of agricultural products, including, but not limited to, machinery and equipment used in the production of poultry and eggs for sale, including, but not limited to, equipment used in the cleaning or maintenance of poultry houses and the surrounding premises; in hatching and breeding of poultry and the breeding of livestock and equine; in production, processing, and storage of fluid milk for sale; in drying, ripening, cooking, further processing, or storage of agricultural products, including, but not limited to, orchard crops; in production of livestock and equine for sale; by a producer of poultry, eggs, fluid milk, equine, or livestock for sale; for the purpose of harvesting agricultural products to be used on the farm by that producer as feed for poultry, equine, or livestock; directly in tilling the soil or in animal husbandry when the machinery is incorporated for the first time or as additional machinery for the first time into a new or an existing farm unit engaged in tilling the soil or in animal husbandry in this state; directly in tilling the soil or in animal husbandry when the machinery is bought to replace machinery in an existing farm unit already engaged in tilling the soil or in animal husbandry in this state; machinery and equipment used exclusively for irrigation of agricultural products, including, but not limited to, fruit, vegetable, and nut crops; and machinery and equipment used to cool agricultural products in storage facilities. (B) 'Agricultural machinery and equipment' also means farm tractors and attachments to the tractors; off-road vehicles used primarily in the production of nursery and horticultural crops; self-propelled fertilizer or chemical application equipment sold to persons engaged primarily in producing agricultural products for sale and which are

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used exclusively in tilling, planting, cultivating, and harvesting agricultural products, including, but not limited to, growing, harvesting, or processing onions, peaches, blackberries, blueberries, or other orchard crops, nursery, and other horticultural crops; devices and containers used in the transport and shipment of agricultural products; aircraft exclusively used for spraying agricultural crops; pecan sprayers, pecan shakers, and other equipment used in harvesting pecans sold to persons engaged in the growing, harvesting, and production of pecans; and off-road equipment and related attachments which are sold to or used by persons engaged primarily in the growing or harvesting of timber and which are used exclusively in site preparation, planting, cultivating, or harvesting timber. Equipment used in harvesting shall include all off-road equipment and related attachments used in every forestry procedure starting with the severing of a tree from the ground until and including the point at which the tree or its parts in any form has been loaded in the field in or on a truck or other vehicle for transport to the place of use. Such off-road equipment shall include, but not be limited to, skidders, feller bunchers, debarkers, delimbers, chip harvesters, tub-grinders, woods cutters, chippers of all types, loaders of all types, dozers, mid-motor graders, and the related attachments; grain bins and attachments to grain bins; any repair, replacement, or component parts installed on agricultural machinery and equipment; trailers used to transport agricultural products; all-terrain vehicles and multipassenger rough-terrain vehicles; and any other off-road vehicles used directly and principally in the production of agricultural or horticultural products. (2) 'Agricultural operations' or 'agricultural products' means raising, growing, harvesting, or storing of crops; feeding, breeding, or managing livestock, equine, or poultry; producing or storing feed for use in the production of livestock, including, but not limited to, cattle, calves, swine, hogs, goats, sheep, equine, and rabbits, or for use in the production of poultry, including, but not limited to, chickens, hens, ratites, and turkeys; producing plants, trees, Christmas trees, fowl, equine, or animals; or the production of aquacultural, horticultural, viticultural, silvicultural, grass sod, dairy, livestock, poultry, egg, and apiarian products. Agricultural products are considered grown in this state if such products are grown, produced, or processed in this state, whether or not such products are composed of constituent products grown or produced outside this state. (3) 'Agricultural production inputs' means seed; seedlings; plants grown from seed, cuttings, or liners; fertilizers; insecticides; livestock and poultry feeds, drugs, and instruments used for the administration of such drugs; fencing products and materials used to produce agricultural products; fungicides; rodenticides; herbicides; defoliants; soil fumigants; plant growth regulating chemicals; desiccants, including, but not limited to, shavings and sawdust from wood, peanut hulls, fuller's earth, straw, and hay; feed for animals, including, but not limited to, livestock, fish, equine, hogs, or poultry; sugar used as food for honeybees kept for the commercial production of honey, beeswax, and honeybees; cattle, hogs, sheep, equine, poultry, or bees when sold for breeding purposes; ice or other refrigerants, including, but not limited to, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, ammonia,

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and propylene glycol used in the processing for market or the chilling of agricultural products in storage facilities, rooms, compartments, or delivery trucks; materials, containers, crates, boxes, labels, sacks, bags, or bottles used for packaging agricultural products when the product is either sold in the containers, sacks, bags, or bottles directly to the consumer or when such use is incidental to the sale of the product for resale; and containers, plastic, canvas, and other fabrics used in the care and raising of agricultural products or canvas used in covering feed bins, silos, greenhouses, and other similar storage structures. (4) 'Energy used in agriculture' means fuels used for agricultural purposes, including, but not limited to, off-road diesel, propane, butane, electricity, natural gas, wood, wood products, or wood by-products; liquefied petroleum gas or other fuel used in structures in which broilers, pullets, or other poultry are raised, in which swine are raised, in which dairy animals are raised or milked or where dairy products are stored on a farm, in which agricultural products are stored, and in which plants, seedlings, nursery stock, or floral products are raised primarily for the purposes of making sales of such plants, seedlings, nursery stock, or floral products for resale; electricity or other fuel for the operation of an irrigation system which is used on a farm exclusively for the irrigation of agricultural products; and electricity or other fuel used in the drying, cooking, or further processing of raw agricultural products, including, but not limited to, food processing of raw agricultural products. (5) 'Qualified agriculture producer' includes producers of agricultural products who meet one of the following criteria:
(A) The person or entity is the owner or lessee of agricultural land or other real property from which $2,500.00 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold during the year, including payments from government sources; (B) The person or entity is in the business of providing for-hire custom agricultural services, including, but not limited to, plowing, planting, harvesting, growing, animal husbandry or the maintenance of livestock, raising or substantially modifying agricultural products, or the maintenance of agricultural land from which $2,500.00 or more of such services were provided during the year; (C) The person or entity is the owner of land that qualifies for taxation under the qualifications of bona fide conservation use property as defined in Code Section 48-5-7.4 or qualifies for taxation under the provisions of the Georgia Forest Land Protection Act as defined in Code Section 48-5-7.7; (D) The person or entity is in the business of producing long-term agricultural products from which there might not be annual income, including, but not limited to, timber, pulpwood, orchard crops, pecans, and horticultural or other multiyear agricultural or farm products. Applicants must demonstrate that sufficient volumes of such long-term agricultural products will be produced which have the capacity to generate at least $2,500.00 in sales annually in the future; or

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(E) The person or entity must establish, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Agriculture, that the person or entity is actively engaged in the production of agricultural products and has or will have created sufficient volumes to generate at least $2,500.00 in sales annually. (b) The sales and use taxes levied or imposed by this article shall not apply to sales to, or use by, a qualified agriculture producer of agricultural production inputs, energy used in agriculture, and agricultural machinery and equipment. (c) The Commissioner of Agriculture, at his or her discretion, may use one or both of the following criteria as a tool to determine eligibility under this Code section: (1) Business activity on IRS schedule F (Profit or Loss from Farming); or (2) Farm rental activity on IRS form 4835 (Farm Rental Income and Expenses) or schedule E (Supplemental Income and Loss). (d) Qualified agricultural producers that meet the criteria provided for in paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of this Code section must apply to the Commissioner of Agriculture to request an agricultural sales and use tax exemption certificate that contains an exemption number. To facilitate the use of the exemption certificate, a wallet-sized card containing that same information shall also be issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture. (e) The Commissioner of Agriculture is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations governing the issuance of agricultural exemption certificates and the administration of this Code section. The Commissioner of Agriculture is authorized to establish an oversight board and direct staff and is authorized to charge annual fees of not less than $15.00 nor more than $25.00 per year in accordance with Code Section 2-1-5, but in no event shall the total amount of the proceeds from such fees exceed the cost of administering this Code section."

SECTION 5-4. Said title is further amended by adding a new article at the end of Chapter 13, relating to specific, business, and occupation taxes, to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 6

48-13-110. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Dealer' has the same meaning as in Code Section 48-8-2. (2) 'Energy' has the same meaning as in Code Section 48-8-3.2. (3) 'Local sales and use tax' means any of the following:
(A) The county special purpose local option sales and use tax under Part 1 of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of this title; (B) The joint county and municipal sales and use tax under Article 2 of Chapter 8 of this title; (C) The homestead option sales and use tax under Article 2A of Chapter 8 of this title;

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(D) The tax levied for purposes of a metropolitan area system of public transportation, as authorized by the amendment to the Constitution set out at Ga. L. 1964, p. 1008; the continuation of such amendment under Article XI, Section I, Paragraph IV(d) of the Constitution; and the laws enacted pursuant to such constitutional amendment; or (E) The water and sewer projects and costs tax pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 8 of this title. (4) 'Purchaser' means any person who purchases energy and who would have been liable for sales and use tax on such energy but for the exemption provided for in Code Section 48-8-3.2.

48-13-111. Pursuant to the authority granted by Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VI of the Constitution, there are created within this state 159 special districts. One such district shall exist within the geographical boundaries of each county, and the territory of each district shall include all of the territory within the county except territory located within the boundaries of any municipality that imposes an excise tax on energy under this article.

48-13-112. (a)(1) Within the territorial limits of the special district located within the county, each county in this state may levy and collect an excise tax upon the sale or use of energy when such sale or use would have constituted a taxable event for purposes of sales and use tax under Article 1 of Chapter 8 of this title but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2. (2) The governing authority of each municipality in this state may, subject to the conditions of Code Section 48-13-115, levy and collect an excise tax upon the sale or use of energy when such sale or use would have constituted a taxable event for purposes of sales and use tax under Article 1 of Chapter 8 of this title but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2. (3) The excise tax levied pursuant to this article shall be phased in over a four-year period as follows: (A) For the period commencing January 1, 2013, and concluding at the last moment of December 31, 2013, such excise tax shall be at a rate equivalent to 25 percent of the total amount of local sales and use tax in effect in such special district that would be collected on the sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2; (B) For the period commencing January 1, 2014, and concluding at the last moment of December 31, 2014, such excise tax shall be at a rate equivalent to 50 percent of the total amount of local sales and use tax in effect in such special district that would be collected on the sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2;

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(C) For the period commencing January 1, 2015, and concluding at the last moment of December 31, 2015, such excise tax shall be at a rate equivalent to 75 percent of the total amount of local sales and use tax in effect in such special district that would be collected on the sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2; and (D) On or after January 1, 2016, such excise tax shall be at a rate equivalent to 100 percent of the total amount of local sales and use tax in effect in such special district that would be collected on the sale, use, storage, or consumption of energy but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2. (b) Any county or municipality which imposes the excise tax under this article during the phase-in period provided for in this Code section shall levy such excise tax at the amount provided for under the applicable year of the phase in. Any county or municipality which imposes such excise tax on or after January 1, 2016, shall impose it at the rate specified under subparagraph (a)(3)(D) of this Code section. (c) The excise tax levied pursuant to this article shall be imposed only at the time that sales and use tax on the sale or use of such energy would have been due and payable under Code Section 48-8-30 but for the exemption in Code Section 48-8-3.2. The excise tax shall be due and payable in the same manner as would be otherwise required under Article 1 of Chapter 8 of this title except as otherwise provided under this article. The excise tax shall be a debt of the purchaser of energy until it is paid and shall be recoverable at law in the same manner as authorized for the recovery of other debts. The dealer collecting the excise tax shall remit the excise tax to the governing authority imposing the excise tax. Every dealer subject to an excise tax levied as provided in this article shall be liable for the excise tax at the applicable rate on the charges actually collected or the amount of excise taxes collected from the purchasers, whichever is greater. (d) A county or municipality levying an excise tax as provided in this subsection shall only levy such excise tax initially by ordinance and at the equivalent rate as determined under paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section. Following such initial imposition, on or after January 1, 2016, the rate of the tax under this article shall be controlled by the maximum amount of local sales and use tax in effect in the special district, but in no event more than 2 percent; however, this 2 percent limitation shall not apply in a municipality that levies a water and sewer projects and costs tax pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 8 of this title, in which case there shall be a 3 percent limitation. In the event the total rate of local sales and use taxes in effect in the special district decreases from 2 percent to 1 percent, the rate of the excise tax under this article shall likewise be reduced at the same time such local sales and use tax rate reduction becomes effective. In the event the total rate of local sales and use taxes in effect in the special district increases from 1 percent to 2 percent, the rate of the excise tax under this article shall likewise be increased at the same time such local sales and use tax rate increase becomes effective. (e) An excise tax under this article shall not be levied or collected by a county or municipality outside the territorial limits of the special district located within the county.

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48-13-113. Prior to the adoption of the ordinance levying an excise tax under this article, the county governing authority within a special district shall meet and confer with each of the municipalities within the special district. Any county that desires to have an excise tax under this article levied within the special district shall deliver or mail a written notice to the mayor or chief elected official in each municipality located within the special district. If the governing authority of such county does not deliver or mail such notice within 30 days of the date of the written request of the mayor or chief elected official of a municipality within the special district, then such mayor or chief elected official shall deliver or mail a written notice to the mayor or chief elected official in each municipality located within the special district and to the county governing authority. Such notice shall contain the date, time, place, and purpose of a meeting at which the governing authorities of the county and of each municipality are to discuss whether or not the excise tax should levied be within the special district. The notice shall be delivered or mailed at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting. The meeting shall be held at least 30 days prior to the adoption of any ordinance levying an excise tax under this article.

48-13-114. (a)(1) Following the meeting required under Code Section 48-13-113, the governing authority of the county within the special district shall enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the governing authority of each municipality wishing to participate in such excise tax that provides for the distribution of the proceeds as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section. Following the execution of such agreement, the governing authority of such county shall be authorized to adopt an ordinance levying the excise tax. (2) If a municipality elects not to participate in such excise tax by not signing such agreement, then such municipality shall not receive any proceeds from the excise tax. In such event, any proportionate share that would have been distributed to such municipality under an applicable local sales and use tax as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section shall instead be distributed to the general fund of the county.
(b) The excise tax proceeds shall be allocated and distributed by the county governing authority at the end of each calendar month. Of such excise tax proceeds, an amount equal to 1 percent of the proceeds collected by the county shall be paid into the general fund of the county to defray the costs of collection and administration. The remainder of the proceeds shall be distributed in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section. (c) The excise tax proceeds shall be allocated and distributed by the county governing authority within 30 days following the end of each calendar month in the manner provided in this subsection. Such proceeds shall not be subject to any use or expenditure requirements provided for under any of the local sales and use taxes but shall be authorized to be expended in the same manner as otherwise would have been required under such local

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sales and use taxes or may be expended for any lawful purpose. Of such excise tax proceeds:
(1) If two such local sales and use taxes are in effect in the special district, an amount equal to one-half of the proceeds of the excise tax shall be distributed to the county general fund and the general fund of each participating municipality located in such county according to the same proportionate share as specified under the distribution provisions of the first local sales and use tax and an amount equal to one-half of the proceeds of the excise tax shall be distributed to the county general fund and the general fund of each participating municipality located in such county according to the same proportionate share as specified under the distribution provisions of the second local sales and use tax; or (2) If only one such local sales and use tax is in effect in the special district, then the proceeds of the excise tax shall be distributed to the county general fund and the general fund of each participating municipality located in such county according to the same proportionate share as specified under the distribution provisions of the local sales and use tax.

48-13-115. Following the meeting required under Code Section 48-13-113, if the governing authority of the county within the special district refuses to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the governing authority of each municipality wishing to participate in such excise tax during the period commencing on January 1, 2013, and concluding on December 31, 2013, then the governing authority of each municipality wishing to levy the excise tax shall be authorized to adopt an ordinance levying the excise tax within the corporate limits of such municipality. If a county elects not to participate in such excise tax by not signing such agreement, then the county shall not receive any proceeds from the excise tax. The proceeds of such excise tax shall be deposited in the general fund of each municipality. If a county determines, subsequent to December 31, 2013, to commence proceedings for the imposition of the excise tax under this article, then proceedings for such imposition shall commence in the same manner as otherwise provided under Code Section 48-13-113. In that event, the excise tax levied by such municipality shall cease on the day immediately prior to the day the new tax levied by the county commences. If such municipality elects not to participate, its current excise tax under this article shall still terminate on the date specified in this Code section and it shall not receive any proceeds under the county levy.

48-13-116. (a)(1) An excise tax imposed under this article shall become effective on the first day of the next succeeding calendar quarter which begins more than 80 days after the adoption date of the ordinance.

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(2) If services are regularly billed on a monthly basis, however, the excise tax shall become effective with respect to and the tax shall apply to services billed on or after the effective date specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection. (b) The excise tax shall cease to be imposed on the first day of the next succeeding calendar quarter which begins more than 80 days after the adoption date of an ordinance terminating the excise tax. (c) At any time no more than a single 2 percent excise tax under this article may be imposed within a special district or a municipality. (d) Following the termination of an excise tax under this article, the governing authority of a county within a special district or the mayor or chief elected official of a municipality in the special district in which an excise tax authorized by this article is in effect may initiate proceedings for the reimposition of a tax under this article in the same manner as provided in this article for initial imposition of such tax.

48-13-117. The manner of payment and collection of the excise tax and all other procedures related to the tax, including, but not limited to, periodic auditing of dealers collecting and remitting the excise tax under this article, shall be as provided by each county and municipality electing to exercise the powers conferred by this article.

48-13-118. As a part of the audit report required under Code Section 36-81-7, the auditor shall include, in a separate schedule, a report of the revenues pertaining to the excise tax under this article."

SECTION 5-5. Said title is further amended by revising paragraphs (90) and (91) and enacting a new paragraph in Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from sales and use tax, as follows:
"(90) The sale of electricity to a manufacturer located in this state used directly in the manufacture of a product if the direct cost of such electricity exceeds 50 percent of the cost of all materials, including electricity, used directly in the product; (91) The sale of prewritten software which has been delivered to the purchaser electronically or by means of load and leave; or
(92)(A) For the period commencing January 1, 2012, until June 30, 2014, sales of tangible personal property used for and in the construction of a competitive project of regional significance. (B) The exemption provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall apply to purchases made during the entire time of construction of the competitive project of regional significance so long as such project meets the definition of a 'competitive project of regional significance' within the period commencing January 1, 2012, until June 30, 2014.

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(C) The department shall not be required to pay interest on any refund claims filed for local sales and use taxes paid on purchases made prior to the implementation of this paragraph. (D) As used in this paragraph, the term 'competitive project of regional significance' means the location or expansion of some or all of a business enterprise's operations in this state where the commissioner of economic development determines that the project would have a significant regional impact. The commissioner of economic development shall promulgate regulations in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph outlining the guidelines to be applied in making such determination."

SECTION 5-6. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (33.1) of Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from sales and use taxes, as follows:
"(33.1)(A) The sale or use of jet fuel to or by a qualifying airline at a qualifying airport, to the extent provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph.
(B)(i) For the period of time beginning July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2012, the sale or use of jet fuel to or by a qualifying airline at a qualifying airport shall be exempt from state sales and use tax until the aggregate state sales and use tax liability of the taxpayer during such period with respect to jet fuel exceeds $20 million, computed as if the exemption provided in this division was not in effect during such period. Thereafter during such period, the exemption provided by this division shall not apply to the sale or use of jet fuel to or by the qualifying airline. For purposes of this division, the terms 'qualifying airline' and 'qualifying airport' shall have the same meanings as those terms were defined under the prior provisions of this paragraph as it existed immediately prior to July 1, 2012. (ii) For the period of time beginning July 1, 2012, the sale or use of jet fuel to or by a qualifying airline at a qualifying airport shall be exempt from 1 percent of the 4 percent state sales and use tax. (C) The sale or use of jet fuel to or by a qualifying airline at a qualifying airport shall be exempt at all times from the sales or use tax levied and imposed as authorized pursuant to Part 1 of Article 3 of this chapter. For purposes of this subparagraph, a 'qualifying airport' shall mean any airport in the state that has had more than 750,000 takeoffs and landings during a calendar year; and a 'qualifying airline,' in addition to the requirements of subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, shall mean, for the 12 month period immediately preceding the applicable period specified in division (i) of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph had, or would have had in the absence of any exemption during such 12 month period, state sales and use tax liability on jet fuel of more than $15 million. (D) Except as provided for in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, this exemption shall not apply to any other local sales and use tax levied or imposed at any time in any area consisting of less than the entire state, however authorized, including, but not limited

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to, such taxes authorized by or pursuant to Section 25 of an Act approved March 10, 1965 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 2243), as amended, the 'Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act of 1965,' or such taxes as authorized by or pursuant to Part 2 of Article 3 or Article 2, 2A, or 4 of this chapter. (E) For purposes of division (ii) of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph and paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of Code Section 48-8-241, a 'qualifying airline' shall mean any person which is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration or appropriate agency of the United States to operate as an air carrier under an air carrier operating certificate and which provides regularly scheduled flights for the transportation of passengers or cargo for hire. (F) For purposes of division (ii) of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph and paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of Code Section 48-8-241, the term 'qualifying airport' means a certificated air carrier airport in Georgia. (G) The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this paragraph;"

SECTION 5-7. Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to agriculture, is amended by revising Code Section 2-1-5, relating to certain agricultural annual license fees, as follows:
"2-1-5. (a) An individual conducting business as a grain dealer, commercial feed dealer, and grain warehouseman shall pay an annual license fee in an amount not less than $1,500.00 nor more than $3,000.00. Any fees collected pursuant to this Code section shall be retained pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 45-12-92.1. (b) A qualified agriculture producer, as defined in Code Section 48-8-3.3, shall pay an annual license fee in an amount not less than $15.00 nor more than $25.00, but in no event shall the total amount of the proceeds from such fees exceed the cost of administering Code Section 48-8-3.3."

PART VI SECTION 6-1.

Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sales and use taxes, is amended by revising paragraph (8) of Code Section 48-8-2, relating to definitions regarding the state sales and use tax, as follows:
"(8) 'Dealer' means every person who: (A) Has sold at retail, used, consumed, distributed, or stored for use or consumption in this state tangible personal property and who cannot prove that the tax levied by this article has been paid on the sale at retail or on the use, consumption, distribution, or storage of the tangible personal property;

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(B) Imports or causes to be imported tangible personal property from any state or foreign country for sale at retail, or for use, consumption, distribution, or storage for use or consumption in this state; (C) Is the lessee or renter of tangible personal property and who pays to the owner of the property a consideration for the use or possession of the property in this state without acquiring title to the property; (D) Leases or rents tangible personal property for a consideration, permitting the use or possession of the property in this state without transferring title to the property; (E) Maintains or utilizes within this state an office, distribution center, salesroom or sales office, warehouse, service enterprise, or any other place of business, whether owned by such person or any other person, other than a common carrier acting in its capacity as such; (F) Manufactures or produces tangible personal property for sale at retail or for use, consumption, distribution, or storage for use or consumption in this state; (G) Sells at retail, offers for sale at retail, or has in his possession for sale at retail, or for use, consumption, distribution, or storage for use or consumption in this state tangible personal property; (H) Solicits business by an agent, employee, representative, or any other person; (I) Engages in the regular or systematic solicitation of a consumer market in this state, unless the dealer's only activity in this state is:
(i) Advertising or solicitation by: (I) Direct mail, catalogs, periodicals, or advertising fliers; (II) Means of print, radio, or television media; or (III) Telephone, computer, the Internet, cable, microwave, or other communication system;
(ii) The delivery of tangible personal property within this state solely by common carrier or United States mail; or (iii) To engage in convention and trade show activities as described in Section 513(d)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, so long as such activities are the dealer's sole physical presence in this state and the dealer, including any of its representatives, agents, salespersons, canvassers, independent contractors, or solicitors, does not engage in those convention and trade show activities for more than five days, in whole or in part, in this state during any 12 month period and did not derive more than $100,000.00 of net income from those activities in this state during the prior calendar year. A retailer engaging in convention and trade show activities, as described in Section 513(d)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, is a retailer engaged in business in this state and liable for collection of the applicable sales or use tax with respect to any sale of tangible personal property occurring at the convention and trade show activities and with respect to any sale of tangible personal property made pursuant to an order taken at or during those convention and trade show activities.

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The exceptions provided in divisions (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subparagraph shall not apply to any requirements under Code Section 48-8-14; (J) Is an affiliate that sells at retail, offers for sale at retail in this state, or engages in the regular or systematic solicitation of a consumer market in this state through a related dealer located in this state unless:
(i) The in-state dealer to which the affiliate is related does not engage in any of the following activities on behalf of the affiliate:
(I) Advertising; (II) Marketing; (III) Sales; or (IV) Other services; and (ii) The in-state dealer to which the affiliate is related accepts the return of tangible personal property sold by the affiliate and also accepts the return of tangible personal property sold by any person or dealer that is not an affiliate on the same terms and conditions as an affiliate's return; As used in this subparagraph, the term 'affiliate' means any person that is related directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, is under common control with, or is subject to the control of a dealer described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of this paragraph or in this subparagraph; (K)(i) Makes sales of tangible personal property or services that are taxable under this chapter if a related member, as defined in Code Section 48-7-28.3, other than a common carrier acting in its capacity as such, that has substantial nexus in this state: (I) Sells a similar line of products as the person and does so under the same or a similar business name; or (II) Uses trademarks, service marks, or trade names in this state that are the same or substantially similar to those used by the person. (ii) The presumption that a person described in this subparagraph qualifies as a dealer in this state may be rebutted by showing that the person does not have a physical presence in this state and that any in-state activities conducted on its behalf are not significantly associated with the person's ability to establish and maintain a market in this state; (L)(i) Makes sales of tangible personal property or services that are taxable under this chapter if any other person, other than a common carrier acting in its capacity as such, who has a substantial nexus in this state: (I) Delivers, installs, assembles, or performs maintenance services for the person's customers within this state; (II) Facilitates the person's delivery of property to customers in this state by allowing the person's customers to pick up property sold by the person at an office, distribution facility, warehouse, storage place, or similar place of business maintained by the person in this state; or

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(III) Conducts any other activities in this state that are significantly associated with the person's ability to establish and maintain a market in this state for the person's sales. (ii) The presumption that a person described in this subparagraph qualifies as a dealer in this state may be rebutted by showing that the person does not have a physical presence in this state and that any in-state activities conducted on its behalf are not significantly associated with the person's ability to establish and maintain a market in this state; (M)(i) Enters into an agreement with one or more other persons who are residents of this state under which the resident, for a commission or other consideration, based on completed sales, directly or indirectly refers potential customers, whether by a link on an Internet website, an in-person oral presentation, telemarketing, or otherwise, to the person, if the cumulative gross receipts from sales by the person to customers in this state who are referred to the person by all residents with this type of an agreement with the person is in excess of $50,000.00 during the preceding 12 months. (ii) The presumption that a person described in this subparagraph is a dealer in this state may be rebutted by submitting proof that the residents with whom the person has an agreement did not engage in any activity within this state that was significantly associated with the person's ability to establish or maintain the person's market in the state during the preceding 12 months. Such proof may consist of sworn written statements from all of the residents with whom the person has an agreement stating that they did not engage in any solicitation in this state on behalf of the person during the preceding year, provided that such statements were provided and obtained in good faith. This subparagraph shall take effect 90 days after the effective date of this Act and shall apply to sales made, uses occurring, and services rendered on or after the effective date of this subparagraph without regard to the date the person and the resident entered into the agreement described in this subparagraph; (N) Notwithstanding any of the provisions contained in this paragraph, with respect to a person that is not a resident or domiciliary of Georgia, that does not engage in any other business or activity in Georgia, and that has contracted with a commercial printer for printing to be conducted in Georgia, such person shall not be deemed a 'dealer' in Georgia merely because such person: (i) Owns tangible or intangible property which is located at the Georgia premises of a commercial printer for use by such printer in performing services for the owner; (ii) Makes sales and distributions of printed material produced at and shipped or distributed from the Georgia premises of the commercial printer; (iii) Performs activities of any kind at the Georgia premises of the commercial printer which are directly related to the services provided by the commercial printer; or (iv) Has printing, including any printing related activities, and distribution related activities performed by the commercial printer in Georgia for or on its behalf,

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nor shall such person, absent any contact with Georgia other than with or through the use of the commercial printer or the use of the United States Postal Service or a common carrier, have an obligation to collect sales or use tax from any of its customers located in Georgia based upon the activities described in divisions (i) through (iv) of this subparagraph. In no event described in this subparagraph shall such person be considered to have a fixed place of business in Georgia at either the commercial printer's premises or at any place where the commercial printer performs services on behalf of that person; (O) Any ruling, agreement, or contract, whether written or oral and whether express or implied, between a person and this state's executive branch or any other state agency or department stating, agreeing, or ruling that such person is not a dealer required to collect sales and use tax in this state despite the presence of a warehouse, distribution center, or fulfillment center in this state that is owned or operated by the person or a related member shall be null and void unless it is specifically approved by a majority vote of each body of the General Assembly. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'related member' has the same meaning as in Code Section 48-7-28.3; (P) Each dealer shall collect the tax imposed by this article from the purchaser, lessee, or renter, as applicable, and no action seeking either legal or equitable relief on a sale, lease, rental, or other transaction may be had in this state by the dealer unless the dealer has fully complied with this article; or (Q) The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations necessary to administer this paragraph, including other such information, applications, forms, or statements as the commissioner may reasonably require."

SECTION 6-2. Said part is further amended by revising paragraphs (75) and (82) of Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from sales and use taxes, as follows:
"(75)(A) The sale of any covered item. The exemption provided by this paragraph shall apply only to sales occurring during periods:
(i) Commencing at 12:01 A.M. on August 10, 2012, and concluding at 12:00 Midnight on August 11, 2012; and (ii) Commencing at 12:01 A.M. on August 9, 2013, and concluding at 12:00 Midnight on August 10, 2013. (B) As used in this paragraph, the term 'covered item' shall mean: (i) Articles of clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100.00 or less per article of clothing or pair of footwear, excluding accessories such as jewelry, handbags, umbrellas, eyewear, watches, and watchbands; (ii) A single purchase, with a sales price of $1,000.00 or less, of personal computers and personal computer related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use, including personal computer base units and keyboards, personal digital assistants, handheld computers, monitors, other peripheral devices, modems for

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Internet and network access, and nonrecreational software, whether or not they are to be utilized in association with the personal computer base unit. Computer and computer related accessories shall not include furniture and any systems, devices, software, or peripherals designed or intended primarily for recreational use; and (iii) Noncommercial purchases of general school supplies to be utilized in the classroom or in classroom related activities, such as homework, up to a sales price of $20.00 per item including pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, book bags, calculators, dictionaries, thesauruses, and children's books and books listed on approved school reading lists for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. (C) The exemption provided by this paragraph shall not apply to rentals, sales in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, restaurant, or airport or to purchases for trade, business, or resale. (D) The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer this paragraph including but not be limited to a list of those articles and items qualifying for the exemption pursuant to this paragraph;" "(82)(A) Purchase of energy efficient products or water efficient products with a sales price of $1,500.00 or less per product purchased for noncommercial home or personal use. The exemption provided by this paragraph shall apply only to sales occurring during periods: (i) Commencing at 12:01 A.M. on October 5, 2012, and concluding at 12:00 Midnight on October 7, 2012; and (ii) Commencing at 12:01 A.M. on October 4, 2013, and concluding at 12:00 Midnight on October 6, 2013. (B) As used in this paragraph, the term: (i) 'Energy efficient product' means any energy efficient product for noncommercial home or personal use consisting of any dishwasher, clothes washer, air conditioner, ceiling fan, fluorescent light bulb, dehumidifier, programmable thermostat, refrigerator, door, or window which has been designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy as meeting or exceeding each such agency's energy saving efficiency requirements or which have been designated as meeting or exceeding such requirements under each such agency's Energy Star program. (ii) 'Water efficient product' means any product used for the conservation or efficient use of water which has been designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as meeting or exceeding such agency's water saving efficiency requirements or which has been designated as meeting or exceeding such requirements under such agency's Water Sense program. (C) The exemption provided for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply to purchases of energy efficient products or water efficient products purchased for trade, business, or resale.

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(D) The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer this paragraph;"

PART VII SECTION 7-1. (a) This part, paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-8-3.2 contained in Section 5-2, and Section 6-2 of this Act shall become effective upon approval by the Governor or upon becoming law without such approval. (b) Section 5-5 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2012. (c) Section 6-1 of this Act shall become effective on October 1, 2012. (d) Part IV and Section 5-6 of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012. (e) Parts II and III of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013, and shall be applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013. (f) Part I of this Act shall become effective March 1, 2013. (g) The remaining portions of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013. (h) Tax, penalty, and interest liabilities and refund eligibility for prior taxable years shall not be affected by the passage of this Act and shall continue to be governed by the provisions of general law as it existed immediately prior to the effective date of the relevant portion of this Act. (i) This Act shall not abate any prosecution, punishment, penalty, administrative proceedings or remedies, or civil action related to any violation of law committed prior to the effective date of the relevant portion of this Act.

SECTION 7-2. In the event any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Act shall be declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall in no manner affect the other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases of this Act, which shall remain of full force and effect as if the section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not originally a part hereof. The General Assembly declares that it would have passed the remaining parts of this Act if it had known that such part or parts hereof would be declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional.

SECTION 7-3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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HANDICAPPED PERSONS LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SOCIAL SERVICES CREATE GEORGIA VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES BOARD AND GEORGIA VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AGENCY; TRANSFER OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS, PROPERTY, INSTITUTIONS, AND EMPLOYEES.

No. 608 (House Bill No. 1146).

AN ACT

To amend Titles 34 and 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations and social services, respectively, so as to create the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board; to provide for membership, terms, and compensation related to the board; to provide for an executive director of the board; to create and establish the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency; to transfer the Division of Rehabilitation Services, including but not limited to the disability adjudication section and the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, from the Department of Labor to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency; to provide for definitions; to provide for the transfer of programs, institutions, and property; to provide for the transfer of funds, positions, officers, employees, agents, and other personnel and for rights and benefits relating thereto; to provide for consultations regarding certain changes and provide for availability of records and information; to provide for powers, duties, and functions of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency; to provide for responsibility for accrued compensatory time; to provide for service delivery regions; to provide for rules and regulations, policies, and orders and for rights and duties under certain agreements; to provide for duties, power, and functions of the board and the agency; to provide for the duties, functions, and compensation of the director thereof; to provide for funding, agreements, budgeting, and appropriations; to provide for gifts; to provide for rehabilitation services and financial assistance; to provide for hearings and administrative procedure; to provide for rights and for subrogation and liens; to provide for penalties; to provided for amendments and repeal and rights relating thereto; to provide for vending facilities for certain person with disabilities; to amend Chapter 2 of Title 30 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia Industries for the Blind, so as to transfer the direction and supervision of such industries to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency; to provide for property and reserve funds of such industries; to provide for compensation of workers in such industries; to specifically reserve certain laws and amend various other provisions of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated so as to conform related cross-references; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations, is amended by revising Chapter 15, relating to the transfer of division of rehabilitation services to Department of Labor, and redesignating it as Chapter 9 of Title 49, as follows:

"CHAPTER 9 ARTICLE 1

49-9-1. As used in this chapter, the term or terms:
(1) 'Agency' means the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency created pursuant to Code Section 49-9-4. (2) 'Blind person' means a person who has:
(A) Not more than 20/200 central visual acuity in the better eye after correction; or (B) An equally disabling loss of the visual field. (3) 'Board' means the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board created pursuant to Code Section 49-9-2. (4) 'Director' means the agency executive director appointed pursuant to Code Section 49-9-3. (5) 'Disability to employment' means a physical or mental condition which constitutes, contributes to, or, if not corrected, will probably result in an impairment of occupational performance. (6) 'Occupational license' means any license, permit, or other written authority required by any governmental unit to be obtained in order to engage in an occupation. (7) 'Person with disabilities' means an individual having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities. (8) 'Prosthetic appliance' means any artificial device necessary to support or take the place of a part of the body or to increase the acuity of a sense organ. (9) 'Regulations' means regulations made by the director with the approval of the board and promulgated in the manner prescribed by law. (10) 'Rehabilitation center' means a facility operated for the purpose of assisting in the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities which provides one or more of the following types of services: (A) Testing, fitting, or training in the use of prosthetic devices; (B) Prevocational or conditioning therapy; (C) Physical, corrective, or occupational therapy; or (D) Adjustment training or evaluation or control of special disabilities; or a facility in which a coordinated approach is made to the physical, mental, and vocational evaluation of persons with disabilities and an integrated program of physical restoration

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and relating training is provided under competent professional supervision and direction. (11) 'Rehabilitation training' means all necessary training provided to a person with disabilities to compensate for his or her disability to employment, including, but not limited to, manual preconditioning, relating, vocational, and supplementary training and training provided for the purpose of developing occupational skills and capacities. (12) 'Vocational rehabilitation' and 'vocational rehabilitation services' mean any service, provided directly or through public or private instrumentalities, found by the director to be necessary to compensate a person with disabilities for his or her disability to employment and to enable such individual to engage in a remunerative occupation. (13) 'Workshop' means a place where any manufacture or handwork is carried on and which is operated for the primary purpose of providing rehabilitative activities, including the use of monetary rewards as an incentive practice for persons with disabilities unable to engage in the competitive labor market. Persons receiving services in workshops shall not be considered as employees of the state for workers' compensation or any other purposes.

49-9-2. (a) There is created the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board. The board shall consist of nine members who work or have worked in the area of vocational rehabilitation or who are a part of the vocational rehabilitation community; provided, however, that five members shall be persons with disabilities or family members of persons with disabilities. (b) The members of the board shall be appointed by the Governor. The first such members shall be appointed by the Governor to take office on July 1, 2012, for initial terms as follows: Three such members shall be appointed for terms of one year; three such members shall be appointed for terms of two years; and three such members shall be appointed for terms of three years. Thereafter, the Governor shall appoint successors upon the expiration of the respective terms of office for terms of three years. All such members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. Such members shall be eligible for reappointment to successive terms of office as members of the board. (c) Vacancies in office shall be filled by appointment by the Governor in the same manner as the appointment to the position on the board which becomes vacant. An appointment to fill a vacancy other than by expiration of a term of office shall be for the balance of the unexpired term. (d) Members of the board may be removed from office under the same conditions for removal from office of members of professional licensing boards provided in Code Section 43-1-17. (e) There shall be a chairperson of the board elected by and from the membership of the board who shall be the presiding officer of the board. The term of the chairperson shall be established by rules of the board.

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(f) A quorum for transacting business shall be determined by the members of the board. (g) The members of the board shall receive a per diem allowance and expenses as shall be set and approved by the Office of Planning and Budget in conformance with rates and allowances set for members of other state boards. (h) In addition to the powers and duties set forth in this chapter, the board shall recommend to the Governor and the General Assembly changes in state programs, statutes, policies, budgets, and standards relating to vocational rehabilitation services, the improvement of coordination among state and local agencies that provide vocational rehabilitation services, and the improvement of the condition of citizens who are in need of vocational rehabilitation services.

49-9-3. (a) There shall be an executive director of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency nominated by the Governor and approved by the board. The director shall serve during the term of the Governor by whom he or she is appointed and at the pleasure of the board. If the Governor's term expires and the incoming Governor has not made a nomination or such nomination has not been approved by the board, the current director shall serve until a replacement is nominated by the incoming Governor and approved by the board. (b) In carrying out his or her duties under this chapter, the director of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency:
(1) Shall, with the approval of the board, prepare such regulations for promulgation by the board as he or she finds necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter; (2) Shall, with the approval of the board, prepare such policies and procedures as he or she finds necessary for the purposes of this chapter and establish appropriate subordinate administrative units within the agency; (3) Shall recommend to the board for appointment such personnel as he or she deems necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the agency; (4) Shall prepare and submit to the board annual reports of activities and expenditures and, prior to each regular session of the General Assembly, estimates of sums required for carrying out this chapter and estimates of the amounts to be made available for this purpose from all sources; (5) Shall make certification for disbursement, in accordance with regulations, of funds available for carrying out the purposes of this chapter; (6) May, with the approval of the board, delegate to any officer or employee of the agency such of his or her powers and duties, except the making of regulations and the appointment of personnel, as he or she finds necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter; and (7) Is designated as the administrator of a program provided under Section 221 of the federal Social Security Act, relating to disability adjudication services. The director shall receive, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in addition to his or her regular compensation, such compensation and allowance as may be augmented from grants by

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the appropriate federal agency in such amount as is determined by the federal agency to be commensurate with the duties imposed by Section 221 of the federal Social Security Act.

49-9-4. (a)(1) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is created and established to perform the functions and assume the duties, powers, and authority exercised on June 30, 2012, by the Division of Rehabilitation Services within the Department of Labor including the disability adjudication section and the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, and such division shall be reconstituted as the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency effective July 1, 2012. (2) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall be assigned to the Department of Human Services for administrative purposes only, as prescribed in Code Section 50-4-3. (3) On and after July 1, 2012, the powers, functions, duties, programs, institutions, and authority of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency relating to the former Division of Rehabilitation Services within the Department of Labor shall be performed and exercised by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency pursuant to this article. The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall take all necessary steps to ensure continuity of services for the vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities during such transfer.
(b) The agency shall be administered by a director appointed pursuant to Code Section 49-9-3. The policy-making functions which were vested in the Department of Labor pertaining to the Division of Rehabilitation Services are vested in the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency effective July 1, 2012. (c) Any proceedings or other matters pending before the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor on June 30, 2012, which relate to the functions transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall be transferred to the agency on July 1, 2012. (d) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall, from July 1, 2012, assume possession and control of all records, papers, equipment, supplies, office space, and all other tangible property possessed and controlled by the Department of Labor as of June 30, 2012, in the Department of Labor's administration of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. All funds attributable to the Division of Rehabilitation Services and its programs and institutions from state, federal, and any other public or private source, shall be transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency on July 1, 2012. (e) On July 1, 2012, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall receive custody of any state owned real property in the custody of the Department of Labor on June 30, 2012, which pertains to the functions transferred from the Division of Rehabilitation Services to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.

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(f) Prior to July 1, 2012, the Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate, in consultation with the Department of Labor, the amount of all funds of or attributable to the Division of Rehabilitation Services and its programs and institutions from any source that are used to provide administrative or other services within the Department of Labor, including funds from the disability adjudication section, the cost allocation system, and any indirect costs funding from the federal government or any other source. The amount calculated shall be transferred to the agency on July 1, 2012. (g) All officers, employees, and agents of the Division of Rehabilitation Services who, on June 30, 2012, are engaged in the performance of a function or duty which shall be vested in the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency on July 1, 2012, by this chapter, shall be automatically transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency on July 1, 2012. An equivalent number of positions or funds of the Department of Labor which provide administrative support to the Division of Rehabilitation Services shall be transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency on July 1, 2012. Such persons shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency on and after July 1, 2012, but consistent with the compensation and benefits of other employees of that department holding positions substantially the same as the transferred employees, the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced. Employees who are subject to the State Personnel Administration and who are transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall retain all existing rights under the State Personnel Administration. Accrued annual and sick leave shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. The Department of Labor shall be responsible for payment of the accrued Fair Labor Standards Act compensatory time possessed by said employees. Such accrued compensatory time shall be used by or paid to said employees prior to July 1, 2012.
(h)(1) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is the designated state unit for the vocational rehabilitation program. (2) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall conform to federal standards in all respects necessary for receiving federal grants and the director of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is authorized and empowered to effect such changes as may, from time to time, be necessary in order to comply with such standards. (3) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall take all necessary steps to secure at a minimum the same level of benefits provided pursuant to relevant federal statutes and appropriations received by the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor prior to June 30, 2012. The department shall also amend the state plan if necessary to meet federal funding requirements. (4) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is authorized to employ, on a full or part-time basis, such medical, psychiatric, social work, supervisory, institutional, and other professional personnel and such clerical and other employees as may be necessary to discharge the duties of the agency under this chapter. The agency is also authorized to contract for such professional services as may be necessary.

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(5) Classified employees of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency under this chapter shall in all instances be employed and dismissed in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Administration. (i) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Labor which are in effect on June 30, 2012, and which relate to the functions of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (j) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2012, by the Department of Labor or the Division of Rehabilitation Services pertaining to the Division of Rehabilitation Services transferred to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency by this chapter shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. In all such instances, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall be substituted for the Department of Labor or the Division of Rehabilitation Services, and the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall succeed to the rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (k) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall conform all service delivery regions to the state service delivery regions provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 50-4-7.

49-9-5. The agency shall provide the services authorized by this chapter to persons with disabilities determined to be eligible therefor; and, in carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the agency is authorized, among other things:
(1) To cooperate with other departments, agencies, and institutions, both public and private, in providing the services authorized by this chapter to persons with disabilities; in studying the problems involved therein; and in establishing, developing, and providing, in conformity with the purposes of this chapter, such programs, facilities, and services as may be necessary or desirable; (2) To enter into reciprocal agreements with other states to provide for the services authorized by this chapter to residents of the state concerned; (3) To conduct research and compile statistics relating to the provision of services or the need of services by persons with disabilities; (4) To license blind persons or other persons with disabilities to operate vending facilities under its supervision and control, subject to the terms and conditions provided in regulations, policies, and procedures issued pursuant to Code Section 49-9-3, on:
(A) State property;

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(B) County or municipal property; (C) Federal property, pursuant to delegation of authority under the Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 U.S. Code, Section 107b)(49 Stat. 1559) and any amendment thereto or any act of Congress relating to this subject; and (D) Private property; and (5) To provide for the establishment, supervision, and control of suitable business enterprises to be operated by persons with disabilities.

49-9-6. The agency is authorized to utilize funds made available from appropriations by Congress, by gifts or grants from private sources, by appropriations of the General Assembly, or by transfer of funds from other state departments for the purpose of establishing and operating rehabilitation centers and workshops.

49-9-7. The agency is empowered and directed to cooperate, pursuant to agreements with the federal government, in carrying out the purposes of any federal statutes pertaining to the purposes of this chapter. The agency is authorized to adopt such methods of administration as are found by the federal government to be necessary for the proper and efficient operation of such agreements and to comply with such conditions as may be necessary to secure the full benefits of such federal statutes and appropriations, to administer any legislation pursuant thereto enacted by this state, to direct the disbursement and administer the use of all funds provided by the federal government or this state for the purposes of this chapter, and to do all things necessary to ensure the vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

49-9-8. The Office of the State Treasurer is designated as custodian of all moneys received from the federal government for the purpose of carrying out any federal statutes pertaining to the purpose of this chapter. The Office of the State Treasurer shall make disbursements from such funds and all state funds available for such purposes, upon certification in the manner provided in Code Section 49-9-3.

49-9-9. Budget estimates of the amount of appropriations needed each fiscal year for vocational rehabilitation services and for the administration of the programs under this chapter shall be submitted by the director to the board and, upon approval by the board, shall be included in the estimates made by the board to the Office of Planning and Budget. In the event federal funds are available to the state for vocational rehabilitation purposes, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is authorized to comply with such requirements as may be necessary to obtain said federal funds in the maximum amount and most advantageous

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proportion possible insofar as this may be done without violating other provisions of the state law and Constitution. In the event Congress fails in any year to appropriate funds for grants-in-aid to the state for vocational rehabilitation purposes, the board shall include as a part of its budget a request for adequate state funds for vocational rehabilitation purposes.

49-9-10. The director is authorized and empowered, with the approval of the board, to accept and use gifts made unconditionally, by will or otherwise, for carrying out the purposes of this chapter. Gifts made under such conditions as are proper and consistent with this chapter may be so accepted and shall be held, invested, reinvested, and used in accordance with the conditions of the gift.

49-9-11. (a) Vocational rehabilitation services shall be provided to any qualified individual who is a bona fide resident of the state. (b) The financial need of eligible persons with disabilities will be considered in the provision of vocational rehabilitation services to the extent allowed by federal or other state law.

49-9-12. The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is the designated state unit for the independent living program. The independent living program is authorized to provide or contract for the provision of such services as may be needed to enable persons with disabilities to attain the maximum degree of independent living. The powers delegated and authorized in this Code section for the agency shall be in addition to those previously authorized by any other law. The agency is authorized to cooperate with any federal agency in the administration of such a program.

49-9-13. Any individual applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation services who is aggrieved by any action or inaction of the agency shall be entitled, in accordance with regulations, to a hearing in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act,' and in accordance with applicable federal laws and regulations.

49-9-14. Any rights of persons with disabilities to maintenance under this chapter shall not be transferable or assignable at law or in equity and shall be exempt from the claims of creditors.

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49-9-15. Where a person with disabilities who receives vocational rehabilitation services is covered by a hospitalization or medical insurance policy, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall be subrogated to the rights of such person with disabilities to recover in an amount not to exceed the cost of vocational rehabilitation services rendered by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, exclusive of those services for which eligibility is not predicated on the need for financial assistance. Where the person with disabilities receives vocational rehabilitation services without disclosing that he or she is covered by a hospitalization or medical insurance policy, he or she shall be liable therefor to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency in an amount not to exceed the cost of rehabilitation services rendered, exclusive of those services for which eligibility is not predicated on the need for financial assistance, or in an amount not to exceed the insurance reimbursement received, whichever is the lesser.

49-9-16. Where a person with disabilities who receives vocational rehabilitation services is entitled to recover damages for said injuries, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall have a lien, in an amount not to exceed the cost of rehabilitation services rendered, upon any and all causes of action accruing to the individual to whom such services were furnished, or to the legal representative of such individual, on account of injuries giving rise to such cause of action and which necessitated such rehabilitation services, subject, however, to any attorney's lien. In order to perfect such lien, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall file in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county wherein the individual resides a verified statement setting forth the name and address of such individual; the name and address of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency; the amount claimed to be due for such vocational rehabilitation services; and, to the best of claimant's knowledge, the names and addresses of all persons, firms, or corporations claimed by such injured individual, or the legal representative of such individual, to be liable for damages arising from such injuries. The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall also, within one day after the filing of such claim or lien, mail a copy thereof to any person, firm, or corporation so claimed to be liable for such damages to the addresses as given in such statement. The filing of such claim or lien shall be notice thereof to all persons, firms, or corporations liable for such damages, whether or not they are named in such claim or lien. The clerk of the court shall endorse thereon the date and hour of filing in the hospital lien book, along with the name of the claimant, the injured person, the amount claimed, and the names and addresses of those claimed to be liable for damages. Such information shall be recorded in the name of the injured individual. The clerk shall be paid $1.00 as his or her fee for such filing. No release for such cause or causes of action or any judgment thereon, or any covenant not to sue thereon, shall be valid or effectual as against such lien unless the holder thereof shall join therein or execute a

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release of such lien; and the claimant of such lien may enforce the lien by an action against the person, firm, or corporation liable for such damages.

49-9-17. The agency is authorized to retain title to any property, tools, instruments, training supplies, equipment, or other items of value acquired for use of persons with disabilities and to repossess and transfer them for the use of other persons with disabilities. The board is authorized to offer for sale any items acquired in the operation of the program under this chapter when they are no longer necessary or to exchange them for necessary items which may be used to greater advantage. When any such surplus equipment is sold or exchanged, a receipt for it shall be taken from the purchaser showing the consideration given for such equipment and shall be forwarded to the Office of the State Treasurer; and any funds received by the agency pursuant to any such transactions shall be deposited in the state treasury in the appropriate federal or state rehabilitation account and shall be available for expenditures for any purposes consistent with this chapter.

49-9-18. It shall be unlawful, except for purposes directly connected with the administration of the vocational rehabilitation program and in accordance with regulations, policies, and procedures, for any person or persons to solicit, disclose, receive, or make use of or authorize, knowingly permit, participate in, or acquiesce in the use of any list of, or names of, or any information concerning persons applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation, directly or indirectly derived from the records. Any person who violates any provision of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

49-9-19. Employees of the agency engaged in functions under this chapter shall be governed by the prohibitions in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board and the federal Office of Personnel Management from participation in political activity.

49-9-20. The General Assembly reserves the right to amend or repeal all or any part of this chapter at any time, and there shall be no vested private right of any kind against such amendment or repeal. All the rights, privileges, or immunities conferred by this chapter or by acts done pursuant thereto shall exist subject to the power of the legislature to amend or repeal this chapter at any time.

49-9-21. (a) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall oversee the delivery of deaf-blind services and techniques provided by an organization pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section that lead to maximum independence and employment for individuals with both a

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hearing and a vision loss. These services shall include, but not be limited to, transition of deaf-blind youth from education to the work force; identification of deaf-blind individuals in Georgia; communication access for varying groups of individuals and their unique needs; training deaf-blind individuals in orientation and mobility, rehabilitation, and Braille; utilization of support service providers to function as sighted guides, communication facilitators, and providers of transportation; support and increase in the number of qualified sign language interpreters working with deaf-blind individuals; use of adaptive technologies, such as computers, telebraillers, and TTY devices; strategies and techniques to assist deaf-blind individuals in obtaining the highest level of independence possible; and peer support which provides access to information, people, and places. (b) The agency shall, to the greatest extent possible, integrate the services and techniques required pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section into its standard practices and procedures with the objective of providing appropriate services in an appropriate manner to individuals in the deaf-blind community. (c) Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall retain an organization knowledgeable on deaf-blind issues to provide the services and techniques included in subsection (a) of this Code section to deaf-blind individuals and to provide comprehensive training to agency staff on such services and techniques required pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section. Such organization shall be retained no later than six months after funding from appropriations by the General Assembly has been made available for expenditure by the agency.

ARTICLE 2

49-9-40. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'State property' means any building, land, or other real property owned, leased, or occupied by any department, commission, board, bureau, agency, public corporation, or other instrumentality of the state, including, but not limited to, the Georgia Building Authority, and any other real property in which the state has a legal or beneficial interest; provided, however, the term 'state property' shall not include any property, real or personal, owned or leased or otherwise under the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Education Authority (University), or any county or independent school system of this state. (2) 'Vending facility' means vending stands, vending machines, snack bars, cart service, shelters, counters, and such other appropriate facilities and equipment as may be necessary for the sale of articles or services by licensed blind persons or other persons with disabilities, as prescribed by rules and regulations adopted by the agency.

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49-9-41. To effectuate the purposes of this article, it is declared to be public policy of the state that on any state property where the board determines it to be feasible to establish a vending facility to be operated by a licensed operator as provided in this article and where the agency or department or custodian of such property determines that such facility can be established without undue inconvenience to the operation being carried on in such state building or property, the preference accorded in this article shall require that such vending facility site not be deemed available for letting to competitive bidders for revenue-producing purposes unless the board declines to establish on such site a vending facility for blind persons or other persons with disabilities. The income to the agency or department or custodian controlling the space for such facility sites shall generally not be expected to exceed reimbursement for the cost of providing such facility site space and the services connected therewith; but in any case where such income exceeds those purposes, it shall be paid into the state treasury, subject to certification and audit.

49-9-42. For the purpose of providing blind persons or other persons with disabilities with remunerative employment, enlarging their economic opportunities, and stimulating them to greater effort in striving to make themselves self-supporting, such blind persons or other persons with disabilities who are licensed by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency shall be authorized to operate vending facilities on any state property where such vending facilities may be properly and satisfactorily operated by blind persons or other persons with disabilities. In authorizing the operation of vending facilities on state property, preference shall be given, so far as feasible, to blind persons or other persons with disabilities licensed by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency as provided in this article; and the head of each department or agency in control of the maintenance, operation, and protection of state property shall, after consultation with the board and with the approval of the Governor, prescribe regulations designed to assure such preference (including assignment of vending machine income to achieve and protect such preference) for such licensed blind persons or other persons with disabilities without unduly inconveniencing such departments and agencies or adversely affecting the interests of the state."

SECTION 2. Said Title 34 is further amended by reserving the Chapter 15 designation.

SECTION 3. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated is amended by revising the following Code sections by striking the term "Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor" wherever such term occurs and inserting in its place the term "Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency":

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(1) Code Section 15-11-63, relating to designated felony acts, definitions, restrictive custody disposition, procedure and notice to schools; (2) Code Section 15-21-143, relating to appointment of members and personnel relative to the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission and agencies; (3) Code Section 30-6-4, relating to authority of Division of Rehabilitation Services to establish program; (4) Code Section 30-6-5, relating to standards of certain personal assistance programs; (5) Code Section 31-15-3, relating to functions of the Cancer Advisory Committee, membership, terms of office, and vacancies; (6) Code Section 31-16-3, relating to functions of the Kidney Disease Advisory Committee, membership, terms of office, vacancies, and compensation and reimbursement of expenses; (7) Code Section 45-18-5.1, relating to licensed blind or otherwise seriously disabled vendors; (8) Code Section 45-18-5.2, relating to sheltered employment center employees; (9) Code Section 49-4A-9, relating to sentence of youthful offenders, modification of order, review, and participation in programs; and (10) Code Section 49-5-225, relating to local interagency committees, membership, and function of committees.

SECTION 4. Chapter 2 of Title 30 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia Industries for the Blind, is amended by revising Code Section 30-2-3, relating to supervision of industries by Department of Labor and acquisition of property, as follows:
"30-2-3. (a) The industries shall be state institutions under the direction and supervision of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. (b) The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is authorized to provide the property necessary for the industries. The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency may acquire real property through the State Properties Commission pursuant to Code Section 50-16-38 or the agency may enter into rental agreements in order to acquire the needed space."

SECTION 5. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 30-2-7, relating to compensation of workers and observance of and payment for state holidays, as follows:
"30-2-7. (a) Each worker in an industry who is otherwise entitled to share in the benefits provided for blind persons under Articles 1 and 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 shall, in addition to the amount received as compensation for his or her services in the industry, receive from the

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Department of Human Services such amount of public assistance as shall be determined in accordance with the regulations approved by the commissioner of human services. (b) All workers in the industries shall observe all holidays observed by other departments and agencies of the state government and shall receive their proportionate compensation for each holiday so observed. If any worker shall be compensated in such a manner that his or her daily compensation is not fixed, but rather is based upon a production basis, he or she shall receive by way of compensation for such observance of state holidays the average daily production compensation received by him or her during the immediately preceding 30 day period, holidays and Sundays excluded. The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is authorized and directed to pay such compensation from the funds appropriated to and available for the agency."

SECTION 6. Code Section 32-2-4.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Gateway Center, is amended by revising subsection (e) as follows:
"(e) Gateway Center may be a 'welcome center, tourist center, and safety rest area' for purposes of Code Section 49-9-42, and the preference given by Code Sections 49-9-41 and 49-9-42 shall apply to and affect Gateway Center."

SECTION 7. Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 45, relating to State Employees' Health Insurance Plan, is amended by revising Code Section 45-18-5.1, relating to licensed blind or otherwise seriously disabled vendors, as follows:
"45-18-5.1. The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency is authorized to contract with the Georgia Cooperative Services for the Blind, Inc., a nominee agent designated by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, for the inclusion of licensed blind persons or other persons with disabilities operating a vending facility in accordance with Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Chapter 49 within any health insurance plan or plans established under this part. In the event any contract is entered into, it shall be the duty of the Georgia Cooperative Services for the Blind, Inc., to deduct the payment required under the plan from the earnings or other compensation of licensed blind persons or other persons with disabilities and remit it to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency for inclusion in the health insurance fund. In addition, it shall be the duty of the Georgia Cooperative Services for the Blind, Inc., to make the employer contributions required for the operation of such plan or plans. Should the Georgia Cooperative Services for the Blind, Inc., fail to remit such deductions or such employer contributions through the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, the board may, upon written notice to the Georgia Cooperative Services for the Blind, Inc., terminate the coverage for such employees as of the day following the last day for which such deductions or such employer contributions were

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remitted to the board. Coverage may be reinstated upon the tender of any such deductions or employer contributions not previously remitted."

SECTION 8. Article 1 of Chapter 16 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to public property, is amended by revising Code Section 50-16-4, relating to use and keeper of capitol building and grounds, as follows:
"50-16-4. The use of the capitol building and grounds shall be limited to departments of the state government and to state and national political organizations, and the keeper of public buildings and grounds shall not grant the use of either the capitol buildings or grounds for any other purposes, except that the Georgia Building Authority as keeper of public buildings and grounds is authorized to provide space in the capitol building for use as a vending stand, as described by Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 49, for the use of state officials and employees and their invited guests."

SECTION 9. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 10. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

__________

REVENUE AND TAXATION STATE GOVERNMENT CREATE GEORGIA TAX TRIBUNAL.

No. 609 (House Bill No. 100).

AN ACT

To amend Titles 48 and 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating, respectively, to revenue and taxation and state government, so as to create the Georgia Tax Tribunal as an independent and autonomous division within the Office of State Administrative Hearings operating under the sole direction of a chief tribunal judge; to repeal provisions relating to the Department of Revenue holding hearings when demanded by aggrieved taxpayers; to correct cross-references; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for the appointment, terms of office, designation, and removal of judges; to provide for the qualification, oath of office, and prohibition against other employment of judges; to

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provide for the principal office, locations, and facilities of the tax tribunal; to provide for the appointment of staff and expenditures of the tax tribunal; to provide for the jurisdiction of the tax tribunal; to provide for the commencement of cases, pleadings, and service of pleadings; to provide a stay of enforcement and collection action; to provide for filing and other fees; to provide procedures for hearings and decisions of the tax tribunal; to establish and provide the jurisdiction and procedures for a small claims division of the tax tribunal; to provide for appeals from tax tribunal decisions; to provide for representation in the tax tribunal; to provide for service; to authorize the tax tribunal to promulgate rules of practice and procedure and forms; to provide for powers, duties, and authority of the tax tribunal and the small claims division; to provide for procedures, conditions, and limitations; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to provide for dual applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 48-2-18, relating to State Board of Equalization, as follows:
"(c) As chairperson and chief administrative officer of the board, the commissioner shall furnish to the board all necessary records and files and in this capacity may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and records or other documents as the commissioner is empowered to do in the administration of the tax laws. After final approval by the State Board of Equalization of the digest of proposed assessments made by the commissioner and after any adjustments by the board as authorized by this Code section are made, the commissioner shall notify within 30 days each taxpayer in writing of the proposed assessment of its property. At the same time, the commissioner shall notify in writing the board of tax assessors of such county, as outlined in Code Section 48-5-511, of the total proposed assessment of the property located within the county of taxpayers who are required to return their property to the commissioner. If any such taxpayer notifies the commissioner and the board of tax assessors in any such county of its intent to dispute a portion of the proposed assessment within 20 days after receipt of the notice, the county board of tax assessors shall include in the county digest only the undisputed amount of the assessment, and the taxpayer may challenge the commissioner's proposed assessment in an appeal filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County or with the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 within 30 days of receipt of the notice. In any such appeal to the superior court, the taxpayer shall have the right of discovery as provided in Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act.' In any such appeal to the Georgia Tax Tribunal, discovery shall be as provided in Chapter 13A of Title 50, the 'Georgia Tax Tribunal Act of 2012.' Upon conclusion of the appeal, the taxpayer shall remit to the appropriate counties any additional taxes owed, with interest at the rate provided by law

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for judgments. Such interest shall accrue from the date the taxes would have been due absent the appeal to the date the additional taxes are remitted."

SECTION 2. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-2-35, relating to refunds, as follows:
"(4) Any taxpayer whose claim for refund is denied by the commissioner or the commissioner's delegate or whose claim is not decided by the commissioner or the commissioner's delegate within one year from the date of filing the claim shall have the right to bring an action for a refund in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or in the superior court of the county of the residence of the taxpayer, except that:
(A) If the taxpayer is a public utility or a nonresident, the taxpayer shall have the right to bring an action for a refund in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or in the superior court of the county in which is located the taxpayer's principal place of doing business in this state or in which the taxpayer's chief or highest corporate officer or employee resident in this state maintains an office; or (B) If the taxpayer is a nonresident individual or foreign corporation having no place of doing business and no officer or employee resident and maintaining an office in this state, the taxpayer shall have the right to bring an action for a refund in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or in the Superior Court of Fulton County or in the superior court of the county in which the commissioner in office at the time the action is filed resides."

SECTION 3. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-2-36, relating to actions for which the commissioner may grant extensions of time, as follows:
"(3) Filing a petition with the superior court, the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50, or the office of state administrative hearings as allowed under the laws of this state;"

SECTION 4. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 48-2-50, relating to review of assessments, as follows:
"(a) The commissioner's assessments shall not be reviewed except by the procedure provided in this chapter or Chapter 13A of Title 50. No trial court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings to question the assessments, except as provided in this chapter or Chapter 13A of Title 50."

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SECTION 5. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-2-59, relating to appeals, payment of taxes admittedly owed, bonds, and costs, as follows:
"48-2-59. (a) Except with respect to claims for refunds, either party may appeal from any order, ruling, or finding of the commissioner to the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or the superior court of the county of the residence of the taxpayer, except that:
(1) If the taxpayer is a public utility or nonresident, the appeal of either party shall be to the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or the superior court of the county in which is located the taxpayer's principal place of doing business or in which the taxpayer's chief or highest corporate officer residing in this state maintains such officer's office; or (2) If the taxpayer is a nonresident individual or a foreign corporation having no place of doing business and no officer or employee residing and maintaining such officer's office in this state, the taxpayer shall have the right to appeal to the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or the Superior Court of Fulton County or to the superior court of the county in which the commissioner in office at the time the action is filed resides. (b) The taxpayer shall commence an appeal by filing a petition with the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 or the superior court within 30 days from the date of decision by the commissioner. (c) Before the superior court shall have jurisdiction to entertain an appeal filed by any aggrieved taxpayer, the taxpayer shall file with the clerk of the superior court a written statement whereby the taxpayer agrees to pay on the date or dates the taxes become due all taxes for which the taxpayer has admitted liability. Additionally, the taxpayer shall file with the clerk of the superior court within 30 days from the date of decision by the commissioner, except when the value of the appellant's title or interest in real property owned in this state is in excess of the amount of the tax in dispute, a surety bond or other security in an amount satisfactory to the clerk, conditioned to pay any tax over and above that for which the taxpayer has admitted liability and which is found to be due by a final judgment of the court, together with interest and costs. It shall be ground for dismissal of the appeal if the taxpayer fails to pay all taxes admittedly owed upon the due date or dates as provided by law. This subsection shall not apply to appeals filed with the Georgia Tax Tribunal as provided in Chapter 13A of Title 50. (d)(1) If the final judgment of the court places upon the taxpayer any tax liability which has not already been paid and if the tax or any part of the tax has:
(A) Not become due on the date of the final judgment of the court, then the taxpayer shall pay the amount of the unpaid tax liability on the due date or dates as provided by law; or

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(B) Already become due at the time of final judgment of the court, the taxpayer shall immediately pay the tax or as much of the tax as has already become due, with interest. (2) In the event the final judgment of the court is adverse to the taxpayer, the taxpayer shall pay the court costs regardless of whether the tax or any part of the tax has or has not become due at the time of the final judgment of the court. (3) This subsection shall not apply to appeals filed with the Georgia Tax Tribunal as provided in Chapter 13A of Title 50."

SECTION 6. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-3-1, relating to tax executions, as follows:
"48-3-1. The commissioner may issue an execution for the collection of any tax, fee, license, penalty, interest, or collection costs due the state. The execution shall be directed to all and singular sheriffs of this state or to the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representatives and shall command them to levy upon the goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of the taxpayer, provided that the commissioner may transmit such executions electronically. Each sheriff shall execute the execution as in cases of writs of execution from the superior courts. Whenever any writ of execution has been issued by the commissioner, the taxpayer, in order to obtain a determination of whether the tax is legally due, may tender to the levying officer such taxpayer's affidavit of illegality to the execution and, upon such taxpayer's payment of the tax if required as a condition precedent by the law levying the tax or upon such taxpayer's giving a good and solvent bond in such an amount to cover the total of any adverse judgment plus costs when the law does not require the payment of the tax as a condition precedent, the levying officer shall return the affidavit of illegality, except as otherwise provided by law, to the superior court of the county of the taxpayer's residence. The affidavit of illegality shall be summarily heard and determined by the court. Whenever any writ of execution has been issued by the commissioner for the collection of any tax, or any penalty, interest, or collection costs imposed with respect to any tax, the taxpayer may file a petition in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 to obtain a determination of whether any such amounts are legally due."

SECTION 7. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 48-5-519, relating to property tax returns filed by railroad equipment companies, as follows:
"(b) The returns shall be made to the commissioner by the chief executive officer in charge of the cars in this state. The final assessment of the property of railroad equipment companies shall be fixed in the same manner as the proposed assessments of property of public utilities under this article and Code Section 48-2-18, except that with respect to railroad equipment companies, such assessment shall be final rather than proposed. By

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following the procedure set forth in subsection (c) of Code Section 48-2-18 for appeals of proposed assessments of public utility property, any railroad equipment company may bring in the Superior Court of Fulton County or in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50 a de novo action of the final assessment so fixed."

SECTION 8. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 48-6-7, relating to refunds of real estate transfer taxes, as follows:
"(b)(1) A taxpayer whose claim for a refund is denied by the commissioner or the commissioner's delegate or with respect to whose claim no decision is rendered by the commissioner or the commissioner's delegate within one year from the date of filing the claim shall have the right to bring an action for a refund in the superior court of the county where the disputed tax was originally collected or in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50. The taxpayer shall bring the action for refund against the clerk of superior court of the county which collected the disputed tax. The commissioner in the commissioner's official capacity shall be made a party defendant to the action in order that the interests of the state may be represented in the action. The Attorney General shall represent both defendants in the action. If it is determined in the action that an amount claimed by the taxpayer was erroneously or illegally collected, the taxpayer shall be entitled to judgment against the defendant clerk of the superior court in the clerk's official capacity for the amount erroneously or illegally collected, without interest to the date of judgment. (2) No action for refund shall be brought after the expiration of 60 days from the date of denial of the taxpayer's claim for refund by the commissioner. (3) For the purposes of this Code section, a failure by the commissioner to grant or deny the taxpayer's claim for refund within the one-year period shall constitute a constructive denial of the claim."

SECTION 9. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Code Section 48-6-76, relating to refunds of intangible recording taxes, as follows:
"(e)(1) Any taxpayer whose claim for refund is denied entirely or in part by the commissioner or with respect to whose claim no decision is rendered by the commissioner within 30 days from the date of filing the claim shall have the right to bring an action for refund of the amount so claimed and not approved against the collecting officer or said officer's successor who collected the amount, in said officer's official capacity, in the superior court of the county whose official collected the amount or in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of Title 50."

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SECTION 10. Said title is further amended by revising subparagraph (d)(2)(C) of Code Section 48-7-31, relating to allocation and apportionment of corporate income, as follows:
"(C) If the allocation and apportionment provisions provided for in this paragraph do not fairly represent the extent of the taxpayer's business activity in this state, the taxpayer may petition the commissioner for, or the commissioner may by regulation require, with respect to all or any part of the taxpayer's business activity, if reasonable:
(i) Separate accounting; (ii) The exclusion of any one or more of the factors; (iii) The inclusion of one or more additional factors that will fairly represent the taxpayer's business activity within this state; or (iv) The employment of any other method to effectuate an equitable allocation and apportionment of the taxpayer's income. The denial of a petition under this subparagraph shall be appealable pursuant to Code Section 48-2-59. Such an appeal shall be filed within 30 days of the date of the commissioner's notice of denial;"

SECTION 11. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 48-7-165, relating to hearing procedure and adjustments of incorrect debts, as follows:
"(b) The hearing established by subsection (a) of this Code section shall be in lieu of a hearing before the department to determine the validity of the debt or the propriety of the setoff."

SECTION 12. Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, is amended by repealing Code Section 50-13-12, relating to Department of Revenue hearings for aggrieved taxpayers and election of remedies, and designating said Code section as reserved.

SECTION 13. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 50-13-13, relating to hearings in contested cases, as follows:
"(c) Subsection (a) of this Code section and the other provisions of this chapter concerning contested cases shall not apply to any case arising in the administration of the revenue laws, which case is subject to a subsequent de novo trial of the law and the facts in the superior court or in the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of this title."

SECTION 14. Said title is further amended by adding a new subsection to Code Section 50-13-42, relating to applicability, to read as follows:

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"(c) This article shall not apply with respect to any matter as to which an aggrieved party is permitted to file a petition with the Georgia Tax Tribunal in accordance with Chapter 13A of this title."

SECTION 15. Said title is further amended by adding a new chapter to read as follows:
"CHAPTER 13A
50-13A-1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Tax Tribunal Act of 2012.'
50-13A-2. The General Assembly finds that there is a need for an independent specialized agency separate and apart from the Department of Revenue to resolve disputes between the department and taxpayers in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Such an agency would:
(1) Improve the utilization of judicial resources by resolving tax cases in a more streamlined and efficient manner; (2) Increase the uniformity of decision making in tax cases; (3) Improve the equal access of all parties to court process; and (4) Increase public confidence in the fairness of the state tax system.
50-13A-3. Except where the context may otherwise clearly require, all terms used in this chapter shall have the meaning given such term by Code Section 48-1-2. As used in this chapter, the term 'tribunal' means the Georgia Tax Tribunal established by Code Section 50-13A-4 which shall be an independent and autonomous division within the Office of State Administrative Hearings operating under the sole direction of the chief tribunal judge.
50-13A-4. (a) There is created within the executive branch of government the Georgia Tax Tribunal. The tribunal shall be assigned for administrative purposes only, as provided in Code Section 50-4-3, to the Department of Administrative Services and shall be funded through appropriations by the General Assembly to the Department of Administrative Services. (b) The tribunal shall have a seal engraved with the words 'Georgia Tax Tribunal.' The tribunal shall authenticate all of its orders, records, and proceedings with the seal, and the courts of this state shall take judicial notice of the seal.

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50-13A-5. (a) The tribunal shall consist of at least one full-time administrative law judge. If the tribunal has more than one judge, each shall exercise the powers of the tribunal in all matters, causes, or proceedings assigned to him or her. (b) Initial tribunal judges shall be appointed by the Governor. If, initially, the tribunal has only one judge, that individual shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall be the chief tribunal judge; provided, however, that if, initially, the tribunal has more than one judge, then one judge shall be appointed for an initial term of four years and one judge shall be appointed as chief tribunal judge for an initial term of six years to ensure that the judges' initial terms do not expire in the same year. Once appointed, each initial tribunal judge shall continue in office until his or her term expires and a successor has been appointed and confirmed. Initial tribunal judges may be reappointed for successive terms, provided that each successive term shall be for four years. (c) After initial appointments are made pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, all appointments and reappointments of the chief tribunal judge and other tribunal judges shall be made by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, for terms of four years. Once appointed and confirmed, each such tribunal judge shall continue in office until his or her term expires and a successor has been appointed and confirmed. A tribunal judge may be reappointed for successive terms. (d) Each tribunal judge shall receive an annual salary no less than that of the chief administrative law judge of the Office of State Administrative Hearings; provided, however, that the tribunal judge's total salary shall not be reduced during such judge's term of appointment. (e) A vacancy in the tribunal occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as an original appointment. (f) The executive of the tribunal shall be the chief tribunal judge who shall have sole charge of the administration of the tribunal, including, but not limited to, the preparation of a budget and matters involving employment and expenditures as set forth in Code Section 50-13A-8, and shall apportion among the judges all causes, matters, and proceedings coming before the tribunal. (g) With the consent of the Senate, the Governor may remove a tribunal judge, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, for neglect of duty, inability to perform duties, malfeasance in office, or other good cause. (h) Whenever the tribunal trial docket or business becomes congested or any tribunal judge is absent, is disqualified, or for any other reason is unable to perform his or her duties as tribunal judge, and it appears to the Governor that the services of an additional tribunal judge or judges should be provided, the Governor may, without obtaining the approval of the Senate, appoint a judge, or judges, pro tempore of the tribunal. Any person appointed judge pro tempore of the tribunal shall have the qualifications set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 50-13A-6 and shall serve for a period not to exceed 12 months.

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(i) A tribunal judge may disqualify himself or herself on his or her own motion in any matter and may be disqualified for any cause listed in Code Section 15-1-8.

50-13A-6. (a) Each judge of the tribunal shall be a citizen of the United States and, during the period of service, a resident of this state. No person shall be appointed as a tribunal judge unless at the time of appointment the individual is an attorney licensed to practice in this state and has practiced primarily in the area of tax law for at least eight years. (b) Before entering upon the duties of office, each tribunal judge shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation that he or she shall faithfully discharge the duties of the office, and such oath shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. (c) Each tribunal judge shall devote his or her full time during business hours to the duties of the tribunal. A tribunal judge shall not engage in any other gainful employment or business that interferes with or is inconsistent with his or her duties as a judge and shall not hold another office or position of profit in a government of this state, any other state, or the United States. (d) If a tribunal judge does not have a full docket of tax cases, the chief tribunal judge may, acting in his or her sole discretion, petition the chief administrative law judge of the Office of State Administrative Hearings to allow such tribunal judge to hear and resolve nontax cases pending before the Office of State Administrative Hearings. The chief tribunal judge, the chief administrative law judge of the Office of State Administrative Hearings, and the tribunal judge in question shall mutually agree upon the number and types of such cases, taking into account the particular judge's background and qualifications.

50-13A-7. (a) The tribunal's principal location shall be located in Fulton County, Georgia, and in a building that is separate and apart from any building in which the commissioner has an office. (b) The tribunal may, but shall not be required to, conduct hearings at its principal location in Fulton County. The tribunal may also hold hearings at any place within this state, with a view toward securing to taxpayers a reasonable opportunity to appear before the tribunal with as little inconvenience and expense as practicable. When the tribunal holds hearings outside of its principal location, it shall do so in a place that is physically separate from facilities regularly occupied by the commissioner.

50-13A-8. (a) The chief tribunal judge shall appoint a clerk of the tribunal, a court reporter, and such other employees, including staff attorneys and clerical assistants, and make such other expenditures, including expenditures for library, publications, and equipment, as are reasonably necessary to permit the tribunal to execute its functions efficiently; provided,

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however, that the chief tribunal judge shall endeavor to utilize staff employed by the Office of State Administrative Hearings and shall consult with the chief state administrative law judge so as to best utilize staff positions to best serve both the tribunal and the Office of State Administrative Hearings. (b) A tribunal court reporter shall be subject to the provisions of Code Sections 15-14-20 through 15-14-36 as if appointed by a judge of a superior court, except when such provisions are in conflict with this chapter. (c) No employee of the tribunal shall act as attorney, representative, or accountant for others in a matter involving any tax imposed or levied by this state or county or municipality of this state. (d) In addition to contracting the services of the tribunal court reporter, the chief tribunal judge may contract the reporting of tribunal proceedings and, in the contract, fix the terms and conditions under which transcripts shall be supplied by the contractor to the tribunal and to other persons and agencies.

50-13A-9. (a) On and after January 1, 2013, any person may petition the tribunal for relief as set forth in Code Sections 48-2-18, 48-2-35, 48-2-59, 48-3-1, 48-5-519, 48-6-7, and 48-6-76 and subparagraph (d)(2)(C) of Code Section 48-7-31. The tribunal shall have jurisdiction over actions for declaratory judgment that fall within subsection (a) of Code Section 50-13-10 and involve a rule of the commissioner that is applicable to taxes administered by the commissioner under Title 48. (b) The tribunal shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the superior courts over those matters set forth in subsection (a) of this Code section. (c) The tribunal shall not have jurisdiction to hear any matter arising under Title 3 or Title 40. (d) No person shall be required as a condition either to initiating or maintaining an action before the tribunal to provide a surety bond or other security for any amounts that may be in dispute in such action. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the commissioner from requiring a bond under those circumstances set forth in Code Section 48-2-51.

50-13A-10. (a) Actions may be commenced before the tribunal on and after January 1, 2013. Actions before the tribunal shall be commenced by filing a petition with the tribunal, naming the commissioner as respondent in his or her official capacity, within the time periods prescribed by Code Section 48-2-18, 48-2-35, 48-2-59, 48-6-7, or 48-6-76 or subparagraph (d)(2)(C) of Code Section 48-7-31, as the case may be, or as otherwise provided by law. The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition on the commissioner and the Attorney General and attach a certificate of service to the petition filed with the tribunal. In the case of a refund action pursuant to Code Section 48-6-7 or 48-6-76, the

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petition also shall be served on the clerk of the superior court or collecting officer who is made a party to the action. Service shall be accomplished by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. The petition shall include a summary statement of facts and law upon which the petitioner relies in seeking the requested relief. (b) The commissioner and any other respondents shall file a response to petitioner's statement of facts and law which constitutes his or her answer with the tribunal no later than 30 days after the service of the petition. The commissioner and any other respondents shall serve a copy of their response on the petitioner's representative or, if the petitioner is not represented, on the petitioner, and shall file a certificate of such service with the response. If in any case a response has not been filed within the time required by this subsection, the case shall automatically become in default unless the time for filing the response has been extended by agreement of the parties, for a period not to exceed 30 days, or by the judge of the tribunal. The default may be opened as a matter of right by the filing of a response within 15 days of the day of default and payment of costs. At any time before final judgment, the judge of the tribunal, in his or her discretion, may allow the default to be opened for providential cause that prevented the filing of the response or for excusable neglect or when the tribunal judge, from all the facts, determines that a proper case has been made for the default to be opened on terms to be fixed by the tribunal judge. (c) Pleadings and proceedings before the tribunal shall be subject to the amendment and supplementation provisions of Code Section 9-11-15. (d) Code Section 50-13A-18 shall apply to service of pleadings and documents. (e) As soon as reasonably practicable, the tribunal judge shall schedule a prehearing conference to address discovery, scheduling, and other matters. (f) The tribunal judge may remand a matter in dispute to the commissioner for further consideration upon motion by all parties to the proceeding, for good cause shown on the motion of any party, or sua sponte when the tribunal judge reasonably determines that circumstances warrant. Any such remand shall not divest the tribunal of jurisdiction, and the tribunal judge's order shall provide that any party, upon appropriate advance notice to all other parties, shall be entitled to have such matter returned to the tribunal for resolution. (g) Contested cases pending before the Office of State Administrative Hearings on and before December 31, 2012, and cases when the taxpayer made a written demand for a hearing pursuant to Code Section 50-13-12 before January 1, 2013, shall not be transferred to the tribunal. If, on and after January 1, 2013, a written petition for relief or a demand for hearing is filed with the commissioner or by the affected party directly with the Office of State Administrative Hearings in a matter falling within the tribunal's jurisdiction under subsection (a) of Code Section 50-13A-9, such matter shall be transferred to the tribunal, and the remaining provisions of this chapter shall be applicable.

50-13A-11. (a) Except as provided for in Code Section 48-2-51, involving jeopardy assessments, the filing of a petition with the tribunal shall operate as a stay of any enforcement or collection

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action by the commissioner with respect to any tax, penalty, interest, or any collection costs that are disputed in the petition until the tribunal decision is finalized, including appeals to the superior court pursuant to Code Section 50-13A-17 or to any appellate court. (b) Upon petition by the commissioner, and for good cause shown, the tribunal judge may lift the stay provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section.

50-13A-12. (a) Upon filing a petition, the petitioner shall pay to the clerk of the tribunal a fee as determined by the rules established by the tribunal. (b) A similar fee shall be paid by other parties making an appearance in the proceeding, except that no fee shall be charged to a government body or government official appearing in a representative capacity. (c) The chief tribunal judge may fix a fee, not in excess of the fees charged and collected by the clerks of the superior courts of this state, for compiling, or for preparing and compiling, a transcript of the record, or for copying any record, entry, or other paper and the compilation and certification thereof.

50-13A-13. (a) The provisions of Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act,' governing discovery and depositions shall apply to proceedings before the tribunal; provided, however, that the parties to a proceeding shall make every effort to conduct discovery by informal consultation or communication. Upon motion of a party, the frequency or extent of formal discovery methods may be limited by the tribunal if it determines that the discovery is unduly burdensome or expensive when taking into account the amount in controversy, limitations on the parties' resources, and the importance of the issues at stake in the litigation. (b) The chief tribunal judge shall, by rules and regulations or by order in a particular proceeding, prescribe the period during which any discovery shall be commenced and completed. After the period for completing discovery has expired, or earlier as the parties may agree, the parties to a proceeding shall stipulate all relevant and nonprivileged matters to the fullest extent to which complete or qualified agreement can be reached or fairly should be reached. Neither the existence nor the use of the discovery mechanisms authorized by this Code section shall excuse failure to comply with this provision.
(c)(1) A party shall disclose to other parties at a reasonable time prior to the hearing the identity of any person who may be called at trial to present expert testimony. (2) Except as otherwise stipulated or directed by the tribunal judge, expert witness disclosure shall, with respect to a witness who is retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or whose duties as an employee of the party regularly involve giving expert testimony, be accompanied by a written report prepared and signed by the witness if one has been prepared or will be offered at the hearing.

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(d) A judge or the clerk of the tribunal, on the request of any party to the proceeding, shall issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and giving of testimony and subpoenas requiring the production of evidence or things. (e) Any employee of the tribunal designated in writing for such purpose by a tribunal judge, or by the chief tribunal judge if more than one judge has been appointed, may administer oaths. (f) Any witness who is subpoenaed or whose deposition is taken shall receive the same fees and mileage as a witness in a superior court of this state. (g) In proceedings before the tribunal, if any party or an agent or employee of a party disobeys or resists any lawful order of process; neglects to produce, after having been ordered to do so, any pertinent book, paper, or document; refuses to appear after having been subpoenaed; upon appearing, refuses to take the oath or affirmation as a witness; or, after taking the oath or affirmation, refuses to testify, the tribunal judge shall have the same rights and powers given any other court under Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act.' If any person or party refuses as specified in this subsection, the tribunal judge may certify the facts to the superior court of the county where the offense is committed for appropriate action, including a finding of contempt.

50-13A-14. (a) Trials in proceedings before the tribunal shall be de novo and without a jury. Hearings shall be open to the public, but on motion of any party, if such party shows good cause to protect certain information from being disclosed to the public, the tribunal judge may issue a protective order or an order closing part or all of a hearing to the public. (b) The tribunal shall take evidence, and the tribunal judges shall conduct hearings and issue final judgments and interlocutory orders. (c) The tribunal judges shall apply the rules of evidence as applied in the trial of civil nonjury cases in the superior courts; provided, however, that for hearings conducted in the small claims division, the tribunal judge may, when necessary to ascertain facts not reasonably susceptible of proof under such rules, consider evidence not otherwise admissible thereunder if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs. (d) Testimony before a tribunal judge shall be given only on oath or affirmation. (e) The petition and other pleadings in the proceeding shall be deemed to conform to the proof presented at the hearing, unless a party satisfies the tribunal judge that presentation of the evidence would unfairly prejudice the party in maintaining its position on the merits or unless deeming the taxpayer's petition to conform to the proof would confer jurisdiction on the tribunal over a matter that would not otherwise come within the tribunal's jurisdiction. (f) Except for hearings conducted in the small claims division of the tribunal as provided in Code Section 50-13A-16, all hearings before the tribunal shall be recorded by means acceptable for use in courts of this state.

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50-13A-15. (a) Except with regard to proceedings in the small claims division of the tribunal pursuant to Code Section 50-13A-16, the tribunal judge shall render all final judgments and interlocutory orders in writing, as appropriate, including therein a concise statement of the facts found and the conclusions of law reached. The tribunal judge's final judgment or interlocutory order shall, subject to law, grant such relief, invoke such remedies, and issue such orders as the tribunal judge deems appropriate to carry out its final judgment or interlocutory order. (b) The chief tribunal judge shall adopt rules and regulations to address confidentiality of taxpayer information and proceedings before the tribunal. (c) The tribunal judges shall adhere to the principle of stare decisis. The tribunal judge's interpretation of a tax statute subject to contest in one case shall be followed by the tribunal in subsequent cases involving the same statute, and its application of a statute to the facts of one case shall be followed by tribunal judges in subsequent cases involving similar facts, unless the tribunal judge's interpretation or application conflicts with that of an appellate court or the tribunal judge provides satisfactory reasons for departing from prior precedent. (d) Except as to a final judgment of the small claims division, all other final judgments of the tribunal shall be indexed and published in such print or electronic form as the chief tribunal judge deems best adapted for public convenience. Such publications shall be made permanently available and constitute the official reports of the tribunal.

50-13A-16. (a) There is hereby established a small claims division of the tribunal. (b) Judges of the tribunal shall sit as the judges of the small claims division. (c) Within 90 days of filing a petition pursuant to the Code Section 50-13A-9, a taxpayer may elect to have the small claims division have jurisdiction over any proceeding with respect to which the amount of tax and penalties in controversy, exclusive of interest, is less than a threshold amount determined by the rules of the tribunal. A taxpayer may not revoke such election to proceed in the small claims division after this 90 day period. For good cause, the tribunal judge may, on his or her own motion or on the motion of a party to the case, remove a case from the small claims division. (d) In proceedings before the small claims division of the tribunal, accountants and other tax return preparers designated by the taxpayer shall be permitted to accompany and appear with the taxpayer in order to provide factual information regarding positions taken on tax returns of the taxpayer. An accountant or tax return preparer accompanying and appearing with a taxpayer for this purpose shall not be deemed to be acting as an advocate of the taxpayer or representing the taxpayer before the tribunal. (e) At any time prior to entry of judgment, a taxpayer may dismiss a proceeding in the small claims division by notifying the clerk of the tribunal in writing. Such dismissal shall be without prejudice.

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(f) Hearings in the small claims division shall be conducted in a manner consistent with proceedings before magistrate courts, as specified in Article 3 of Chapter 10 of Title 15. The tribunal judge may receive such evidence as the judge deems appropriate for determination of the case. Testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation. (g) A judgment of the small claims division shall be conclusive upon all parties and may not be appealed. A judgment of the small claims division shall not be considered or cited as precedent in any other case, hearing, or proceeding.

50-13A-17. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'reviewing court' means the Superior Court of Fulton County. (b) Any party may appeal a final judgment of the tribunal, except for judgments of the small claims division, to the reviewing court. Proceedings for judicial review shall be instituted by filing a petition with the reviewing court within 30 days after the service of the tribunal's final judgment or, if a rehearing is requested, within 30 days after the decision thereon. Copies of the petition for judicial review shall be served upon the tribunal and all parties of record. The petition shall state the nature of the petitioner's interest, the fact showing that the petitioner is aggrieved by the judgment, and the grounds as specified in subsection (g) of this Code section upon which the petitioner contends that the judgment should be reversed or modified. The petition for judicial review may be amended by leave of the reviewing court. (c) Notwithstanding any provisions of law or tribunal rule with respect to motions for rehearing or reconsideration after a final tribunal judgment or interlocutory order, the filing of such a motion shall not be a prerequisite to the filing of any action for judicial review or relief; provided, however, that no objection to any order or judgment of the tribunal shall be considered by the reviewing court upon petition for review unless such objection has been heard by the tribunal. (d) Within 30 days after the service of the petition for judicial review or within further time allowed by the reviewing court, the tribunal shall transmit to the reviewing court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceeding under review. By stipulation of all parties to the review proceedings, the record may be shortened. A party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to limit the record may be taxed by the reviewing court for the additional costs. The reviewing court may require or permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record. (e) If, before the date set for hearing in the reviewing court, application is made to the reviewing court for leave to present additional evidence and it is shown to the satisfaction of the reviewing court that the additional evidence is material and there were good reasons for failure to present it in the proceedings before the tribunal, the reviewing court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the tribunal upon conditions determined by the reviewing court. A tribunal judge may modify his or her findings and judgment by

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reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence and any modifications, new findings, or judgments with the reviewing court. (f) The hearing or a petition for judicial review shall be conducted by the reviewing court without a jury and shall be confined to the record. In cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the tribunal not shown in the record, proof thereon may be taken in the reviewing court. The reviewing court, upon request, shall hear oral argument and receive written briefs. The reviewing court shall affirm, reverse, or modify the tribunal's judgment or remand the case for further proceedings within 90 days of the filing of the last such written brief. (g) The reviewing court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the tribunal's as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The reviewing court may affirm the tribunal's judgment or remand the case for further proceedings. The reviewing court may reverse or modify the judgment if substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the tribunal judge's findings, inferences, conclusions, or judgments are:
(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) In excess of the statutory authority of the tribunal; (3) Made upon unlawful procedure; (4) Affected by other error of law; (5) Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (6) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. (h) An aggrieved party may seek a review of any final judgment of the reviewing court by the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, as provided by law.

50-13A-18. (a) An initial petition shall be served by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery and any other pleading, motion, response, statement, or document permitted or required to be served shall be served by first-class mail or hand delivery. (b) Any pleading, motion, response, statement, or document required by law, rule, or regulation to be received by or filed with the tribunal pursuant to the requirements of this chapter shall be deemed to be received by or filed with the tribunal on the earlier of:
(1) The date such pleading, motion, response, statement, or document is actually received by the tribunal; (2) The official postmark date such pleading, motion, response, statement, or document was mailed, properly addressed with postage prepaid, by registered or certified mail; or (3) The date on which such pleading, motion, response, statement, or document was delivered to a commercial delivery company for statutory overnight delivery as provided in Code Section 9-10-12 as evidenced by the receipt provided by the commercial delivery company.

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(c) Mailing or delivery to the address of the taxpayer given on the taxpayer's petition or to the address of the taxpayer's representative of record, if any, or to the usual place of business of the commissioner, and, when applicable, of the clerk of superior court or collecting official who is made a party to the action shall constitute personal service on such party. The chief tribunal judge may by rule prescribe that notice by other means shall constitute personal service and may in a particular case order that notice be given to additional persons or order that notice be given by other means.

50-13A-19. The tribunal shall adopt rules of practice and procedure and adopt all reasonable rules and forms as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter.

50-13A-20. (a) For purposes of the language contained in the Code sections referenced in subsection (b) of this Code section, the term 'agency' shall include the tribunal. (b) Only the following provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 13 of this title shall apply to the tribunal and its administration:
(1) Code Section 50-13-3, except for paragraph (4) of subsection (a); (2) Code Section 50-13-4, except for paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) and subsections (b), (g), (h), and (i); (3) Code Section 50-13-6, except for paragraph (2) of subsection (c); (4) Code Section 50-13-7; (5) Code Section 50-13-8; and (6) Code Section 50-13-10."

SECTION 16. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this section, Section 15, and Section 17 of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall be applicable to all proceedings commenced on or after January 1, 2013. (b) Sections 1 through 14 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013, provided that cases pending on January 1, 2013, shall continue to be governed by the law in effect on December 31, 2012, until the conclusion of the case.

SECTION 17. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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EDUCATION SCHOOL HEALTH NURSE PROGRAM; CONSULTATION WITH OFFSITE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

No. 610 (Senate Bill No. 183).

AN ACT

To amend Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, so as to revise provisions relating to school health nurse programs; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-771.2, relating to school health nurse programs, as follows:
"20-2-771.2. Each local board of education shall establish policies and procedures regarding a school health nurse program. Such school health nurse programs shall be staffed by licensed health care professionals and may include consultation with offsite health care professionals through appropriate protocols and contracts. Each local board of education may contract or consult with health professionals knowledgeable in children's health issues to establish the standards, policies, and procedures of a school health nurse program. Such standards, policies, and procedures shall be in accordance with the restrictions set forth in Code Section 20-2-773."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES ACCREDITATION OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.

No. 611 (Senate Bill No. 361).

AN ACT

To amend Titles 31 and 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health and professions and businesses, respectively, so as to expand provisions relating to the accreditation of health care facilities to recognize the inclusion of additional nationally recognized health care accreditation bodies; to provide for conforming changes; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, is amended in Code Section 31-6-47, relating to exemptions from state health planning and development requirements, by revising paragraph (11) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(11) Capital expenditures otherwise covered by this chapter required solely to eliminate or prevent safety hazards as defined by federal, state, or local fire, building, environmental, occupational health, or life safety codes or regulations, to comply with licensing requirements of the department, or to comply with accreditation standards of a nationally recognized health care accreditation body;"

SECTION 2. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-7-3, relating to requirements for permits to operate institutions, by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b) The department may accept the certification or accreditation of an institution by the American Osteopathy Association or a nationally recognized health care accreditation body, in accordance with specific standards, as evidence of that institution's compliance with the substantially equivalent departmental requirements for issuance or renewal of a permit or provisional permit, provided that such certification or accreditation is established prior to the issuance or renewal of such permits. The department may not require an additional departmental inspection of any institution whose certification or accreditation has been accepted by the department, except to the extent that such specific standards are less rigorous or less comprehensive than departmental requirements. Nothing contained in this Code section shall prohibit departmental inspections for violations of such standards or requirements nor shall it prohibit the revocation of or refusal to issue or renew permits,

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as authorized by Code Section 31-7-4, or for violation of any other applicable law or regulation pursuant thereto."

SECTION 3. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-7-131, relating to definitions relative to peer review groups, by revising paragraph (3) as follows:
"(3) 'Review organization' means a nationally recognized health care accreditation body or any panel, committee, or organization:
(A) Which: (i) Is primarily composed of professional health care providers; (ii) Is an insurer, self-insurer, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, provider network, or other organization engaged in managed care; or (iii) Provides professional liability insurance for health care providers; and
(B) Which engages in or utilizes peer reviews and gathers and reviews information relating to the care and treatment of patients for the purposes of:
(i) Evaluating and improving the quality and efficiency of health care rendered; (ii) Reducing morbidity or mortality; (iii) Evaluating claims against health care providers or engaging in underwriting decisions in connection with professional liability insurance coverage for health care providers; (iv) Compiling aggregate data concerning the procedures and outcomes of hospitals for the purposes of evaluating the quality and efficiency of health care services. Under no circumstances shall any such aggregate data or any other peer review information relating to an individual professional health care provider be disclosed or released to any person or entity without the express prior written consent of such health care provider, but such aggregate data or other peer review information may be released to another review organization upon the written request of such organization if such requesting review organization has specific reason to believe that immediate access to such aggregate data or information is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. Such aggregate data and other peer review information shall be used for peer review purposes only and in no event shall such aggregate data or any other peer review information be sold or otherwise similarly distributed, but a review organization shall be authorized to utilize the services of and pay a fee to another person or entity to compile or analyze such aggregate data; (v) Evaluating the quality and efficiency of health care services rendered by a professional health care provider in connection with such provider's participation as or request to participate as a provider in or for an insurer, self-insurer, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, provider network, or other organization engaged in managed care; or (vi) Performing any of the functions or activities described in Code Section 31-7-15."

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SECTION 4. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-7-133, relating to confidentiality of peer review organization's records, by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (b) as follows:
"(1) The disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 of those documents in the department's custody which are records, reports, or recommendations of a nationally recognized health care accreditation body and which are provided by an institution to the department for licensure purposes under subsection (b) of Code Section 31-7-3;"

SECTION 5. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-7-282, relating to collection and submission of health care data, as follows:
"31-7-282. The department shall be authorized to request, collect, or receive the collection and submission of data listed in subsection (c) of Code Section 31-7-280 from:
(1) Health care providers; (2) The Department of Human Services; (3) The Commissioner of Insurance; (4) Reserved; (5) Third-party payors; (6) A nationally recognized health care accreditation body; and (7) Other appropriate sources as determined by the department. Any entity specified in paragraphs (1) through (3) of this Code section which has in its custody or control data requested by the department pursuant to this Code section shall provide the department with such data, but any data regarding a health care provider which is already available in the records of any state officer, department, or agency specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of this Code section shall not be required to be provided to the department by that health care provider."

SECTION 6. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-11-113, relating to certification, application process, and inspections of certified stroke centers, by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a) A hospital identified as a primary stroke center shall be certified as such by a nationally recognized health care accreditation body. Any hospital wishing to receive official identification under this Code section must submit a written application to the department, providing adequate documentation of the hospital's valid certification as a primary stroke center by the commission."

SECTION 7. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-20-1, relating to definitions relative to the performance of sterilization procedures, by revising paragraph (1) as follows:

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"(1) 'Accredited hospital' means a hospital licensed by the Department of Community Health and accredited by a nationally recognized health care accreditation body."

SECTION 8. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-20-3, relating to sterilization of mentally incompetent persons, by revising paragraph (3) of subsection (c) as follows:
"(3) Prior to the hearing on the application, evidence shall be presented to the court that a sterilization procedure has been approved for the person alleged to be subject to this Code section by a committee of the medical staff of the accredited hospital in which the operation is to be performed. Such committee shall be one established and maintained in accordance with the standards promulgated by a nationally recognized health care accreditation body, and its approval must be by a majority vote of a membership of not less than three members of the hospital staff, the physician proposing to perform the sterilization procedure not being counted as a member of the committee for this purpose. The approval of such committee as above specified shall be based upon a finding that the condition of the person alleged to be subject to this Code section is irreversible and incurable in the opinion of the majority of the committee as above specified. The person alleged to be subject to this Code section, the applicant, the parents of the person, the guardian ad litem, and the attorney representing the person shall receive a copy of the consolidated report not later than five days prior to the hearing and, upon a timely request by any party to the probate court proceeding, each author of that finding shall be subject to cross-examination either by testimony in court or by deposition;"

SECTION 9. Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and businesses, is amended in Code Section 43-11-21.1, relating to general anesthesia administered by a dentist, by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b) No dentist shall be issued a permit under this Code section nor have such permit renewed unless the board has received satisfactory evidence that such dentist:
(1)(A) Has successfully completed a minimum of one year of advanced training in anesthesiology and related academic subjects beyond the undergraduate dental school level at an institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency, or by a nationally recognized health care accreditation body for hospitals; or (B) Is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, is a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, or is a fellow of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology; (2) Utilizes a properly equipped facility for the administration of general anesthesia, including physical plant and equipment which has been evaluated and certified by an on-site examination; and

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(3) Has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the board or any designee thereof proficiency in administering general anesthesia on a patient or patients in the dentist's office in a safe and effective manner."

SECTION 10. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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EDUCATION ANNUAL INDICATORS OF QUALITY OF LEARNING; NUMERICAL SCHOOL RATINGS; AWARDS AND INTERVENTIONS.

No. 612 (Senate Bill No. 410).

AN ACT

To amend Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 14 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to an accountability assessment for K-12 education, so as to provide for annual indicators of the quality of learning by students, financial efficiency, and school climate for individual schools and for school systems; to provide for individual school and school system numerical score ratings based on student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress; to revise provisions relating to awards and interventions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 14 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to an accountability assessment for K-12 education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-14-33, relating to indicators of quality of learning in individual schools and school systems, comparison to state standards, rating schools and school systems, and other matters, as follows:
"20-14-33. (a) The office, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall adopt and annually review, and revise as necessary, indicators of the quality of learning by students, financial efficiency, and school climate for individual schools and for school systems. (b) The performance indicators of quality of learning shall be based on data that include student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress. The performance

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indicators of quality of learning shall include all students regardless of ethnicity, sex, disability, language proficiency, and socioeconomic status and shall be disaggregated by all subgroups as required under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended. (c) Performance on the indicators of quality of learning, financial efficiency, school climate, and any other indicators the office adopts shall be compared to state standards, progress on improved student achievement, and comparable performance. The standards for comparison shall be established by the office as provided in Code Section 20-14-31, in coordination with the Department of Education. Data and information regarding the standards shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. Financial efficiency may include an analysis of how federal and state funds spent by local school systems impact student achievement and school improvement, and components used to determine financial efficiency may include actual achievement, resource efficiency, and student participation in standardized testing. School climate determinations may utilize data from student health surveys, data on environmental and behavior indicators, data on student behavioral and school-based reactions, and teacher and parent survey instruments. Financial efficiency and school climate shall have one of the following star ratings based upon the factors included in this subsection, as further defined by rules and regulations of the office:
(1) '5-star' schools ranked excellent according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; (2) '4-star' schools ranked above average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; (3) '3-star' schools ranked average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; (4) '2-star' schools ranked below satisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; or (5) '1-star' schools ranked unsatisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate. (d) The office, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall establish and annually calculate individual school and school system ratings, which shall be a numerical score on a scale of 0-100, for each public school and school system in this state based on the indicators of quality of learning adopted pursuant to this Code section for student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress with a majority of the score based on student achievement. (e) Each school system shall provide all student performance data and all other data necessary for the calculation of the school and school system rating to the Department of Education's educational information system in accordance with rules and timelines established by the State Board of Education and the Department of Education shall make such data available to the office to enable it to conduct its required duties.

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(f) The office shall develop and the State Board of Education shall adopt a uniform definition of 'dropout.' All schools and school systems shall report student dropout information to the Department of Education's educational information system in accordance with rules and timelines established by the state board as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-167. Each school system shall cooperate with the office in determining whether a student is a dropout under this subsection and shall adopt the uniform definition of 'dropout.' Data and information regarding the establishment of the definition and the tracking of dropout and school completion data shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. School completion data shall be included in the performance indicators of quality of learning for each school and school system. (g) The office shall develop and the State Board of Education shall adopt a uniform definition of a 'below grade level' student for purposes of placing students in the early intervention program under Code Section 20-2-153 and for purposes of tracking these students for accountability purposes. Data and information regarding the establishment of the definition shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27."

SECTION 2. Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 20-14-34, relating to school report cards and the required information and dissemination of such report cards, as follows:
"20-14-34. (a) Each school year, the office shall prepare and distribute to each school system in the State of Georgia a report card for each school in the school system and for the school system. The report cards shall include performance data on quality of learning, financial efficiency, and school climate as calculated pursuant to Code Section 20-14-33 and based on the most current data available disaggregated by student groups. This report card on schools shall be the official state education performance report and supersedes all other reports that may be issued by departments of the state government for matters of funding, awards, and interventions. (b) The report cards shall include the following information, where applicable:
(1) The individual school and school system ratings in a numerical format as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 20-14-33; (2) A financial efficiency rating for each school and school system; (3) A school climate rating for each school and school system; (4) An explanation of the criteria that informs the school and school system rating; and (5) An explanation of the criteria that informs the financial efficiency and school climate ratings. (c) Each school year, the office shall prepare and distribute a state-wide report card, aggregated by school systems and disaggregated by student groups, reporting on the performance results of each school and each school system in the state and a rating for each

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school and each school system as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 20-14-33 and subsection (a) of this Code section. (d) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules requiring dissemination of appropriate portions of school and school system report cards annually to the parent, guardian, conservator, or other person having lawful control of each student at the school. On written request, the local school system shall provide a copy of a school or school system report card to any other party. These report cards shall be posted on the Office of Student Achievement website, the Department of Education website, and the existing website of such local school system."

SECTION 3. Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 20-14-38, relating to financial awards and proclamations by the Governor, as follows:
"20-14-38. (a) Financial awards may be provided to the schools that the director determines have demonstrated the greatest improvement in achievement gap closure, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly and any limitation set by the director on the total amount that may be awarded to a school or local school system. (b) Financial awards may be provided to each school that is identified by the director for performance in student achievement or student progress. The certificated personnel in a school that is identified by the director as either a best performing school or better performing school in either or both categories may be provided a bonus for the year the school was identified of $1,000.00 for each best performing school designation and $500.00 for each better performing school designation. The maximum individual annual bonus for certificated personnel shall not exceed $2,000.00 and shall be provided subject to appropriation by the General Assembly or as otherwise may be provided. An additional financial award may be provided to each school for noncertificated personnel in the amount of $10,000.00 for each designation of best performing school and $5,000.00 for each designation of better performing school, provided that the total lump sum noncertificated personnel award for an individual school shall not exceed $20,000.00; provided, further, that funds for this purpose are appropriated by the General Assembly or as otherwise may be provided. The school receiving this noncertificated personnel award shall determine the distribution of the award among such personnel of its school. (c) The Governor may present proclamations or certificates to schools and school systems determined to have met or exceeded the state's education goals under Code Section 20-14-30."

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SECTION 4. Said part is further amended in Code Section 20-14-41, relating to appropriate levels of intervention for failing schools, by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a) The State Board of Education shall by policies, rules, or regulations establish a coherent and sustained system of assistance and support for schools not meeting identified levels of achievement or not showing specified levels of progress as determined by the office. The State Board of Education shall by policies, rules, or regulations specify appropriate levels of assistance and intervention for schools that receive an unacceptable rating on student achievement, achievement gap closure, or student progress, or any combination thereof. In specifying levels of assistance and intervention, the State Board of Education shall consider the number of years a school has received an unacceptable rating and may include one or more of the following interventions:
(1) Issuing public notice of the deficiency to the local board of education; (2) Ordering a hearing to be conducted at the school by the local board of education with the participation of the school council for the purpose of notifying the public of the unacceptable performance, the improvements in performance expected by the office, and the interventions that may be imposed under this Code section if the performance does not improve within a designated period of time and of soliciting public comment on the initial steps being taken to improve performance; (3) Ordering the preparation of an intensive student achievement improvement plan that addresses each academic excellence indicator for which the school's performance is unacceptable, the submission of the plan to the State Board of Education for approval, and implementation of the plan; (4) Appointing a Department of Education school improvement team to:
(A) Conduct a comprehensive on-site evaluation of each low-performing school to determine the cause for the school's low performance and lack of progress that includes presentations by the chairperson of the local board of education, the school principal, a parent member of the local school council, and other school personnel; (B) Recommend actions, including reallocation of resources and technical assistance, changes in school procedures or operations, professional learning focused on student achievement for instructional and administrative staff, intervention for individual administrators or teachers, instructional strategies based on scientifically based research, waivers from state statutes or rules, adoption of policies and practices to ensure all groups of students meet the state's proficiency level, extended instruction time for low-performing students, strategies for parental involvement, incorporation of a teacher mentoring program, smaller class size for low-performing students, or other actions the team considers appropriate; (C) Assist in the development of an intensive school improvement plan focused on student achievement required by paragraph (3) of this subsection; and (D) Monitor the progress of the school in implementing the intensive school improvement plan focused on student achievement;

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(5) If a school has received an unacceptable rating for a period of two consecutive years or more, appointing a school master or management team to oversee and direct the duties of the principal of the school in relation to the school until school performance improves and the school is released from intervention by the director, with the cost of the master or management team to be paid by the state; or (6) If a school has received an unacceptable rating for a period of three consecutive years or more, the State Board of Education shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (f) of this Code section, implement one or more of the following interventions or sanctions:
(A) Removal of school personnel on recommendation of the master or the school improvement team, including the principal and personnel whose performance has continued not to produce student achievement gains over a three-year period as a condition for continued receipt of state funds for administration; (B) Allow for the implementation of a state charter school through the designation by the State Board of Education; (C) Mandate the complete reconstitution of the school, removing all personnel, appointing a new principal, and hiring all new staff. Existing staff may reapply for employment at the newly reconstituted school but shall not be rehired if their performance regarding student achievement has been negative for the past three years; (D) Mandate that the parents have the option to relocate the student to other public schools in the local school system to be chosen by the parents of the student from a list of available options provided by the local school system. The local school system shall provide transportation for students in Title I schools in accordance with the requirements of federal law. The local school system may provide transportation for students in non-Title I schools. In any year in which the General Assembly does not appropriate funds for the provision of transportation to non-Title I students, the parent or guardian shall assume responsibility for the transportation of that student; (E) Mandate a monitor, master, or management team in the school that shall be paid by the district; (F) Continue the intensive student achievement improvement plan provided for in paragraph (3) of this subsection; or (G) Mandate a complete restructuring of the school's governance arrangement and internal organization of the school."

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES REVISE PROVISIONS RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE IN SOCIAL WORK.

No. 613 (House Bill No. 434).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 10A of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists, so as to revise a definition; to revise provisions relating to requirements for licensure in social work; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 10A of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists, is amended in Code Section 43-10A-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions, by revising paragraph (13) as follows:
"(13) 'Social work' means that specialty which helps individuals, marriages, families, couples, groups, or communities to enhance or restore their capacity for functioning: by assisting in the obtaining or improving of tangible social and health services; by providing psychosocial evaluations, in-depth analyses and diagnoses of the nature and status of emotional, cognitive, mental, behavioral, and interpersonal problems or conditions; and by counseling and psychotherapeutic techniques, casework, social work advocacy, psychotherapy, and treatment in a variety of settings which include but are not limited to mental and physical health facilities, child and family service agencies, or private practice."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 43-10A-12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to requirements for licensure in social work, by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c) Licensed clinical social workers may practice all authorized services of licensed master's social workers and may: provide supervision and direction; provide psychosocial evaluation through data collection and analyses to diagnose the nature of an individual's mental, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems or conditions; provide counseling and psychotherapy to individuals, marriages, couples, families, and groups; interpret the psychosocial dynamics of a situation and recommend and implement a course of action to individuals, marriages, couples, families, or groups in such settings as private

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practice, family service and counseling agencies, health care facilities, and schools; and provide direct evaluation, casework, social work advocacy, education, training, prevention, and intervention services in situations threatened or affected by social, intrapersonal, or interpersonal stress or health impairment."

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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INSURANCE PROHIBIT THE CONDITIONING OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDER LICENSURE ON PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH PLANS, PUBLIC SERVICE INITIATIVES, OR EMERGENCY ROOM COVERAGE.

No. 614 (House Bill No. 785).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 1 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance generally, so as to provide for limitations on licensure requirements for certain health care providers; to prohibit the conditioning of certain licensing for health care providers on the participation in health insurance plans and other activities; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 1 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance generally, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"33-1-22. (a) State licensure requirements for physicians and dentists in this state shall be granted based on demonstrated skill and academic competence. Licensure approval for physicians and dentists in this state shall not be conditioned upon or related to participation in any public or private health insurance plan, public health care system, public service initiative, or emergency room coverage.

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(b) The Georgia Composite Medical Board and the Georgia Board of Dentistry shall be solely responsible for the licensure of physicians and dentists, respectively, in this state."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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BANKING AND FINANCE LIMIT CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO CREDIT EXPOSURE AS A COUNTERPARTY IN DERIVATIVE TRANSACTIONS.

No. 615 (House Bill No. 886).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 7-1-285 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to limits on obligations of one person or corporation, so as to limit certain obligations related to credit exposure as a counterparty in derivative transactions; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 7-1-285 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to limits on obligations of one person or corporation, is amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) and adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) 'Credit exposure as a counterparty in derivative transactions' means an amount that the bank reasonably determines pursuant to a methodology acceptable to the department under the terms of the derivative or otherwise would be its loss if a counterparty were to default on the date of determination, taking into account any netting and collateral arrangements and any guarantees or other credit enhancements; provided, however, that the bank may elect to determine credit exposure on the basis of such other method of determining credit exposure as may be permitted by the department and the bank's primary federal regulator. (2) 'Derivative transaction' includes any transaction that is an agreement, contract, note, option, swap, or warrant that is based, in whole or in part, on the value of, any interest in,

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or any quantitative measure or the occurrence of any event relating to, one or more commodities, securities, currencies, interest or other rates, indices, or other assets. (3) 'Person or corporation' includes, but is not limited to, an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, joint venture, pool, syndicate, sole proprietorship, or unincorporated organization. The term 'person or corporation' shall not include the affiliates of a bank or a clearing organization registered or exempt from registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, any other federal agency, or any successor agencies. (a.1) A bank shall not at any time: (1) Make loans to any one person or corporation; (2) Have obligations owing to it from any one person or corporation as a result of purchasing or discounting evidences of indebtedness or agreements for the payment of money; or (3) Have credit exposure as a counterparty in derivative transactions with any one person or corporation, where the aggregate of such loans, obligations, and credit exposure together exceeds 15 percent of the statutory capital base of the bank unless each loan, discount, purchase, or derivative transaction in excess of such 15 percent limit is approved in advance by the board of directors or a committee authorized to act for it. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, a bank shall not directly or indirectly make loans, have obligations, or have credit exposure as a counterparty in derivative transactions to any one person or corporation which in aggregate exceed 15 percent of the statutory capital base of the bank unless the entire amount of such loans, obligations, and credit exposure in derivative transactions is secured by good collateral or other ample security and does not exceed 25 percent of the statutory capital base. Except as otherwise indicated in subsection (c) of this Code section, the purchase or discount of agreements for the payment of money or evidences of indebtedness shall be regarded as indirect loans to the person or corporation receiving the proceeds of such transactions. In estimating the legal lending limit for any one person or corporation, loans to related corporations, partnerships, and other entities shall be combined subject to regulations established by the department."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPEAL POPULATION ACT REGARDING ZONING PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCEDURES.

No. 616 (House Bill No. 1089).

AN ACT

To repeal and reserve Chapter 67 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to zoning proposal review procedures; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 67 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to zoning proposal review procedures, is repealed in its entirety and reserved.

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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HANDICAPPED PERSONS HEALTH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES PROTECTION OF ELDER ADULTS.

No. 617 (House Bill No. 1110).

AN ACT

To amend Title 30, Title 31, and Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to handicapped persons, health, and law enforcement officers and agencies, respectively, so as to strengthen provisions relating to the protection of elder adults; to clarify provisions relating to the neglect of elder persons and disabled adults; to revise provisions relating to

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penalties relative to the owning or operating of unlicensed personal care homes; to authorize the Department of Community Health to provide for additional criminal offenses for background checks for owners, directors, and employees of personal care homes and other facilites; to authorize the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate reports of elder abuse; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 30 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to handicapped persons, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 30-5-8, relating to criminal offenses and penalties for the protection of disabled adults and elder persons, as follows:
"(a)(1)(A) In addition to any other provision of law, the abuse or exploitation of any disabled adult or elder person shall be unlawful. (B) In addition to any other provision of law, the neglect of any disabled adult or elder person by a guardian, caretaker, or other person supervising the welfare of or having immediate charge or custody of such disabled adult or elder person shall be unlawful."

SECTION 2. Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, is amended in Code Section 31-2-9, relating to records check requirement for certain facilities, definitions, use of information gathered in investigation, penalties for unauthorized release or disclosure, and rules and regulations, by striking "or" at the end of subparagraph (M), by replacing the period at the end of subparagraph (N) with "; or", and by adding a new subparagraph to paragraph (2) of subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(O) Any other criminal offense as determined by the department and established by rule adopted pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act,' that would indicate the unfitness of an individual to provide care to or be in contact with persons residing in a facility."

SECTION 3. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 31-7-12.1, relating to unlicensed personal care homes, as follows:
"31-7-12.1. (a) A facility shall be deemed to be an 'unlicensed personal care home' if it is unlicensed and not exempt from licensure and:
(1) The facility is providing personal services and is operating as a personal care home as those terms are defined in Code Section 31-7-12; (2) The facility is held out as or represented as providing personal services and operating as a personal care home as those terms are defined in Code Section 31-7-12; or (3) The facility represents itself as a licensed personal care home.

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(b) Any unlicensed personal care home shall be assessed by the department, after opportunity for hearing in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act,' a civil penalty in the amount of $100.00 per bed per day for each day of violation of subsection (b) of Code Section 31-7-12. The department shall send a notice by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery stating that licensure is required and the department's intent to impose a civil penalty. Such notice shall be deemed to be constructively received on the date of the first attempt to deliver such notice by the United States Postal Service. The department shall take no action to collect such civil penalty until after opportunity for a hearing. (c) In addition to other remedies available to the department, the civil penalty authorized by subsection(b) of this Code section shall be doubled if the owner or operator continues to operate the unlicensed personal care home, after receipt of notice pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section. (d) The owner or operator of a personal care home who is assessed a civil penalty in accordance with this Code section may have review of such civil penalty by appeal to the superior court in the county in which the action arose or to the Superior Court of Fulton County in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 31-5-3. (e) In addition to the sanctions authorized herein, an unlicensed personal care home shall be deemed to be negligent per se in the event of any claim for personal injury or wrongful death of a resident. (f) It is declared that the owning or operating of an unlicensed personal care home in this state constitutes a nuisance dangerous to the public health, safety, and welfare. Any person who owns or operates a personal care home in violation of subsection (b) of Code Section 31-7-12 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon a second such violation, such person shall be guilty of a felony."

SECTION 4. Said title is further amended in Code Section 31-7-250, relating to definitions relative to facility licensing and employee records checks for personal care homes, by striking "or" at the end of subparagraph (O), by replacing the period at the end of subparagraph (P) with "; or", and by adding a new subparagraph to paragraph (2) to read as follows:
"(Q) Any other criminal offense as determined by the department and established by rule adopted pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act,' that would indicate the unfitness of an individual to provide care to or be in contact with persons residing in a facility."

SECTION 5. Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to law enforcement officers and agencies, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 35-3-4, relating to powers and duties of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation generally, as follows:
"(a) It shall be the duty of the bureau to:

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(1) Take, receive, and forward fingerprints, photographs, descriptions, and measurements of persons in cooperation with the bureaus and departments of other states and of the United States; (2) Exchange information relating to crime and criminals; (3) Keep permanent files and records of such information procured or received; (4) Provide for the scientific investigation of articles used in committing crimes or articles, fingerprints, or bloodstains found at the scene of a crime; (5) Provide for the testing and identification of weapons and projectiles fired therefrom; (6) Acquire, collect, classify, and preserve any information which would assist in the identification of any deceased individual who has not been identified after the discovery of such deceased individual; (7) Acquire, collect, classify, and preserve immediately any information which would assist in the location of any missing person, including any minor, and provide confirmation as to any entry for such a person to the parent, legal guardian, or next of kin of that person and the bureau shall acquire, collect, classify, and preserve such information from such parent, guardian, or next of kin; (8) Exchange such records and information as provided in paragraphs (6) and (7) of this subsection with, and for the official use of, authorized officials of the federal government, the states, cities, counties, and penal and other institutions. With respect to missing minors, such information shall be transmitted immediately to other law enforcement agencies; (9) Identify and investigate violations of Article 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 16; (10) Identify and investigate violations of Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16, relating to offenses related to minors; (11) Identify and investigate violations of Article 8 of Chapter 9 of Title 16; (12) Identify and investigate violations of Article 5 of Chapter 8 of Title 16; (13) Identify and investigate violations of Code Section 16-5-46; and (14) Identify and investigate violations of Code Section 30-5-8 or 16-5-100."

SECTION 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORY-LEVEL EXPENDITURE CONTROLS FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT FUNDS; INCLUDE SCHOOL LEVEL ADMINISTRATORS IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING; STATE-WIDE STRATEGIC INITIATIVES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

No. 618 (Senate Bill No. 404).

AN ACT

To amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to provide for the development of category-level expenditure controls for staff development funds; to include school level administrators in professional development funding under the Quality Basic Education Formula; to provide for state-wide strategic initiatives for professional development; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended by revising paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-167, relating to funding for direct instructional, media center, and staff development costs, as follows:
"(3) The state board shall annually compute, based upon the initial allotment of funds to each local school system, the total funds needed system wide for staff development costs. In computing the total funds needed for these categories, the state board shall apply the percentage that these costs represent of the total costs used in developing the program weights. Following the midterm adjustment, the state board shall issue allotment sheets for each local school system and each school reflecting the total amount, initial earnings, and midterm adjustment, if any, of earnings for each program specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-161. Each local school system shall spend 100 percent of the funds designated for staff and professional development costs, as allowed by State Board of Education policy, for such costs. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Professional Standards Commission, shall establish category-level expenditure controls to ensure that the staff development funds allotted pursuant to this paragraph are utilized in such a manner as to help align professional learning with results in improved student achievement. Such category-level expenditure controls shall be established no later than July 1, 2015, and shall reflect the revised certification renewal rules established by the Professional Standards Commission pursuant to paragraph (4.1) of subsection (b) of Code

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Section 20-2-200 regarding the impact of professional learning on student achievement. For each local school system which is granted an additional allotment for the midterm adjustment pursuant to Code Section 20-2-162, these amounts shall be increased by the portion of the midterm adjustment allotment which is applied to staff development. In the event a local school system does not actually enroll the full-time equivalent count that was anticipated by its initial allocation and it elects to return a portion of its allocation for staff development and professional development costs to the state, the 100 percent amount for staff development shall be reduced by that returned amount. Quality Basic Education Formula funds in excess of the amount required by this paragraph to be expended by a local school system for staff development and professional development of certificated and instructional personnel which are not expended for this purpose may be expended only for staff development of noncertificated personnel employed by the local school system and the members of the local school board, for meeting certification requirements of personnel, and for administration and operation of the staff development and professional development programs authorized pursuant to subsection (h) of Code Section 20-2-182."

SECTION 2. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (h) of Code Section 20-2-182, relating to program weights to reflect funds for payment of salaries and benefits, as follows:
"(h) All program weights, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect, whenever they are revised pursuant to subsection (f) of Code Section 20-2-161, an amount of funds for the purpose of providing staff and professional development to certificated and classified personnel and local school board members which shall be at least equivalent to 1.0 percent of salaries of all certificated professional personnel used in the development of each respective program weight, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2014, such amount shall include funding for school level administrators in the same manner as for other certificated professional personnel. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015, such amount shall be at least equivalent to 0.9 percent of salaries of all certificated professional personnel, including school level administrators, used in the development of each respective program weight, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Funds used for professional or staff development purposes may be used throughout the fiscal year, including days when students are not present at school, to meet professional or staff development needs in the order of priority determined by the local board of education within the comprehensive professional and staff development program plan approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to Code Section 20-2-232. Such professional and staff development program plan shall address deficiencies of certificated personnel as identified by evaluations required under Code Section 20-2-210. Further, professional and staff development funds shall be used for activities that enhance the skills of certificated personnel and directly relate to student achievement, as reflected in the revised certification renewal rules established by the

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Professional Standards Commission pursuant to paragraph (4.1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-200 regarding the impact of professional learning on student achievement. Subsequent certificated personnel evaluations shall include an assessment of an employee's professional and staff development activities and their effect on identified deficiencies and student achievement. Funds for professional development purposes may be used for activities occurring at any time during the fiscal year outside of an employee's normal contract hours."

SECTION 3. Said article is further amended in Part 5, relating to program weights and funding requirements, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-190. (a) Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, the State Board of Education shall provide professional development centered on state-wide strategic initiatives. Such strategic initiatives may include, but are not limited to, training on the new common core curriculum, support for under-performing educators, and mentoring programs in specific subject areas. (b) It is the intention of the General Assembly that:
(1) For Fiscal Year 2014, an amount equivalent to 0.15 percent of salaries of all certificated professional personnel, including school level administrators, used in the development of each respective program weight be appropriated to the State Board of Education for purposes of funding state-wide strategic initiatives for professional development, as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section; and (2) For Fiscal Year 2015 and thereafter, an amount equivalent to 0.25 percent of salaries of all certificated professional personnel, including school level administrators, used in the development of each respective program weight be appropriated to the State Board of Education for purposes of funding state-wide strategic initiatives for professional development, as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section."

SECTION 4. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-201, relating to specific course requirements, in-service or continuing education, and on-line offerings for certificated professional personnel, as follows:
"(b) Each local unit of administration shall be required to provide all professional personnel certificated by the Professional Standards Commission 12 clock hours of in-service or continuing education in each calendar year, or meet requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Such in-service programs shall be developed by the local unit of administration in conjunction with such agencies as regional educational service agencies, colleges and universities, and other appropriate organizations. These programs shall be designed to address identified needs determined by appropriate personnel evaluation instruments. These programs shall also focus on improving the skills

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of certificated personnel that directly relate to improving student achievement, as reflected in the revised certification renewal rules established by the Professional Standards Commission pursuant to paragraph (4.1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-200 regarding the impact of professional learning on student achievement. Records of attendance shall be maintained by local units of administration and shall be monitored by appropriate Department of Education staff."

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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EDUCATION DELETE OBSOLETE, UNUSED, AND UNNECESSARY PROVISIONS; CLARIFY PROVISIONS.

No. 619 (House Bill No. 706).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to delete obsolete, unused, and unnecessary provisions; to clarify a provision relating to eligibility for enrollment; to eliminate a deadline for annual performance evaluations; to clarify the legal status of regional educational service agencies; to provide that declarations of intent and attendance records for home study programs are submitted to the Department of Education rather than local school systems; to revise provisions for purposes of conformity; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-5, relating to oaths of members of the State Board of Education, board meetings, and the chairperson, as follows:
"20-2-5. The members of the State Board of Education shall take an oath of office for the faithful performance of their duties and the oath of allegiance to the federal and state Constitutions. The state board shall meet quarterly in regular session at such time as it may by regulation

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provide and may hold additional meetings at the call of the chairperson, provided that upon the written request of a majority of the members of the state board, the State School Superintendent shall call a meeting at any time."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-5.2, relating to elections of chairperson and other officers of the State Board of Education, and the term, duties, and authority of the chairperson, as follows:
"20-2-5.2. The State Board of Education shall elect a chairperson and such other officers it may deem appropriate. The term of the chairperson shall be fixed by the state board. The chairperson shall preside at meetings of the state board, set the agenda for the state board, and perform such other duties as required by the state board."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-7, relating to where committee meetings of the State Board of Education may be held, as follows:
"20-2-7. The members of the State Board of Education as a committee or any committee of the state board may hold committee meetings anywhere within or outside this state when necessary to obtain information for future guidance of the state board; provided, however, that no action of the state board shall be of force and effect unless such action is taken at a regular or called meeting of the state board."

SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-12, relating to educational television programs.

SECTION 5. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-100, relating to substituting county school superintendent for county school commissioner.

SECTION 6. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-103, relating to the oath of the county school superintendent, as follows:
"20-2-103. Before entering upon the discharge of his or her official duties, the local school superintendent shall take and subscribe to the following oath of office:

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STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF __________ I, _______________________, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will truly perform the duties of local school superintendent of the _______________________ School System to the best of my ability. I do further swear or affirm: (1) That I am not the holder of any unaccounted for public money due this state or any political subdivision or authority thereof; (2) That I am not the holder of any office of trust under the government of the United States, any other state, or any foreign state which I am by the laws of the State of Georgia prohibited from holding; (3) That I am otherwise qualified to hold said office according to the Constitution and the laws of Georgia; and (4) That I will support the Constitution of the United States and of this state.

_____________________ Signature of local school superintendent

Sworn and subscribed before me this ______ day of ______________, ____. (SEAL)."

_____________________ Typed name of member of ____________________ local school superintendent

SECTION 7. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-150, relating to eligibility for enrollment, as follows:
"(b) A child who was a legal resident of one or more other states or countries for a period of two years immediately prior to moving to this state and who was legally enrolled in a public kindergarten or first grade, or a kindergarten or first grade accredited by a state or regional association or the equivalent thereof, shall be eligible for enrollment in the appropriate general or special education programs authorized in this part if such child will attain the age of five for kindergarten or six for first grade by December 31 and is otherwise qualified."

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SECTION 8. Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2-168, relating to distribution of federal funds, combined purchase of supplies and equipment, minimum school year, summer school programs, and year-round operation, by repealing subsection (f), relating to the "Summer Opportunity Program."

SECTION 9. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 20-2-210, relating to annual performance evaluations for school personnel, as follows:
"(d) The superintendent of each local school system shall identify an appropriately trained evaluator for each person employed by the local unit of administration for the purposes of completing an annual evaluation as required in subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section. The superintendent of each local school system shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with this Code section."

SECTION 10. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-212.3, relating to increasing teachers' salaries in areas of shortage.

SECTION 11. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-212.4, relating to an additional five percent increase in teacher salary based on student performance.

SECTION 12. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-213, relating to career ladder programs.

SECTION 13. Said chapter is further amended by repealing Code Section 20-2-231, relating to the Georgia Education Leadership Academy.

SECTION 14. Said chapter is further amended by repealing Code Section 20-2-232, relating to staff development plans by local school systems.

SECTION 15. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-240, relating to the powers and duties of the State Board of Education, as follows:
"20-2-240. The State Board of Education shall adopt and prescribe all rules, regulations, and policies required by this article and such other rules, regulations, and policies as may be reasonably

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necessary or advisable for proper implementation, enforcement, and carrying out of this article and other public school laws and for assuring a more economical and efficient operation of the public schools of this state or any phase of public elementary and secondary education in this state. The state board shall establish and enforce standards for operation of all public elementary and secondary schools and local units of administration in this state so as to assure, to the greatest extent possible, equal and quality educational programs, curricula, offerings, opportunities, and facilities for all of Georgia's children and youth and for economy and efficiency in administration and operation of public schools and local school systems throughout the state. The state board shall have the power to perform all duties and to exercise all responsibilities vested in it by provisions of law for the improvement of public elementary and secondary education in this state, including actions designed to improve teacher and school effectiveness through research and demonstration projects. The state board shall have the power to take such actions as it deems necessary to ensure that the citizens have full awareness and knowledge relative to the costs, quality, and performance of the public elementary and secondary schools of this state. All rules, regulations, policies, and standards adopted or prescribed by the state board in carrying out this article and other school laws shall, if not in conflict therewith, have the full force and effect of law."

SECTION 16. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-251, relating to demonstration programs.

SECTION 17. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-252, relating to electronic technology.

SECTION 18. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-253, relating to achievement grants.

SECTION 19. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-254, relating to educational research.

SECTION 20. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new subsection to Code Section 20-2-270, relating to the establishment of a state-wide network of regional educational service agencies, to read as follows:
"(f) Regional educational service agencies are not state agencies but shall be considered local units of administration for purposes of this chapter."

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SECTION 21. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-281, relating to assessment of effectiveness of educational programs, as follows:
"(b) The nationally normed assessments provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall provide students and their parents with grade equivalencies and percentile ranks which result from the administration of such tests. Criterion-referenced tests and the high school graduation test provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall provide for results that reflect student achievement at the individual student, classroom, school, system, and state levels. The State Board of Education shall participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and may participate in any other tests that will allow benchmarking this state's performance against national or international performance. The results of such testing shall be provided to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Education and shall be reported to the citizens of Georgia. Further, the state board shall adopt a school readiness assessment for students entering first grade and shall administer such assessment pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-151. One of the components in the awarding of salary supplements as part of a pay for performance or related plan under this article may be assessments of student achievement."

SECTION 22. Said chapter is further amended by repealing Code Section 20-2-285.1, relating to provisions applicable to third-grade criterion-referenced reading assessment students.

SECTION 23. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-303, relating to educational television.

SECTION 24. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-312, relating to a state program for middle school children during nonschool hours.

SECTION 25. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-500, relating to promulgation of rules and regulations for contracts or purchases over $100.00, purchases over $100,000.00, and vendor preferences, as follows:
"20-2-500. (a) (1) Local boards of education shall provide that contracts for or purchases of supplies, materials, equipment, or agricultural products, including but not limited to school buses but not including instructional materials or beverages for immediate consumption, for public elementary and secondary schools supported in whole or in part from public funds shall give preference as far as may be reasonable and practicable to such supplies, materials,

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equipment, and agricultural products as may be manufactured or produced in this state. Such preference shall not sacrifice quality.
(2) Local boards of education shall provide that, in determining whether such a preference is reasonable in any case where the value of a contract for or purchase of such supplies, materials, equipment, or agricultural products exceeds $100,000.00, the local school district shall consider, among other factors, information submitted by the bidder which may include the bidder's estimate of the multiplier effect on gross state domestic product and the effect on public revenues of the state and the effect on public revenues of political subdivisions resulting from acceptance of a bid or offer to sell Georgia manufactured or produced goods as opposed to out-of-state manufactured or produced goods. Any such estimates shall be in writing. No local school district shall divide a contract or purchase which exceeds $100,000.00 for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of this paragraph. (b) Vendors resident in the State of Georgia are to be granted the same preference over vendors resident in another state in the same manner, on the same basis, and to the same extent that preference is granted in awarding bids for the same goods or services by such other state to vendors resident therein over vendors resident in the State of Georgia. (c) Nothing in this Code section shall negate the requirements of Code Section 50-5-73."

SECTION 26. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-501, relating to the prohibition of contracts or purchases over $100.00 which are not in compliance with rules and regulations.

SECTION 27. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-502, relating to disciplining measures for violations of Code Section 20-2-501.

SECTION 28. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-503, relating to the authority of local boards of education to purchase educational information, literature, and services.

SECTION 29. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Article 15, relating to school census.

SECTION 30. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 20-2-690, relating to requirements for private schools and home study programs, as follows:

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"(c) Parents or guardians may teach their children at home in a home study program which meets the following requirements:
(1) The parent, parents, or guardian must submit within 30 days after the establishment of a home study program and by September 1 annually thereafter a declaration of intent to utilize a home study program to the Department of Education, which may provide for electronic submittal of such declaration of intent; (2) The declaration shall include a list of the names and ages of the students who are enrolled in the home study program, the address where the home study program is located, and a statement of the 12 month period that is to be considered the school year for that home study program. Enrollment records and reports shall not be used for any purpose except providing necessary enrollment information, except with the permission of the parent or guardian of a child, pursuant to the subpoena of a court of competent jurisdiction, or for verification of attendance by the Department of Public Safety for the purposes set forth in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22; (3) Parents or guardians may teach only their own children in the home study program, provided the teaching parent or guardian possesses at least a high school diploma or a general educational development diploma, but the parents or guardians may employ a tutor who holds a high school diploma or a general educational development diploma to teach such children; (4) The home study program shall provide a basic academic educational program which includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science; (5) The home study program must provide instruction each 12 months to home study students equivalent to 180 school days of education with each school day consisting of at least four and one-half school hours unless the child is physically unable to comply with the rule provided for in this paragraph; (6) Attendance records for the home study program shall be kept and shall be submitted annually to the Department of Education, which may provide for electronic submittal of such records. Attendance records and reports shall not be used for any purpose except providing necessary attendance information, except with the permission of the parent or guardian of a child, pursuant to the subpoena of a court of competent jurisdiction, or for verification of attendance by the Department of Public Safety for the purposes set forth in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22; (7) Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm reference tests to evaluate their educational progress at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade and records of such tests and scores shall be retained but shall not be required to be submitted to public educational authorities; and (8) The home study program instructor shall write an annual progress assessment report which shall include the instructor's individualized assessment of the student's academic

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progress in each of the subject areas specified in paragraph (4) of this subsection, and such progress reports shall be retained by the parent, parents, or guardian of children in the home study program for a period of at least three years."

SECTION 31. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 20-2-690.1, relating to mandatory education for children between ages six and 16, as follows:
"(d) Local school superintendents in the case of private schools, the Department of Education in the case of home study programs, and visiting teachers and attendance officers in the case of public schools shall have authority and it shall be their duty to file proceedings in court to enforce this subpart."

SECTION 32. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-694, relating to administration and enforcement of compulsory attendance laws, as follows:
"20-2-694. It shall be the duty of each county and independent school system board of education, each local school superintendent within the state, and the Department of Education to administer this subpart and to secure its enforcement in cooperation with the other state and county agencies and in cooperation with the administrators of private schools and parents or guardians providing a home study program."

SECTION 33. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-701, relating to local school superintendents or visiting teachers and attendance officers to report truants to juvenile or other courts, as follows:
"(a) Local school superintendents as applied to private schools, the Department of Education as applied to home study programs, or visiting teachers and attendance officers as applied to public schools, after written notice to the parent or guardian of a child, shall report to the juvenile or other court having jurisdiction under Chapter 11 of Title 15 any child who is absent from a public or private school or a home study program in violation of this subpart. If the judge of the court places such child in a home or in a public or private institution pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 15, school shall be provided for such child."

SECTION 34. Said chapter is further amended by repealing Code Section 20-2-741, relating to local boards of education sending copies of student codes of conduct to the Department of Education.

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SECTION 35. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-771.1, relating to voluntary preenrollment of children.

SECTION 36. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-960, relating to requiring bonds of principals.

SECTION 37. Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2-984, relating to the authority of the Professional Standards Commission, by repealing and reserving subsection (e), relating to demonstration plans under Code Section 20-2-251.

SECTION 38. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Article 20, the "Education Partnership Act of 1990."

SECTION 39. Said chapter is further amended by repealing and reserving Code Section 20-2-1183, relating to possession of electronic communication devices in school.

SECTION 40. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

__________

EDUCATION REVISE METHOD OF CALCULATING EQUALIZATION GRANTS; ELIGIBILITY.

No. 620 (House Bill No. 824).

AN ACT

To amend Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to financing under the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to revise the method of calculating equalization grants; to add an eligibility requirement; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to financing under the "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended as follows:
"20-2-165. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Assessed valuation' is defined as 40 percent of the equalized adjusted property tax digest reduced by the amount calculated pursuant to subsection (g) of Code Section 20-2-164. (2) 'Assessed valuation per weighted full-time equivalent count' is defined as the assessed valuation for the most recent year available divided by the weighted full-time equivalent count for the year of the digest. (3) 'Effective millage rate' is defined as local tax revenues divided by the assessed valuation and multiplied by 1,000; provided, however, that if the amount of local tax revenues is subsequently adjusted as a result of an audit of a local school system's annual financial report, the increase or decrease in local tax revenues resulting from the audit shall cause an adjustment to be made in the effective millage rate that was calculated initially. Any net change in the amount of equalization dollars earned as a result of such adjustment shall be applied to the amount of the local school system's equalization grant in a subsequent fiscal year. (4) 'Eligible full-time equivalent program count' is defined as the sum of the full-time equivalent resident student count and full-time equivalent nonresident student count pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 20-2-160 for each program specified pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-161; provided, however, that each local school system's total full-time equivalent nonresident student count for all programs except programs for persons with disabilities shall not exceed the lesser of the count for fiscal year 2000 or the count for any ensuing fiscal year, unless the local school system serves under contract all of the students in one or more grade levels from an adjoining system or unless the system serves students from an adjoining system under court order. (5) 'Equalized adjusted property tax digest' is defined as the most recent equalized adjusted property tax digest furnished to the State Board of Education pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-2-164. (5.1) 'Equivalent millage' means for a local school system that is eligible to receive local option sales tax proceeds for maintenance and operation purposes, the combination of property tax revenue and sales tax revenue representing the amount that would be generated by a designated rate of mills. (6) 'Guaranteed valuation' is defined as the state-wide average in dollars of assessed valuation per weighted full-time equivalent count. Such state-wide average shall not include the local school systems ranked in the highest 5 percent or the lowest 5 percent, where the ranking of school systems is such that the one-hundredth percentile school system is that with the highest amount in dollars of assessed valuation per weighted full-time equivalent count.

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(7) 'Local tax revenues' is defined as the sum of tax revenues for a local school system as furnished to the Department of Education by the school system in its annual financial report, reduced by the total amount of general funds expended for capital outlay or transferred into an escrow account for capital outlay purposes for the most recent fiscal year such data are available and increased by any federal funds designed to replace local tax revenues provided to the said system; provided, however, that the local school system has furnished the state board with acceptable documentation which clearly identifies the source or sources of such federal funds. (8) 'Most recent weighted full-time equivalent count' is defined as the weighted full-time equivalent count derived from full-time equivalent program count data obtained for the purpose of determining the funds initially needed to finance the Quality Basic Education Formula pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 20-2-160 for the next ensuing fiscal year. (9) 'Qualified local school system' is defined as any local school system:
(A) Having an assessed valuation per weighted full-time equivalent count for the year of the digest which is below the guaranteed valuation; (B) Having an effective millage rate greater than the millage rate applied to calculate the local five mill share pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-164; and (C) Beginning July 1, 2015, having a millage rate or an equivalent millage of at least 12 mills; beginning July 1, 2016, having a millage rate or an equivalent millage of at least 12 mills; beginning July 1, 2017, having a millage rate or an equivalent millage of at least 13 mills; beginning July 1, 2018, having a millage rate or an equivalent millage of at least 13 mills; beginning July 1, 2019, and thereafter, having a millage rate or an equivalent millage of at least 14 mills. (10) 'Weighted full-time equivalent count' is defined as the sum of all eligible full-time equivalent program counts multiplied by their respective program weights in effect during the fiscal year that the full-time equivalent program counts were obtained pursuant to Code Section 20-2-161. (11) 'Weighted full-time equivalent count for the year of the digest' is defined as the weighted full-time equivalent count derived from full-time equivalent program count data obtained for the purpose of determining the funds initially needed to finance the Quality Basic Education Formula pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 20-2-160 for the current fiscal year. (b) The State Board of Education shall annually calculate the equalization grant for each qualified local school system in the following manner: (1) Subtract the assessed valuation per weighted full-time equivalent count for the local school system from the guaranteed valuation; (2) Divide the difference resulting from paragraph (1) of this subsection by 1,000; (3) Subtract five from the effective millage rate for the local school system and use the resulting number of effective mills or 15 effective mills, whichever is less, as the number of effective mills to be equalized;

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(4) Multiply the quotient resulting from paragraph (2) of this subsection by the number of effective mills to be equalized pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection; and (5) Multiply the product resulting from paragraph (4) of this subsection by the most recent weighted full-time equivalent count for the local school system. The resulting amount shall be the equalization grant for the ensuing fiscal year; provided, however, that for each local school system which serves under contract all of the students in one or more grade levels from an adjoining system and for each local school system which sends under contract all of the students in one or more grade levels to an adjoining system, the equalization grant shall be calculated to represent the amount that would be earned if the students transferred under said contract were included in the full-time equivalent counts of the local school system in which they reside; provided, further, that any equalization grant to be earned by a local school system sending students to another system under the provisions of such a contract shall be reduced by an amount which represents the equalization funds earned per weighted full-time equivalent student multiplied by the total weighted full-time equivalent count for students transferred, and any equalization grant to be earned by the local school system receiving students under said contract shall be increased by the same amount. (c) The State Board of Education shall allocate respectively the amount calculated under subsection (b) of this Code section to each qualified local school system. For the first effective year of the merger of any two or more local school systems, the equalization grant shall be the addition of amounts which would have been separately earned by the systems participating in the merger or the amount which would have been earned if the systems had already been merged during the year of the applicable digest, whichever is greater. No portion of local five mill share shall be applied to such equalization grants. In the event sufficient funds are not appropriated in a fiscal year to the state board to allot the full amount of equalization grants calculated to be payable to qualified local school systems as provided in this Code section, the state board shall proportionately reduce the amount of funds to be allocated to qualified local school systems. (d)(1) A midterm adjustment in a local school system's equalization grant shall be made if:
(A) The school system's assessed valuation per weighted full-time equivalent count is at or below the guaranteed valuation; and (B) The school system increases the actual millage levied against its digest for maintenance and operation. (2) If made, the midterm adjustment to the equalization grant shall be calculated as follows: (A) Calculate the percentage change in the actual millage rate for a school system by subtracting the actual millage rate for the prior year from the actual millage rate for the current year and dividing by the actual millage rate for the prior year; provided, however, that for local school systems that impose local option sales taxes for school maintenance and operation, as authorized by law, the Department of Education shall be

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authorized to adjust this calculation by adding the equivalent property tax millage that would be needed to produce the revenue raised by the local option sales tax to the actual millage rate and calculating a revised percentage change; (B) If the result from subparagraph (A) of this paragraph is a positive number, multiply the number of effective mills calculated as part of the original equalization grant calculation for a given year by the percentage increase calculated in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. Add the product of this calculation to the effective number of mills from the original equalization grant calculation as described in subsections (a) through (c) of this Code section; (C) Recalculate the equalization grant substituting the revised number of effective mills calculated in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph; and (D) Subtract the initial equalization grant amount from the amount calculated in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. The resulting amount shall be the midterm adjustment to the equalization grant. (e) If the result from subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of this Code section is a positive number, the local school system's number of effective mills used in the calculation of its equalization grant for the ensuing fiscal year shall be adjusted by multiplying the number of effective mills calculated pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of this Code section by the percentage increase calculated in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of this Code section. The resulting amount shall be the adjusted number of effective mills used in the calculation of the equalization grant pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of this Code section; provided, however, that in no event shall the adjusted number of effective mills to be equalized exceed 15 effective mills."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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EDUCATION SCHOOL HEALTH NURSE PROGRAM; FUNDING; STATE-LEVEL COORDINATOR.

No. 621 (Senate Bill No. 403).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to revise provisions relating to school health nurse programs; to include school nurses in state formula funding based on full-time equivalent student counts; to provide for grants for supplies for school health nurse programs; to provide for a state-level coordinator for school health nurse programs; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-186, relating to allocation of funds for local systems to pay beginning salaries of superintendents, secretaries, accountants, nurses, and certain other personnel, as follows:
"(a) Funds provided under this article shall include the following for local systems to pay, on a 12 month basis, the beginning salaries of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals and the salaries of secretaries, accountants, and nurses, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly:
(1) Each local system shall earn, for any number of full-time equivalent students equal to or under 5,000, funds sufficient to pay the beginning salaries of a superintendent and two assistant superintendents and the salaries of a secretary and an accountant; and (2) For numbers of full-time equivalent students over 5,000 and less than 10,001, funds sufficient to pay the beginning salaries of a superintendent and four assistant superintendents and the salaries of a secretary and an accountant; and (3) For numbers of full-time equivalent students over 10,000, funds sufficient to pay the beginning salaries of a superintendent and eight assistant superintendents and the salaries of a secretary and an accountant; and (4) Each local system shall earn funds for the 2000-2001 school year sufficient to pay the beginning salary of a principal for each school in the local school system with a principal of record for the preceding year. Thereafter, each local school system shall earn funds sufficient to pay the beginning salary of a principal for each school in the local school system that reported a principal on the October certified personnel information report; provided, however, that any school which operates as a combination school,

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which is defined as any of the elementary grades, kindergarten through grade five, contiguous with one or more of the middle grades, grades six through eight; or as a combination school of any of the middle grades, grades six through eight, contiguous with one or more of the elementary grades or contiguous with one or more of the high school grades, grades nine through 12; or as a combination school of any of the high school grades, contiguous with one or more of the middle grades, shall earn funds sufficient to pay the beginning salary of a principal for each of the elementary, middle, or high school combinations. Beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, funds cannot be earned for more than one principal's salary for schools on the same campus sharing facilities unless the schools operate as a combination school as defined in this paragraph with separate facility codes issued by the Department of Education. A local school system shall earn funds in the midterm adjustment sufficient to pay the beginning salary of a principal for a new school, if not otherwise earning the funds, when the school has reported full-time equivalent program counts in the October count, has an approved new school facility code issued by the department, and has reported a principal on the October certified personnel information report under the new facility code. It is further provided that funds for the salary of a principal shall not be earned under this paragraph for an evening school or alternative school; and (5) Each local system shall earn funding for one nurse for every 750 full-time equivalent students at the elementary school level and one nurse for every 1,500 full-time equivalent students at the middle and high school levels. Such funding shall have a ratio of one registered professional nurse to five licensed practical nurses. Such funding shall be based on a contract length of 180 days and shall be sufficient to pay 50 percent of the average salary and benefits, as determined by the Department of Education, for a registered professional nurse or for a licensed practical nurse; provided, however, that such amount shall be phased in so that, in Fiscal Year 2013, such amount shall be 40 percent and, in Fiscal Year 2014, such amount shall be 45 percent. Local school systems shall not be required to provide any local matching funds for school nurses to receive funds pursuant to this paragraph. Local school systems that do not meet the minimum full-time equivalent student counts set out in this paragraph shall receive a base amount of funding. Each local school system shall expend 100 percent of the funds earned pursuant to this paragraph for salaries and benefits for school nurses."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended in Part 5 of Article 5, relating to program weights and funding requirements, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-190. Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, the State Board of Education shall provide grants to local school systems for the purpose of purchasing supplies for school health nurse programs, as required pursuant to Code Section 20-2-771.2. The grant funds

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shall be distributed to local school systems on a full-time equivalent basis. The state board shall establish regulations as to the manner in which such grant funds may be used."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-771.2, relating to school health nurse programs, as follows:
"20-2-771.2. (a) Each local board of education shall establish policies and procedures regarding a school health nurse program. Such school health nurse programs shall be staffed by licensed health care professionals. Each local board of education may contract or consult with health professionals knowledgeable in children's health issues to establish the standards, policies, and procedures of a school health nurse program. Such standards, policies, and procedures shall be in accordance with the restrictions set forth in Code Section 20-2-773. (b) Subject to appropriations, there may be established within the Department of Education a school health nurse program coordinator, whose responsibilities may include:
(1) Assisting local school systems in establishing and implementing the school health nurse programs required by subsection (a) of this Code section, including development of guidelines for utilizing volunteers and retirees to supplement the programs; (2) Assisting in standardizing the reporting of any health information from local school systems; (3) Assisting local school systems in identifying and obtaining available additional funding and support for school health nurse programs from federal and other sources, including, but not limited to, Medicaid funds and partnerships with local hospitals or other health care facilities; and (4) Other related duties to support school health nurse programs."

SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 19, 2012.

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CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES EDUCATION HERTY ADVANCED MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT CENTER; RENAME AND TRANSFER TO BOARD OF REGENTS.

No. 626 (Senate Bill No. 396).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to forest resources, so as to change certain provisions relating to the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center; to rename the center and transfer governance of the center to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia; to provide for an advisory board; to redesignate said provisions into Part 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the University System of Georgia; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to forest resources, is amended by revising Part 5, relating to the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, as follows:
"20-3-73.3. (a) The General Assembly, in recognition of the outstanding and patriotic services and accomplishments of a native Georgian, the Honorable Dr. Charles H. Herty, in the pulp and paper experimental work which he conducted at Savannah, and desirous not only of continuing this great work but of broadening this work, does by this Code section register its enthusiastic appreciation of the services of Dr. Herty and the benefits of the experiments which he made. (b) The Georgia Southern University Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, created by Act of the General Assembly and formerly known successively as the Herty Foundation and the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, is hereby continued to conduct research, development, and commercialization with respect to natural and synthetic organic and inorganic materials of all types; to accelerate the commercial availability of newly developed or discovered systems or processes using these materials; and to produce and manufacture for others goods and products using natural or synthetic materials of all types that serve to enhance the economy of the State of Georgia. The Georgia Southern University Herty Advanced Materials Development Center shall be governed as provided by this Code section.

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(c) The board of trustees of the former Herty Advanced Materials Development Center provided under former provisions of Part 5 of Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 12, as such existed on June 30, 2012, shall be abolished as of July 1, 2012. On and after July 1, 2012, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia shall be the successor to and a continuation of the former board of trustees of the center and shall continue the mission of the center. (d) The change of the name and governance of the center and its continuation, as provided in this Code section, shall in no way affect any existing obligations, liabilities, or rights of the center or the trustees thereof acting in their official capacities, as such existed on June 30, 2012. All such obligations, liabilities, and rights are transferred to, vested in, and assumed by the board of regents. All existing contracts and agreements between any party and the center or the trustees thereof acting in their official capacities shall not be affected by this Code section but shall continue in full force and effect, without interruption, as contracts or agreements of the board of regents. (e) All right, title, interest, and ownership of all assets, including all real estate, of the center and the trustees thereof acting in their official capacities are transferred to and vested in the board of regents. (f) There shall be an advisory board for the center, to consist of three persons appointed by the Governor and two persons appointed by the president of Georgia Southern University. Each member of the board shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Members of the board shall serve without compensation. The purpose of the board shall be to offer advice regarding the operations of the center to the board of regents or its designee."
SECTION 2. Said article is further amended by reserving the former Part 5 designation.
SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
Approved April 24, 2012.

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EDUCATION ADOPT INTERSTATE COMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN.

No. 627 (Senate Bill No. 227).

AN ACT

To amend Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, so as to adopt the "Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children"; to provide for a short title; to provide for the purpose and policy of said compact; to define the terminology used in said compact; to provide for applicability; to provide for educational records and enrollment; to provide for placement and attendance; to provide for eligibility; to provide for graduation; to provide for state coordination services; to create the Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; to provide for the members of the interstate commission and their service; to provide for an executive committee and its membership and duties; to provide for the powers, duties, organization, and operations of the commission; to provide for oversight, enforcement, and dispute resolution; to provide for financing of the interstate commission; to provide for member states, an effective date, and amendments; to provide for withdrawal and dissolution; to provide for binding effect and other laws; to repeal certain laws; to provide for other related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, is amended by adding a new chapter to read as follows:

"CHAPTER 17

20-17-1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.'

20-17-2. 'The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children' is enacted into law and entered into by the State of Georgia with any and all states legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:

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'Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children

The Contracting States solemnly agree that:

ARTICLE I PURPOSE

It is the purpose of this compact to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves and deployment of their parents by:
A. Facilitating the timely enrollment of children of military families and ensuring that they are not placed at a disadvantage due to difficulty in the transfer of education records from the previous school district or variations in entrance or age requirements; B. Facilitating the student placement process through which children of military families are not disadvantaged by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, sequencing, grading, course content, or assessment; C. Facilitating the qualification and eligibility for enrollment, educational programs, and participation in extracurricular academic, athletic, and social activities; D. Facilitating the on-time graduation of children of military families; E. Providing for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact; F. Providing for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools, and military families under this compact; G. Promoting coordination between this compact and other compacts affecting military children; and H. Promoting flexibility and cooperation between the educational system, parents, and the student in order to achieve educational success for the student.

ARTICLE II DEFINITIONS

As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction: A. "Active duty" means full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Sections 1209 and 1211. B. "Children of military families" means school-aged children in the household of an active duty member enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12. C. "Compact commissioner" means the voting representative of each compacting state appointed pursuant to Article VIII of this compact. D. "Deployment" means the period one month prior to the service members' departure from their home station on military orders though six months after return to their home station.

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E. "Educational records" means those official records, files, and data directly related to a student and maintained by the school or local education agency, including, but not limited to, records encompassing all the material kept in the student's cumulative folder, such as general identifying data; records of attendance and of academic work completed; records of achievement and results of evaluative tests; health data; disciplinary status; test protocols; and individualized education programs. F. "Extracurricular activities" means a voluntary activity sponsored by the school or local education agency or an organization sanctioned by the local education agency. Extracurricular activities include, but are not limited to, preparation for and involvement in public performances, contests, athletic competitions, demonstrations, displays, and club activities. G. "Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children" or "Interstate Commission" means the commission that is created under Article IX of this compact. H. "Local education agency" means a public authority legally constituted by the state as an administrative agency to provide control of and direction for kindergarten through grade 12 public educational institutions. I. "Member state" means a state that has enacted this compact. J. "Military installation" means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense, including any leased facility, which is located within any of the several states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands, and any other United States Territory. Such term does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects. K. "Nonmember state" means a state that has not enacted this compact. L. "Receiving state" means the state to which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought. M. "Rule" means a written statement by the Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Article XII of this compact that is of general applicability, implements, interprets, or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact, or an organizational, procedural, or practice requirement of the Interstate Commission, and includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule. N. "Sending state" means the state from which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought. O. "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands, and any other United States Territory. P. "Student" means the child of a military family for whom the local education agency receives public funding and who is formally enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12.

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Q. "Transition" means the formal and physical process of transferring from school to school or the period of time in which a student moves from one school in the sending state to another school in the receiving state. R. "Uniformed service" means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard as well as the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Public Health Services. S. "Veteran" means a person who served in the uniformed services and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

ARTICLE III APPLICABILITY

A. Except as otherwise provided in Section B of this article, this compact shall apply to the children of:
(1) Active duty members of the uniformed services as defined in this compact, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Sections 1209 and 1211; (2) Members or veterans of the uniformed services who are severely injured and medically discharged or retired for a period of one year after medical discharge or retirement; and (3) Members of the uniformed services who die on active duty or as a result of injuries sustained on active duty for a period of one year after death. B. The provisions of this interstate compact shall only apply to local education agencies as defined in this compact. C. The provisions of this compact shall not apply to the children of: (1) Inactive members of the national guard and military reserves; (2) Members of the uniformed services now retired, except as provided in Section A of this article; (3) Veterans of the uniformed services, except as provided in Section A of this article; and (4) Other United States Department of Defense personnel and other federal agency civilian and contract employees not defined as active duty members of the uniformed services.

ARTICLE IV EDUCATIONAL RECORDS & ENROLLMENT

A. Unofficial or "hand-carried" education records -- In the event that official education records cannot be released to the parents for the purpose of transfer, the custodian of the records in the sending state shall prepare and furnish to the parent a complete set of unofficial educational records containing uniform information as determined by the

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Interstate Commission. Upon receipt of the unofficial education records by a school in the receiving state, the school shall enroll and appropriately place the student based on the information provided in the unofficial records pending validation by the official records, as quickly as possible. B. Official education records and transcripts -- Simultaneous with the enrollment and conditional placement of the student, the school in the receiving state shall request the student's official education record from the school in the sending state. Upon receipt of this request, the school in the sending state will process and furnish the official education records to the school in the receiving state within ten days or within such time as is reasonably determined under the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission. C. Immunizations -- Compacting states shall give 30 days from the date of enrollment or within such time as is reasonably determined under the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission for students to obtain any immunization required by the receiving state. For a series of immunizations, initial vaccinations must be obtained within 30 days or within such time as is reasonably determined under the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission. D. Kindergarten and first grade entrance age -- Students shall be allowed to continue their enrollment at grade level in the receiving state commensurate with their grade level, including kindergarten, from a local education agency in the sending state at the time of transition, regardless of age. A student who has satisfactorily completed the prerequisite grade level in the local education agency in the sending state shall be eligible for enrollment in the next highest grade level in the receiving state, regardless of age. A student transferring after the start of the school year in the receiving state shall enter the school in the receiving state on their validated level from an accredited school in the sending state.

ARTICLE V PLACEMENT & ATTENDANCE

A. Course placement -- When the student transfers before or during the school year, the receiving state school shall initially honor placement of the student in educational courses based on the student's enrollment in the sending state school or educational assessments conducted at the school in the sending state if the courses are offered. Course placement includes, but is not limited to, honors, international baccalaureate, advanced placement, vocational, technical, and career pathways courses. Continuing the student's academic program from the previous school and promoting placement in academically and career challenging courses should be paramount when considering placement. This does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement and continued enrollment of the student in the course. B. Educational program placement -- The receiving state school shall initially honor placement of the student in educational programs based on current educational

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assessments conducted at the school in the sending state or participation or placement in like programs in the sending state. Such programs include, but are not limited to, gifted and talented programs and English as a second language. This does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement of the student. C. Special education services.
(1) In compliance with the federal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.A. Section 1400 et seq, the receiving state shall initially provide comparable services to a student with a disability based on his or her current Individualized Education Program. (2) In compliance with the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C.A. Section 794, and with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.A. Sections 12131-12165, the receiving state shall make reasonable accommodations and modifications to address the needs of incoming students with disabilities, subject to an existing 504 or Title II Plan, to provide the student with equal access to education. This does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement of the student. D. Placement flexibility -- Local education agency administrative officials shall have flexibility in waiving course or program prerequisites or other preconditions for placement in courses or programs offered under the jurisdiction of the local education agency. E. Absence as related to deployment activities -- A student whose parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined by the compact, and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting shall be granted additional excused absences at the discretion of the local education agency superintendent to visit with his or her parent or legal guardian relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or guardian.

ARTICLE VI ELIGIBILITY

A. Eligibility for enrollment. (1) Special power of attorney, relative to the guardianship of a child of a military family and executed under applicable law, shall be sufficient for the purposes of enrollment and all other actions requiring parental participation and consent. (2) A local education agency shall be prohibited from charging local tuition to a transitioning military child placed in the care of a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis who lives in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial parent.

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(3) A transitioning military child placed in the care of a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis who lives in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial parent may continue to attend the school in which he or she was enrolled while residing with the custodial parent. B. Eligibility for extracurricular participation -- State and local education agencies shall facilitate the opportunity for transitioning military children's inclusion in extracurricular activities, regardless of application deadlines, to the extent they are otherwise qualified.

ARTICLE VII GRADUATION

In order to facilitate the on-time graduation of children of military families, states and local education agencies shall incorporate the following procedures:
A. Waiver requirements -- Local education agency administrative officials shall waive specific courses required for graduation if similar course work has been satisfactorily completed in another local education agency or shall provide reasonable justification for denial. Should a waiver not be granted to a student who would qualify to graduate from the sending school, the local education agency shall provide an alternative means of acquiring required coursework so that graduation may occur on time. B. Exit exams -- States shall accept exit or end-of-course exams required for graduation from the sending state, national norm-referenced achievement tests, or alternative testing in lieu of testing requirements for graduation in the receiving state. In the event the above alternatives cannot be accommodated by the receiving state for a student transferring in his or her senior year, then the provisions of Section C of this article shall apply. C. Transfers during Senior year -- Should a military student transferring at the beginning or during his or her senior year be ineligible to graduate from the receiving local education agency after all alternatives have been considered, the sending and receiving local education agencies shall ensure the receipt of a diploma from the sending local education agency if the student meets the graduation requirements of the sending local education agency. In the event that one of the states in question is not a member of this compact, the member state shall use best efforts to facilitate the on-time graduation of the student in accordance with Sections A and B of this article.

ARTICLE VIII STATE COORDINATION

A. Each member state shall, through the creation of a state council or use of an existing body or board, provide for the coordination among its agencies of government, local education agencies, and military installations concerning the state's participation in, and compliance with, this compact and Interstate Commission activities. While each member

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state may determine the membership of its own state council, its membership must include at least the state superintendent of education, a superintendent of a school district with a high concentration of military children, a representative from a military installation, one representative from the executive branch of government, and other offices and stakeholder groups the state council deems appropriate. A member state that does not have a school district deemed to contain a high concentration of military children may appoint a superintendent from another school district to represent local education agencies on the state council. B. The state council of each member state shall appoint or designate a military family education liaison to assist military families and the state in facilitating the implementation of this compact. C. The compact commissioner responsible for the administration and management of the state's participation in the compact shall be appointed by the Governor or as otherwise determined by each member state. D. The compact commissioner and the military family education liaison designated herein shall be ex-officio members of the state council, unless either is already a full voting member of the state council.

ARTICLE IX INTERSTATE COMMISSION ON EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN

The member states hereby create the "Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children." The activities of the Interstate Commission are the formation of public policy and are a discretionary state function. The Interstate Commission shall:
(1) Be a body corporate and joint agency of the member states and shall have all the responsibilities, powers, and duties set forth herein and such additional powers as may be conferred upon it by a subsequent concurrent action of the respective legislatures of the member states in accordance with the terms of this compact; (2) Consist of one Interstate Commission voting representative from each member state who shall be that state's compact commissioner and:
A. Each member state represented at a meeting of the Interstate Commission is entitled to one vote; B. A majority of the total member states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws of the Interstate Commission; C. A representative shall not delegate a vote to another member state. In the event the compact commissioner is unable to attend a meeting of the Interstate Commission, the Governor or state council may delegate voting authority to another person from their state for a specified meeting; and

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D. The bylaws may provide for meetings of the Interstate Commission to be conducted by telecommunication or electronic communication; (3) Consist of ex-officio, nonvoting representatives who are members of interested organizations. Such ex-officio members, as defined in the bylaws, may include, but not be limited to, members of the representative organizations of military family advocates, local education agency officials, parent and teacher groups, the United States Department of Defense, the Education Commission of the States, the Interstate Agreement on the Qualification of Educational Personnel, and other interstate compacts affecting the education of children of military members; (4) Meet at least once each calendar year. The chairperson may call additional meetings and, upon the request of a simple majority of the member states, shall call additional meetings; (5) Establish an executive committee, whose members shall include the officers of the Interstate Commission and such other members of the Interstate Commission as determined by the bylaws. Members of the executive committee shall serve a one-year term. Members of the executive committee shall be entitled to one vote each. The executive committee shall have the power to act on behalf of the Interstate Commission, with the exception of rulemaking, during periods when the Interstate Commission is not in session. The executive committee shall oversee the day-to-day activities of the administration of the compact, including enforcement and compliance with the provisions of the compact and its bylaws and rules, and other such duties as deemed necessary. The United States Department of Defense, shall serve as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the executive committee; (6) Establish bylaws and rules that provide for conditions and procedures under which the Interstate Commission shall make its information and official records available to the public for inspection or copying. The Interstate Commission may exempt from disclosure information or official records to the extent they would adversely affect personal privacy rights or proprietary interests; (7) Give public notice of all meetings, and all meetings shall be open to the public, except as set forth in the rules or as otherwise provided in the compact. The Interstate Commission and its committees may close a meeting, or portion thereof, where it determines by two-thirds vote that an open meeting would be likely to: A. Relate solely to the Interstate Commission's internal personnel practices and procedures; B. Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by federal and state statute; C. Disclose trade secrets or commercial or financial information which is privileged or confidential; D. Involve accusing a person of a crime, or formally censuring a person; E. Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; F. Disclose investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes; or

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G. Specifically relate to the Interstate Commission's participation in a civil action or other legal proceeding; (8) For a meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed pursuant to this provision, the Interstate Commission's legal counsel or designee shall certify that the meeting may be closed and shall reference each relevant exemptible provision. The Interstate Commission shall keep minutes which shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in a meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of actions taken, and the reasons therefor, including a description of the views expressed and the record of a roll-call vote. All documents considered in connection with an action shall be identified in such minutes. All minutes and documents of a closed meeting shall remain under seal, subject to release by a majority vote of the Interstate Commission; (9) Collect standardized data concerning the educational transition of the children of military families under this compact as directed through its rules which shall specify the data to be collected, the means of collection, and data exchange and reporting requirements. Such methods of data collection, exchange, and reporting shall, in so far as is reasonably possible, conform to current technology and coordinate its information functions with the appropriate custodian of records as identified in the bylaws and rules; and (10) Create a process that permits military officials, education officials, and parents to inform the Interstate Commission if and when there are alleged violations of the compact or its rules or when issues subject to the jurisdiction of the compact or its rules are not addressed by the state or local education agency. This section shall not be construed to create a private right of action against the Interstate Commission or any member state.

ARTICLE X POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

The Interstate Commission shall have the following powers: (1) To provide for dispute resolution among member states; (2) To promulgate rules and take all necessary actions to effect the goals, purposes, and obligations as enumerated in this compact. The rules shall be binding in the compact states to the extent and in the manner provided in this compact; (3) To issue, upon request of a member state, advisory opinions concerning the meaning or interpretation of the interstate compact, its bylaws, rules, and actions; (4) To enforce compliance with the compact provisions, the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission, and the bylaws, using all necessary and proper means, including, but not limited to, the use of judicial process; (5) To establish and maintain offices which shall be located within one or more of the member states; (6) To purchase and maintain insurance and bonds; (7) To borrow, accept, hire, or contract for services of personnel;

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(8) To establish and appoint committees, including, but not limited to, an executive committee as required by Article IX, Section (5) of this compact which shall have the power to act on behalf of the Interstate Commission in carrying out its powers and duties hereunder; (9) To elect or appoint such officers, attorneys, employees, agents, or consultants, and to fix their compensation, define their duties, and determine their qualifications; and to establish the Interstate Commission's personnel policies and programs relating to conflicts of interest, rates of compensation, and qualifications of personnel; (10) To accept any and all donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services, and to receive, utilize, and dispose of it; (11) To lease, purchase, accept contributions or donations of, or otherwise to own, hold, improve, or use any property, real, personal, or mixed; (12) To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed; (13) To establish a budget and make expenditures; (14) To adopt a seal and bylaws governing the management and operation of the Interstate Commission; (15) To report annually to the legislatures, governors, judiciary, and state councils of the member states concerning the activities of the Interstate Commission during the preceding year. Such reports shall also include any recommendations that may have been adopted by the Interstate Commission; (16) To coordinate education, training, and public awareness regarding the compact, its implementation, and operation for officials and parents involved in such activity; (17) To establish uniform standards for the reporting, collecting, and exchanging of data; (18) To maintain corporate books and records in accordance with the bylaws; (19) To perform such functions as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact; and (20) To provide for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools, and military families under this compact.

ARTICLE XI ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

A. The Interstate Commission shall, by a majority of the members present and voting, within 12 months after the first Interstate Commission meeting, adopt bylaws to govern its conduct as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the compact, including, but not limited to:
(1) Establishing the fiscal year of the Interstate Commission; (2) Establishing an executive committee, and such other committees as may be necessary;

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(3) Providing for the establishment of committees and for governing any general or specific delegation of authority or function of the Interstate Commission; (4) Providing reasonable procedures for calling and conducting meetings of the Interstate Commission, and ensuring reasonable notice of each such meeting; (5) Establishing the titles and responsibilities of the officers and staff of the Interstate Commission; (6) Providing a mechanism for concluding the operations of the Interstate Commission and the return of surplus funds that may exist upon the termination of the compact after the payment and reserving of all of its debts and obligations; and (7) Providing "start up" rules for initial administration of the compact. B. The Interstate Commission shall, by a majority of the members, elect annually from among its members a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a treasurer, each of whom shall have such authority and duties as may be specified in the bylaws. The chairperson or, in the chairperson's absence or disability, the vice chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Interstate Commission. The officers so elected shall serve without compensation or remuneration from the Interstate Commission; provided, however, that subject to the availability of budgeted funds, the officers shall be reimbursed for ordinary and necessary costs and expenses incurred by them in the performance of their responsibilities as officers of the Interstate Commission. C. Executive Committee, Officers, and Personnel. (1) The executive committee shall have such authority and duties as may be set forth in the bylaws, including, but not limited to:
(i) Managing the affairs of the Interstate Commission in a manner consistent with the bylaws and purposes of the Interstate Commission; (ii) Overseeing an organizational structure within, and appropriate procedures for, the Interstate Commission to provide for the creation of rules, operating procedures, and administrative and technical support functions; and (iii) Planning, implementing, and coordinating communications and activities with other state, federal, and local government organizations in order to advance the goals of the Interstate Commission. (2) The executive committee may, subject to the approval of the Interstate Commission, appoint or retain an executive director for such period, upon such terms and conditions and for such compensation, as the Interstate Commission may deem appropriate. The executive director shall serve as secretary to the Interstate Commission, but shall not be a member of the Interstate Commission. The executive director shall hire and supervise such other persons as may be authorized by the Interstate Commission. D. The Interstate Commission's executive director and its employees shall be immune from suit and liability, either personally or in their official capacity, for a claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or other civil liability caused or arising out of or relating to an actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that such

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person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred, within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities; provided, however, that such person shall not be protected from suit or liability for damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of such person.
(1) The liability of the Interstate Commission's executive director and employees or Interstate Commission representatives, acting within the scope of such person's employment or duties for acts, errors, or omissions occurring within such person's state, may not exceed the limits of liability set forth under the Constitution and laws of that state for state officials, employees, and agents. The Interstate Commission is considered to be an instrumentality of the states for the purposes of any such action. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to protect such person from suit or liability for damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of such person. (2) The Interstate Commission shall defend the executive director and its employees and, subject to the approval of the Attorney General or other appropriate legal counsel of the member state represented by an Interstate Commission representative, shall defend such Interstate Commission representative in any civil action seeking to impose liability arising out of an actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that the defendant had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from intentional or willful and wanton misconduct on the part of such person. (3) To the extent not covered by the state involved, member state, or the Interstate Commission, the representatives or employees of the Interstate Commission shall be held harmless in the amount of a settlement or judgment, including attorney's fees and costs, obtained against such persons arising out of an actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that such persons had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from intentional or willful and wanton misconduct on the part of such persons.

ARTICLE XII RULEMAKING FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

A. Rulemaking Authority -- The Interstate Commission shall promulgate reasonable rules in order to effectively and efficiently achieve the purposes of this compact; provided however, that in the event the Interstate Commission exercises its rulemaking authority in a manner that is beyond the scope of the purposes of this compact, or the powers

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granted hereunder, then such an action by the Interstate Commission shall be invalid and have no force or effect. B. Rulemaking Procedure -- Rules shall be made pursuant to a rulemaking process that substantially conforms to the "Model State Administrative Procedure Act," of 1981 Act, Uniform Laws Annotated, Vol. 15, p. 1 (2000) as amended, as may be appropriate to the operations of the Interstate Commission. C. Not later than 30 days after a rule is promulgated, any person may file a petition for judicial review of the rule, provided that the filing of such a petition shall not stay or otherwise prevent the rule from becoming effective unless the court finds that the petitioner has a substantial likelihood of success. The court shall give deference to the actions of the Interstate Commission consistent with applicable law and shall not find the rule to be unlawful if the rule represents a reasonable exercise of the Interstate Commission's authority. D. If a majority of the legislatures of the compacting states rejects a rule by enactment of a statute or resolution in the same manner used to adopt the compact, then such rule shall have no further force and effect in any compacting state.

ARTICLE XIII OVERSIGHT, ENFORCEMENT, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

A. Oversight. (1) The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government in each member state shall enforce this compact and shall take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the compact's purposes and intent. The provisions of this compact shall have standing as statutory law. (2) All courts shall take judicial notice of the compact and the rules in any judicial or administrative proceeding in a member state pertaining to the subject matter of this compact which may affect the powers, responsibilities, or actions of the Interstate Commission. (3) The Interstate Commission shall be entitled to receive all service of process in any such proceeding and shall have standing to intervene in the proceeding for all purposes. Failure to provide service of process to the Interstate Commission shall render a judgment or order void as to the Interstate Commission, this compact, or promulgated rules.
B. Default, Technical Assistance, Suspension, and Termination -- If the Interstate Commission determines that a member state has defaulted in the performance of its obligations or responsibilities under this compact, or the bylaws or promulgated rules, the Interstate Commission shall:
(1) Provide written notice to the defaulting state and other member states of the nature of the default, the means of curing the default, and any action taken by the Interstate

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Commission. The Interstate Commission shall specify the conditions by which the defaulting state must cure its default; (2) Provide remedial training and specific technical assistance regarding the default; (3) If the defaulting state fails to cure the default, the defaulting state shall be terminated from the compact upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the member states, and all rights, privileges, and benefits conferred by this compact shall be terminated from the effective date of termination. A cure of the default does not relieve the offending state of obligations or liabilities incurred during the period of the default; (4) Suspension or termination of membership in the compact shall be imposed only after all other means of securing compliance have been exhausted. Notice of intent to suspend or terminate shall be given by the Interstate Commission to the Governor, the majority and minority leaders of the defaulting state's legislature, and each of the member states; (5) The state which has been suspended or terminated is responsible for all assessments, obligations, and liabilities incurred through the effective date of suspension or termination, including obligations, the performance of which extends beyond the effective date of suspension or termination; (6) The Interstate Commission shall not bear any costs relating to any state that has been found to be in default or which has been suspended or terminated from the compact unless otherwise mutually agreed upon in writing between the Interstate Commission and the defaulting state; and (7) The defaulting state may appeal the action of the Interstate Commission by petitioning the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or the federal district where the Interstate Commission has its principal offices. The prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of such litigation including reasonable attorney's fees. C. Dispute Resolution. (1) The Interstate Commission shall attempt, upon the request of a member state, to resolve disputes which are subject to the compact and which may arise among member states and between member and nonmember states. (2) The Interstate Commission shall promulgate a rule providing for both mediation and binding dispute resolution for disputes as appropriate. D. Enforcement. (1) The Interstate Commission, in the reasonable exercise of its discretion, shall enforce the provisions and rules of this compact. (2) The Interstate Commission may, by majority vote of the members, initiate legal action in the United State District Court for the District of Columbia or, at the discretion of the Interstate Commission, in the federal district where the Interstate Commission has its principal offices, to enforce compliance with the provisions of the compact, its promulgated rules, and bylaws against a member state in default. The relief sought may include both injunctive relief and damages. In the event judicial enforcement is

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necessary, the prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of such litigation, including reasonable attorney's fees. (3) The remedies herein shall not be the exclusive remedies of the Interstate Commission. The Interstate Commission may avail itself of any other remedies available under state law or the regulation of a profession.

ARTICLE XIV FINANCING OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

A. The Interstate Commission shall pay or provide for the payment of the reasonable expenses of its establishment, organization, and ongoing activities. B. The Interstate Commission may levy on and collect an annual assessment from each member state to cover the cost of the operations and activities of the Interstate Commission and its staff which must be in a total amount sufficient to cover the Interstate Commission's annual budget as approved each year. The aggregate annual assessment amount shall be allocated based upon a formula to be determined by the Interstate Commission, which shall promulgate a rule binding upon all member states. C. The Interstate Commission shall not incur obligations of any kind prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the same; nor shall the Interstate Commission pledge the credit of any of the member states. D. The Interstate Commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the Interstate Commission shall be subject to the audit and accounting procedures established under its bylaws. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Interstate Commission shall be audited yearly by a certified or licensed public accountant, and the report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the Interstate Commission.

ARTICLE XV MEMBER STATES, EFFECTIVE DATE, AND AMENDMENT

A. Any state is eligible to become a member state. B. This compact shall become effective and binding upon legislative enactment of this compact into law by no less than ten of the states. The effective date shall be no earlier than December 1, 2011. Thereafter, it shall become effective and binding as to any other member state upon enactment of the compact into law by that state. The Governors of nonmember states or their designees shall be invited to participate in the activities of the Interstate Commission on a nonvoting basis prior to adoption of the compact by all states. C. The Interstate Commission may propose amendments to the compact for enactment by the member states. No amendment shall become effective and binding upon the Interstate Commission and the member states unless and until it is enacted into law by unanimous consent of the member states.

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ARTICLE XVI WITHDRAWAL AND DISSOLUTION

A. Withdrawal. (1) Once effective, the compact shall continue in force and remain binding upon each and every member state, provided that a member state may withdraw from the compact by specifically repealing the statute which enacted the compact into law. (2) Withdrawal from this compact shall be by the enactment of a statute repealing the same. (3) The withdrawing state shall immediately notify the chairperson of the Interstate Commission in writing upon the introduction of legislation repealing this compact in the withdrawing state. The Interstate Commission shall notify the other member states of the withdrawing state's intent to withdraw within 60 days of its receipt thereof. (4) The withdrawing state is responsible for all assessments, obligations, and liabilities incurred through the effective date of withdrawal, including obligations, the performance of which extend beyond the effective date of withdrawal. (5) Reinstatement following withdrawal of a member state shall occur upon the withdrawing state reenacting the compact or upon such later date as determined by the Interstate Commission.
B. Dissolution of Compact. (1) This compact shall dissolve effective upon the date of the withdrawal or default of the member state which reduces the membership in the compact to one member state. (2) Upon the dissolution of this compact, the compact becomes null and void and shall be of no further force or effect, and the business and affairs of the Interstate Commission shall be concluded and surplus funds shall be distributed in accordance with the bylaws.

ARTICLE XVII SEVERABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION

A. The provisions of this compact shall be severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision is deemed unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the compact shall be enforceable. B. The provisions of this compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes. C. Nothing in this compact shall be construed to prohibit the applicability of other interstate compacts to which the states are members.

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ARTICLE XVIII BINDING EFFECT OF COMPACT AND OTHER LAWS

A. Other Laws. (1) Nothing herein shall prevent the enforcement of any other law of a member state that is not inconsistent with this compact. (2) All member states' laws conflicting with this compact are superseded to the extent of the conflict.
B. Binding Effect of the Compact. (1) All lawful actions of the Interstate Commission, including all rules and bylaws promulgated by the Interstate Commission, are binding upon the member states. (2) All agreements between the Interstate Commission and the member states are binding in accordance with their terms. (3) In the event any provision of this compact exceeds the constitutional limits imposed on the legislature of any member state, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of the conflict with the constitutional provision in question in that member state.'"

SECTION 2. On the date this Act becomes effective as provided in Article XV of this compact, Article 35 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education of military dependents, shall be repealed in its entirety.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved April 25, 2012.

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STATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM; DEDICATE CERTAIN PORTIONS.

No. 628 (Senate Resolution No. 843).

A RESOLUTION

Dedicating certain portions of the state highway system; repealing certain resolutions; repealing conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

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PART I WHEREAS, Mr. Bert Ward was born on May 30, 1922, in Catoosa County, Georgia, was educated in the Catoosa County public school system, and graduated from Ringgold High School; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ward served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Navy, valiantly and courageously protecting his fellow Americans during World War II on the USS Gillis and the USS Williamson in the Pacific; and

WHEREAS, he sustained injuries during his service when his ship was torpedoed by Japanese submarines in the North Pacific; and

WHEREAS, upon returning home after the war, Mr. Ward continued his public service as Catoosa County Tax Commissioner, diligently and conscientiously devoting innumerable hours of his time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of his community and state for 19 years; and

WHEREAS, he was elected to represent Catoosa County as a State Representative in the Georgia General Assembly in 1967 and 1968; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ward served as a judge in Catoosa County for several years before he was elected to serve on the Board of Commissioners of Catoosa County; and

WHEREAS, as a member of the Board of Commissioners, Mr. Ward was instrumental in establishing procedures, policies, and rules and regulations of the board and helped in the establishment of the county's 911emergency response system and the naming of the Catoosa Parkway; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ward's significant organizational and leadership talents, his remarkable patience and diplomacy, his keen sense of vision, and his sensitivity to the needs of the citizens of this state earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and associates; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments and service of this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART II WHEREAS, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., stands as one of the most prominent Georgians of the 20th Century; and

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WHEREAS, Rev. King attended public school in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of 15, and received his bachelor's degree in 1948 from Morehouse College; and

WHEREAS, after three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he was elected president of the senior class, he was awarded a divinity degree in 1951, and, with a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving his doctoral degree in 1955; and

WHEREAS, in 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and, in the 11 years between 1957 and 1968, he traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over 2,500 times in support of civil rights and wrote five books as well as numerous articles; and

WHEREAS, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," a manifesto of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States; and

WHEREAS, he also planned and participated in numerous protests and demonstrations for the cause of civil rights including the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" address at the Lincoln Memorial; and

WHEREAS, he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and, at the age of 35, was the youngest man to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; and

WHEREAS, through his tireless work on behalf of civil rights for all people, he became not only the symbolic leader of African Americans in the United States but also a world figure in the fight for justice for all; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper to dedicate the entire length of Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County from its intersection with Wesley Chapel Road to the Henry County line as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway as an appropriate tribute to this outstanding Georgian.

PART III WHEREAS, Roy Parrish was born in Walker County, Georgia, on November 29, 1933, one of four children born to Roy E. Parrish, Sr., and the former Annie May Autry; the Parrish family and the Autry family were pioneers to Walker County and have made this county their homes since the eighteenth century; and

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WHEREAS, Mr. Parrish was educated in the City of Chickamauga School System and graduated from Gordon Lee High School in 1953; he started to work for the Chickamauga Telephone Company while still in high school, and he remained in their employ for 19 years, the last several as general manager; and

WHEREAS, he also served two years on active duty with the United States Army in Korea; and

WHEREAS, he was elected Sole Commissioner of Walker County in the Democratic Primary of 1972 and took office January 1, 1973; he went on to serve six, four-year terms; and

WHEREAS, some of his major accomplishments include building the first sanitary landfill in 1973 and operating it for 23 years; building and paving the county roads; passing the first Local Option Sales Tax Referendum in 1977 that rolled back county property tax and for the first time offered property tax relief to the local community; building the civic center, pavilion, and the 911 Center; building a tunnel from the courthouse to the jail for security; and building and operating an animal shelter, 16 fire stations, and 126 bridges; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Parrish worked with Georgia Department of Transportation and the United States Department of the Interior as well as the National Park Service and Congressman Buddy Darden to get a better corridor through or around the Chickamauga Battlefield and was largely responsible for getting the western route through Walker County established as the relocated Highway 27 around the Chickamauga National Park; and

WHEREAS, he has been married to the former Cora Ann Kell, also a native of Walker County, for more than 50 years, and they have two children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; they live in the City of Chickamauga where they are active members of the Elizabeth Lee United Methodist Church; and

WHEREAS, he retired, undefeated, from public office in 1996 and now enjoys the freedom of retirement; he and Cora Ann spend time traveling, enjoying their family, gardening, and working in their church where Roy has recruited many of his friends; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that a lasting tribute to this life of public service be established.

PART IV WHEREAS, Dr. Johnny M. Hunt has demonstrated his commitment to teaching the Gospel, witnessing Christ through word and deed, and addressing the physical, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual needs of others; and

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WHEREAS, Dr. Hunt was born on July 17, 1952, in Lumberton, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Gardner-Webb College and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; and

WHEREAS, he has served as pastor of Longleaf Baptist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina; Falls Baptist Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina; and Lavonia Baptist Church in Mooresboro, North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hunt was called by the Lord in 1986 to lead the congregation of First Baptist Church of Woodstock as the church's senior pastor; and

WHEREAS, his vision and direction have helped First Baptist Church of Woodstock grow in size and influence, uplifting the community like the light of Bethlehem and serving as a spiritual leader and place for fellowship; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hunt has served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention and president of the Pastors' Conference of the Southern Baptist Convention; and

WHEREAS, whether the task is preparing a sermon, visiting the sick, counseling the troubled, baptizing a new believer, or acting as a theologian, educator, administrator, or humanitarian, Dr. Hunt serves as a shining example of God's righteous path; and

WHEREAS, the unmatched spiritual assistance offered by Dr. Hunt is a source of strength and direction for persons in all walks of life and from all economic strata; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that this enduring example of God's message of peace and love be recognized.

PART V WHEREAS, our nation's security continues to rely on patriotic men and women who put their personal lives on hold in order to place themselves in harm's way to protect the freedoms that all United States citizens cherish; and

WHEREAS, Korean War veterans have demonstrated a deep personal commitment to protecting democracy and a willingness to sacrifice their own personal safety and comfort to ensure the well-being of their fellow man; and

WHEREAS, they served as guardians of this nation's freedom and liberty and diligently and conscientiously underwent intensive and rigorous training in order to serve their country with honor and distinction during a time of war; and

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WHEREAS, it is important that Korean War veterans are thanked for their selfless service to this nation and honored for their unyielding commitment to protecting the people and ideals of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Korean War veterans embody the spirit of service, willing to find meaning in something greater than themselves, and it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments and sacrifices of these remarkable and distinguished Americans be honored appropriately.

PART VI WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Lance Corporal William Taylor Richards; and

WHEREAS, Lance Corporal Richards served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Marines Corps; and

WHEREAS, he was born on January 31, 1990, in Trenton, Georgia, and graduated from Dade County High School, where he was known as a talented musician; and

WHEREAS, Lance Corporal Richards was stationed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan when he was killed while serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and

WHEREAS, Lance Corporal Richards was awarded a Rifle Expert Medal, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Global War Service Medal, a War on Terrorism Medal, and a Purple Heart; and

WHEREAS, he leaves behind many who will cherish his memory, including his wife Emily and his beautiful daughter Kayden Leigh; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that a lasting memorial to Lance Corporal Richards' life of service to his country be established.

PART VII WHEREAS, Mr. William G. Long has long been recognized by the citizens of this state for the vital role he has played in leadership and his deep personal commitment to the welfare of the citizens of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Long diligently and conscientiously devoted innumerable hours of his time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of his community and state as evidenced dramatically by his superlative service to the City of Woodstock as a city council member,

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a member of the Planning Commission, a city judge, and mayor over the course of 40 years; and

WHEREAS, first elected to serve the public in 1966 as a member of the Woodstock City Council, Mr. Long is one of Woodstock's most distinguished citizens and dedicated servants; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Long's significant organizational and leadership talents, his remarkable patience and diplomacy, his keen sense of vision, and his sensitivity to the needs of the citizens of this state earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and associates; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the extraordinary accomplishments of this distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART VIII WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Mr. Preston B. Lewis, Jr.; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of Waynesboro High School, Mr. Lewis served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Army, valiantly and courageously protecting America during the Korean War; and

WHEREAS, he trained at the United States Navy Submarine School, received a Bronze Star, and attained the rank of captain; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Lewis graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a law degree before he joined his father's legal practice, Lewis & Lewis, where he practiced law for 30 years; and

WHEREAS, he served as juvenile court judge for more than 30 years and served the people of Georgia as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for six terms and the Georgia Senate for one term; and

WHEREAS, a community leader, Mr. Lewis was a Rotarian and served as president of the Waynesboro Shrine Club and as a member of the Waynesboro Masonic Lodge, the American Legion, and First United Methodist Church; and

WHEREAS, he left behind many who will cherish his memory, including his wife of 58 years, Katherine Honey Hill; four children, Preston Brooks Lewis III, Clifford Ellis Lewis, Julian Carlton Lewis, and Katherine Virginia Lewis Jones; and 11 grandchildren; and

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WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that a lasting memorial to Mr. Lewis' life of service to this state be established.

PART IX WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Deputy James D. Paugh on October 23, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh was highly regarded by the citizens of his community and state and by local government officials as a person of unquestioned integrity and dedication to the sound principles of law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, known by friends and family as "J.D.," Deputy Paugh was a dedicated deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office for 17 years; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh's life was tragically cut short after stopping behind a vehicle on Interstate Route 520 in Augusta-Richmond County when the occupant of the vehicle opened fire upon him; and

WHEREAS, he exhibited extraordinary devotion to duty, outstanding loyalty, fine leadership, and meticulous attention to detail in all his duties, and his efficient and effective commitment to excellence was continually recognized by his peers; and

WHEREAS, a native of Augusta, Georgia, Deputy Paugh was the beloved son of Wayne and Anita Paugh and father of Brandon; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh was a dedicated public servant who will long be remembered for his courage and selflessness, and he will be missed by all who had the great fortune of knowing him.

PART X WHEREAS, Mr. John S. Gibson played a vital role in leadership and demonstrated deep personal commitment to the welfare of the citizens of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Gibson was born in Folkston, Georgia, one of 11 beloved children of William Owen and Julia Ann Gibson; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of Georgia State Normal College and Business Institute, Mr. Gibson was admitted to the bar in 1922 and had a reputation as an aggressive trial lawyer who was well known for his colorful and humorous arguments; and

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WHEREAS, Mr. Gibson served as solicitor-general for the City of Douglas and the Waycross Circuit Court before serving as a United States Congressman for the Eighth District of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, he represented the people of Georgia for three terms and is credited with playing a decisive role in the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the G.I. Bill; and

WHEREAS, he was a person of magnanimous strengths with an unimpeachable reputation for integrity, intelligence, fairness, and kindness; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Gibson served with honor and distinction for the State of Georgia and this nation, and his vision and unyielding commitment set the standard for public service; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART XI WHEREAS, written and composed by Ricky Fitzpatrick, "Highway 98" describes the joy of traveling down one of Georgia's great highways; and

WHEREAS, the lyrics tell of local landmarks from Commerce to Danielsville to the farms and barns of Midway and beyond; and

WHEREAS, a long, straight, and picturesque road, Highway 98 is surrounded by pastures and wide open spaces; and

WHEREAS, the feeling of freedom and nostalgia for a simpler time that one gets when driving down Highway 98 is depicted perfectly in the lyrics of Fitzpatrick's "Highway 98"; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that "Highway 98" be recognized for its promotion of Georgia and its tribute to one of this state's great roads.

PART XII WHEREAS, Mrs. Ruth B. Crawford has long been recognized by the citizens of this state for the vital role that she has played in leadership and her deep personal commitment to the welfare of the citizens of Georgia; and

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WHEREAS, Mrs. Crawford earned a bachelor's degree from Paine College and a master's degree from Indiana University and dedicated 38 years to uplifting the lives of students through her work in the field of education; and

WHEREAS, upon her retirement from the Richmond County School System in 1977, Mrs. Crawford founded the Shiloh Comprehensive Community Center, where she served for 30 years as founding executive administrator; and

WHEREAS, her contributions to education and her community have been recognized with numerous honors and accolades, including the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Service from WJBF-TV, Humanitarian of the Year Award from University Hospital, Good Samaritan Award from the St. Joseph Foundation, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and a Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of America; and

WHEREAS, a resident of Augusta, Georgia, Mrs. Crawford is a long-time supporter of Paine College, serves as a charter member of the Presidents Club, has been selected as one of the Distinguished Alumni, and assisted in designing the school flag; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Crawford has lived on State Route 4 in Richmond County for over 45 years, where she has attended Williams Memorial CME Church and dedicated her time to improving the lives of others in the community; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the extraordinary accomplishments of this distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART XIII WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Deputy James D. Paugh on October 23, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh was highly regarded by the citizens of his community and state and by local government officials as a person of unquestioned integrity and dedication to the sound principles of law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, known by friends and family as "J.D.," Deputy Paugh was a dedicated member of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office for 17 years; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh's life was cut tragically short while protecting the public near the interchange of U.S. Route 78/State Route 10 with Interstate Route 520 in Augusta-Richmond County; and

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WHEREAS, he exhibited extraordinary devotion to duty, outstanding loyalty, fine leadership, and meticulous attention to detail in all his duties, and his efficient and effective commitment to excellence was continually recognized by his peers; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Paugh was a dedicated public servant who will long be remembered for his courage and selflessness, and he will be missed by all who had the great fortune of knowing him.

PART XIV WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Mr. John B. Box on February 12, 2012; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Box was a well known and beloved resident of Greene County, Georgia, where he owned The Richland Bar for nearly 30 years; and

WHEREAS, a talented artist, Mr. Box sung professionally for over three decades and served as the headlining artist for such stars as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, and Al Martino; and

WHEREAS, known as the Golden Voice of Greensboro, Mr. Box performed the National Anthem at numerous local sporting events and public gatherings; and

WHEREAS, a man of deep and abiding faith, Mr. Box was a long-time member of First United Methodist Church, where he contributed to the chorus; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the extraordinary accomplishments of this distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART XV WHEREAS, Harold Shedd is highly regarded by the citizens of Haralson County and the State of Georgia as a giant and a visionary in the music industry; and

WHEREAS, he was born on November 8, 1931, and began work in Bremen as a member of a local band; and

WHEREAS, he worked in radio for 14 years as a disk jockey, engineer, sales manager, and, finally, station owner and, in 1972, he sold radio station WWCC and moved to Nashville, Tennessee where, by 1979, he was co-owner of the Music Mill recording studio, which during its heyday was known as one of the top ten recording studios in Nashville; and

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WHEREAS, he was instrumental in discovering the group Alabama and signing them to RCA and producing 21 consecutive number one hits for the band, a record that stands to this day; and

WHEREAS, he also produced albums for Roger Miller, Mel Tillis, Louise Mandrell, Dobie Gray, K. T. Oslin, Glen Campbell, and Willie Nelson; and

WHEREAS, his collaboration with Reba McIntire led to her first gold record; and

WHEREAS, in 1988, he joined Mercury Polygram Records Nashville where, over the next six years, he oversaw the signing of Kentucky Headhunters, Shania Twain, Billy Ray Cyrus, Toby Keith, and Kathy Mattea; and

WHEREAS, in 1989, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, he is still the all-time, number one country independent record producer; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper to dedicate United States Highway 27 in Haralson County from the Polk County line to the Carroll County line as the Harold Shedd Highway as an appropriate tribute to this outstanding Georgian.

PART XVI WHEREAS, on December 17, 2005, the State of Georgia lost one of its finest and most outstanding citizens with the passing of Mr. Charles N. "Judy" Poag; and

WHEREAS, Charles Poag graduated from Murray County High School in 1951, and he treasured the Cleveland Indian's baseball jacket he earned while pitching for the Cleveland farm club; and

WHEREAS, after obtaining a degree from Lincoln Memorial College in 1955, he returned to Murray County High School where he made headlines in the early years of his teaching and coaching career by being the first coach to take the girls team to the state playoffs; and

WHEREAS, Charles Poag's prominent political career began in 1960 when he was the youngest sheriff ever elected in Georgia, serving 16 years in office; and

WHEREAS, he also worked as a police officer for the Chatsworth Police Department for five years and as a state investigator for the State of Georgia in addition to being a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for ten years, prodigiously serving the State of Georgia and its citizens with an unwavering commitment to honor and integrity; and

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WHEREAS, he dedicated his life to helping others, especially the senior citizens of Murray County, for whom he was the driving force that led to the building of the senior citizens center in Chatsworth appropriately named the "Charles Judy Poag Senior Citizen Center"; and

WHEREAS, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and his passing left an unfillable void in the hearts and lives of his family, friends, and associates.

PART XVII WHEREAS, Lieutenant Kelso C. Horne served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty as a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Horne was a resident of Dublin, Georgia, and graced the cover of LIFE magazine on August 14, 1944, as a representation of the one of thousands of men who were fighting to win the battle for France; and

WHEREAS, at 2:06 A.M. on June 6, 1944, Lieutenant Horne leapt from his transport plane and parachuted into Normandy; and

WHEREAS, after weeks of fighting to gain ground against the enemy, Lieutenant Horne was at the head of an infantry column that was advancing on a German-held town when he was stopped by a staff car and asked to be photographed; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Horne was injured by shellfire in July 1944, and as he healed from his injuries in England he saw his photo on the cover of LIFE magazine; and

WHEREAS, after he returned home from the war, Lieutenant Horne continued to serve his country with the United States Postal Service; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that a lasting tribute to Lieutenant Horne's memory and life of service to his country be established.

PART XVIII WHEREAS, Hugh Carroll Butler was born on September 1, 1934, in Ramhurst, Georgia, and passed away on December 22, 2010; and

WHEREAS, he lived in Port Wentworth, Georgia, for 48 years after moving to the area with his wife while serving in the United States Air Force; and

WHEREAS, he was a member of the city council of Port Wentworth for 20 years; and

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WHEREAS, he served for many years as the chairman of the Good Samaritan Committee of Port Wentworth, which was formed to help travelers in need of assistance and to deliver baskets of food to needy families during the Christmas season; and

WHEREAS, Carroll was a member of the Lions Club for over 25 years and served as its president on several occasions; and

WHEREAS, he was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Port Wentworth for 45 years, serving as a deacon and Sunday school director; and

WHEREAS, he and his wife of nearly 55 years, Carolyn Scott Butler, were blessed with two children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that the life well lived of Hugh Carroll Butler, with his devotion to his family, his church, his community, and his country, be memorialized with a lasting monument.

PART XIX WHEREAS, Mr. Jim Wetherington has long been recognized by the citizens of this state for the vital role he has played in leadership and his deep personal commitment to the welfare of the citizens of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wetherington diligently and conscientiously devoted innumerable hours of his time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of his community and state as evidenced dramatically by his superlative service to the Columbus Police Department, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Department of Corrections; and

WHEREAS, he earned a bachelor's degree from Columbus State University and a master's degree from Georgia State University; and

WHEREAS, he served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Army; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wetherington served as president of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, an organization which recognized him as Police Chief of the Year in 1994; and

WHEREAS, his significant organizational and leadership talents, his remarkable patience and diplomacy, his keen sense of vision, and his sensitivity to the needs of the citizens of this state earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and associates; and

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WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the extraordinary accomplishments of this distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART XX WHEREAS, Mrs. Glenda and Dr. John Covington have been residents of Paulding County, Georgia, since 1958; and

WHEREAS, in addition to a establishing a thriving and caring medical practice in Paulding County, Dr. Covington opened a local branch of Citizens Bank and a savings and loan bank; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Covington served as Paulding County's medical examiner for several years, is a founding member of the county chapter of the Jaycees, and built the medical arts clinic/hospital in the 1960's; and

WHEREAS, he has been recognized with numerous honors and accolades, including Jaycees 1970's Citizen of the Year and the 2010 Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year; and

WHEREAS, Dr. and Mrs. Covington's six remarkable children inspired them to ensure all children of Paulding County had access to a safe place to play, and they were instrumental in the building of the recreation center in Dallas; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the extraordinary accomplishments of these distinguished Georgians be appropriately recognized.

PART XXI WHEREAS, the freedoms that we as Americans enjoy are guarded by the men and women who proudly serve in our country's armed forces; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Major James E. Jones, a citizen of the town of Alapaha in Berrien County, went missing in action and was presumably killed on October 6, 1966, while on an intelligence gathering mission in Laos with the United States Army's Fifth Special Forces; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Major Jones was serving his second tour of duty in Southeast Asia at the time he was declared missing in action; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that this American hero be honored by dedicating a bridge in his honor.

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PART XXII WHEREAS, the State of Georgia contains countless historical sites and geographical regions which are rich in educational and recreational features; and

WHEREAS, the Metro Atlanta Region contains many features which reach back to Georgia's diverse and fascinating heritage, including the cultural and historical development along this historic trail; and

WHEREAS, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, whose novel continues to sell in record numbers after 75 years in print, attracts visitors internationally and domestically to the area, providing an economic impact to the State of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Gone With the Wind continues to promote diversity through Margaret Mitchell's support of Morehouse College for more than 60 years, as well as her work in helping to integrate the Atlanta Police Department and establishing both Caucasian and African-American clinics at Grady Hospital in Atlanta; and

WHEREAS, the designated sites, while being individually significant, would provide a stronger and more lasting impact on tourism as a legislated partnership in the form of a Gone With the Wind Trail; and

WHEREAS, it is important in preserving representations of this past and heritage, and in promoting future economic growth, that this site and region be identified, marketed, promoted, and managed; and

WHEREAS, the designation of the Georgia Gone With the Wind Trail serves to enhance visibility and recognition for our state both nationally and internationally.

PART XXIII WHEREAS, Mr. John Flournoy has long been recognized by the citizens of this state for the vital role that he has played in leadership and his deep personal commitment to the welfare of the citizens of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of Columbus High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mr. Flournoy is the founder and CEO of Flournoy Development Company, Flournoy Construction Company, and Flournoy Properties; and

WHEREAS, his companies have been involved in residential, industrial, and commercial construction in the Southeast for 44 years and never failed to complete a contract; and

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WHEREAS, Mr. Flournoy served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Marine Corps as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War and has been decorated with 15 air medals and the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross; and

WHEREAS, he has earned the highest civilian award for support of the infantry, the Order of St. Maurice from the Infantry Commandant, and the Nobel Patron of Armor from the Armor Commandant for his support of all Armor soldiers; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Flournoy has diligently and conscientiously devoted innumerable hours of his time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of his community and state as evidenced dramatically by his superlative service for 44 years with the Boys and Girls Club; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding contributions of this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.

PART XXIV WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas R. "Tommie" Irvin was a seventh generation Georgian who attended high school in Habersham County, where he was a talented athlete and member of the football, basketball, and baseball teams; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Irvin served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States military during World War II, achieved the rank of sergeant in Company K 245th infantry Regiment 63rd Division, and was decorated with a bronze star, good conduct medal, World War II victory medal, and occupation medal; and

WHEREAS, upon his return from the war, Mr. Irvin found his passion in car racing and raced on the famed Daytona Beach road course and Soldiers Field in Chicago before becoming the 16th member of NASCAR in the late 1940s; and

WHEREAS, an inductee in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, he won his biggest race in 1955 at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta and opened the Banks County Speedway, which became the starting place for many young drivers who later became famous; and

WHEREAS, a passionate coon hunter, Mr. Irvin won the World Championship for coon hunting in 1973, and he raised many Redbone Coonhounds that became show and hunting champions; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Irvin was a dedicated public servant, devoting his time and energy to the Georgia Department of Agriculture for 34 years before his retirement from his position as head of the Equine Division; and

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WHEREAS, he was united in love and marriage to his wife, Sara Alice, and he was blessed with four children, Yvonne, Bruce, Bobby, and Danny; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that the life and memory of Mr. Irvin be appropriately recognized.

PART XXV NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that:
(1) The bridge on Catoosa Parkway over Tiger Creek in Catoosa County is dedicated as the Bert Ward Memorial Bridge; (2) The entire length of Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County from its intersection with Wesley Chapel Road to the Henry County line is dedicated as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway; (3) This body desires to honor Roy Parrish by renaming the portion of US 27/SR 1 from the city limits of Fort Oglethorpe south to Shields Crossing as the Roy Parrish Parkway; (4) The portion of State Route 92 in Cherokee County from Neese Road to Trickum Road is dedicated as the Johnny Hunt Highway; (5) This body hereby joins in honoring veterans of the Korean War and dedicates Interstate 59 in Dade County from the Alabama state line to the interchange with I-24 as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway; (6) This body hereby joins in honoring the life and memory of Marine Lance Corporal William Taylor Richards and dedicates the portion of Highway 11 in Dade County from the Alabama state line to the Tennessee state line as the Lance Corporal William Taylor Richards Memorial Highway; (7) The interchange at Interstate 575 and Ridgewalk Parkway in the City of Woodstock is dedicated as the William G. Long Interchange at Ridgewalk Parkway; (8) This body hereby joins in honoring the life and memory of Mr. Preston B. Lewis, Jr., and dedicates the portion of U.S. Highway 25N from Waynesboro to Walnut Branch as the Preston B. Lewis, Jr., Memorial Highway; (9) The portion of Interstate Route 520 in Richmond County from Exit 2 (Wrightsboro Road) to Exit 3 (Gordon Highway) is dedicated as the Deputy James D. Paugh Memorial Highway; (10) That US 441 in Coffee County from the Douglas city limits to the Atkinson County line is dedicated as the John S. Gibson Memorial Highway; (11) That this body hereby joins in recognizing Ricky Fitzpatrick's "Highway 98" and dedicates State Route 98 from Commerce to Ila as the "Highway 98" by Ricky Fitzpatrick Highway; (12) That the portion of State Route 4 in Richmond County from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Laney Walker Boulevard is dedicated as the Ruth B. Crawford Highway;

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(13) That the interchange of U.S. Route 78/State Route 10 with Interstate Route 520 in Augusta-Richmond County is dedicated as the Deputy James D. Paugh Memorial Interchange; (14) That the bridge on SR 12/US 278 over Richland Creek in Greene County is dedicated as the John B. Box Memorial Bridge; (15) That United States Highway 27 in Haralson County from the Polk County line to the Carroll County line is dedicated as the Harold Shedd Highway; (16) That the portion of SR 2/US 411 in Murray County between the Eton city line and Cohutta Springs Road is dedicated as the Charles N. "Judy" Poag Memorial Highway; (17) That this body hereby joins in honoring the life and memory of Lieutenant Kelso C. Horne and dedicates the portion of U.S. Route 441/State Route 117 in Laurens County from State Route 19 to U.S. Route 80 as the Kelso Horne Memorial Highway; (18) That the bridge on SR 25 over the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks in the city limits of Port Wentworth in Chatham County is dedicated as the Hugh Carroll Butler Memorial Bridge; (19) That the interchange at Interstate 85 and J.R. Allen Parkway in Muscogee County is dedicated as the Jim Wetherington Interchange; (20) That Highway 92N in Paulding County from its intersection with U.S. 278 to GA 120 is dedicated as the Mrs. Glenda and Dr. John Covington Highway; (21) That the bridge over the Alapaha River on U.S. Highway 82 East in Berrien County be dedicated as the Sergeant Major James E. Jones Memorial Bridge; (22) That the appropriate public roads and highways identified within Marietta, Atlanta, and Jonesboro by the Georgia Gone With the Wind Trail Committee with input from the appropriate county and municipal governing authorities be designated as the Georgia Gone With the Wind Trail; (23) That the interchange of Interstate 185/State Route 411 with State Route 520/State Route 1 in Muscogee County is dedicated as the John Flournoy Interchange; (24) That this body hereby joins in honoring the life and memory of Mr. Thomas R. "Tommie" Irvin and dedicates the intersection of Highway 441 and Apple Pie Ridge Road in Banks County as the Tommie Irvin Memorial Intersection; (25) That Part XVI and the sixteenth undesignated paragraph of Part XIX of Senate Resolution 1075 (Ga. L. 2010, p. 362) are hereby repealed; (26) That Part V and the fifth undesignated paragraph of Part XXVIII of House Resolution 507 (Ga. L. 2011, p. 900) are hereby repealed; (27) The Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the road facilities named in this resolution; and (28) The Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit appropriate copies of this resolution to the Department of Transportation, the family of Mr. Bert Ward, the family of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the family of Roy Parrish, Jr., the family of Dr. Johnny M. Hunt, and the family of Marine Lance Corporal William Tyler Richards, the Honorable William G. Long, the family of Mr. Preston B. Lewis, Jr., the family of Mr.

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John S. Gibson, Ricky Fitzpartick, Mrs. Ruth B. Crawford, the family of Deputy James D. Paugh, the family of Mr. John B. Box, Harold Shedd, the family of Mr. Charles N. "Judy" Poag, the family of Lieutenant Kelso C. Horne, the family of Mr. Hugh Carroll Butler, Mr. Jim Wetherington, Mrs. Glenda and Dr. John Covington, the family of Sergeant Major James E. Jones, Mr. John Flournoy, and the family of Mr. Thomas R. "Tommie" Irwin.

Approved April 25, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO ABOLITION OF STATE PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION AND TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS TO DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.

No. 629 (House Bill No. 805).

AN ACT

To amend Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and pensions, so as to make conforming amendments and correct references relative to the abolition of the State Personnel Administration and the transfer of certain functions of such agency to the Department of Administrative Services as provided by a separate Act; to provide for legislative purpose; to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; to change certain provisions relating to involuntary separation from employment and grounds and procedures for discharge of employees; to change certain provisions relating to power and duty of board of trustees to administer and operate retirement system, membership of board, vacancies, expenses, oath, and quorum; to change certain provisions relating to election of chairman and director, actuarial services, application of the State Personnel Administration, and payment of costs of the State Personnel Administration; to change certain provisions relating to credit for accumulations of forfeited annual and sick leave; to change certain provisions relating to allowance payable upon death, disability, or involuntary separation from employment, restrictions on separation for disability, and restrictions on entitlement to involuntary separation benefits; to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia; to change certain provisions relating to eligibility, termination, leaves of absence, service credit for postgraduate study, and transfer of service credit; to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to social security coverage for employees of the state and political subdivisions of the state; to change certain provisions

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relating to creation of the State Employees' Assurance Department, management of the department, and membership of the board of directors; to change certain provisions relating to application of the State Personnel Administration to employees of the department and payment of pro rata share of costs; to provide an effective date; to provide for contingent automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to make conforming amendments and correct references in Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and pensions, relative to the abolition of the State Personnel Administration and the transfer of certain functions of such agency to the Department of Administrative Services as provided by a separate Act.
SECTION 2. Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and pensions, is amended by revising Code Section 47-2-1, relating to definitions relative to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, as follows:
"47-2-1. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Accumulated contributions' means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the earnable compensation of a member or paid by the member to establish or reestablish credit for service, which amounts are credited to the member's individual account in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest thereon. Beginning July 1, 1980, 'accumulated contributions' also includes the amount of employee contributions paid by the employer on behalf of the employee and credited to the employee's individual account in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest thereon, excluding employee contributions paid by the employer or the employee for group term life insurance. (2) 'Actuarial equivalent' means a benefit of equal value when computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees. (3) 'Annuity' means annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member. (4) 'Annuity reserve' means the present value of all payments to be made on account of an annuity, or benefit in lieu of an annuity, computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees. (5) 'Annuity savings fund' means the fund set forth under Code Section 47-2-51. (6) 'Average final compensation' means the average annual earnable compensation of any employee during his or her last five years of creditable service or, if the employee has

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had less than five years of creditable service, his or her average annual earnable compensation during his or her total creditable service. (7) 'Beneficiary' means any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit under this chapter. (8) 'Board of trustees' means the board of trustees provided for in Code Section 47-2-21 to administer the retirement system. (9) Reserved. (10) Reserved. (11) 'Court of record' means state courts, city courts, superior courts, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia handling within their jurisdiction general state law exclusively. This definition shall have no effect on creditable service determined or prior service certificates issued by the board of trustees before February 13, 1956. (12) 'Credit' means creditable service, as defined in this Code section. (13) 'Creditable service' means prior service plus membership service and any other service recognized as creditable service under this chapter. (14) 'Division A' means the division within the retirement system of members who are part of the Employees' Social Security Coverage Group, as set forth in Code Section 47-2-71. (15) 'Earnable compensation' means the full rate of regular compensation payable to a member employee for his or her full normal working time, excluding any supplements from local funds. In cases where compensation includes maintenance, the board of trustees shall fix the value of that part of the compensation not paid in cash. Such term shall include contributions made to a qualified transportation plan, within the meaning of Section 132(f) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, and before tax or salary deferral contributions made under Section 125, 401(k), 402(g)(3), 457, or 414(h) of the federal Internal Revenue Code to this retirement system or to any other retirement plan maintained by an employer. (16) 'Employee' means:
(A) Any regularly classified worker, elected or appointed officer, or employee of a state agency or any employee of a county, city-county, or city board, which agency or board is subject to the state system of personnel administration created by Chapter 20 of Title 45 and the State Personnel Board, including a merit system for employees of the Department of Public Safety; (B) Any employee or officer of any other department, bureau, board, institution, or commission of the state:
(i) Which department, bureau, board, or commission operates under a merit system of personnel administration; (ii) Which department operates under a tenure system as established by law; or (iii) Which department, bureau, board, or commission becomes eligible for inclusion in the retirement system by Act of the General Assembly

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who receives payment for performance of personal services from the state or any department, bureau, institution, board, or commission of the state or from a county, city-county, or city board and who is employed in a position normally requiring actual performance of duty during not less than nine months of the year. 'Employee' shall not include members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, members of the Public School Employees Retirement System, any person on the payroll of a third party with whom an employer has contracted for the provision of such person's services, or any person classified by an employer as other than a common law employee for federal tax purposes, even if a court, tribunal, or administrative agency determines that such person is a common law employee and not an independent contractor for federal tax purposes; or (C) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any and all civilians who are employed in or with the Army National Guard of Georgia and the Air National Guard of Georgia shall, upon establishment of a merit system for such civilian employees and upon the approval of the adjutant general, be entitled to the retirement allowances, benefits, and privileges provided by this chapter, notwithstanding that such employees may be paid by federal funds. No credit shall accrue to such civilian employees for any service rendered prior to the effective date of coverage under the retirement system. The adjutant general is authorized to make such arrangements and agreements as may be necessary or proper in order to effect deductions from the salaries or wages of such civilian employees as may be necessary or proper in the administration of the retirement system as to such civilian employees. It is the intent of the General Assembly that such persons be included in this definition only if federal funds are available for payment of employer contributions for such employees and other expenses of participation. (16.1) 'Employee' may include new certified professional personnel employed on and after July 1, 1983, for the first time by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education only if such personnel elect membership in the retirement system pursuant to subsection (h) of Code Section 47-3-60. As used in this paragraph, the term 'certified professional personnel' shall have the meaning provided for in paragraph (8.1) of Code Section 47-3-1. (16.2) 'Employee' shall not include certified professional personnel who are in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and who are employed by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education and who elect to become members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to the authority of subsection (i) of Code Section 47-3-60. As used in this paragraph, the term 'certified professional personnel' shall have the meaning provided for in paragraph (8.1) of Code Section 47-3-1. (16.3) 'Employee' may include persons employed on and after July 1, 1987, for the first time by the Technical College System of Georgia or by postsecondary vocational-technical schools governed by the Technical College System of Georgia only

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if such personnel elect membership in the retirement system pursuant to subsection (j) of Code Section 47-3-60. (16.4) 'Employee' shall not include persons who are employed by the Technical College System of Georgia or by a postsecondary vocational-technical school governed by the Technical College System of Georgia and who elect to become members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to the authority of subsection (j) of Code Section 47-3-60. (16.5) 'Employee' shall not include personnel employed by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education who are authorized to elect and elect to become or remain members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to applicable provisions of Chapter 3 of this title. (16.6) 'Employee' shall not include an individual classified by an employer as an independent contractor or a leased employee within the meaning of Section 414(n) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, even if such individual is later reclassified by the Internal Revenue Service as a common law employee. (17) 'Employer' means:
(A) The state or any department, bureau, institution, board, or commission of the state or any county, city-county, or city board, the employees of which are subject to the state system of personnel administration created by Chapter 20 of Title 45 and the State Personnel Board, including a merit system for employees of the Department of Public Safety, and all state departments under a tenure system as established by law, provided that such county, city-county, or city board may notify the board of trustees that it will not participate in the benefits of the retirement system, such notice to be given in writing on or before the commencement date or before persons are employed by it. Any employee of a county, city-county, or city board having an existing local retirement system may elect to continue to participate in such existing local system but shall not participate in two systems, and his or her election shall be final on the commencement date under this chapter. Any county, city-county, or city employee who elects to become a member of this retirement system and who was a member of an existing local retirement system shall transfer to the board of trustees any equity he or she has in the local system; (B) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the adjutant general is authorized, though not directed, to establish a merit system and to perform all of the duties and obligations of an 'employer' for all civilians employed in or with the Army National Guard of Georgia and the Air National Guard of Georgia, even though such employees may be paid with federal funds. The adjutant general is further authorized to make and enter into such agreements and take such actions as are necessary to provide for all contributions and payments specified in this chapter, from funds made available by the federal government, and otherwise to comply with this chapter so as to make this chapter applicable to such civilian employees; or

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(C) Any new state agency described under Code Section 47-2-70.1 and any other entity authorized by law to report any of its employees as members of this system. (18) 'Expense fund' means the fund set forth under Code Section 47-2-60. (19) 'Group term life insurance' means the survivors benefits established under Code Section 47-2-128. (20) 'Involuntary separation from employment without prejudice' means separation or release from service other than by the willing choice of a member, provided that such member has not been convicted in a court of competent jurisdiction of any crime involving moral turpitude or malfeasance in office or has not been forced to make restitution for any funds or property wrongfully taken by the member. Involuntary separation shall not include the defeat in an election of an elected official who becomes a member of this retirement system for the first time on or after July 1, 1971. (21) 'Involuntary separation from employment with prejudice' means separation or release from service other than by the willing choice of a member who has been convicted in a court of competent jurisdiction of a crime involving moral turpitude or malfeasance in office or who has been forced to make restitution for any funds or property wrongfully taken by the member. (22) 'Medical board' means the board of physicians established under Code Section 47-2-24 for the purpose of arranging for and passing upon medical examinations required under this chapter. (23) 'Member' means any employee included in the membership of this retirement system. On and after July 1, 1967, no employee shall become a member unless his or her position with an employer, as defined in paragraph (17) of this Code section, is his or her primary occupation and such position requires that the employee spend at least the number of hours specified in regulations adopted by the board of trustees in the actual performance of his or her duties, provided that in no case shall the number of hours be less than 30 hours per week during at least nine months of a year. (24) 'Membership service' means service which is rendered by an employee while he or she is a member of the retirement system and for which credit is allowable under this chapter. (25) 'Option one,' 'option two,' 'option three,' and 'option four' mean the optional forms in which a member may elect to receive his or her retirement allowance, which options are set forth in Code Section 47-2-121. (26) 'Pension' means periodic payments for life derived from contributions of the state. (27) 'Pension accumulation fund' means the fund set forth in Code Section 47-2-55. (28) 'Pension reserve' means the present value of all payments to be made on account of a pension, or benefit in lieu of a pension, computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees. (28.1) 'Plan year' means the 12 month period beginning on July 1 of each year. (29) 'Prior service' means service rendered prior to January 1, 1954, for which credit is allowable under this chapter.

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(30) 'Prior service certificate' means the certificate issued to a member under this chapter as proof of his or her prior service. (31) 'Regular interest' means interest at such a rate as shall be determined by the board of trustees in accordance with Code Section 47-2-26, which interest shall be compounded annually. (32) 'Retirement' means withdrawal from service with a retirement allowance granted under this chapter. (33) 'Retirement allowance' means the sum of the annuity and the pension, or any optional benefit payable in lieu thereof. All retirement allowances shall be payable in equal monthly installments, except that the board of trustees may adopt regulations providing for the payment of a lump sum, not to exceed the equivalent actuarial value of the retirement allowance, in lieu of a retirement allowance of less than $10.00 per month or in lieu of part of an annuity. (34) 'Retirement system' means the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. (35) 'Service' means service rendered as an employee and paid for by an employer. (36) 'Service credit' means creditable service, as defined in this Code section. (37) 'Within one year after discharge from the armed forces' means within one year after the termination of the member's active service in the military or naval forces of the United States and shall not include any military reserve or naval reserve service."

SECTION 3. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-2-2, relating to involuntary separation from employment and grounds and procedures for discharge of employees, as follows:
"47-2-2. (a) The provisions of this Code section are supplemental to, and not in lieu of, the provisions of paragraphs (20) and (21) of Code Section 47-2-1 defining 'involuntary separation from employment without prejudice' and 'involuntary separation from employment with prejudice.' (b) The word 'employee' as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this Code section shall include any such employee in the classified or unclassified service of the state system of personnel administration provided for by Chapter 20 of Title 45. The provisions of that law or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto relative to the dismissal of employees from employment shall not be applicable to the discharge of an employee from employment pursuant to the provisions of this Code section. Any such employee who is otherwise subject to that law and rules or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto shall continue to be subject thereto for the purpose of any adverse personnel action other than discharge from employment or suspension pursuant to this Code section, but for the purposes of such discharge from employment or suspension, the provisions of this Code section shall be exclusive. (c) As used in this Code section, the term:

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(1) 'Duties' means duties and responsibilities assigned by an employer to an employee which are reasonably related to the lawful objectives and responsibilities of the employer and which are reasonably related to the position of employment held by the employee for which the employee is compensated. (2) 'Employee' means an employee, other than an elected public official, a public official selected by a vote of a board to serve at the pleasure of the board, or a public official appointed pursuant to law for a specific term of office, as defined in paragraph (16) of Code Section 47-2-1 who was a member of the retirement system prior to April 1, 1972, and who, if involuntarily separated from employment without prejudice, has sufficient membership service under the retirement system to qualify for a retirement allowance because of such involuntary separation from employment. (3) 'Employer' means any person or group of persons authorized by law or having authority delegated by law to discharge an employee. (4) 'Insubordination' means the refusal by an employee to carry out the employee's duties when instructed to do so by the employer or by the employee's supervisor upon the instructions or under the authority of the employer. (5) 'Irresponsible performance of duties' means the performance of any duties by an employee or the use of an employee's position of employment for any one or more of the following purposes:
(A) To make a financial gain or receive materials or services having financial value, except compensation received as an employee, under circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to believe that the financial gain or the receipt of materials or services was improperly related to the performance of duties by the employee; (B) To purchase or authorize the purchase of materials or services from public funds when the employee knows or reasonably could be expected to know that the amount paid for such materials or services unreasonably exceeds the amount for which substantially equivalent materials or services could be purchased without excessive delay or inconvenience; (C) To use publicly owned real or personal property or publicly supplied services for personal use when the employee knows or reasonably could be expected to know that such personal use of public property or services is unauthorized or improper; or (D) To expend or authorize the expenditure of public funds in a manner which would lead a reasonable person to believe the employee shows a reckless disregard for the obligation to taxpayers to expend public funds in a prudent and efficient manner. (6) 'Malingering' means frequent absences from work or the failure to perform duties during working hours because of claims of illness which are unsubstantiated as determined pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section. (7) 'Neglect of duty' means the repeated failure by an employee to carry out the employee's duties, either because of excessive unexcused absences from work or a failure to perform or the unsatisfactory performance of duties while at work or a combination thereof.

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(8) 'Proof of illness' means a written opinion by one or more physicians designated by the medical board provided for by Code Section 47-2-24 stating that an employee's absences from work or unsatisfactory performance of duties are reasonably related to an illness suffered by the employee and describing the nature of such illness. (9) 'Unsatisfactory performance of duties in a willful manner' means the unsatisfactory performance of duties by an employee when the past satisfactory performance of duties by the employee indicates the employee's unsatisfactory performance is willful as determined pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section. (d) An employee may be discharged from employment pursuant to the requirements of this Code section for insubordination, irresponsible performance of duties, malingering, neglect of duty, or unsatisfactory performance of duties in a willful manner or for any combination of such reasons. Any employee so discharged from employment shall not be entitled to and shall not receive a retirement benefit based on involuntary separation from employment without prejudice pursuant to Code Section 47-2-123. (e) An employer shall have a reasonable basis for believing an employee is malingering when: (1) The employee has a pattern of absences from work because of illness or unsatisfactory performance of duties because of illness or a pattern of absences from work and unsatisfactory performance of duties because of illness; (2) The employer has requested the employee, in writing, to provide proof of illness and the employee has been given a reasonable opportunity, which shall not be less than 30 days after the date of the request made by the employer, to respond to the employer's request; and (3) The employee has provided no or unsatisfactory proof of illness to the employer in response to the request made pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection. (f) An employer shall have a reasonable basis for believing an employee is engaging in unsatisfactory performance of duties in a willful manner when: (1) The past work history of the employee indicates the employee is capable of satisfactory performance of duties; (2) The unsatisfactory performance of duties became increasingly apparent after the employee qualified for a retirement benefit based on involuntary separation from employment without prejudice; and (3) The employee does not claim illness as a basis for unsatisfactory performance of duties and has offered no proof of illness to the employer. (g) When an employer is considering the discharge from employment of an employee for any one or more reasons specified in subsection (d) of this Code section, the employer shall transmit a written notice to the employee containing the following: (1) An explanation of the conduct or deficiencies of the employee which form the basis for the employer's considering the discharge of the employee; (2) A statement that such conduct may result in the employee's discharge from employment on a specified date, which shall not be earlier than the tenth day following

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the date of the notice in the case of insubordination or irresponsible performance of duties and not earlier than the thirtieth day following the date of the notice if the basis for considering the discharge of the employee is for a reason or reasons other than insubordination or irresponsible performance of duties; (3) A statement that the employee's discharge from employment for the reasons specified in the notice shall not constitute involuntary separation from employment without prejudice within the meaning of the applicable provisions of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and that if discharged, the employee shall not be entitled to receive and shall not receive a retirement benefit based on involuntary separation from employment without prejudice; (4) A statement that the employee has a right to a hearing before the employer on a specified date, which shall be at least five days prior to the date specified for the employee's discharge from employment; and (5) A statement that at the hearing before the employer, the employee shall be given an opportunity to offer explanations for the employee's conduct or deficiencies and to present evidence on the employee's behalf. (h) An employee being considered for discharge from employment because of insubordination or irresponsible performance of duties may be suspended without pay, except to the extent the employee has accumulated annual leave, pending the completion of the procedures provided for in subsections (g) and (i) of this Code section. If the employer's final decision is not to discharge the employee or if the employee's discharge is not upheld by the court upon judicial review provided for in Code Section 47-2-3, the compensation denied to the employee during suspension shall be reimbursed to the employee and, if applicable, accumulated leave used during the suspension shall be reinstated. (i) If an employee subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this Code section fails to respond to the notice sent to the employee pursuant to said subsection or if the employer is not satisfied with the explanation made by the employee for the conduct or deficiencies specified in said notice and is not satisfied with the evidence presented in the employee's behalf, the employee may be discharged from employment on the date specified in said notice or on such later date as shall be specified in writing by the employer to the employee. The employee shall be notified, in writing, of the final decision of the employer and such notice shall provide an explanation for the employer's decision. (j) An employer discharging an employee pursuant to this Code section shall prepare a written report to the board of trustees on the discharge of the employee. Any notices or other written communications to the employee which relate to the employer's decision to discharge the employee shall be attached to and made a part of the employer's report to the board of trustees. (k) It shall be the duty of any employer considering the discharge of an employee for any reason or combination of reasons specified in subsection (d) of this Code section to follow

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the procedures specified in this Code section as a condition precedent to the discharge of such employee."

SECTION 4. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-2-21, relating to power and duty of board of trustees to administer and operate retirement system, membership of board, vacancies, expenses, oath, and quorum, as follows:
"47-2-21. (a) The administration and responsibility for the proper operation of the retirement system and for effectuating this chapter are vested in the board of trustees, which shall be organized immediately after a majority of the trustees have qualified and taken the oath of office. (b) The board of trustees shall consist of seven trustees as follows:
(1) The state auditor, ex officio; (2) The state treasurer, ex officio; (3) The commissioner of administrative services, ex officio; (4) One member appointed by the Governor for a term of four years, provided that the first such term was from date of appointment to June 30, 1951; (5) Two trustees elected by the trustees set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection for a term of four years, provided that in their first terms one served for a term from the date of election to June 30, 1950, and the other for a term from the date of election to June 30, 1952; provided, further, that each of these two members shall have had at least five years of creditable service with an agency included in this retirement system; and (6) The seventh trustee shall be a citizen of this state but not a member of the retirement system nor shall he or she hold or be a candidate for public office during his or her term of office as a trustee. He or she shall have had at least ten years of experience in the investment of moneys and shall be elected by the remaining trustees for a term of four years, provided that his or her first term was from the date of election to June 30, 1953. (c) If a vacancy occurs in the office of a trustee, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment or election. (d) The trustees may receive the daily expense allowance authorized for members of the General Assembly for each day spent attending meetings of the board of trustees and any committee meetings called pursuant to authorization of the board of trustees and for time spent in necessary travel. In addition to such amount, the trustees shall be reimbursed for all actual travel and other expenses necessarily incurred through service on the board of trustees. State officials serving ex officio shall not receive the daily expense allowance but shall be entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses. (e) Each trustee shall, within ten days after his or her appointment or election, take an oath of office that he or she will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of the board of trustees which have been entrusted to him or her and that he or she will not knowingly

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violate or willingly permit to be violated any law applicable to the retirement system. The oath shall be subscribed to by the trustee, certified by the officer before whom it is taken, and filed immediately in the office of the Secretary of State. (f) Five trustees at any meeting of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum to transact business. Each trustee shall be entitled to one vote and four votes shall be necessary for a decision by the board of trustees."

SECTION 5. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-2-22, relating to election of chairman and director, actuarial services, application of the State Personnel Administration, and payment of costs of the State Personnel Administration, as follows:
"47-2-22. (a) The board of trustees shall elect a chairperson from its membership and shall employ a director who shall not be a trustee. (b) The board of trustees shall engage such actuarial and other services as shall be required to transact the business of the retirement system. (c) The director and all other employees of the board of trustees shall be governed by such rules of position, classification, appointment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, transfer, qualification, compensation, seniority, privileges, tenure, and other employment standards as may now or hereafter be established under the state system of personnel administration provided for by Chapter 20 of Title 45, including the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Personnel Board. (d) The board of trustees shall pay its share of the administrative costs of operating the state system of personnel administration in the manner prescribed in Code Section 45-20-4."

SECTION 6. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-2-91, relating to credit for accumulations of forfeited annual and sick leave, as follows:
"47-2-91. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Classified member' means a member of the retirement system who is in the classified service as defined in Code Section 45-20-2. (2) 'Commissioner' means the commissioner of administrative services provided for by Code Section 50-5-1. (3) 'Compensatory time' means time off from work which is used in lieu of annual or sick leave to offset overtime service rendered by an employee when the employee is compensated by a fixed salary and is not financially compensated for such overtime service. (4) 'Elected state official' means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, each member of the Public Service Commission, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School

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Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Labor, Commissioner of Agriculture, each Justice of the Supreme Court, and each Judge of the Court of Appeals. (5) 'Unclassified member' means any member of the retirement system who is in the unclassified service as defined in Code Section 45-20-2 or who is otherwise not covered by the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, including elected state officials. (b)(1) Accumulated days of forfeited annual and sick leave for which a member has not been paid shall constitute creditable service if such member has at least six months of such forfeited leave at the time of the member's retirement. The member shall be given one month of creditable service for each 20 days of forfeited annual and sick leave. Upon retirement of a classified member, the employer shall certify to the board of trustees the total amount of that member's forfeited annual and sick leave based on leave records for periods of service where employers have maintained adequate leave records. For periods of service where no leave records are available for classified members, forfeited leave for an undocumented period may be computed as provided in subsection (i) of this Code section. The determination of accumulated days of forfeited annual and sick leave for unclassified members shall be based on leave records for periods of service where employers have maintained adequate leave records. For periods of service where no leave records are available, forfeited leave for unclassified employees shall be computed as follows:
(A) When 15 years or more of leave records are available for an unclassified member, the determination of forfeited leave for undocumented periods shall be computed as provided in subsection (i) of this Code section; or (B) When less than 15 years of leave records are available for an unclassified member, the determination of forfeited leave for undocumented periods shall be based on the one-year average amount of forfeited annual and sick leave calculated by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section and as provided in subsection (g) of this Code section, subject to the limitation in subsection (j) of this Code section. (2) For both classified and unclassified members, each employer shall contribute the same amount as would have been contributed by the employer had the member obtaining creditable service for forfeited annual and sick leave remained in state employment without change in compensation for a period of time equal to the amount of forfeited annual and sick leave for which creditable service is obtained. (c) For unclassified members, the maximum number of days of annual and sick leave which may be accumulated in one year shall be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board governing employees in classified service, as defined in Code Section 45-20-2. (d) For the purposes of this Code section, compensatory time shall not be applicable to elected state officials and no elected state official may offset any annual or sick leave taken by any such official by any compensatory time which might otherwise be applicable to such official.

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(e) When accumulated forfeited annual and sick leave is claimed for the purposes of this Code section by an elected state official based on records maintained by or pursuant to the order or supervision of the elected state official, any such accumulated annual and sick leave accepted by the board of trustees shall, in addition to such records, be based on the elected state official's sworn statement that the amount of accumulated forfeited annual and sick leave claimed by the elected state official is true and correct. (f) The commissioner shall select a random representative sample of employees who, as of June 30, 1985, have ten years or more of continuous service in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. From an examination of the personnel records of the members in the sample, the commissioner shall calculate an annual average of the number of days of annual leave taken and an annual average of the number of days of sick leave taken by the members in the sample. The average days for annual leave taken and the average days for sick leave taken shall then each be deducted, respectively, from the maximum number of days of annual leave and the maximum number of days of sick leave which may be accumulated in one year under rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board by an employee in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. The two figures resulting after making such reductions shall be added together and the resulting figure shall be forfeited annual and sick leave for each year of membership service for the purposes of subsection (g) of this Code section, subject to the limitation in subsection (j) of this Code section. (g) The average amount of forfeited annual and sick leave calculated by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section shall be supplied by that officer to all employers. When less than 15 years of leave records are available, the determination of forfeited annual and sick leave for unclassified employees with undocumented periods may be certified by the employer based on the average amount of forfeited annual and sick leave supplied by the commissioner. The amount which may be so certified shall be calculated by multiplying the figure representing the one-year average of forfeited annual and sick leave by the number of years of membership service for which leave records were not available at the time of retirement, subject to the limitation in subsection (j) of this Code section. (h) For any member whose membership service includes service as both a classified and unclassified member, both classified and unclassified service may be considered in qualifying for undocumented forfeited annual and sick leave calculations based on 15 or more years where employers have maintained adequate records of annual and sick leave taken by members. When 15 or more years of leave records are available through a combination of both classified and unclassified service, forfeited annual and sick leave for an undocumented period may be computed as provided in subsection (i) of this Code section. When less than 15 years of leave records are available through a combination of both classified and unclassified service for a member, then the undocumented forfeited leave for the unclassified service shall be calculated pursuant to subsection (g) of this Code section and undocumented forfeited leave for classified service shall be calculated pursuant

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to subsection (i) of this Code section, subject to the limitation in subsection (j) of this Code section. The two calculations shall then be added together to determine the total amount of forfeited leave for the undocumented period. (i) The formula provided by this subsection may be utilized for computation of forfeited annual and sick leave during the undocumented periods of service described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) and subparagraph (b)(1)(A) of this Code section. The formula is as follows:
(1) Compute the maximum earnable sick and annual leave for the undocumented period; (2) Compute the total sick and annual leave taken for all periods in which documentation is available; (3) Compute the average sick and annual leave taken per month by dividing the answer under paragraph (2) of this subsection by the total number of documented months; (4) Multiply the answer under paragraph (3) of this subsection by the total number of months in the undocumented period; and (5) Subtract the answer under paragraph (4) of this subsection from the answer under paragraph (1) of this subsection to determine total leave earned and not taken during the undocumented period. (j) For unclassified employees who have less than 15 years of leave records available, the determination of forfeited annual and sick leave shall be limited to the lesser of the amount calculated pursuant to subsections (f) and (g) of this Code section or the average of actual forfeited annual and sick leave for which leave records are available, whichever is less. (k) The board of trustees may adopt rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Code section, to aid in administering and carrying out the provisions of this Code section."

SECTION 7. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-2-123, relating to allowance payable upon death, disability, or involuntary separation from employment, restrictions on separation for disability, and restrictions on entitlement to involuntary separation benefits, as follows:
"47-2-123. (a) Upon the death or involuntary separation from employment without prejudice of any member in service, he or she shall be entitled to an allowance in accordance with subsection (c) of this Code section, provided that the provisions of this subsection that relate to 'upon becoming involuntarily separated from employment without prejudice' shall not be applicable to any person who first becomes a member after March 31, 1972.
(b)(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (2) through (5) of this subsection, any member in service who has at least 15 years of creditable service may be retired on a disability allowance by the board of trustees, upon written application to the board of trustees by the member or his or her employer and upon certification by the medical board that he or she is medically or physically incapable of further performance of his or

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her duties in the position he or she held at the time his or her disability originated, that incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that he or she should be retired; provided, however, that the medical board shall not consider any evidence of such disability which is not submitted within 12 months after the date the member submits his or her first application for a disability retirement. The board of trustees may retire such member not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days after execution and filing of the written application. (2) A member making application for a disability retirement pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall at the same time submit a copy of such application together with any supporting documentation accompanying such application to his or her employing agency. The member shall thereafter provide the employing agency with any additional information or documentation which he or she submits to the board of trustees in conjunction with such application. (3) After receipt of the notice provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the head of the member's agency or his or her designee shall conduct an interview with the member applying for disability retirement; provided, however, that any designee of the head of an agency shall be an official at such agency who is above the level of the applicant's immediate supervisor and who has the authority to make job assignment decisions. The interview shall be held within ten business days after receipt of such notice. Based on the interview and information received by the agency pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the agency head or his or her designee shall determine if an alternative position is available for the member which meets the following requirements:
(A) The physical requirements for such position are compatible with the member's physical limitations; (B) The annual compensation and possibility for future advancement for such position shall be the same as or greater than that of the current position of the member; (C) The duties for such position shall be reasonably compatible with the experience and educational qualifications of the member; (D) The position shall be one which includes the holder thereof as a member of the retirement system provided for by this chapter; and (E) The position must be available for acceptance by the member and an offer of the position to the official or member must be made, in writing, by not later than 45 days after the member submitted his or her application for a disability retirement. An agency making an offer of alternative employment as provided in this paragraph shall so notify the board of trustees within 45 days after the member submitted his or her application for a disability retirement. After receipt of such notice, the board of trustees shall not approve a disability retirement until the procedures of paragraph (4) of this subsection are resolved. (4) Any member applying for a disability retirement who is offered a position of employment in conformity with the requirements of paragraph (3) of this subsection shall

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accept the offer or dispute his or her ability to perform the tasks required by the position offered by submitting a written appeal to the agency and to the board of trustees within 30 days after receiving the offer. In the event of an appeal, the agency shall promptly submit to the medical board a detailed description of the requirements of the position offered and the medical board shall determine, based upon all information available to it, whether the member is reasonably capable of performing such tasks. The decision of the medical board shall be final. If the medical board determines that the member is unable to perform the tasks required either by the position held at the time of the application for a disability retirement or the position offered, the member shall be placed on disability retirement immediately. (5) A member who refuses to accept a position offered or file an appeal in a timely manner or who refuses to accept a position which the medical board has determined on appeal that he or she is capable of performing shall not be eligible to receive a disability retirement under this subsection. (c)(1) The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to persons who are members of the retirement system on June 30, 2007. Any member who is at least 60 years of age upon disability retirement, involuntary separation from employment without prejudice, or death shall receive the equivalent of a service retirement allowance. Any such member who is under 60 years of age shall receive, as appropriate, a disability allowance, allowance in case of involuntary separation from employment without prejudice, or death allowance, which shall consist of:
(A) In the case of a member with at least 15 years of service, 75 percent of the service retirement allowance which would have been payable upon service retirement at age 60 had the member continued in service to age 60 without further change in compensation, provided that this subparagraph shall not apply to a member whose employment was terminated by involuntary separation without prejudice; (B) In the case of a member with at least 20 years of service, the service retirement allowance which would have been payable upon service retirement at age 60 had the member continued in service to age 60 without further change in compensation; (C) In the case of a member with at least 25 years of service, 75 percent of the service retirement allowance which would have been payable upon service retirement at age 65 had he or she continued in service without further change in compensation; or (D) In the case of a member with at least 30 years of service, the service retirement allowance which would have been payable upon service retirement at age 65 had he or she continued in service without further change in compensation. Any provisions of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, in the application of subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of this paragraph relating to allowances other than for disability or death, projected retirement allowance computations shall be made on the basis of the member's highest total monthly earnable compensation, as reflected by monthly contributions made during the last 24 calendar months in which he or she had made contributions, except that no salary increase by adjustment in compensation in any

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manner in excess of 10 percent during the last 12 months of membership service shall be included in the projected computation. (2) The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to persons who first or again become members of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2007. Any member who has at least 15 years of creditable service and who becomes disabled before becoming eligible for a service retirement as provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 47-2-110 shall be eligible to retire forthwith without regard to age and to receive a disability retirement allowance calculated upon the number of years of creditable service attained to the date of retirement and based upon his or her highest average monthly compensation during a period of 24 consecutive calendar months while a member of the retirement system. No member who is eligible for an equivalent service retirement shall be eligible to apply for a disability retirement allowance. (3) In lieu of a death benefit as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, a member who first or again becomes a member of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2007, and who has at least ten years of creditable service and is at least 60 years of age or who is less than 60 years of age and has at least 15 years of creditable service shall upon death receive the equivalent of a service retirement allowance calculated upon the number of years of creditable service attained on the date of death and based upon his or her highest average monthly compensation during a period of 24 consecutive calendar months while a member of the retirement system. (d) In the application of subsection (c) of this Code section to death allowances, computations of projected retirement allowances shall be made on the same basis as though option two had been in effect. In lieu of the amount of death allowance otherwise payable to the beneficiary under option two, the member, upon written request, may at any time elect a reduced level death allowance of equivalent actuarial value, which allowance is payable to the beneficiary during a period of years certain or to the estate of the beneficiary and during the lifetime of such named beneficiary thereafter. At the election of the member, in case of death of the beneficiary during a term of years certain, the balance of the years certain payments may be paid to the estate of the member; but if such beneficiary predeceases the member, the total amount of the member's contributions to the date of his or her death shall be payable to the member's estate. The method of determining the equivalent actuarial value shall be consistent with the actuarial method of determining the beneficiary's death allowance under option two. (e) Anything in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, on and after March 6, 1963, a member who has not accumulated sufficient creditable service to qualify himself or herself for an allowance in case of involuntary separation from employment without prejudice shall not be deemed eligible for such allowances until he or she has accumulated sufficient membership service in a position classified under a merit system provided for by law or in a position covered under the retirement system. This subsection shall not affect the vesting of rights under Code Section 47-2-122. This subsection shall not be retroactive

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in any manner and shall not apply in any way to any person who was a member on or before February 13, 1962. (f) The age and service requirements for a service retirement allowance shall not apply to allowances available under this Code section. (g) From and after January 1, 1985, no employing unit within the government of the State of Georgia, including every department, commission, board, bureau, agency, branch of government, or any other employing unit by whatever name called, which has the authority and power to appoint, employ, release, separate, or fail to reappoint public officials or employees shall release or separate from state service, or fail to reappoint to continued state service, any public official or employee who is entitled to coverage under the involuntary separation retirement benefits provisions of this Code section. A release, separation, or failure to reappoint in violation of the provisions of this subsection shall be illegal, unlawful, and void. However, such releases or separations from state service or failures to reappoint to continued state service shall not be subject to the provisions of this subsection if such releases or separations from service or failures to reappoint occur under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Separation or release from service of an official or employee pursuant to Code Section 47-2-2 or separation or release from service of an official or the failure to reappoint an official by a board when such official serves at the pleasure of the board; (2) Separation or release from service of an official or employee for any reason which would constitute cause as defined in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board if such separation or release from service is not pursuant to Code Section 47-2-2; (3) Separation or release from service of an official or employee for criminal conduct under the laws of this state, any other state, or the United States; or (4) A 'discretionary termination' which means any one of the following:
(A) Separation or release from service of an official or employee under circumstances in which an official or employee is released or separated or any official's or employee's position or job is abolished through a valid reduction-in-force plan approved by the Department of Administrative Services; (B) Separation or release from service of any official or employee by reason of a bona fide reorganization of any employing unit, with respect to which reorganization any such separations or releases have been approved in advance by the Governor; or (C) Separation or release from service of an official or employee, or failure of reappointment of an official or employee, who holds a confidential position to an appointed or elected public official, or a group of appointed or elected public officials, incurred as a result of a change of administration in the office of such appointed or elected public official, or group of appointed or elected public officials. (h)(1) Except where termination is required by a sudden and unexpected loss of federal or state funds, an employer intending the discretionary termination of an official or employee shall notify the commissioner of administrative services at least 60 but not more than 120 days prior to the effective date of the discretionary termination of such

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official or employee. If termination is required by a sudden and unexpected loss of federal or state funds, the employer shall notify the commissioner of administrative services as soon as the employer becomes aware of the loss of funds and the termination shall be delayed until the completion of the procedures required by this subsection. Pending the completion of such procedures, the employee or official proposed for termination because of a sudden and unexpected loss of federal or state funds shall be compensated from any funds appropriated or available to the employer which may be used for such purpose. The notice shall be in writing and a copy thereof shall be forwarded to the board of trustees at the same time it is forwarded to the commissioner of administrative services. The notice shall include the following information:
(A) The name and current annual compensation of the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination; (B) The age, length of service, current job description, and summary of the work experience of the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination; (C) The educational qualifications of the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination; and (D) An explanation of the reasons for the proposed discretionary termination of the official or employee. (2) After receipt of the notice provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the commissioner of administrative services shall schedule an interview with the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination. The interview shall be held within 15 days after receipt of the notice. Based on the interview with the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination and the information provided by the notice received by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the commissioner shall contact appropriate state departments, boards, bureaus, and other agencies of the state government for the purpose of seeking continued employment for the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination. Any position for continued employment of the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination which is obtained by the commissioner shall meet the following requirements: (A) The annual compensation for such position shall be the same or greater than the current annual compensation of the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination; (B) The duties for such position shall be reasonably compatible with the previous work experience and educational qualifications of the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination; (C) The position shall be one which includes the holder thereof as a member of the retirement system provided for by this chapter; and (D) The position must be available for acceptance by the official or employee proposed for discretionary termination at least one day prior to the effective date of such termination and an offer of the position to the official or employee must be made, in

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writing, by not later than the day immediately preceding the effective date of the discretionary termination. (3) Any official or employee proposed for discretionary termination who is offered a position of continued employment in conformity with the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be deemed to have resigned from service at his or her own choice upon the failure of such official or employee to accept the position of continued employment, and no such official or employee so resigning from service shall qualify for retirement benefits based upon involuntary separation from employment without prejudice as authorized by this Code section. (4) If the commissioner of administrative services fails to obtain a position of continued employment in conformity with the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection for an official or employee proposed for discretionary termination, then, on the effective date of the discretionary termination, the official or employee may be considered involuntarily separated from employment without prejudice for the purposes of this Code section. (5) The commissioner of administrative services shall notify the board of trustees in writing of the action taken by the commissioner pursuant to this subsection and of any position of continued employment which is offered to and accepted or refused by an official or employee proposed for discretionary termination. (6) It is the intention of this subsection to provide procedures to secure the continued employment of officials and employees who may become subject to discretionary termination, and the provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to create any right to continue in a position of employment when that right does not exist independently of this subsection."

SECTION 8. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-3-1, relating to definitions relative to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, as follows:
"47-3-1. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Accumulated contributions' means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the earnable compensation of a member or paid by the member to establish or reestablish credit for service, which amounts are credited to his or her individual account in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest on such amounts, as provided in Code Section 47-3-41. Beginning July 1, 1987, 'accumulated contributions' shall include the amount of employee contributions paid by employers on behalf of members and credited to the individual accounts of members in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest thereon. (2) 'Actuarial equivalent' means a benefit of equal value when computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees. (3) 'Annuity' means annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member.

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(4) 'Annuity reserve' means the present value of all payments to be made on account of an annuity or benefit in lieu of an annuity, computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables adopted by the board of trustees. (5) 'Annuity savings fund' means the fund set forth under Code Section 47-3-41. (6) 'Average final compensation' means the average annual earnable compensation of a teacher during the two consecutive years of membership service producing the highest such average. (7) 'Beneficiary' means any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit under this chapter. (8) 'Board of trustees' means the board of trustees as provided for in Code Section 47-3-21 and whose purpose is to administer the retirement system. (8.1) 'Certified professional personnel' means employees of the State Board of Education or the Professional Standards Commission who, by policy of the State Board of Education, are required to possess a valid professional certificate issued by the Professional Standards Commission. (9) 'Commencement date' means January 1, 1945. (10) 'Creditable service' means prior service plus membership service and any other service established under this chapter. (11) 'Earnable compensation' means the full rate of regular compensation payable to a member for his or her full normal working time and includes compensation paid to a member by an employer from grants or contracts made by outside agencies with the employer. All moneys paid by an employer for a member or by a member into any plan of tax sheltered annuity shall be included as earnable compensation for the purpose of computing any contributions required to be made to the retirement system and also for the purpose of computing any benefits or allowances payable under this chapter. Such term shall include contributions made to a qualified transportation plan, within the meaning of Section 132(f) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, and before tax or salary deferral contributions made under Sections 125, 401(k), 402(g)(3), 457, or 414(h) of the federal Internal Revenue Code to this retirement system or to any other retirement plan maintained by an employer. (12) 'Employer' means the State of Georgia, the county or independent board of education, the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, or any other agency of and within this state by which a teacher is paid. Notwithstanding any provisions in prior or future Acts to the contrary, the county and regional library boards of trustees shall be deemed to be the employer of the county or regional librarians, whose salaries are paid in full or in part from state funds. (13) 'Expense fund' means the fund set forth in Code Section 47-3-47. (14) 'Local retirement fund' means any teachers' retirement fund or other arrangement for the payment of retirement benefits to teachers, but not including the retirement system created under this chapter, which fund was maintained during the calendar year 1943 and is financed wholly or in part by contributions made by an employer.

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(15) 'Member' means any teacher included in the membership of the retirement system. (16) 'Membership service' means service as a teacher rendered while a member of the retirement system for which credit is allowable. (17) 'Pension' means periodic payments for life, derived from contributions of the state or other employer. (18) 'Pension accumulation fund' means the fund set forth under Code Section 47-3-43. (19) 'Pension reserve' means the present value of all payments to be made on account of a pension, or benefit in lieu of a pension, computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees. (19.1) 'Plan year' means the 12 month period beginning on July 1 of each year. (20) 'Prior service' means service rendered prior to January 1, 1945, for which credit is allowable under Code Sections 47-3-83 and 47-3-86. (21) 'Public school' means any day school which is conducted within this state and which is under the authority and supervision of a duly elected county or independent board of education. (22) 'Regular interest' means interest compounded annually at such a rate as shall be determined by the board of trustees in accordance with this chapter. (23) 'Retirement' means withdrawal from service with a retirement allowance granted under this chapter. (24) 'Retirement allowance' means the sum of the annuity and the pension, or any optional benefit payable in lieu thereof, under Code Section 47-3-121. All retirement allowances shall be payable in equal monthly installments, provided that the board of trustees may pay a lump sum of equivalent actuarial value in lieu of a retirement allowance of less than $10.00 per month. (25) 'Retirement system' means the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia established under Code Section 47-3-20. (25.1) 'Salary' shall have the same meaning as earnable compensation. (26) 'Service' means service rendered as a teacher and paid for by this state or other employer. (27) 'Service credit' means creditable service, as defined in this Code section. (28) 'Teacher' means:
(A) Any of the following persons employed not less than half time by a public school: (i) Persons who supervise the public schools; (ii) Classroom teachers; and (iii) Persons employed in a clerical capacity;
(B) Public school nurses who are employed on a regular basis as much as one-half time or more. The employer's contributions for such public school nurses on all salary amounts which are not paid from state funds shall be paid from local funds; (C) School librarians; (D) Administrative officials who supervise teachers;

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(E) Full-time public school lunchroom managers or supervisors, full-time public school maintenance managers or supervisors, full-time public school transportation managers or supervisors, and full-time public school warehouse managers or supervisors, upon electing to participate in the retirement system pursuant to Code Section 47-3-63; (F) Any new certified professional personnel employed for the first time by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education on and after July 1, 1983, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to subsection (h) of Code Section 47-3-60, and any employee of the State Board of Education or the Technical College System of Georgia employed in a teaching, supervisory, or clerical capacity; (F.1) Certified professional personnel who are in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and who are employed by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education and who become members of this retirement system pursuant to the authority of subsection (i) of Code Section 47-3-60; (F.2) Newly hired professional personnel employed for the first time by the Technical College System of Georgia on and after July 1, 1985, and all full-time nonprofessional personnel employed for the first time after July 1, 1987, by postsecondary vocational-technical schools governed by the Technical College System of Georgia if otherwise eligible under laws, rules, and regulations, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to subsection (j) of Code Section 47-3-60; (F.3) All full-time employees of a postsecondary vocational-technical school formerly operated by a local board of education or area postsecondary vocational education board as of July 1, 1987, or the date on which the Technical College System of Georgia assumes governance of the postsecondary vocational-technical school if otherwise eligible under laws, rules, and regulations, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to subsection (j) of Code Section 47-3-60; (F.4) Personnel employed by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education who are authorized to elect and elect to become or remain members of the retirement system pursuant to the applicable provisions of Code Section 47-3-60; (G) Any bona fide teacher, supervisor of teachers, or clerical employee in any school operated by the Department of Education; (H) Teacher aides and paraprofessional personnel and members of the staff of any regional educational service agency created pursuant to Code Sections 20-2-270 through 20-2-274; (I) Registrars of each unit of the University System of Georgia; (J) The secretary and treasurer of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia; (K) Teachers, supervisors of teachers, and clerical workers who are employed and paid by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia;

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(L) All personnel of the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Georgia; (M) Any other person employed not less than on a half-time basis and paid by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, with the exception of such maintenance and custodial employees employed prior to July 1, 1978, who elected to forgo membership, provided that the board of trustees shall determine whether any particular employee is a maintenance or custodial employee; (N) Any full-time employee of the Georgia Association of Educators, Georgia High School Association, or Georgia School Boards Association, provided that such association, as appropriate, and the employee request that the board of trustees permit them to pay the employer and employee contributions, respectively. The state shall make no contributions on account of such employee; (O) Librarians and clerical personnel employed by regional and county libraries. Any of such librarians and clerical personnel who were members of a local retirement system on January 1, 1977, and who elected to remain members of such local retirement system shall not be required to become members of this retirement system, or if they were members of this retirement system on that date, they may withdraw from such membership. This election must have been made, in writing, to the board of trustees by not later than January 1, 1978. Any of such librarians and clerical personnel failing to so notify the board of trustees by that date shall be members of this retirement system. The employer contributions for such librarians and clerical personnel who are or who become members of this retirement system shall be paid from local funds on all salary amounts of such librarians and clerical personnel which are not paid from state funds. Prior service of such librarians and other service for which such librarians have contributed to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia is ratified, subject to the same laws and the same rules and regulations applicable to other members of this retirement system; (P) The full-time executive secretary of the Georgia Vocational Association. Such association shall pay the required employer contribution for membership service. The executive secretary shall be entitled to receive credit for prior teaching service by paying the employee and employer contributions that would have been paid, plus interest at the rate of 8 percent per annum; and (Q) Attendance officers employed not less than half time for service rendered after June 30, 1992. As used in this subparagraph, 'attendance officer' means an attendance officer employed in lieu of a visiting teacher under Subpart 2 of Part 1 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20; provided, however, that the provisions of this subparagraph shall not apply to any former member employed as an attendance officer who retired prior to July 1, 1992. The term 'teacher' shall not be deemed to include any emergency or temporary employee. The term 'teacher' shall not include an individual classified by an employer as an independent contractor or a leased employee within the meaning of Section 414(n) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, even if such individual is later reclassified by the Internal

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Revenue Service as a common law employee. The board of trustees shall determine in doubtful cases whether any person is included within the definition set forth in this paragraph. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (N) and (P) of this paragraph, no person becoming an employee of the Georgia Association of Educators, the Georgia High School Association, or the Georgia School Boards Association or becoming the executive secretary of the Georgia Vocational Association after June 30, 1984, shall be a 'teacher' within the meaning of this paragraph or shall be eligible for membership in the retirement system provided for by this chapter unless the person holding any such position is also a 'teacher' within the meaning of a subparagraph of this paragraph other than subparagraph (N) or (P) of this paragraph. Except as otherwise provided by Code Section 47-3-84.2, subparagraphs (N) and (P) of this paragraph shall remain effective after June 30, 1984, only for the purpose of allowing any person who was a member of the retirement system on June 30, 1984, because the person held a position specified by subparagraph (N) or (P) of this paragraph to continue such membership as long as the person continues to hold such position."

SECTION 9. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-3-60, relating to eligibility, termination, leaves of absence, service credit for postgraduate study, and transfer of service credit, as follows:
"47-3-60. (a) Any person who becomes a teacher after January 1, 1944, shall become a member of the retirement system as a condition of his or her employment, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. (b) Any person who was a teacher on January 1, 1943, or became a teacher prior to January 1, 1944, shall be a member unless prior to January 1, 1944, he or she filed with the board of trustees, on a form provided by it, a notice of his or her election not to be included in the membership of the retirement system and a duly executed waiver of all present and prospective benefits which would otherwise accrue to him or her by participating in the retirement system. Such a teacher who elected not to become a member may at any time thereafter apply for and be admitted to membership, but without credit for that service rendered after July 1, 1943, and before the time he or she becomes a member, and without prior service credit. (c) Reserved. (d) A teacher otherwise eligible shall be classified as a member only while he or she is in the service of an employer not operating a local retirement system. (e) The membership of any member shall terminate upon the member's:
(1) Death; (2) Retirement under this retirement system; (3) Withdrawal of his or her contributions;

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(4) Rendering less than one year of service in a period of five consecutive years as a member; or (5) Employment by an employer which operates a local retirement fund, unless the member has ten or more years of creditable service with this retirement system, in which case the member may elect to continue membership in this retirement system, subject to the same terms and conditions as other members. (e.1) A member who has not withdrawn the member's contributions to the retirement system and who has a break in service of more than four years but not more than five years may be reinstated to membership if the member pays a sum equal to 12 1/2 percent of the member's salary for the last year of service prior to the break in service. A member who has not withdrawn the member's contributions to the retirement system and who has a break in service of more than five years but not more than six years may be reinstated to membership if the member pays a sum equal to 25 percent of the member's salary for the last year of service prior to the break in service. A member who has not withdrawn the member's contributions to the retirement system may be reinstated to membership without paying the reinstatement fees after the member renders at least one year of membership service subsequent to the break in service. All interest credits shall cease after any such break in service but shall begin again on the date of payment of the sum required for reinstatement to membership or on the first day of July immediately following the completion of one year of membership service following the break in service. The board of trustees may approve the continued membership of a member while in the armed forces of the United States or other emergency wartime service of the United States, or a member whose membership would be terminated because of illness which prevents the member from rendering the service otherwise required by this Code section. The board of trustees may also grant an additional year of leave to a teacher for each child born to or adopted by such teacher while on authorized leave. (f)(1) In the event a member desires to pursue a program of full-time study which will require that he or she render less than one year of service in a period of five consecutive years and which would otherwise result in termination of his or her membership, the board of trustees may approve a leave of absence for study purposes in addition to the normal four-year break in service which the member could otherwise take, so that the combined break in service does not exceed six years. Such study leave shall be continuous. In no event shall such a member's account remain in an active status for longer than six consecutive years for such purpose. (2) A member who undertakes full-time graduate study designed to advance or improve his or her training or abilities as a teacher is entitled to receive creditable service for a period of graduate study under the following conditions:
(A) The member must have been a full-time teacher in the public schools of this state or in the University System of Georgia under the board of regents immediately prior to the period of graduate study. Any such period of graduate study interrupted solely for a period of active duty military service begun during a period in which the military draft

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is in effect shall be deemed not to have been interrupted for purposes of this subparagraph; (B) The member must submit a transcript or similar document to the retirement system as verification of the graduate study pursued; (C) The member must return to full-time employment as a teacher in the public schools of this state or in the University System of Georgia under the board of regents for a minimum of five years following such period of graduate study; (D) The member must pay the appropriate member contributions plus applicable accrued interest in accordance with regulations adopted by the board of trustees on the basis of the salary the member was receiving for full-time employment as a teacher immediately prior to the period of graduate study; and (E) Either the member's present employer or the member must pay the appropriate employer contributions and applicable accrued interest thereon if the source of funds from which the member was paid immediately prior to his or her period of graduate study was other than state funds. (3) The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall apply to periods of graduate study heretofore and hereafter granted, but nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to rescind any creditable service granted prior to July 1, 1981, pursuant to this subsection or its predecessors. (g) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, if a member with ten or more years' creditable service after becoming a member is employed by an employer operating a local retirement fund, his or her membership does not automatically terminate and he or she may elect to maintain his or her membership rather than participate in the local retirement fund, subject to the same terms and conditions as other members of the retirement system. (h) New certified professional personnel employed for the first time by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education on and after July 1, 1983, shall become members of the retirement system as a condition of employment, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia at the time of their employment. Such election shall be made in writing to the board of trustees of this retirement system and to the board of trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. Once such election is made by such personnel, the election is irrevocable during the tenure of employment with the State Board of Education or the State Department of Education. The State Board of Education shall provide by regulation for informing prospective employees who are to be employed as certified professional personnel of the option provided for by this subsection so that such personnel may choose membership in this retirement system or the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia at the time of their employment. (h.1) Personnel employed for the first time by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education on or after July 1, 1988, who, at the time of becoming so employed, are members of this retirement system shall continue as members of this

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retirement system unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia at the time of their employment. Such election shall be made in writing to the board of trustees of this retirement system and to the board of trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. Once such election is made by such personnel, the election is irrevocable during the tenure of employment with the State Board of Education or the State Department of Education. The State Board of Education shall provide by regulation for informing prospective employees who are subject to the provisions of this subsection of the option provided for by this subsection so that such personnel may choose to continue membership in this retirement system or become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia at the time of their employment.
(i)(1) This subsection shall apply to certified professional personnel in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 who are employed by the State Board of Education or the State Department of Education on July 1, 1986, and who are members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and have at least five years of membership service in said retirement system as of July 1, 1986. (2) This subsection shall also apply to any personnel employed by the State Board of Education or by the State Department of Education at any time before July 1, 1988, who are members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and who, at the time of becoming employed by said state board or department, had ten or more years of membership service in this retirement system. (3) At any time from July 1, 1988, until not later than July 1, 1989, personnel described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection are authorized to transfer service credits and membership, including employer and employee contributions, from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia to this retirement system. Any such personnel electing to transfer such service credits and membership to this retirement system shall be required to make additional contributions to this retirement system so that the annuity account balance of the transferring person shall be the same as though the transferring person had been a member of this retirement system during the period of time for which service credits are transferred from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia to this retirement system or, in the absence of such payment, the board of trustees of this retirement system shall adjust the transferring person's credits in proportion to the contributions transferred from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia to this retirement system. Any such personnel shall exercise the authority provided by this paragraph by written notification to the board of trustees of each of the retirement systems. (4) If any person who transfers to this retirement system pursuant to the authority of this subsection subsequently becomes employed in a position where membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia is required, any creditable service obtained under this retirement system for teaching service in school systems of other states pursuant to Code Section 47-3-89 shall not be eligible for transfer as creditable service to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, notwithstanding the provisions of Code

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Section 47-2-92 or any other provision of Chapter 2 of this title, relating to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. (j)(1) Newly hired professional personnel employed for the first time by the Technical College System of Georgia on and after July 1, 1985, and all full-time nonprofessional personnel employed for the first time after July 1, 1987, by postsecondary vocational-technical schools governed by the state board shall become members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia as a condition of employment if otherwise eligible under laws, rules, and regulations, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and are otherwise eligible under laws, rules, and regulations. Once such election is made by such personnel, the election is irrevocable during the tenure of employment with the Technical College System of Georgia or any postsecondary vocational-technical school governed thereby. Newly hired employees not eligible for membership in the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia or the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia shall become members of the Public School Employees Retirement System as a condition of employment if eligible. The Technical College System of Georgia shall provide by regulation for informing prospective employees who are to be employed as certified professional personnel of the option provided for by this subsection so that such personnel shall choose membership in the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia or the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or the Public School Employees Retirement System at the time of their employment. (2) All full-time employees of a postsecondary vocational-technical school formerly operated by a local board of education or area postsecondary vocational education board as of July 1, 1987, or the date on which the state board assumes governance of the postsecondary vocational-technical school shall elect either to continue membership in the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia or to become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. Once such election is made by such personnel, the election is irrevocable during the tenure of employment with the Technical College System of Georgia or any postsecondary vocational-technical school governed thereby. All employees who are members of the Public School Employees Retirement System may elect to continue their membership in the Public School Employees Retirement System or to become members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia or the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia if otherwise eligible under laws, rules, or regulations. (3) If any person who transfers to this retirement system pursuant to the authority of this subsection subsequently becomes employed in a position where membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia is required, any creditable service obtained under this retirement system for teaching service in school systems of other states pursuant to Code Section 47-3-89 shall not be eligible for transfer as creditable service to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 47-2-92 or any other provision of Chapter 2 of this title.

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(k) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any person at least 60 years of age who first becomes a teacher on or after July 1, 1987, and any former member of the retirement system at least 60 years of age who has withdrawn from the retirement system employee contributions made during such former membership again becoming a teacher on or after July 1, 1987, shall have the right to decline membership in the retirement system. The right shall be exercised by sending written notice to the board of trustees on a form provided by the board for such purpose. The right must be exercised within 90 days after becoming a teacher. Any person declining membership in the retirement system pursuant to this subsection shall not at any time thereafter be eligible for membership in the retirement system. Any person failing to exercise the right provided by this subsection within 90 days after becoming a teacher shall become and remain a member of the retirement system as a condition of continued employment. Any employee contributions made during the first 90 days as a teacher by a person who exercises the right provided by this subsection shall be reimbursed to the person within 30 days after the board of trustees receives the written notice declining membership in the retirement system. (l) Any other provisions of this chapter or of Chapter 2 of this title to the contrary notwithstanding, any member of this retirement system with five or more years of continuous membership service who is employed by Central State Hospital and who, without any break in employment, becomes employed in a position where membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia is ordinarily required shall have the option to remain a member of this retirement system, notwithstanding the change in the member's employment status. Such option shall be exercised by notification, in writing, to the boards of trustees of this retirement system and the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. The employer of any such member who exercises the option provided by this subsection shall be an employer for the purposes of this chapter. (m) Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any person who is entitled pursuant to the provisions of this article to make an election between membership in this retirement system and membership in any other retirement system and who subsequently retires and is rehired by the same employer which employed him or her immediately prior to retirement shall continue membership in the retirement system under which he or she initially retired and shall not be entitled to elect membership in any other retirement system."

SECTION 10. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-18-2, relating to definitions relative to social security coverage for employees of the state and political subdivisions of the state, as follows:
"47-18-2. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Employee' includes an officer of a political subdivision of the state. Any individual compensated for services as a school bus driver, either through a contractual relationship

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or otherwise, is deemed to be an employee of the governing board of education for which such services are performed. (2) 'Employee tax' means the tax imposed by Section 1400 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1939 and Section 3101 of the federal Internal Revenue Code. (3) 'Employment' means any service performed by an employee in the employ of the state or any political subdivision of the state, for such employer, except:
(A) Service which in the absence of an agreement entered into under this chapter would constitute 'employment,' as defined in the Social Security Act; or (B) Service which under the Social Security Act may not be included in an agreement between the state and the secretary of health and human services entered into under this chapter. Service which under the Social Security Act may be included in an agreement only upon certification by the Governor in accordance with Section 218(d)(3) of the Social Security Act shall be included in the term 'employment' if and when the Governor issues, with respect to such service, a certificate to the secretary of health and human services, pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 47-18-42. (4) 'Federal Insurance Contributions Act' means Subchapter A of Chapter 9 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1939 and Subchapters A and B of Chapter 21 of the federal Internal Revenue Code, as such codes have been and may from time to time be amended. (5) 'Political subdivision' means counties and incorporated municipalities and includes an instrumentality of: (A) the state, (B) one or more political subdivisions of the state, or (C) the state and one or more of its political subdivisions. Such term also includes the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the Federal-State Cooperative Inspection Service of the State of Georgia, the Board of Trustees of Georgia Military College, and the Georgia Municipal Association. (6) 'Secretary of health and human services' includes any individual to whom the secretary of health and human services has delegated any functions under the Social Security Act, with respect to coverage under such act, of employees of states and their political subdivisions, and with respect to any action taken prior to April 11, 1953, includes the federal security administrator and any individual to whom such administrator had delegated any such functions. (7) 'Social Security Act' means the act of Congress approved August 14, 1935, Chapter 531, 49 Stat. 620, officially cited as the 'Social Security Act,' as such act has been and may from time to time be amended. Such term shall also include regulations and requirements issued pursuant to that act. (8) 'State agency' means the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. (9) 'Wages' means all remuneration for employment, including the cash value of all remuneration paid in any medium other than cash; except that such term shall not include that part of such remuneration which, even if it were for 'employment' within the meaning of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, would not constitute 'wages' within the meaning of that act."

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SECTION 11. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-19-1, relating to creation of the State Employees' Assurance Department, management of the department, and membership of the board of directors, as follows:
"47-19-1. There is created a department of the state government to be known as the State Employees' Assurance Department. The department shall be managed by a board of directors consisting of the state treasurer, the Commissioner of Labor, the state auditor, the commissioner of administrative services, and two members to be appointed by the Governor."

SECTION 12. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 47-19-9, relating to application of the State Personnel Administration to employees of the department and payment of pro rata share of costs, as follows:
"47-19-9. (a) The employees of the department shall be governed by such rules of position classification, appointment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, transfer, qualification, compensation, seniority, privileges, tenure, and other employment standards as may now or hereafter be established under Chapter 20 of Title 45. (b) The department shall pay its share of the administrative costs of operating the state system of personnel administration, in the manner prescribed in Code Section 45-20-4."

SECTION 13. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, only if an Act abolishing the State Personnel Administration and providing for the transfer of certain functions of such agency to the Department of Administrative Services is enacted and becomes effective on that same date; otherwise, this Act shall not become effective and shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 14. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES ABOLISH STATE PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION; TRANSFER CERTAIN FUNCTIONS TO DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND COMMISSIONER OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.

No. 630 (House Bill No. 642).

AN ACT

To amend Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public officers and employees, so as to abolish the State Personnel Administration and transfer certain functions to the Department of Administrative Services and the commissioner of administrative services; to extensively revise certain provisions relating to personnel administration; to amend numerous other provisions of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated so as to make conforming amendments and correct cross-references relative to the foregoing; to provide for transfers of personnel, facilities, equipment, and appropriations; to provide for other related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1.

Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public officers and employees, is amended by revising Chapter 20, relating to personnel administration, as follows:

"CHAPTER 20 ARTICLE 1
45-20-1. (a) It is the purpose of this article to establish in the state a system of personnel administration which will attract, select, and retain the best employees based on merit, free from coercive political influences, with incentives in the form of equal opportunities for all; which will provide technically competent and loyal personnel to render impartial service to the public at all times and to render such service according to the dictates of ethics and morality; and which will remove unnecessary and inefficient employees. It is specifically the intent of the General Assembly to promote this purpose by allowing agencies greater flexibility in personnel management so as to promote the overall effectiveness and efficiency of state government. To this end, and in accordance with Code Sections 45-20-2 and 45-20-6, all positions filled after July 1, 1996, shall be included in

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the unclassified service as defined in this article, except as provided in Code Section 15-11-24.3. It is also specifically the intent of the General Assembly that employees in the classified service prior to July 1, 1996, shall continue to be employees in the classified service so long as they remain in classified positions or as otherwise provided by law. It is further specifically the intent of the General Assembly that state government operate within a framework of consistent core personnel policies and practices across all state agencies and entities and that the state's most valued resource, its employees, be managed in a manner to promote work force productivity and sound business practices. (b) In order to achieve these purposes, it is the policy of the state that agencies treat all employees in accordance with the following principles:
(1) Assuring fair treatment of applicants and employees in all aspects of personnel administration without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religious creed, or political affiliations. This 'fair treatment' principle includes compliance with all state and federal equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination laws; (2) Recruiting, selecting, and advancing employees on the basis of their relative ability, knowledge, and skills, including open consideration of qualified applicants for initial employment; (3) Providing equitable and adequate compensation based on merit, performance, job value, and competitiveness within applicable labor markets; (4) Training employees, as needed, to assure high quality performance and to provide work force skills needed to maintain and advance the state's goals and objectives; (5) Retaining employees on the basis of the adequacy of their performance, correcting inadequate performance where possible and appropriate, and separating employees whose performance is inadequate; and (6) Assuring that employees are protected against coercion for partisan political purposes and are prohibited from using their official authority for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or nomination for office. (c) It shall be the responsibility of the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) to perform the following functions: (1) Establish and maintain a state-wide system of pay ranges for all job classes; (2) Define job classes, establish associated minimum qualifications for those classes, and assign those classes to appropriate pay ranges; (3) Develop and maintain a common employment application form to be used by all applicants for state employment, which form may be supplemented as necessary by agencies in seeking information about agency job classes; (4) Develop, validate, or administer applicant screening devices when requested by agencies and when funding for such activities can be accomplished on a cost recovery basis; (5) In consultation with agencies, establish state-wide criteria for the implementation of rules and policies adopted by the State Personnel Board which agencies shall use in developing internal processes for classification, compensation, pay for performance, and

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performance management, including processes involved in defining job classes, establishing and applying associated minimum qualifications, assigning jobs to appropriate state-wide pay ranges, developing and applying applicant screening methods, and measuring worker effectiveness; (6) Audit agencies' processes as referred to in paragraph(5) of this subsection and report findings annually to the Governor and the General Assembly in conjunction with an annual report on the overall status of the state work force. The DOAS shall not be required to distribute copies of the findings or annual report referred to in this paragraph to the members of the General Assembly but shall notify the members of the availability of the materials in the manner which it deems to be most effective and efficient; and (7) Maintain and make available to the public at large a state-wide central registry of employment vacancies and job announcements in state government as provided by agencies. (d) Subsection (c) of this Code section shall not apply to the legislative or judicial branches or to the board of regents. (e) Each agency shall develop a work force plan as a component of the strategic plan required by Code Section 45-12-177. (f) In the event agencies do not use a competitive civil service examination to fill some or all of their unclassified positions, it is expressly the intent of the General Assembly that appropriate consideration be given to veterans as defined under Article IV, Section III, Paragraph II of the Constitution of Georgia and Article 2 of Chapter 2 of this title in the filling of job vacancies in this state. Guidelines defining consideration practices shall be developed at the state level. Agencies shall specify agency policies and practices to implement appropriate consideration of military veterans in filling agency job vacancies. (g) The rules of statutory construction contained in Chapter 3 of Title 1, relating to general provisions concerning the construction of statutes, as now or hereafter amended, shall apply to this article.

45-20-2. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Appointing authority' means the person or groups of persons authorized by law or delegated authority to make appointments to fill positions. (2) 'Classified employee' means an employee who was in the classified service as of June 30, 1996, and who has remained in a classified position without a break in service since that date. (3) 'Classified position' means a position that held classified status conferring rights of appeal, as set forth in Code Sections 45-20-8 and 45-20-9, as of June 30, 1996, and that subsequent to June 30, 1996, has not been held by an unclassified employee. (4) 'Classified service' means employment in a classified position. (5) 'Commissioner' means the commissioner of administrative services provided for by Code Section 50-5-1.

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(6) 'Department' and 'agency' are synonymous and mean all separate and distinct divisions and subdivisions of state government whose heads are legally authorized to appoint employees to positions; but these terms shall not include authorities, public corporations, the legislative and judicial branches, and the board of regents. 'Department' and 'agency' shall also include an agency assigned to a department for administrative purposes and local departments of public health, county departments of family and children services, community service boards, and units of the Department of Defense with local employees. (7) 'Department of Administrative Services' or 'DOAS' means the department created by Code Section 50-5-1. (8) 'Employment at will' means an employment relationship in which either party to the relationship may sever the relationship at any time for any reason other than an unlawful reason. (9) 'Position' means a set of duties and responsibilities assigned or delegated by competent authority for performance by one person. (10) 'Rules and regulations' means the governing provisions adopted by the State Personnel Board and approved by the Governor. (11) 'State Personnel Board' and 'board' are synonymous and mean the body authorized by Article IV, Section III, Paragraph I of the Constitution of Georgia. (12) 'State Personnel Board policies' means those policies adopted by the board and approved by the Governor which describe the goals and objectives of the state personnel program and serve as a basis for the formulation and administration of the merit system rules and regulations. (13) 'Unclassified employee' means an employee who is not a classified employee. (14) 'Unclassified service' means employment at will and includes all employees except those in the classified service as defined in this Code section. (15) 'Working test' or 'working test period' means a probationary period of employment in a classified position during which the employee must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the appointing authority that he or she has the knowledge, ability, aptitude, and other necessary qualities to perform satisfactorily the duties of the position in which employed. The working test period shall apply to each promotion of a classified employee to a classified position. The commissioner may fix the length of the working test period for any job at not less than six months nor more than 18 months exclusive of any time in nonpay status; provided, however, that the length of the working test period for troopers of the Uniform Division of the Department of Public Safety shall be 18 months. (16) 'Working test employee' or 'employee on working test' means a classified employee serving a working test period in the position in which he or she is employed; provided, however, that an employee serving a working test period following a promotion in the same department from a lower class in which he or she had successfully completed a working test period shall retain appeal rights in the lower class until he or she

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successfully completes the working test period in the job to which he or she has been promoted.

45-20-3. (a)(1) The State Personnel Board shall provide direction by which the state's personnel policies shall be administered. The state's personnel policies shall constitute a state merit system of personnel administration. The board shall hold regular meetings as needed for the proper discharge of its duties. (2) Members of the board shall receive no salary but shall receive the same expense allowance per day as that received by a member of the General Assembly for each day such member is attending meetings or performing official business for the board, plus reimbursement for actual transportation costs while traveling by public carrier or the legal mileage rate for the use of a personal automobile in connection with such attendance or official business. (3) Three members shall constitute a quorum. Only the votes of a majority of the members present shall be necessary for the transaction of any business or discharge of any duties of the State Personnel Board, provided there is a quorum.
(b) It shall be the specific duty and function of the board: (1) To represent the public interest in the improvement of personnel administration in all state departments; (2) To determine appropriate human resource management goals and objectives and prescribe policies for their accomplishment; (3) At public hearings, to adopt and amend policies, rules, and regulations effectuating the state's merit system. Notice of board meetings shall be released to all departments and agencies and shall be prominently posted at the office of the DOAS at least ten days prior to each board meeting; (4) Where the board deems appropriate, to review adverse personnel actions for employees of the classified service in accordance with the rules and regulations. All appeals determinations of the board shall be written and documented as to findings of fact, bases for decisions, and prescribed remedies; (5) To assure the administration of state and federal laws relating to state personnel administration; and (6) To promote public understanding of the purposes, policies, and practices of the state personnel system and to advise and assist the several state departments in fostering merit selection and securing the interest of institutions of learning and of civic, professional, and other organizations in the improvement of personnel standards under the state's personnel system.

45-20-3.1. (a) At least 30 days prior to the date of a public hearing held by the board to consider the adoption of rules or regulations to effectuate this chapter, the commissioner shall transmit

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a notice containing an exact copy of the proposed rule or regulation to each member of the Senate Government Oversight Committee and the House Committee on Governmental Affairs. The notice shall provide a citation to the authority pursuant to which the proposed rule or regulation is to be adopted and, if it amends an existing rule or regulation, such existing rule or regulation shall be clearly identified. The notice shall also state the date, time, and place of the public hearing at which adoption of the proposed rule shall be considered. (b) If, prior to the date of the public hearing at which the proposed rule or regulation is to be considered for adoption, the chairperson of either legislative committee specified in subsection (a) of this Code section notifies the commissioner that the committee objects to the adoption of the proposed rule or regulation or has questions concerning the purpose, nature, or necessity of the proposed rule or regulation, it shall be the duty of the commissioner to consult with the committee prior to the board's adoption of the proposed rule or regulation. (c) If the commissioner finds that the immediate adoption of a rule or regulation is necessary to secure or protect the interests of the DOAS, such rule or regulation may be adopted by the board on an emergency basis without following the procedures required by subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section. In that event, the commissioner shall present a resolution to the board for adoption declaring the existence of an emergency and explaining the basis for such declaration as a condition necessary to adopt a rule or regulation on an emergency basis. Any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the authority of this subsection shall expire in not more than 120 days immediately following its adoption, but the adoption of an identical rule pursuant to the requirements of this Code section shall not be precluded. (d) Each rule or regulation adopted by the board shall become effective upon approval by the Governor. The commissioner shall immediately file an original and two copies of the rule or regulation in the office of the Secretary of State. (e) Rules or regulations filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section shall contain a citation to the authority pursuant to which the rules or regulations are adopted and, when existing rules or regulations are amended, the filings shall clearly identify the existing rules or regulations. The Secretary of State shall endorse on each filing the time and date of the filing and shall maintain a file of the rules and regulations for public inspection. (f) Rules and regulations filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to the requirements of subsections (d) and (e) of this Code section shall be published by the Secretary of State as a part of the rules of state agencies published by the Secretary of State pursuant to Code Section 50-13-7. (g) The courts shall take judicial notice of any rule which has become effective pursuant to this chapter.

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45-20-4. The duties and responsibilities of the commissioner in the administration of this chapter shall be: (1) To serve as executive secretary to the board, to attend meetings as directed by the board, and to provide such professional, technical, and other supportive assistance as may be required by the board in the performance of its duties; (2) To submit to the Governor the rules and regulations adopted by the board. Such rules and regulations when approved by the Governor shall have the force and effect of law and shall be binding upon the state departments covered by this article and shall include provisions for the establishment and maintenance of classification and compensation plans, the conduct of examinations, appointments, promotions, transfers, demotions, appeals of classified employees, reports of performance, payroll certification, and other phases of personnel administration. Such rules and regulations shall define and prohibit improper political activity by any departmental employee of the State Personnel Board or any employee covered under the terms of this article and shall provide that there shall be no discrimination for or against any person or employee in any manner, to include, but not be limited to, hiring, discharge, compensation, benefits, terms or conditions of employment, promotion, job classification, transfer, privileges, or demotion because of political affiliation, religious affiliation, race, creed, national origin, sex, age between 40 and 70 years, or physical disability. Such rules and regulations shall conform to the minimum standards for merit systems of personnel administration as specified by those federal departments from which federal funds are obtained for use by the several state departments covered by this article. Compensation plans and modifications thereto promulgated under the rules and regulations of the commissioner shall become effective as adopted upon approval of the director of the Office of Planning and Budget; (3) To administer the adoption and compliance with rules and regulations of the board in all departments; (4) To appoint and prescribe the duties of DOAS staff as necessary to carry out the duties of this chapter; (5) To establish an annual budget covering administrative costs of performing the duties and responsibilities in accordance with this chapter, including the costs of administering such federal laws relating to personnel administration as the Governor may direct including the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970, and to determine an equitable basis of allocating the annual costs among the several departments served by the DOAS in accordance with this chapter, with the amounts and rates for such services to be established in each general or amended appropriations Act; (6) To ensure compliance with all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations concerning discrimination in employment, personnel administration, and related matters; and (7) To cooperate with appointing authorities in the administration of this article in order to promote public service and establish conditions of service which will attract and retain

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employees of character and ability and to increase efficiency and economy in governmental departments by improving the methods of personnel administration with full recognition of the requirements and needs of management.

45-20-5. Reserved.
45-20-6. (a) Any officer or employee who occupied a classified position under the State Personnel Administration prior to July 1, 1996, or as provided in Code Section 15-11-24.3 shall remain in the classified service so long as such officer or employee shall remain in a classified position or as otherwise provided by law. Employees in the classified service shall have, upon completing a working test period, appeal rights as provided in Code Sections 45-20-8 and 45-20-9. (b) Reserved. (c) Exclusion from the classified service shall not exclude any employee, officer, or official from eligibility for membership or membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, provided that such employee, officer, or official is otherwise eligible for membership under Chapter 2 of Title 47. (d) It is the intent of the General Assembly that employees in the classified service be required to serve a working test period before they obtain rights of appeal and that the successful completion of this probationary period is part of the employment examination procedure. Each employee serving in a working test period shall be provided with management review by the appointing authority within ten calendar days of the date the employee has completed one-half of the working test period or as near to such date as is practicable. The management review shall include an evaluation of the employee's progress and recommendations, if any, for corrective action. The provision of management review pursuant to this subsection is solely for the purpose of promoting efficient management and employee development and shall not be interpreted as granting any additional rights to a working test employee. The State Personnel Board shall be responsible for adopting and amending rules and regulations establishing the guidelines to be used by the appointing authority in completing the management review pursuant to this subsection.
45-20-7. Reserved.
45-20-8. (a) Classified employees who have successfully completed a working test period may be dismissed from employment or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or

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employment status only if such action is taken in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board governing adverse actions and appeals for classified employees. (b) This article is not intended to create a property interest in the job, but rather to create only a procedure under which classified employees can be dismissed or otherwise adversely affected. The procedure adopted for dismissing a classified employee from employment or otherwise adversely affecting his or her compensation or employment status shall include, as a minimum, that the appointing authority must provide the classified employee with reasons for the action and an opportunity to file an appeal and request a hearing which may be held before either the board or an administrative law judge of the Office of State Administrative Hearings; provided, however, that the hearing may be held subsequent to the effective date of the dismissal or other purported adverse action; provided, further, that the right to appeal shall not apply when persons are dismissed or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation due to curtailment of funds or reduction in staff when such action is in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. (c) No adverse action appealed to the State Personnel Board under the rules and regulations of the board, this article, or otherwise shall be considered invalid for failure to follow or comply with the rules and regulations of the board, this article, or any other requirement unless it is shown that the individual against whom the action has been taken has been substantially harmed by the procedural failure. (d) The decision of the board on an appeal as to whether a dismissal or other adverse action was in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the State Personnel Board shall be binding upon the appointing authority. The board may modify the action of the appointing authority but may not increase the severity of such action on the employee. Such appointing authority shall promptly comply with such order as may be issued as a result of the appeal to the State Personnel Board. The decision of the board shall not limit the rights of the employee or the department to judicial review as to errors of law, and such decision shall be stayed pending other further appeal. (e) For purposes of this Code section and Code Section 45-20-9, administrative law judges appointed by the chief state administrative law judge pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 50 are authorized to hold hearings and otherwise assist the State Personnel Board in the resolution of appeals.

45-20-9. (a) Any laws to the contrary notwithstanding, all hearings on dismissals, other adverse personnel actions, and other purported violations of the rules and regulations as applied to classified employees shall be instituted by filing a written appeal with the Office of State Administrative Hearings upon such ground and in such form and under such procedure as may be prescribed by rules and regulations of the office. The party appealing and the department from whose action the appeal is taken shall be notified in writing within 15

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days from the filing of the appeal that an appeal has been filed and the time for which a hearing is scheduled. (b) The State Personnel Board, any member of the board, or an administrative law judge shall have the authority to do the following in connection with any hearing on a dismissal or other purported violation of the rules and regulations: administer oaths and affirmations; sign and issue subpoenas; rule upon offers of proof; regulate the course of the hearing, set the time and place for continued hearings, and fix the time for filing briefs; dispose of motions to dismiss for lack of the board's jurisdiction over the subject matter or parties or for any other ground; dispose of motions to amend or to intervene; provide for the taking of testimony by deposition or interrogatory; and reprimand or exclude from the hearing any person for any indecorous or improper conduct committed in the presence of the board or the administrative law judge. (c) Subpoenas shall be issued without discrimination between public and private parties. When a subpoena is disobeyed, any party may apply to the superior court of the county where the hearing is being held for an order requiring obedience. Failure to comply with such order shall be cause for punishment as for contempt of court. The costs of securing the attendance of witnesses, including fees and mileage, shall be computed and assessed in the same manner as prescribed by law in civil cases in the superior court. Once issued a subpoena may be quashed by the board or an administrative law judge if it appears that the subpoena was used primarily as a means of harassment, that the testimony or documents sought are cumulative, that the testimony or documents sought are not relevant, that the testimony or documents sought are not material, that to respond to the subpoena would be unduly burdensome, or that for other good reasons basic fairness dictates that the subpoena should not be enforced. (d) With respect to all hearings before the board or the administrative law judge:
(1) Irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The rules of evidence as applied in the trial of civil nonjury cases in the superior courts of Georgia shall be followed. Evidence not admissible thereunder may be admitted if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs. The board shall give effect to the rules of privilege recognized by law. Objections to evidentiary offers may be made and shall be noted in the record. Subject to these requirements, when a hearing will be expedited and the interests of the parties will not be prejudiced substantially, any part of the evidence may be received in written form; (2) Documentary evidence may be received in the form of copies or excerpts if the original is not readily available. Upon request and at the discretion of the administrative law judge or board, parties shall be given an opportunity to compare the copy with the original; (3) A party may conduct such cross-examination as shall be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts; and (4) Official notice may be taken of judicially recognizable facts. In addition, official notice may be taken of technical facts within the board's specialized knowledge. Parties

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shall be notified either before or during the hearing by reference in preliminary reports or otherwise of the material officially noticed, including any staff memoranda or data; and they shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed. The board's experience, technical competence, and specialized knowledge may be utilized in the evaluation of the evidence. (e)(1) With respect to hearings at which the board did not preside at the presentation of the evidence, the administrative law judge who presided shall issue an initial decision within 30 days from the close of the evidence or if necessary within a longer period of time as ordered by the board or the administrative law judge. The initial decision shall be transmitted to the board, and copies shall be sent to the parties or their representatives. In the absence of an application for review from an adversely affected party to the board within 30 days from the date the initial decision was issued or in the absence of an order by the board within such time for review on its own motion, the decision shall become the decision of the board without further proceedings or notice; and any right of additional appeals shall be extinguished. (2) On review of the entire record from the administrative law judge, the board shall have all the powers it would have in presiding at the reception of the evidence, including the review of any motions granted or denied by the administrative law judge and including the review of any action taken by the administrative law judge. Both parties shall have the right to present oral arguments to the board. Any presentation to the board on the matter by an administrative law judge shall be made in the presence of the parties. No administrative law judge shall be present during the board's deliberations and voting on the application. At its discretion, the board may take additional testimony or remand the matter to the administrative law judge for such purpose. (f) Unless precluded by law, informal disposition of any proceeding before the board or the administrative law judge may be made by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent order, or default. (g) As a part of the initial decision or order subsequent to any hearing, the administrative law judge or the board shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law separately stated and the effective date of the decision or order. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings. Copies of the decision or order shall be mailed to all parties of record. (h) Any party, including the state and any state board, bureau, commission, or department, who has exhausted all administrative remedies available before the board and who is aggrieved by a final decision or order of the board on any hearing may seek judicial review of the final decision or order of the board in the superior court of the county of the place of employment of the employee. (i) Proceedings for review shall be instituted by filing a petition with the court within 30 days after the decision or order is rendered. Copies of the petition shall be served upon the board and all parties of record. The petition shall state the nature of the petitioner's interest,

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the facts showing that the petitioner is aggrieved by the decision of the board, and the grounds upon which the petitioner contends the decision or order should be reversed or remanded. The petition may be amended with leave of court. (j) Within 30 days after the service of the petition or within further time allowed by the court, the board shall transmit to the reviewing court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceeding under review. By stipulation of all parties to the review proceeding the record may be shortened. A party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to limit the record may be taxed by the court for the additional costs. The court may require or permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record. (k) The filing of the petition shall stay the enforcement of the board's decision or order. (l) If before the date set for hearing the appeal by the superior court application is made to the court for leave to present additional evidence and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and there were good reasons for failure to present it in the proceedings before the board, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the board upon conditions determined by the court. The board may modify its findings and decision or order by reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence and any modifications, new findings, or decisions and orders with the reviewing court. (m) The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury and shall be confined to the record. The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the board as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision or order of the board or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse the decision or order of the board if substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the board's findings, inferences, conclusions, decisions, or orders are:
(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) In excess of the statutory authority of the board; (3) Made upon unlawful procedure; (4) Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (5) Arbitrary, capricious, or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. (n) A party aggrieved by an order of the court in a proceeding authorized under this Code section may appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia or the Court of Appeals of Georgia in accordance with Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 5.

45-20-10. The DOAS shall routinely collect from agencies required under law to submit a quarterly budget to the Office of Planning and Budget data including the number of personnel, salaries, length of service, distribution of employees by filled and unfilled full-time employee positions at the budgetary program level, and other pertinent personnel information for the subsequent fiscal year as prescribed by the Governor. The

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commissioner shall compile, consolidate, and submit the data to the Office of Planning and Budget as needed.

45-20-11. Reserved.

45-20-12. Reserved.

45-20-13. Reserved.

45-20-14. Reserved.

45-20-15. Reserved.

45-20-16. (a) As a part of employee compensation, the board shall establish rules for the accrual and usage of leave and holidays and for compensation due to emergency closure of state offices or facilities for nontemporary employees. All agencies of the executive branch, exclusive of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, shall provide for the accrual and usage of leave and holidays and for compensation due to emergency closure of state offices or facilities for nontemporary employees in accordance with such rules. (b) Any employee who has accumulated sick leave shall be authorized to utilize such sick leave in accordance with the criteria established in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board; provided, however, that whenever an employee is sick and absent from work, the employee may be required to report each day by telephone to the appropriate authority. An employee shall not be required to provide documentation for the use of less than 17 hours of sick leave in any 30 day period, unless the employee has demonstrated excessive or abusive use of sick leave. The State Personnel Board shall establish rules and regulations that define excessive or abusive use. (c) An employee who has accrued more than 15 days of sick leave as of November 30 of any year may, by written notification to the appointing authority by no later than December 31 of that year, convert up to three days of accrued sick leave in excess of 15 days to personal leave. Any personal leave not used by December 31 of the following year, or upon termination, shall be forfeited and not restored to the employee. (d) Personal leave may be used by the employee for personal reasons the same as annual leave upon approval by the employee's appointing authority. The employee shall normally be required to provide the appointing authority with a 24 hour advance notice for use of

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personal leave. Every reasonable effort shall be made by the appointing authority to accommodate employees on their requests for use of personal leave. (e) If the appointing authority disagrees with the claim of sickness or need to utilize sick leave made by the employee pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section, the appointing authority may disapprove the use of such sick leave in accordance with the criteria established in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The employee may contest the disapproval of the sick leave through the department's employee complaint procedure. (f) Any nontemporary employee in classified or unclassified service who forfeits accumulated sick leave as a result of withdrawal from employment with the state shall be entitled to regain such accumulated sick leave after such employee returns to state employment and remains in service for a period of two consecutive years. (g) The State Personnel Board shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this Code section. The leave regulations of the board in effect on July 1, 1991, and not in conflict with this Code section shall remain in effect until amended, changed, modified, or repealed by the board.

45-20-17. Reserved.

45-20-18. Any state employee who commits a validated act of abuse towards a member of the public while performing employment duties shall not be eligible for any wage incentive payment during the period such act occurred.

45-20-19. (a) This subsection shall apply whenever any department or agency proposes to terminate the employment of one or more classified employees through a reduction in force. No termination subject to this subsection shall become effective until at least 30 days after the affected employee has been notified in writing by the department or agency. Such notice must contain at a minimum:
(1) A statement of the nature of the proposed action to be taken with respect to the affected employee; (2) An explanation of the rights of the affected employee due to the proposed reduction in force, including any right of appeal, or other opportunities regarding possible continued employment, any opportunities to apply for employment with any public or private party assuming the functions of the employee, or any other similar opportunities; and (3) An explanation of the affected employee's rights and options regarding his or her employment benefits, including but not limited to any right to continued participation in any retirement system or insurance plan.

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(b) This subsection shall apply whenever any department or agency proposes to eliminate 25 or more positions or terminate 25 or more employees through a reduction in force. At least 15 days prior to giving the employee notice, the department or agency shall give written notice to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of the proposed reduction in force. Such notice shall:
(1) Identify the facilities and operations to be affected and the estimated number of employees to be affected; and (2) State the reasons for the proposed action. (c) Subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section shall not apply to a reduction in force which must become effective immediately because the department or agency has insufficient funds available to pay the salaries of the affected employees.

45-20-20. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Employing unit' means that budget unit under the Appropriations Act through which an officer or employee receives compensation for services rendered as such officer or employee. (2) 'Federal law' means Section 3(a) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 App. U.S.C.A. 451, et seq.). (b) A state officer, other than an elected officer whose office is created by the Constitution, shall not be eligible to take office if such person is a male between 18 and 26 years of age unless, prior to taking the oath of office, such person presents proof to the Secretary of State of having registered with the Selective Service System as required by federal law or of being exempt from such registration. (c) A person employed by the state before July 1, 1998, other than an officer specified or exempted by subsection (b) of this Code section, who is a male between 18 and 26 years of age shall be terminated for cause unless, by January 1, 1999, such person presents proof to the employing unit of state government of having registered with the Selective Service System as required by federal law or of being exempt from such registration. (d) A person shall not be hired as an employee of the state on or after July 1, 1998, other than an officer specified or exempted by subsection (b) of this Code section, if that person is a male between 18 and 26 years of age unless, prior to such hiring, such person presents proof to the employing unit of state government of having registered with the Selective Service System as required by federal law or of being exempt from such registration.

45-20-21. The State Personnel Board shall provide for a performance management system for the periodic review and rating of the quality and quantity of work performed by employees. All agencies of the executive branch, exclusive of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, shall provide for the review and rating of the quality and quantity of work performed by employees.

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ARTICLE 2

45-20-30. Each state, county, and municipal officer and employee in this state shall be allowed a leave of absence, without loss of pay, of not more than eight hours in each calendar year for the purpose of donating blood. This absence shall be computed at two hours per donation, up to four times per year. However, any such officer or employee who donates blood platelets or granulocytes through the plasmapheresis process shall be allowed a leave of absence, without loss of pay, of not more than 16 hours in each calendar year which shall be computed at four hours per donation, up to four times per year.

45-20-31. (a) Each employee of the State of Georgia or of any branch, department, board, bureau, or commission of the State of Georgia who serves as an organ donor for the purpose of transplantation shall receive a leave of absence, with pay, of 30 days and such leave shall not be charged against or deducted from any annual or sick leave and shall be included as service in computing any retirement or pension benefits. The employee shall not be entitled to such leave of absence with pay unless he or she furnishes to his or her supervisor or other proper authority a statement from a medical practitioner who is to perform such transplantation procedure or from a hospital administrator that the employee is making an organ donation as provided in this Code section. If such donation does not occur, the provisions of this Code section shall not be applicable. For the purposes of this Code section, the term 'organ' means a human organ, including an eye, that is capable of being transferred from the body of a person to the body of another person. (b) Each employee of the State of Georgia or of any branch, department, board, bureau, or commission of the State of Georgia who serves as a bone marrow donor for the purpose of transplantation shall receive a leave of absence, with pay, of seven days and such leave shall not be charged against or deducted from any annual or sick leave and shall be included as service in computing any retirement or pension benefits. The employee shall not be entitled to such leave of absence with pay unless he or she furnishes to his or her supervisor or other proper authority a statement from a medical practitioner who is to perform such transplantation procedure or from a hospital administrator that the employee is serving as a bone marrow donor as provided in this Code section. If such donation does not occur, the provisions of this Code section shall not be applicable.

ARTICLE 3

45-20-50. It is the purpose of this article to permit voluntary deductions from wages or salaries of employees of the State of Georgia for the benefit of eligible charitable health and human care organizations and to provide for the distribution of funds collected through a process

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which involves minimal disruption of work time and provides reasonable assurance to the employees that their contributions are well used.

45-20-51. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Agency' means any agency, as defined in Code Section 45-20-2, which has full-time paid state employees and, in addition thereto, shall include the board of regents, all units of the university system, public authorities, and public corporations. (2) 'Charitable organization' means any voluntary health, welfare, educational, or environmental restoration or conservation agency that is:
(A) A private, self-governing, nonprofit organization chartered or authorized to do business in the State of Georgia by the office of the Secretary of State; (B) Exempt from taxation under Code Section 48-7-25; (C) One to which contributions are authorized as deductible by Section 170 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, as amended; (D) Qualified as an organization as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code; and (E) Not a religious organization except that a religious organization is not disqualified to the extent that it operates a health, welfare, educational, or environmental restoration or conservation function on a nonsectarian basis with a distinct and separate budget for this function. (3) 'Eligible voluntary charitable organization' means a charitable organization which: (A) Actively conducts health, welfare, educational, or environmental restoration or conservation programs and provides services to individuals directed at one or more of the following common human needs within a community: family and child care services; protective services for children and adults; services for children and adults in foster care; services related to the management and maintenance of the home; day-care services for adults; transportation services; information, referral, and counseling services; the preparation and delivery of meals; adoption services; emergency shelter, care, and relief services; safety services; neighborhood and community organization services; recreation services; social adjustment and rehabilitation services; health support services; or a combination of such services designed to meet the special needs of specific groups such as children and youth, the aged, the ill and infirm, or the physically disabled; or provides services concerned with the ecological impact of altering the environment; or provides services concerned with the cultivation or imparting of knowledge or skills; (B) Provides direct and substantial services on a state-wide basis; is one of the federated charitable organizations that coordinates fund raising and allocations for at least five local charitable organizations in the various geographic areas in which employees are solicited; is a federation of at least five state-wide and local charitable organizations which are otherwise qualified under this article and which federation

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expends all funds collected under this article to serve Georgia residents and programs; is a health, welfare, educational, or environmental restoration or conservation agency which is a member of a federated, nonsectarian, nonpolitical, eligible voluntary charitable organization subject to such rules and regulations as the board may prescribe; or is a federated charitable organization that provides direct and substantial health and welfare services internationally whose activities do not require a local presence or provision of local services, which is authorized and certified by the Secretary of State to transact business in Georgia, which is compliant with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's regulations issued pursuant to the authority of 5 C.F.R. 950.201 and 950.202 for charities participating in the Combined Federal Campaign, which has a registered agent in Georgia, and which otherwise meets the criteria of this paragraph; (C) Observes a policy and practice of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability, and such policy is applicable to persons served by the agency, to agency staff employment, and to membership on the agency's governing board; and (D) Does not expend a substantial portion of its efforts to influence the outcome of elections or the determination of public policy. No charitable organization shall be approved by the State Personnel Board under more than one provision of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. (4) 'Employee' means any person receiving a payroll check from the state for personal service to an agency.

45-20-52. The board shall set policy for administration of this article and shall have full power to promulgate, adopt, amend, or revoke such rules and regulations consistent with this article as may be necessary to implement this article. The board shall have specific authority to establish procedures under which charitable organizations may be evaluated for inclusion in the charitable deductions program. Only eligible voluntary charitable organizations which are approved by the board may participate in the program. Such procedures may include minimum participation levels based upon number of employees making a designated contribution, dollar amounts of designated contributions, or other factors as decided by the board and may exclude otherwise eligible charitable organizations for failure to attain a minimum participation level.

45-20-53. (a) Any agency is authorized to deduct from the salaries or wages of its employees amounts designated by the employee for the purpose of contribution to charitable organizations. No such deduction procedure shall be implemented without the approval of the chief executive officer or governing board of the agency. (b) No deduction shall be made without the written request of the employee which shall designate the amount which is to be deducted. Deductions shall be made monthly or to

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coincide with each pay period as determined by the agency. No deduction shall be made for less than $1.00 per deduction period or for less than $1.00 per designated charitable organization. Employees shall be clearly apprised, on solicitation materials, of the manner in which funds will be distributed. All deduction authorizations shall remain continuously in effect until changed or canceled in writing by the employee. No deduction shall be made for the benefit of any organization which fails to secure approval of the board.

45-20-54. (a) No person shall disclose to any other person names of contributors or the amounts or designations of authorized charitable deductions of another, except as is necessary to accomplish the purpose of this article or as otherwise authorized in writing by the person whose contributions are sought to be disclosed. This prohibition against disclosure shall not, however, bar appropriate state or federal tax authorities from access necessary to establish the tax status of charitable organizations receiving these funds. (b) No person shall pressure, coerce, or in any way intimidate any employee to have charitable deductions made from the employee's salary or with reference to the amount of deductions to be made. Each agency shall review any violations or alleged violations of this subsection and assure that appropriate action is taken. Such action may include, without being limited to, discharge from employment, consistent with policies of the agency and with the rules and regulations of the board.

45-20-54.1. The board shall promulgate regulations necessary and expedient to accomplishing the distribution of funds deducted from employees' salaries, honoring employee designations. Undesignated funds shall be fairly and impartially distributed as determined by the board.

45-20-55. The state shall be reimbursed by participating charitable organizations, in direct proportion to their receipts, for its additional direct cost of making deductions and remitting the proceeds. To minimize time and administrative expense, activities related to the management of the funds such as preparation of materials, solicitor training, fiscal agent duties, and similar activities may be delegated by the board to a participating party.

45-20-56. Deductions from salaries of employees and transmittal of funds to charitable organizations may be offered as a privilege for the convenience of employees and no right of action shall accrue to the employee or to any charitable organization for errors, omissions, or decisions of administrative employees or officials regarding such deductions. The board is the sole judge of charitable organizations approved for participation in the program. Charitable organizations may be disapproved without any liability on the part of any state official or employee.

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ARTICLE 4

45-20-70. As used in this article, the term 'employee assistance program' or 'program' means a service established to assist state employees in coping with and overcoming persistent problems that jeopardize the employee's effective job performance.

45-20-70.1. The board is authorized in its discretion to establish an employee assistance program for all state employees and to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for its administration.

45-20-71. Program related records or activities which might disclose the nature of the services provided an employee or the identity of an employee utilizing the program shall be maintained on a confidential basis. Such records shall be produced only when the commissioner or his or her designee is satisfied it is needed to respond to a life-threatening or medical emergency or when written release is given by that employee.

ARTICLE 5

45-20-90. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Employee' means any employee required to be certified under the provisions of Chapter 8 of Title 35 receiving a salary or hourly wage from any state agency, department, commission, bureau, board, or authority. 'Employee' shall also include any certified employee working under a personnel contract to provide personnel services, including but not limited to medical, security, or transportation services to a state or other public agency. (2) 'Established drug test' means the collection and testing of bodily fluids administered in a manner equivalent to that required by the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (HHS Regulations 53 Fed. Reg. 11979, et seq., as amended) or other professionally valid procedures approved by the board. (3) 'High-risk work' means those duties where inattention to duty or errors in judgment while on duty will have the potential for significant risk of harm to the employee, other employees, or the general public. (4) 'Illegal drug' means marijuana as defined in paragraph (16) of Code Section 16-13-21, as amended; a controlled substance as defined in paragraph (4) of Code Section 16-13-21, as amended; a dangerous drug as defined in Code Section 16-13-71, as amended; or any other controlled substance or dangerous drug that persons are prohibited from using. The term 'illegal drug' shall not include any drug when used

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pursuant to a valid medical prescription or when used as otherwise authorized by state or federal law.

45-20-91. (a) Employees working in high-risk jobs shall be subject to random testing for evidence of use of illegal drugs. (b) The head of each state agency, department, commission, board, bureau, or authority, in conjunction with the DOAS, shall determine those positions and groups of positions whose occupants regularly perform high-risk work where inattention to duty or errors in judgment while on duty will have the potential for significant risk of harm to the employee, other employees, or the general public. This Code section shall not be construed to include employees who do not regularly perform high-risk work regardless of the fact that other employees in the same classification do perform such high-risk work.

45-20-92. (a) The State Personnel Board shall adopt rules to establish:
(1) The portion of employees in the high-risk work group that may be selected at random for testing at each testing period; (2) Methods for assuring that employees are selected for testing on a random basis; (3) Methods for assuring that privacy intrusions are minimized during collection of body fluid specimens; (4) Methods for assuring that any body fluid specimens are stored and transported to testing laboratories at proper temperatures and under such conditions that the quality of the specimens shall not be jeopardized; (5) Methods for assuring that the identity of employees whose tests show the usage of an illegal drug is limited to the staff who are entitled to this information; and (6) The identification of those persons entitled to the information and shall adopt such other rules as it may deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article. The board may, in its discretion, delegate to the commissioner such authority as appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article. (b) The commissioner shall establish and maintain a list of those laboratories qualified to conduct established drug tests and shall determine which illegal drugs will be the subject of testing; provided, however, that no laboratory shall be so certified unless that laboratory, on a daily basis, adds to its urine testing program a minimum of 10 percent blind test specimens.

45-20-93. (a) Any employee conducting high-risk work found to have used an illegal drug shall be terminated from his or her employment. (b) Any employee who refuses to provide body fluid specimens, when requested to do so in accordance with the random drug testing conducted pursuant to this article and

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administrative rules and regulations promulgated under this article, shall be terminated from his or her employment.

ARTICLE 6

45-20-110.

As used in this article, the term:

(1) 'Applicant' means a candidate who is offered public employment with any agency,

department, commission, bureau, board, college, university, institution, or authority of

any branch of state government or who has commenced employment but has not

submitted to an established test for illegal drugs.

(2) 'Established test' means the collection and testing of bodily fluids administered in a

manner equivalent to that required by the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace

Drug Testing Programs (HHS Regulations 53 Fed. Reg. 11979, et seq., as amended).

(3)

'Illegal drug' means marijuana/cannabinoids (THC), cocaine,

amphetamines/methamphetamines, opiates, or phencyclidine (PCP). The term 'illegal

drug' shall not include any drug when used pursuant to a valid prescription or when used

as otherwise authorized by state or federal law.

(4) 'Job' means a defined set of key responsibilities and performance standards

encompassing one or more positions sufficiently similar in responsibilities and

performance standards to be grouped together.

(5) 'Medical review officer' means a properly licensed physician who reviews and

interprets results of drug testings and evaluates those results together with medical history

or any other relevant biomedical information to confirm positive and negative results.

(6) 'Position' means a set of duties and responsibilities assigned or delegated by

competent authority for performance by one person.

45-20-111. (a) The head of each agency, department, commission, bureau, board, college, university, institution, or authority shall ensure an analysis is completed on all jobs in his or her organization to determine those positions whose duties and responsibilities warrant conducting an established test for illegal drugs in accordance with the provisions of this Code section. The analysis must be completed by July 1, 1995. All jobs established after this date must undergo a similar analysis no later than six weeks after establishment. An applicant for a designated position shall undergo a drug test consistent with these provisions. (b) An applicant for state employment who is offered employment in a position designated by the head of the agency, department, commission, bureau, board, college, university, institution, or authority as requiring a drug test shall, prior to commencing employment or within ten days after commencing employment, submit to an established test for illegal drugs. All costs of such testing shall be paid from public funds by the employing agency

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or unit of state government. Any such test which indicates the presence of illegal drugs shall be followed by a confirmatory test using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. If the results of the confirmatory test indicate the presence of illegal drugs, such results shall be reviewed and interpreted by a medical review officer to determine if there is an alternative medical explanation. If the applicant provides appropriate documentation and the medical review officer determines that it was a legitimate usage of the substance, the result shall be reported as negative. Any applicant who fails to provide an alternative medical explanation shall be reported by the medical review officer as having a positive test result. Any applicant offered employment who refuses to submit to an established test for illegal drugs or whose test results are positive shall be disqualified from employment by the state. Such disqualification shall not be removed for a period of two years from the date that such test was administered or offered, whichever is later. The board shall develop rules for the administration of the test and any verification procedures. Other covered units of state government shall also develop rules governing these procedures. The results of such tests shall remain confidential and shall not be a public record unless necessary for the administration of these provisions or otherwise mandated by other state or federal law."

PART II SECTION 2-1.

Title 1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions, is amended by revising Code Section 1-4-1, relating to public and legal holidays and leave for observance of religious holidays not specifically provided for, as follows:
"1-4-1. (a) The State of Georgia shall recognize and observe as public and legal holidays:
(1) All days which have been designated as of January 1, 1984, as public and legal holidays by the federal government; and (2) All other days designated and proclaimed by the Governor as public and legal holidays or as days of fasting and prayer or other religious observance. In such designation the Governor shall include at least one of the following dates: January 19, April 26, or June 3, or a suitable date in lieu thereof to commemorate the event or events now observed by such dates. (b) The Governor shall close all state offices and facilities a minimum of 12 days throughout the year and not more than 12 days in observance of the public and legal holidays and other days set forth in subsection (a) of this Code section and shall specify the days state offices and facilities shall be closed for such observances. (c) Employees of any state department or agency shall, upon request to their appointing authority or his or her designee at least seven days in advance, be given priority consideration for time away from work for observance of religious holy days not otherwise provided for in this Code section. Any paid leave time for such religious holy day observance shall be charged to accrued compensatory leave or accrued annual leave credits

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available to the employee at the time of the holy day observance. No employee may claim priority consideration for more than three work days each calendar year. A request by an employee for time away from work to observe a religious holy day shall not be denied unless the employee has inadequate accrued compensatory or annual leave credits to cover such period of absence or the duties performed by the employee are urgently required and the employee is the only person available who can perform the duties as determined by the appointing authority or his or her designee. The State Personnel Board shall provide by rule and regulation a procedure to be followed by agencies and departments in the granting of such holy days."

SECTION 2-2. Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to agriculture, is amended by revising Code Section 2-2-4, relating to salary and expenses, and compensation of employees, as follows:
"2-2-4. (a) The annual salary of the Commissioner shall be as provided in Code Sections 45-7-3 and 45-7-4. The Commissioner shall be entitled to reimbursement of expenses as provided by Code Section 45-7-20. (b) The Commissioner is authorized to employ personnel for the department, to prescribe their duties, and to fix the compensation of such personnel; provided, however, that such compensation shall be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board."

SECTION 2-3. Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to banking and finance, is amended by revising Code Section 7-1-35, relating to deputy commissioners, examiners, and assistants, as follows:
"7-1-35. (a) The commissioner shall appoint from time to time, with the right to discharge at will, a senior deputy commissioner of banking and finance. The commissioner may appoint additional deputy commissioners as needed. All deputy commissioners shall also be ex officio examiners. The commissioner may appoint such additional examiners and assistants as he or she may need to discharge in a proper manner the duties imposed upon the commissioner by law, subject to any applicable state laws or rules or regulations and within the limitations of the appropriation to the department as prescribed in this chapter. Hiring, promotion, and other personnel policies of the department shall be consistent with guidelines or directives of the state, shall be in writing, and shall be made available upon request to employees of the department. (b) Within the limitations of its annual appropriation, the department may expend funds pursuant to the authority granted under Article VIII, Section VII, Paragraph I of the 1983 Constitution of Georgia necessary to the recruitment, training, and certification of a

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professional staff of financial examiners. The department may provide for the participation of examiners in such educational, training, and certification programs as the commissioner deems necessary to the continued qualification and recognition of the professional status of examiners. The department may recognize independent certification of professional qualifications as supplemental to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board in considering the personnel actions relative to its examiners."

SECTION 2-4. Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to conservation and natural resources, is amended by revising Code Section 12-2-6, relating to authority to arrange for and accept federal aid and cooperation, volunteer services, cooperation with other government entities and civic organizations, and creation of nonprofit corporation, as follows:
"12-2-6. (a) In carrying out its objectives, the department is authorized to arrange for and accept such aid and cooperation from the several United States governmental bureaus and departments and from such other sources as may lend assistance.
(b)(1) The commissioner is authorized to accept the services of individuals without compensation as volunteers for or in aid of environmental protection, coastal resources, historic preservation, interpretive functions, hunter safety and boating safety instruction, hunter safety and boating safety programs, wildlife management, recreation, visitor services, conservation measures and development, public education on conservation, and any other activities in and related to the objectives, powers, duties, and responsibilities of the department. (2) The commissioner is authorized to provide for reimbursement of volunteers for incidental expenses such as transportation, uniforms, lodging, and subsistence. The commissioner is also authorized to provide general liability coverage and fidelity bond coverage for such volunteers while they are rendering service to or on behalf of the department. (3) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, a volunteer shall not be deemed to be a state employee and shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to state employment, including, without limitation, those relating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and state employee benefits. (4) Volunteers performing work under the terms of this Code section may be authorized by the department to operate state owned vehicles. They may also be treated as employees of the state for the purposes of inclusion in any automobile liability insurance or self-insurance, general liability insurance or self-insurance, or fidelity bond coverage provided by the department for its employees while operating state owned vehicles. (5) No volunteer shall be authorized or allowed to enter privately owned or operated lands, facilities, or properties without the express prior written permission of the owner or operator of such privately owned or operated lands, facilities, or properties; provided,

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however, that such prohibition shall not apply to lands, facilities, or properties leased to the State of Georgia. (c) The department shall have the power and authority to create, establish, and operate a program or programs to facilitate, amplify, or supplement the objectives and functions of the department through the use of volunteer services, including, but not limited to, the recruitment, training, and use of volunteers. (d) The department is directed to cooperate with and coordinate its work with the work of each department of the federal government dealing with the same subject matters dealt with by the Department of Natural Resources. The department is authorized to cooperate with the counties of the state in any surveys to ascertain the natural resources of the counties. The department is also authorized to cooperate with the governing bodies of municipalities and boards of trade and other local civic organizations in examining and locating water supplies and in giving advice concerning and in recommending plans for other municipal improvements and enterprises. Such cooperation is to be conducted upon such terms as the department may direct. (e) The department shall have the authority to participate with public and private groups, organizations, and businesses in joint advertising and promotional projects that promote environmental protection, coastal resource conservation, historic preservation, interpretive functions, hunter safety and boating safety instruction and programs, outdoor recreation, wildlife management, recreation, visitor services, conservation measures and development, public education on conservation, and any other activities in and related to the objectives, powers, duties, and responsibilities of the department and that make efficient use of funds appropriated for advertising and promotions; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed so as to authorize the department to grant any donation or gratuity. (f)(1) The department shall have the power and authority to incorporate one nonprofit corporation that could qualify as a public foundation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to aid the department in carrying out any of its powers and in accomplishing any of its purposes. Any nonprofit corporation created pursuant to this power shall be created pursuant to Chapter 3 of Title 14, the 'Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code,' and the Secretary of State shall be authorized to accept such filing. (2) Any nonprofit corporation created pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the following provisions:
(A) In accordance with the Constitution of Georgia, no governmental functions or regulatory powers shall be conducted by any such nonprofit corporation; (B) Upon dissolution of any such nonprofit corporation incorporated by the department, any assets shall revert to the department or to any successor to the department or, failing such succession, to the State of Georgia; (C) No member of the Board of Natural Resources shall be an officer or director of any such nonprofit corporation;

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(D) As used in this subparagraph, the term 'direct employee costs' means salary, benefits, and travel expenses. To avoid the appearance of undue influence on regulatory functions by donors, no donations to any such nonprofit corporation from private sources shall be used for direct employee costs of the department; (E) Any such nonprofit corporation shall be subject to all laws relating to open meetings and the inspection of public records; (F) The department shall not be liable for the action or omission to act of any such nonprofit corporation; (G) No debts, bonds, notes, or other obligations incurred by any such nonprofit corporation shall constitute an indebtedness or obligation of the State of Georgia nor shall any act of any such nonprofit corporation constitute or result in the creation of an indebtedness of the state. No holder or holders of any such bonds, notes, or other obligations shall ever have the right to compel any exercise of the taxing power of the state nor to enforce the payment thereof against the state; and (H) Any nonprofit corporation created pursuant to this Code section shall not acquire or hold a fee simple interest in real property by any method, including but not limited to gift, purchase, condemnation, devise, court order, and exchange. (3) Any nonprofit corporation created pursuant to this subsection shall make public and provide an annual report showing the identity of all donors and the amount each person or entity donated as well as all expenditures or other disposal of money or property donated. Such report shall be provided to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairpersons of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, the House Committee on Game, Fish, and Parks, and the Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Committee. Any such nonprofit corporation shall also provide such persons with a copy of all corporate filings with the federal Internal Revenue Service."

SECTION 2-5. Said Title 12 is further amended by revising Code Section 12-3-536, relating to transferring powers of authority to the Department of Economic Development, as follows:
"12-3-536. (a) Effective July 1, 1998, without diminishing the powers of the authority pursuant to Code Section 12-3-524, all personnel positions authorized by the authority in fiscal year 1998 shall be transferred to the Department of Community Affairs. All employees of the authority on June 30, 1998, whose positions are transferred by the authority to the Department of Community Affairs shall become employees of the Department of Community Affairs and shall become employees in the unclassified service as defined in Code Section 45-20-2. (b) On April 26, 2005, the functions of the Board of Community Affairs, Department of Community Affairs, and commissioner of community affairs respecting the Music Hall of Fame Authority are transferred to the Department of Economic Development. The

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commissioner of economic development and the commissioner of community affairs shall arrange administratively for the transfer of records, equipment, and facilities for such transferred functions. The personnel positions authorized by the Department of Community Affairs shall be transferred to the Department of Economic Development, and all employees of the Department of Community Affairs whose positions are transferred shall become employees of the Department of Economic Development with no break in service and in the classified or unclassified service as they were at the Department of Community Affairs."

SECTION 2-6. Said Title 12 is further amended by revising Code Section 12-4-1, relating to powers and duties of Environmental Protection Division as to mineral and geological resources, as follows:
"12-4-1. (a) The Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources shall:
(1) Conduct studies in the field for the purposes expressed in this subsection; (2) Map and prepare reports of the geological and mineral resources of the state; (3) Prepare, or cooperate in preparing, topography maps for use as base maps in the geological field study and in mining development, and for use in planning power developments, agriculture and reclamation work, and highways; (4) Make hydrographic surveys which are deemed by the division to be advantageous to the mining and milling of mineral deposits, to the utilization of waterpower, or to reclamation, or which are deemed to constitute proper cooperative investigations with other departments of the state or federal governments in aid of laboratory research relating to mining and to metallurgical problems of the state's mining and mineral industry; and (5) Publish in print or electronically bulletins embodying reports provided by the division. (b) It shall be the duty of the division to conduct cooperative work relating to mines, mining, and geology with the departments and bureaus of the United States government, provided that the federal expenditure for such work shall at least equal that of the state. (c) The director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources may appoint technical assistants who shall be in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (d) The functions, duties, and powers of the former Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology are transferred to and vested in the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources. (e) The Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources shall have charge of the work of mines, mining, and geology."

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SECTION 2-7. Said Title 12 is further amended by revising Code Section 12-6-5, relating to powers and duties of commission generally and volunteer services, as follows:
"12-6-5. (a) The commission shall have power and authority:
(1) To take all action appropriate to foster, improve, and encourage reforestation; (2) To engage in research and other projects for the ascertainment and promulgation of better forestry practices; (3) To offer aid, assistance, and technical advice to landowners relative to the preservation and culture of forests; (4) To receive gifts or donations made to it and to expend the same under the terms of such gifts or donations; (5) To conduct and direct fire prevention work and maintain equipment, personnel, and installations for the detection, prevention, and combating thereof; (6) To publish in print or electronically and distribute the results of its research and investigations; (7) To cooperate and contract with other agencies and instrumentalities of government, either county, municipal, state, or national, and with private persons or concerns for the advancement of the forests of this state; and (8) To engage in land conservation projects as provided by Chapter 6A of this title. (b)(1) The director is authorized to accept the services of individuals without compensation as volunteers for or in aid of fire tower operation, urban tree planting and inventories, seedling deliveries, insect surveys and evaluations, tours and field days, staffing exhibits, facility maintenance, beautification projects, and any other activity in and related to the objectives, powers, duties, and responsibilities of the commission. (2) The director is authorized to provide for reimbursement of volunteers for incidental expenses such as transportation, uniforms, lodging, and subsistence. The director is also authorized to provide general liability coverage and fidelity bond coverage for such volunteers while they are rendering service to or on behalf of the commission. (3) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, a volunteer shall not be deemed to be a state employee and shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to state employment including, without limitation, those relating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, retirement, and state employee benefits. (4) Volunteers performing work under the terms of this Code section may be authorized by the department to operate state owned vehicles. They may also be treated as employees of the state for the purposes of inclusion in any automobile liability insurance or self-insurance, general liability insurance or self-insurance, or fidelity bond coverage provided by the commission for its employees while operating state owned vehicles. (5) No volunteer shall be authorized or allowed to enter privately owned or operated lands, facilities, or properties, except for emergency fire fighting purposes, without the

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express prior written permission of the owner or operator of such privately owned or operated lands, facilities, or properties; provided, however, that such prohibition shall not apply to lands, facilities, or properties leased to the State of Georgia. (c) The commission shall have the power and authority to create, establish, and operate a program or programs to facilitate, amplify, or supplement the objectives and functions of the commission through the use of volunteer services including, but not limited to, the recruitment, training, and use of volunteers. (d) The enumeration of specific powers in this Code section shall not be construed as a denial of others not specified in this Code section."

SECTION 2-8. Said Title 12 is further amended by revising Code Section 12-11-5, relating to director, administration of corps programs, and energy savings initiatives, as follows:
"12-11-5. (a) There is created the position of director of the Georgia Youth Conservation Corps. The director shall be appointed by the commissioner and shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (b) The commissioner shall be charged with the overall administration of corps programs under the provisions of this chapter and such rules and regulations as are adopted by the board. The commissioner may delegate to the director any or all of the duties and functions prescribed by this chapter. Such duties and functions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Recruiting and employing staff and corps member leaders and specialists; (2) Adopting criteria for the selection of applicants to the corps; (3) Executing agreements for furnishing the services of the corps to any federal, state, or local agency or to any local organization concerned with the overall objectives of the corps and all other agreements necessary and proper for the implementation and administration of this chapter; (4) Applying for and accepting grants or contributions of funds from any source, public or private; (5) Providing funds and matching funds to other corps programs meeting the specifications of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the board; and (6) Reporting annually to the council, the Governor, and the General Assembly on the activities undertaken by the corps in the preceding fiscal year, including a cost-effectiveness analysis of all completed, ongoing, and proposed projects. (c) The commissioner shall have the authority to contract with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority and the Department of Labor for purposes of management and installation of energy saving material or devices or other projects under this chapter. The commissioner, the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, and the Department of Labor are encouraged to use the corps for such purposes."

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SECTION 2-9. Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended by revising Code Section 15-5-6, relating to administrative assistant, duties, status, and compensation, as follows:
"15-5-6. Each district administrative judge is authorized to hire a full-time assistant adequately trained in the duties of court administration. The assistant shall assist in the duties of the district administrative judge, provide general court administrative services to the district council, and otherwise perform such duties as may be assigned to him or her by the district administrative judge. Each assistant shall be an employee of the judicial branch of the state government and shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. The assistant shall be compensated in an amount and manner to be determined by uniform rules adopted by the ten administrative judges. Each assistant shall be compensated out of funds made available for such purposes within the judicial branch of the government. Additional funds shall be made available for needed clerical and other office operating costs of the assistant."

SECTION 2-10. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-27, relating to procedure for hiring personnel employed by superior court judges, authority, duties, uniform policies, salaries and benefits, expenses, supplies, and local supplements, as follows:
"15-6-27. (a) All state paid personnel employed by the superior court judges pursuant to this article shall be employees of the judicial branch of state government and shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (b) Personnel employed pursuant to this Code section shall have such authority, duties, powers, and responsibilities as are assigned by the appointing superior court judge or as authorized by law or by the uniform policies and procedures established by The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia and shall serve at the pleasure of the superior court judge. (c) Subject to the provisions of this Code section, The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia shall adopt and amend uniform policies, rules, and regulations which shall apply to all state paid personnel employed by the superior court judges. Such policies, rules, and regulations may include provisions for appointment, classification, transfers, leave, travel, records, reports, and training of personnel. To the maximum extent possible and consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the superior court judges and the rules of the trial and appellate courts, such policies, rules, and regulations shall be similar to policies, rules, and regulations governing other state employees; provided, however, that no policy shall be implemented which reduces the salary of any personnel employed on July 1, 1997. Not less than 30 days prior to taking final action on any proposed policy, rule, or regulation adopted pursuant to this Code section, or any amendment thereto, the council shall transmit

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a copy of the policy, rule, regulation, or amendment to all superior court judges and the chairpersons of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. (d) State paid personnel employed by a superior court judge shall be entitled to annual, sick, and other leave authorized by the policies, rules, or regulations adopted by the council. (e) Subject to the provisions of Code Sections 15-6-25 and 15-6-28, the council shall annually promulgate salary schedules for each state paid position. Salaries shall be paid in equal installments from state funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of the superior courts. (f) Personnel compensated by the state pursuant to this article shall be entitled to receive, in addition to such other compensation as may be provided by law, reimbursement for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties in accordance with the rules and regulations established pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 45. Such reimbursement shall be made from state funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of the superior courts. (g) Personnel compensated by the state pursuant to this article are authorized to purchase such supplies and equipment as may be necessary to enable them to carry out their duties and responsibilities. The funds necessary to pay for such supplies and equipment shall come from funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of the superior courts. (h) The governing authority of the county or counties comprising a judicial circuit may supplement the salary or fringe benefits of any state paid personnel appointed pursuant to this article. (i) The governing authority of any municipality within the judicial circuit may, with the approval of the superior court judge, supplement the salary or fringe benefits of any state paid personnel appointed pursuant to this article. (j) In lieu of hiring personnel under this article, superior court judges, with the written consent of the governing authority of any county or counties within a judicial circuit, may employ personnel who shall be employees of the county which pays the compensation of the personnel. The county shall be reimbursed, from funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of the superior courts, for the compensation paid to the personnel plus any employer contribution paid for the personnel under the act of Congress, approved August 14, 1935, 49 Stat. 620, known as the Social Security Act, as amended, but the payments shall not exceed the maximum amount payable directly to or for the personnel as promulgated by The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia for state paid personnel. In the event of any vacancy which occurs after July 1, 1997, in a position compensated by a county pursuant to this Code section, the vacancy may be filled as provided in Code Section 15-6-25."

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SECTION 2-11. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-6-88, relating to minimum annual salary schedule, as follows:
"15-6-88. (a) Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the minimum annual salary of each clerk of the superior court in each county of this state shall be fixed according to the population of the county in which he or she serves, as determined by the United States decennial census of 2000 or any future such census; provided, however, that such annual salary shall be recalculated in any year following a census year in which the Department of Community Affairs publishes a census estimate for the county prior to July 1 in such year that is higher than the immediately preceding decennial census. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, each such clerk shall receive an annual salary, payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of the county, of not less than the amount fixed in the following schedule:

Population

Minimum Salary

0 - 5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 29,832.20

6,000 - 11,889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,967.92

11,890 - 19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,408.38

20,000 - 28,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,721.70

29,000 - 38,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,035.03

39,000 - 49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,352.46

50,000 - 74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,164.60

75,000 - 99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,800.09

100,000 - 149,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,434.13

150,000 - 199,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,344.56

200,000 - 249,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,458.82

250,000 - 299,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,682.66

300,000 - 399,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,207.60

400,000 - 499,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,316.72

500,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,425.84 (b) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general

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performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in subsection (a) of this Code section, in Code Section 15-6-89, and in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-10-105, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 15-6-90, where applicable shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in subsection (a) of this Code section, in Code Section 15-6-89, and in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-10-105, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in subsection (a) of this Code section, in Code Section 15-6-89, in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-10-105, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this subsection shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in subsection (a) of this Code section, in Code Section 15-6-89, and in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-10-105, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 15-6-90, shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (c) This Code section shall not be construed to reduce the salary of any clerk of the superior court in office on July 1, 1991; provided, however, that successors to such clerks in office on July 1, 1991, shall be governed by the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section. (d) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the clerk of the superior court in such amount as it may fix from time to time; but no clerk's compensation supplement shall be decreased during any term of office. Any prior expenditure of county funds to supplement the clerk's salary in the manner authorized by this subsection is ratified and confirmed. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of the clerk."

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SECTION 2-12. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-9-63, relating to schedule of minimum salaries, as follows:
"15-9-63. (a)(1) Any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the minimum annual salary of each judge of the probate court in this state shall be fixed according to the population of the county in which he or she serves, as determined by the United States decennial census of 2000 or any future such census; provided, however, that such annual salary shall be recalculated in any year following a census year in which the Department of Community Affairs publishes a census estimate for the county prior to July 1 in such year that is higher than the immediately preceding decennial census. Each such judge of the probate court shall receive an annual salary, payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of his or her county, of not less than the amount fixed in the following schedule:

Population

Minimum Salary

0 - 5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 29,832.20

6,000 - 11,889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,967.92

11,890 - 19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,408.38

20,000 - 28,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,721.70

29,000 - 38,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,035.03

39,000 - 49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,352.46

50,000 - 74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,164.60

75,000 - 99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,800.09

100,000 - 149,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,434.13

150,000 - 199,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,344.56

200,000 - 249,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,458.82

250,000 - 299,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,682.66

300,000 - 399,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,207.60

400,000 - 499,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,316.72

500,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,425.84
(2) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the

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amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection and in Code Section 15-9-64, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to Code Section 15-9-65, where applicable, shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 15-9-64, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 15-9-64, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection and in Code Section 15-9-64, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to Code Section 15-9-65, where applicable, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (3) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the judge of the probate court in such amount as it may fix from time to time; but no probate judge's compensation supplement shall be decreased during any term of office. Any prior expenditure of county funds to supplement the probate judge's salary in the manner authorized by this paragraph is ratified and confirmed. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of the probate judge. (b) In any county in which more than 70 percent of the population of the county according to the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census resides on property of the United States government which is exempt from taxation by this state, the population of the county for purposes of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be deemed to be the total population of the county minus the population of the county which resides on property of the United States government."

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SECTION 2-13. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-9-63.1, relating to compensation for services as magistrate or chief magistrate, and longevity increases, as follows:
"15-9-63.1. (a) Beginning January 1, 2002, in any county in which the probate judge serves as chief magistrate or magistrate, he or she shall be compensated for such services based on a minimum annual amount of $11,642.54; provided, however, that compensation for a probate judge shall not be reduced during his or her term of office. (b) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the amount provided in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amount provided in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amount provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as authorized by this subsection, shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if such increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amount provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as authorized by this subsection, shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (c) On and after January 1, 2002, the amounts provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section shall be increased by multiplying said amounts by the percentage which equals 5 percent times the number of completed four-year terms of office served by any probate judge serving as a chief magistrate or magistrate where such terms have been completed after December 31, 1999, effective the first day of January following the completion of each such period of service."

SECTION 2-14. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-10-23, relating to minimum compensation, annual salary, increases, and supplements, as follows:
"15-10-23. (a)(1) As used in this Code section, the term 'full-time capacity' means, in the case of a chief magistrate, a chief magistrate who regularly exercises the powers of a magistrate

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as set forth in Code Section 15-10-2 at least 40 hours per workweek. In the case of all other magistrates, such term means a magistrate who was appointed to a full-time magistrate position and who regularly exercises the powers of a magistrate as set forth in Code Section 15-10-2 at least 40 hours per workweek. (2) Unless otherwise provided by local law, effective January 1, 2006, the chief magistrate of each county who serves in a full-time capacity other than those counties where the probate judge serves as chief magistrate shall receive a minimum annual salary of the amount fixed in the following schedule:

Population

Minimum Salary

0 - 5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 29,832.20

6,000 - 11,889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,967.92

11,890 - 19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,408.38

20,000 - 28,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,721.70

29,000 - 38,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,035.03

39,000 - 49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,352.46

50,000 - 74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,164.60

75,000 - 99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,800.09

100,000 - 149,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,434.13

150,000 - 199,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,344.56

200,000 - 249,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,458.82

250,000 - 299,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,682.66

300,000 - 399,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,207.60

400,000 - 499,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,316.72

500,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,425.84
The minimum salary for each affected chief magistrate shall be fixed from the table in this subsection according to the population of the county in which the chief magistrate serves as determined by the United States decennial census of 2000 or any future such census; provided, however, that such annual salary shall be recalculated in any year following a census year in which the Department of Community Affairs publishes a census estimate for the county prior to July 1 that is higher than the immediately preceding decennial census. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, unless otherwise provided by local law, effective January 1, 1996, in any county in which more

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than 70 percent of the population according to the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census resides on property of the United States government which is exempt from taxation by this state, the population of the county for purposes of this subsection shall be deemed to be the total population of the county minus the population of the county which resides on property of the United States government. (3) All other chief magistrates shall receive a minimum monthly salary equal to the hourly rate that a full-time chief magistrate of the county would receive according to paragraph (2) of this subsection multiplied by the number of actual hours worked by the chief magistrate as certified by the chief magistrate to the county governing authority. (4) Unless otherwise provided by local law, each magistrate who serves in a full-time capacity other than the chief magistrate shall receive a minimum monthly salary of $3,851.46 per month or 90 percent of the monthly salary that a full-time chief magistrate would receive according to paragraph (2) of this subsection, whichever is less. (5) All magistrates other than chief magistrates who serve in less than a full-time capacity or on call shall receive a minimum monthly salary of the lesser of $22.22 per hour for each hour worked as certified by the chief magistrate to the county governing authority or 90 percent of the monthly salary that a full-time chief magistrate would receive according to paragraph (2) of this subsection; provided, however, that notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, no magistrate who serves in less than a full-time capacity shall receive a minimum monthly salary of less than $592.58 unless a magistrate waives such minimum monthly salary in writing. (6) Magistrates shall be compensated solely on a salary basis and not in whole or in part from fees. The salaries and supplements of all magistrates shall be paid in equal monthly installments from county funds. (b) The amounts provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as increased by the supplement, if any, provided by subsection (d) of Code Section 15-10-105, shall be increased by multiplying said amounts by the percentage which equals 5 percent times the number of completed four-year terms of office served by any chief magistrate or magistrate where such terms have been completed after December 31, 1995, effective the first day of January following the completion of each such period of service. (c) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the amounts provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as increased by the supplement, if any, provided by subsection (d) of Code Section 15-10-105 and as increased by the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amounts provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as increased by the supplement, if any, provided by subsection (d) of Code Section 15-10-105 and as increased by the

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application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amounts provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as increased by the supplement, if any, provided by subsection (d) of Code Section 15-10-105 and as increased by the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, as authorized by this subsection, shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amounts provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, as increased by the supplement, if any, provided by subsection (d) of Code Section 15-10-105 and as increased by the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, as authorized by this subsection, shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (d) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the chief or other magistrate in such amount as it may fix from time to time, but no such magistrate's compensation or supplement shall be decreased during any term of office. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of any magistrates. (e) The General Assembly may by local law fix the compensation of any or all of a county's magistrates. The chief magistrate or magistrate shall be entitled to the greater of the compensation established by local law, including any supplement by the county governing authority, or the minimum annual salary stated in subsection (a) of this Code section but in no event to both. (f) This Code section shall apply to any chief magistrate who is also serving as a judge of a civil court which is provided for in Article VI, Section I, Paragraph I of the Constitution of the State of Georgia of 1983. In such case, the salary of such chief magistrate shall be as provided by the local governing authority of the county. (g) The salaries and supplements of senior magistrates shall be paid from county funds at a per diem rate equal to the daily rate that a full-time chief magistrate of the county would receive under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section; provided, however, that the minimum annual and monthly salaries provided for in this Code section shall not apply to senior magistrates."

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SECTION 2-15. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-11-24.3, relating to intake and probation services of juvenile courts, as follows:
"15-11-24.3. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Department' means the Department of Juvenile Justice. (2) 'Probation and intake employees' means any probation officer specified in Code Section 15-11-24.1 and any personnel of a juvenile court to whom are delegated the duties of an intake officer under this article, other than a juvenile court judge, associate juvenile court judge, or court service worker. (3) 'Probation and intake services' means those services provided by probation and intake employees for the juvenile court of a county. (b) After June 30, 1992, the intake and probation services of the juvenile court of each county may be transferred to and become a part of the state-wide juvenile and intake services and fully funded through the department. The intake and probation employees of juvenile courts of those counties whose intake and probation services are transferred pursuant to this Code section shall become employees of the department on the date of such transfer and on and after that date such employees shall be subject to the salary schedules and other personnel policies of the department, except that the salaries of such employees shall not be reduced as a result of becoming employees of the department. (c) The intake and probation services of the juvenile court of a county may be transferred to the department pursuant to this Code section by local Act of the General Assembly which approves such transfer and becomes effective after June 30, 1992. (d) Persons who were probation and intake employees of the juvenile court of a county on June 30, 1996, but who were transferred as probation and intake employees to and became a part of the state-wide juvenile and intake services system fully funded through the department before January 1, 1999, shall be covered employees in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2."

SECTION 2-16. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-16-20, relating to minimum annual salary, increase, and operating expenses, as follows:
"15-16-20. (a)(1) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the minimum annual salary of each sheriff in this state shall be fixed according to the population of the county in which he or she serves, as determined by the United States decennial census of 2000 or any future such census; provided, however, that such annual salary shall be recalculated in any year following a census year in which the Department of Community Affairs publishes a census estimate for the county prior to July 1 in such year that is higher than the immediately preceding decennial census. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each such sheriff shall receive an annual salary, payable in equal

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monthly installments from the funds of the sheriff's county, of not less than the amount fixed in the following schedule:

Population

Minimum Salary

0 - 5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 42,045.88

6,000 - 11,889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,917.92

11,890 - 19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,880.12

20,000 - 28,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,328.83

29,000 - 38,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,776.16

39,000 - 49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,227.59

50,000 - 74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,674.90

75,000 - 99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,247.21

100,000 - 149,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,819.51

150,000 - 199,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,695.91

200,000 - 249,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86,572.30

250,000 - 299,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94,759.02

300,000 - 399,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,822.14

400,000 - 499,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,931.24

500,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114,040.36
(2) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection and in Code Section 15-16-20.1, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, where applicable, shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 15-16-20.1, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and

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Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 15-16-20.1, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 15-16-20.1, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (3) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the sheriff in such amount as it may fix from time to time; but no sheriff's compensation supplement shall be decreased during any term of office. Any prior expenditure of county funds to supplement the sheriff's salary in the manner authorized by this paragraph is ratified and confirmed. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of the sheriff. (b) The amounts provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section and Code Section 15-16-20.1, as increased by paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall be increased by multiplying said amounts by the percentage which equals 5 percent times the number of completed four-year terms of office served by any sheriff after December 31, 1976, effective the first day of January following the completion of each such period of service. (c) The minimum salaries provided for in this Code section shall be considered as salary only. Expenses for deputies, equipment, supplies, copying equipment, and other necessary and reasonable expenses for the operation of a sheriff's office shall come from funds other than the funds specified as salary in this Code section. (d) This Code section shall not be construed to reduce the salary of any sheriff in office on July 1, 1991; provided, however, that successors to such sheriffs in office on July 1, 1991, shall be governed by the provisions of this Code section. All local legislation in effect on July 1, 1971, or enacted thereafter affecting compensation for sheriffs of the various counties shall be of full force and effect except where the same provides for a salary lower than provided in this Code section, in which event this Code section shall prevail. (e) In addition to any salary or fees now or hereafter provided by law, the governing authority of each county is authorized to provide, as an operating expense of the sheriff's office and payable from county funds, a monthly vehicle allowance to the sheriff of that county when the sheriff's personally owned vehicle is used in the carrying out of the duties of the sheriff's office. If a vehicle allowance is so provided, it shall be in an amount

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determined by agreement among the budget officer of the county, as provided in Chapter 81 of Title 36, the county governing authority, and the sheriff."

SECTION 2-17. Said Title 15 is further amended by revising Code Section 15-18-19, relating to state paid personnel, powers, policies relating to, authorized leave, and salary schedules, as follows:
"15-18-19. (a) All state paid personnel employed by the district attorneys pursuant to this article shall be employees of the judicial branch of state government in accordance with Article VI, Section VIII of the Constitution of Georgia and shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (b) Personnel employed by the district attorneys pursuant to this article shall have such authority, duties, powers, and responsibilities as are authorized by law or as assigned by the district attorney and shall serve at the pleasure of the district attorney. (c) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia shall, with the advice and consent of a majority of the district attorneys, adopt and amend uniform policies, rules, and regulations which shall apply to all state paid personnel employed by the district attorneys. Such policies, rules, and regulations may include provisions for the appointment, classification, promotion, transfer, demotion, leave, travel, records, reports, and training of personnel. Such policies, rules, and regulations shall be consistent with the duties, responsibilities, and powers of the district attorneys under the Constitution and laws of this state and the rules of the trial and appellate courts. Not less than 30 days prior to taking final action on any proposed policy, rule, or regulation adopted pursuant to this Code section, or any amendment thereto, the council shall transmit a copy of said policy, rule, regulation, or amendment to all district attorneys and the presiding officers of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. (d) District attorneys and state paid personnel employed by the district attorney shall be entitled to annual, sick, and other leave authorized by the policies, rules, or regulations adopted by the council pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section. Subject to the provisions of Code Section 47-2-91, district attorneys who are members of either the District Attorneys' Retirement System or the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia shall also be entitled to receive creditable service for any forfeited annual or sick leave.
(e)(1) The council shall establish salary schedules for each such state paid position authorized by this article or any other provision of law. Said salary schedules shall be similar to the general and special schedules applicable to state employees pursuant to the rules of the State Personnel Board and shall provide for a minimum entry step and not less than ten additional steps, not to exceed the maximum allowable salary. In establishing the salary schedule, all amounts will be rounded off to the nearest whole dollar. The council may, from time to time, revise the salary schedule to include

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across-the-board increases which the General Assembly may from time to time authorize in the General Appropriations Act. (2) The district attorney shall fix the compensation of each state paid employee appointed pursuant to this article in accordance with the class to which such person is appointed and the appropriate step of the salary schedule. (3) All salary advancements shall be based on quality of work, training, and performance. The salary of state paid personnel appointed pursuant to this article may be advanced one step at the first of the calendar month following the annual anniversary of such person's appointment. No employee's salary shall be advanced beyond the maximum established in the applicable pay schedule. (4) Any reduction in salary shall be made in accordance with the salary schedule for such position and the policies, rules, or regulations adopted by the council. (5) The compensation of state paid personnel appointed pursuant to this article shall be paid in equal installments by the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia as provided by this subsection from funds appropriated for such purpose. The council may authorize employees compensated pursuant to this Code section to participate in voluntary salary deductions as provided by Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 45. (6) The governing authority of the county or counties comprising a judicial circuit may supplement the salary or fringe benefits of any state paid position appointed pursuant to this article. (7) The governing authority of any municipality within the judicial circuit may, with the approval of the district attorney, supplement the salary or fringe benefits of any state paid position appointed pursuant to this article."

SECTION 2-18. Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, is amended by revising Code Section 17-12-25, relating to salary of public defender and private practice prohibited, as follows:
"17-12-25. (a) Each circuit public defender shall receive an annual salary of $87,593.58, and cost-of-living adjustments may be given by the General Assembly in the General Appropriations Act by a percentage not to exceed the average percentage of the general increase in salary as may from time to time be granted to employees of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government; provided, however, that any increase for such circuit public defender shall not include within-grade step increases for which classified employees as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 are eligible. Any increase granted pursuant to this subsection shall become effective at the same time that funds are made available for the increase for such employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase.

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(b) The county or counties comprising the judicial circuit may supplement the salary of the circuit public defender in an amount as is or may be authorized by local Act or in an amount as may be determined by the governing authority of the county or counties, whichever is greater. (c) No circuit public defender shall engage in the private practice of law for profit or serve concurrently in any judicial office."

SECTION 2-19. Said Title 17 is further amended by revising Code Section 17-12-27, relating to appointment of assistant public defenders, salary, and promotions, as follows:
"17-12-27. (a) Subject to the provisions of this Code section, the circuit public defender in each judicial circuit is authorized to appoint:
(1) One assistant public defender for each superior court judge authorized for the circuit, excluding the chief judge and senior judges; and (2) Subject to funds being appropriated by the General Assembly or otherwise available, additional assistant public defenders as may be authorized by the council. In authorizing additional assistant public defenders, the council shall consider the caseload, present staff, and resources available to each circuit public defender and shall make authorizations as will contribute to the efficiency of individual circuit public defenders and the effectiveness of providing adequate legal defense for indigent defendants. (b) Each assistant public defender appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall be classified based on education, training, and experience. The jobs of assistant public defenders and the minimum qualifications required for appointment or promotion to each job shall be established by the council based on education, training, and experience and in accordance with the provisions of Code Sections 17-12-30 and 17-12-34. (c) Each assistant public defender appointed pursuant to this Code section shall be compensated based on a salary range established in accordance with subsection (c) of Code Section 17-12-30. The salary range for each job established in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code section shall be as follows: (1) Assistant public defender I. Not less than $38,124.00 nor more than 65 percent of the compensation of the circuit public defender; (2) Assistant public defender II. Not less than $40,884.00 nor more than 70 percent of the compensation of the circuit public defender; (3) Assistant public defender III. Not less than $45,108.00 nor more than 80 percent of the compensation of the circuit public defender; and (4) Assistant public defender IV. Not less than $52,176.00 nor more than 90 percent of the compensation of the circuit public defender. (d) All personnel actions involving attorneys appointed pursuant to this Code section shall be made by the circuit public defender in writing in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 17-12-30.

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(e)(1) All salary advancements shall be based on quality of work, education, and performance. (2) The salary of an assistant public defender appointed pursuant to this Code section may be increased at the first of the calendar month following the anniversary of his or her appointment. (3) The salary of any assistant public defender who, subsequent to his or her appointment pursuant to this Code section, is awarded an LL.M. or S.J.D. degree by a law school recognized by the State Bar of Georgia from which a graduate of or student enrolled therein is permitted to take the bar examination or by a law school accredited by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools may be increased effective on the first day of the calendar month following the award of the degree, provided that such advancement does not exceed the maximum of the salary range applicable to the attorney's job classification. (f) Any assistant public defender appointed pursuant to this Code section may be promoted to the next highest job at any time the attorney meets the minimum qualifications for such job, but in order to be eligible for promotion, the attorney shall have served not less than 12 months in the job from which the attorney is to be promoted. When an assistant public defender is promoted to the next highest job, the assistant public defender shall enter the higher job at an annual salary greater than the annual salary the assistant public defender was receiving immediately prior to the promotion. (g) All full-time state paid employees of the office of the circuit public defender shall be state employees in the unclassified service as defined by Chapter of Title 45 with all benefits of such appointed state employees as provided by law. A circuit public defender, assistant public defender, or local public defender may be issued an employee identification card by his or her employing agency; provided, however, that no employer of any such public defender shall issue nor shall any public defender display, wear, or carry any badge, shield, card, or other item that is similar to a law enforcement officer's badge or that could be reasonably construed to indicate that the public defender is a peace officer or law enforcement official. (h) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (g) of this Code section, an employee of a local public defender office who was an employee of the office on June 30, 2004, and who becomes a circuit public defender or an employee of a circuit public defender office before July 1, 2005, may elect, with the consent of the former employer and the consent of the council, to remain an employee of the entity for which the employee worked as a local public defender; and such entity shall be his or her employer for all purposes, including, without limitation, compensation and employee benefits. The right to make an election pursuant to this subsection shall expire on July 1, 2005. The council shall reimburse the appropriate entity for compensation, benefits, and employer contributions under the federal Social Security Act, but the total payment from the council to the entity on behalf of the employee shall not exceed the amount otherwise payable to or for the employee under the circumstance where the employee had become a state employee."

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SECTION 2-20. Said Title 17 is further amended by revising Code Section 17-12-30, relating to classification of personnel, responsibilities, compensation, and local supplements, as follows:
"17-12-30. (a) All state paid personnel employed by the circuit public defenders pursuant to this article shall be employees of the executive branch of state government and shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (b) Personnel employed by the circuit public defenders pursuant to this article shall have the authority, duties, powers, and responsibilities as are authorized by law or as assigned by the circuit public defender and shall serve at the pleasure of the circuit public defender.
(c)(1) The council shall establish salary ranges for each state paid position authorized by this article or any other provision of law. Salary ranges shall be similar to the state-wide and senior executive ranges adopted pursuant to the rules of the State Personnel Board and shall provide for minimum, midpoint, and maximum salaries not to exceed the maximum allowable salary. In establishing the salary ranges, all amounts will be rounded off to the nearest whole dollar. The council may, from time to time, revise the salary ranges to include across-the-board increases which the General Assembly may from time to time authorize in the General Appropriations Act. (2) The circuit public defender shall fix the compensation of each state paid employee appointed pursuant to this article in accordance with the job to which the person is appointed and the appropriate salary range. (3) All salary advancements shall be based on quality of work, training, and performance. The salary of state paid personnel appointed pursuant to this article may be increased at the first of the calendar month following the annual anniversary of the person's appointment. No employee's salary shall be advanced beyond the maximum established in the applicable pay range. (4) Any reduction in salary shall be made in accordance with the salary range for the position and the policies adopted by the council. (5) The compensation of state paid personnel appointed pursuant to this article shall be paid in equal installments by the council as provided by this subsection from funds appropriated for such purpose. The council may authorize employees compensated pursuant to this Code section to participate in voluntary salary deductions as provided by Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 45. (6) The governing authority of the county or counties comprising a judicial circuit may supplement the salary or fringe benefits of any state paid position appointed pursuant to this article. (7) The governing authority of any municipality within the judicial circuit may, with the approval of the circuit public defender, supplement the salary or fringe benefits of any state paid position appointed pursuant to this article."

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SECTION 2-21. Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-1A-3, relating to director and board of early care and learning, duties and powers, salary, personnel, and rules and regulations, as follows:
"20-1A-3. (a) There is created a Board of Early Care and Learning and a commissioner of early care and learning. (b) The board shall consist of one member from each congressional district appointed by the Governor. In as far as it is practical, the members of the board shall be representative of all areas and functions encompassed within the early childhood care and education community. In appointing members to their initial terms, the Governor shall designate five members for two-year terms, four members for three-year terms, and four members for five-year terms. Subsequent appointments shall be for five-year terms. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed. In the event of a vacancy on the board for any reason other than expiration of a term, the Governor shall appoint a person from the same congressional district to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. (c) The board shall elect from its members a chairperson and such other officers as the board considers necessary. The board shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of its activities. The members of the board shall receive per diem and expense reimbursement as shall be determined and approved by the Office of Planning and Budget in conformity with rates and allowances determined for members of other state boards. (d) The board shall determine policies and promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of the department including:
(1) Functions formerly performed by the Office of School Readiness, including, but not limited to, Even Start; (2) Functions transferred to the department from the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) relating to day-care centers, group day-care homes, family day-care homes, and other functions as agreed upon by the department and the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-8; (3) Functions transferred to the department from the Georgia Child Care Council pursuant to Code Section 20-1A-63; and (4) Functions relating to early childhood education programs transferred from the Department of Education by agreement in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-17. (e) The board shall oversee the budget of the department and shall submit an annual request for funding to the Office of Planning and Budget in accordance with Code Section 45-12-78. (f) The commissioner shall be the chief administrative and executive officer of the department. The commissioner shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The commissioner shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and shall receive a salary to be determined by the Governor.

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(g) The commissioner shall have the authority to employ all personnel of the department, subject to the provisions of this chapter, all applicable provisions of other laws governing public employment, and the policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the board."

SECTION 2-22. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-1A-8, relating to transfer of functions, powers, personnel, equipment, and assets to department, and funding, as follows:
"20-1A-8. (a) Effective October 1, 2004, the department shall carry out all of the functions and exercise all of the powers formerly held by the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) for the regulation and licensure of early care and education programs and any other functions as agreed upon by the department and the Department of Human Resources. Subject to subsection (c) of this Code section, all persons employed by and positions authorized for the Department of Human Resources to perform functions relating to the licensure and certification of early care and education programs and any other functions as agreed upon by the department and the Department of Human Resources on September 30, 2004, shall on October 1, 2004, be transferred to the department. All office equipment, furniture, and other assets in possession of the Department of Human Resources which are used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this subsection shall be transferred to the department on October 1, 2004. (b) Effective October 1, 2004, notwithstanding the advisory functions of the Georgia Child Care Council included in Code Section 20-1A-63, the department shall carry out the functions and exercise the powers formerly held by the Georgia Child Care Council under former Article 11 of Chapter 5 of Title 49. Subject to subsection (c) of this Code section, all persons employed by and positions authorized for the Georgia Child Care Council to perform functions relating to the recommendation of measures to improve the quality, availability, and affordability of child care in this state on September 30, 2004, shall on October 1, 2004, be transferred to the department. All office equipment, furniture, and other assets in possession of the Georgia Child Care Council or the Department of Human Resources, (now known as the Department of Human Services) which are used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this subsection shall be transferred to the department on October 1, 2004. (c) All transfers of employees and assets provided for in subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner, and such personnel or assets shall not be transferred if the commissioner determines that a specific employee or asset should remain with the transferring agency. (d) Employees of the department shall serve in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. Persons who have transferred to the department pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section who are in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 at the time of the transfer may elect to remain in such classified service

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and be governed by the provisions thereof; provided, however, that if any such person accepts a promotion or transfers to another position, that person shall become an employee in the unclassified service. (e) All rights, credits, and funds in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia created in Chapter 2 of Title 47 which are possessed by state personnel transferred by provisions of this Code section to the department, or otherwise held by persons at the time of employment with the department, are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the department. No employment benefit of any employee transferring to the department shall be impaired. (f) Funding for functions and positions transferred to the department under this Code section shall be transferred as provided in Code Section 45-12-90."

SECTION 2-23. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-302, relating to funds for operation of schools for deaf and blind persons, as follows:
"20-2-302. (a) The State Board of Education shall annually determine the amount of funds needed for operation of the state schools for the deaf and blind. Such funds appropriated by the General Assembly shall be made available for the operation of these schools under rules and regulations prescribed by the state board. (b) Employees of the state schools for the deaf and blind governed by the State Board of Education shall serve in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2, provided that employees who serve in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 may elect to remain in the classified service and be governed by the provisions thereof; provided, further, that such employees who choose to be promoted to unclassified positions or who request to transfer to different positions or locations shall become members of the unclassified service. (c) The State Board of Education may delegate to the State School Superintendent the authority to employ and dismiss employees at the state schools for the deaf and blind."

SECTION 2-24. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-3-39, relating to reassignment of responsibilities for operation and management of public libraries, employees, transfer of funding, and rules and regulations, as follows:
"20-3-39. (a) Effective July 1, 2000, the board of regents shall carry out all the functions and exercise all of the powers formerly held by the Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, for the operation and management of public library services and public libraries. Subject to subsection (b) of this Code section, all persons employed by and positions authorized for the Department of

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Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, to perform these functions on June 30, 2000, shall, on July 1, 2000, be transferred to the board of regents. All office equipment, furniture, and other assets in possession of the Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, which are used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this subsection shall be transferred to the board of regents on July 1, 2000. (b) All transfers of employees and assets provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be subject to the approval of the board of regents, and such personnel or assets shall not be transferred if the board of regents determines that a specific employee or asset should remain with the transferring agency. (c) Employees who are transferred to the board of regents pursuant to this Code section shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the board on and after July 1, 2000, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the board of regents shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2000, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2000. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2000, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the board. (d) Funding for functions and positions transferred to the board of regents under this Code section shall be transferred as provided in Code Section 45-12-90. (e) The board of regents shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, where applicable, which are in effect on June 30, 2000, and which relate to the functions transferred to the board. Such rules, regulations, policies, and procedures shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the board of regents."

SECTION 2-25. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-3-250.24, relating to compensation and benefits of commission employees, as follows:
"20-3-250.24. (a) All employees of the commission shall be subject to and covered by Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 45, but the position of executive director and such other employee positions as may be determined by the commission to be exempt from the classified service pursuant to that article shall be exempt unclassified positions, and the commission shall determine and fix the salary and other compensation and benefits to be paid or provided to

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the employees occupying those positions. All full-time employees of the commission shall be members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, except for members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia who, without any break in service, become full-time employees of the commission. Such employees shall continue as members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia. (b) Those positions and employees of the Department of Education which are assigned the sole responsibility for management, professional, and clerical services to nonpublic postsecondary schools and proprietary schools programs are transferred to the commission. All such employees transferred to the commission shall retain all existing rights under the rules of the State Personnel Board, the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, and the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia."

SECTION 2-26. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-3-329, relating to employees of commission transferred to authority, status of authority employees hired after July 1, 1996, status of transferred employees, and benefits of transferred employees not impaired, as follows:
"20-3-329. (a) All employees of the commission shall, on July 1, 1996, become employees of the authority, subject to the operating needs of the authority. Any employees of the commission whom the director gives the opportunity to elect to be transferred to the authority on July 1, 1996, shall be subject to the operating needs of the authority. (b) Except for persons who transfer to the authority pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, no person who becomes an employee of the authority on or after July 1, 1996, shall be considered a state employee, no such person shall be considered an 'employee' within the meaning of Chapter 2 of Title 47, and no such person shall be entitled to membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia. (c) All persons who transfer to the authority pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section and who, immediately prior to such transfer, are state employees in the unclassified service as defined in Code Section 45-20-2 shall remain in the unclassified service. All such persons who, immediately prior to the transfer, are state employees in the classified service as defined in Code Section 45-20-2 may elect to remain in the classified service; provided, however, that if any such person accepts a promotion or transfer to another position, he or she shall become an employee in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (d) The rights and benefits in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and any employee benefits of any employee transferring to the authority pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall not be impaired."

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SECTION 2-27. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-4-12, relating to expenses and mileage allowance, as follows:
"20-4-12. The members of the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia who are in state employment shall serve without compensation but, subject to fund availability, shall be reimbursed by the state department in which employed for all necessary expenses that may be incurred in the performance of their duties under this article in accordance with state travel regulations promulgated by the State Accounting Office in the same manner that state employees are reimbursed. For those State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia members who are not in state employment, the expense and mileage allowance shall be the same as that authorized for the General Assembly and shall be payable, subject to fund availability, by the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia."

SECTION 2-28. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-4-17, relating to agencies to receive federal funds and transfer of personnel to Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as Technical College System of Georgia, as follows:
"20-4-17. (a) The Department of Education is designated as the sole state agency to receive federal funds allotted to Georgia under acts of Congress appropriating federal funds for career, occupational, or technical education; provided, however, that those funds appropriated for the operation and management of postsecondary technical, adult, and industrial programs shall be placed under the jurisdiction and control of the Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia; provided, further, a proportionate share of those federal funds appropriated for planning, evaluation, program improvement, and other administrative and discretionary purposes shall be placed under the jurisdiction and control of such board. Those personnel positions authorized for fiscal year 1986 for the operation and management of postsecondary technical schools and adult centers, as well as a proportionate share of those positions authorized for fiscal year 1986 for planning, evaluation, program improvement, and other administrative and discretionary purposes, shall be transferred to the Technical College System of Georgia. Such employees shall retain all existing rights under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, and the rules of the State Personnel Board. (b) The Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, is designated as the sole state agency to receive federal funds allotted to Georgia under acts of Congress appropriating federal funds for adult literacy education programs. Those personnel positions authorized for fiscal year 1988 solely for the management, coordination, planning, evaluation, administration, and program

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improvement of adult literacy education programs, and associated office equipment and furniture, shall be transferred to the Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia. All officials and employees in such positions are also transferred to the Department of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, and shall retain all existing rights under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, and the rules of the State Personnel Board."

SECTION 2-29. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-4-27, relating to service in State Personnel Administration, as follows:
"20-4-27. Employees of postsecondary technical schools governed by the Technical College System of Georgia shall serve in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2, provided that employees who serve in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 may elect to remain in the classified service, and be governed by the provisions thereof; provided, further, that such employees who choose to be promoted to unclassified positions or who request to transfer to different positions or locations shall become members of the unclassified service."

SECTION 2-30. Said Title 20 is further amended by revising Code Section 20-4-30, relating to compensation of classified employees electing to become unclassified, as follows:
"20-4-30. Employees in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 who are employed by postsecondary technical schools governed by the system who elect to become members of the unclassified service shall have their compensation established in conformity with state board policy in accordance with the state board compensation plan in effect at the time of such election."

SECTION 2-31. Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elections, is amended by revising Code Section 21-5-30.2, relating to contributions by public agencies, as follows:
"21-5-30.2. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the definitions set forth in Code Section 21-5-3 shall be applicable to the provisions of this Code section. As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Agency' means: (A) Every state department, agency, board, bureau, commission, and authority; (B) Every county, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision of this state;

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(C) Every department, agency, board, bureau, commission, authority, or similar body of each such county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of this state; and (D) Every city, county, regional, or other authority established pursuant to the laws of this state. (2) 'Contribution' means a gift, subscription, membership, loan, forgiveness of debt, advance or deposit of money, or anything of value conveyed or transferred by or on behalf of an agency, without receipt of payment therefor, to any campaign committee, political action committee, or political organization or to any candidate for campaign purposes. (3) 'Elector' means any person who shall possess all of the qualifications for voting now or hereafter prescribed by the laws of this state and who shall have registered in accordance with Chapter 2 of this title. (4) 'Political action committee' means any committee, club, association, partnership, corporation, labor union, or other group of persons which receives donations aggregating in excess of $1,000.00 during a calendar year from persons who are members or supporters of the committee and which distributes these funds as contributions to one or more campaign committees of candidates for public office. Such term does not mean a campaign committee. (5) 'Political organization' means an affiliation of electors organized for the purpose of influencing or controlling the policies and conduct of government through the nomination of candidates for public office and, if possible, the election of its candidates to public office. (6) 'Public meeting place' means any county, municipal, or other public building suitable and ordinarily used for public gatherings. (b) No agency and no person acting on behalf of an agency shall make, directly or indirectly, any contribution to any campaign committee, political action committee, or political organization or to any candidate; but nothing in this Code section shall prohibit the furnishing of office space, facilities, equipment, goods, or services to a public officer for use by the public officer in such officer's fulfillment of such office. (c) No campaign committee, political action committee, or political organization or candidate shall accept a contribution in violation of subsection (b) of this Code section. (d) Nothing contained in this Code section shall be construed to: (1) Affect the authority of the State Personnel Board regarding the regulation of certain political activities of public employees in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2; (2) Affect the authority of any agency regarding the regulation of the political activities of such agency's employees; (3) Affect the use of the capitol building and grounds as specified in Code Section 50-16-4; or

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(4) Prohibit the use of public meeting places by political organizations when such meeting places are made available to different political organizations on an equal basis; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not be construed to create a right for a political organization to use a public meeting place."

SECTION 2-32. Title 27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to game and fish, is amended by revising Code Section 27-1-16, relating to conservation officers, qualifications, appointment, supervisory personnel, and retention of badge and weapon upon disability retirement, as follows:
"27-1-16. (a) Within the department is established a unit of peace officers to be known as conservation rangers. All such conservation rangers shall be at least 21 years of age. Such unit of peace officers shall include, but not be limited to, the commissioner and other supervisory personnel; provided, however, that the commissioner and the director of the division to which peace officer functions are assigned shall be excluded from the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 unless otherwise provided by law. The commissioner shall have the power to appoint such a number of conservation rangers of the state at large, as may be necessary to carry out the duties assigned to them, who shall be charged with the law enforcement responsibilities pertaining to the department. (b) After a conservation ranger has accumulated 25 years of service with the department as a peace officer and upon leaving such department under honorable conditions, such conservation ranger shall be entitled as part of such officer's compensation to retain his or her weapon and badge pursuant to regulations promulgated by the commissioner. (c) As used in this subsection, the term 'disability' means a disability that prevents an individual from working as a law enforcement officer. When a conservation ranger leaves the department as a result of a disability arising in the line of duty, such conservation ranger shall be entitled as part of such officer's compensation to retain his or her weapon and badge in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner."

SECTION 2-33. Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, is amended by revising Code Section 31-2-5, relating to transfer of personnel and functions, conforming to federal standards of personnel administration, existing procedures, regulations, agreements, and rules adoption and implementation, as follows:
"31-2-5. (a) All persons employed in a predecessor agency or unit on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the department. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the department on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and

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who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the department.
(b)(1) The department shall conform to federal standards for a merit system of personnel administration in any respects necessary for receiving federal grants, and the board is authorized and empowered to effect such changes as may, from time to time, be necessary in order to comply with such standards. (2) The department is authorized to employ, on a full-time or part-time basis, such medical, supervisory, institutional, and other professional personnel and such clerical and other employees as may be necessary to discharge the duties of the department under this chapter. The department is also authorized to contract for such professional services as may be necessary. (3) Classified employees of the department under this chapter shall in all instances be employed and dismissed in accordance with rules of the State Personnel Board. (4) All personnel of the department are authorized to be members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia as provided in Chapter 2 of Title 47. All rights, credits, and funds in that retirement system which are possessed by state personnel transferred by provisions of this chapter to the department, or otherwise had by persons at the time of employment with the department, are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the department. (c) The department shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the predecessor agency or unit which were in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the department by this chapter. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. Rules of the department shall be adopted, promulgated, and implemented as provided in Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act,' except that only rules promulgated pursuant to Chapter 6 of this title shall be subject to the provisions of Code Section 31-6-21.1. (d) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by any predecessor agency or unit and which pertain to the functions transferred to the department by this chapter shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the department. In all such instances, the Department of Community Health shall be substituted for the

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predecessor agency or unit, and the Department of Community Health shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (e) On July 1, 2009, the department shall receive custody of the state owned real property in the custody of the predecessor agency or unit on June 30, 2009, and which pertains to the functions transferred to the department by this chapter."

SECTION 2-34. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-2A-3, relating to Department of Public Health successor to certain rules, regulations, policies, procedures, administrative orders, rights, interests, and obligations of Department of Community Health, as follows:
"31-2A-3. (a) The Department of Public Health shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Community Health that are in effect on June 30, 2011, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2011, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Public Health pursuant to Code Section 31-2A-2 and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Community Health that are in effect on June 30, 2011, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Public Health pursuant to Code Section 31-2A-2. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Public Health by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (b) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions as identified by the Office of Planning and Budget entered into before July 1, 2011, by the Department of Community Health which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Public Health pursuant to Code Section 31-2A-2 shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Public Health. In all such instances, the Department of Public Health shall be substituted for the Department of Community Health, and the Department of Public Health shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (c) All persons employed by the Department of Community Health in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Public Health pursuant to Code Section 31-2A-2 on June 30, 2011, shall, on July 1, 2011, become employees of the Department of Public Health in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of public health. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Public Health on and after July 1, 2011, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Accrued

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annual and sick leave possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2011, shall be retained by such employees as employees of the Department of Public Health. (d) On July 1, 2011, the Department of Public Health shall receive custody of the state owned real property in the custody of the Department of Community Health on June 30, 2011, and which pertains to the functions transferred to the Department of Public Health pursuant to Code Section 31-2A-2."

SECTION 2-35. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-3-11, relating to appointments of director and staff and supervision, as follows:
"31-3-11. (a) The county board of health shall appoint as its chief executive officer a director who shall be a physician licensed to practice medicine under Chapter 34 of Title 43 and who otherwise meets the requirements of the rules of the State Personnel Board. The director, subject to the approval of the county board of health, shall designate aides and assistants pursuant to the budget adopted by the county board of health in accordance with Code Section 31-3-14. (b) Each employee of a county board of health whose duties include enforcing those environmental health laws of this state or environmental health regulations of that board of health relating to septic tanks or individual sewage management systems shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the district director of environmental health, although the hiring and termination from employment of such employee shall be subject to the director of that county board of health. The employment activities of such employee with regard to environmental health shall be reported to the director of environmental health through the district director of environmental health at least quarterly. The director of environmental health may recommend to that director of that county board of health personnel actions, including but not limited to termination, which the director of environmental health deems appropriate for such employee's failure or refusal to comply with the direction of the director of environmental health in the carrying out of the environmental health employment duties of such employee. As used in this subsection, the term 'director of environmental health' means the director of environmental health of the Department of Public Health."

SECTION 2-36. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-3-15, relating to establishment of health districts, as follows:
"31-3-15. The department is authorized, with the consent of the boards of health and the county authorities of the counties involved, to establish health districts composed of one or more counties. The county boards of health of the constituent counties shall, at the call of the commissioner, meet in joint session to approve the selection of a director appointed by the

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commissioner to serve such boards in common. A county board of health is authorized to appoint one of its members to represent the board at a joint meeting for this purpose. The director shall be a physician who is licensed to practice medicine under Chapter 34 of Title 43 and who otherwise meets the requirements of the rules of the State Personnel Board. The district director shall have the same powers, duties, and responsibility as a director serving a single county board of health. To further the purposes of this Code section, county boards of health may contract with each other for the provision of multicounty services and also exercise any additional powers as authorized by paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of Code Section 31-3-4; and in the performance of such contracts a county board of health may utilize its employees in other counties."

SECTION 2-37. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-7-17, relating to licensure and regulation of hospitals and related institutions transferred to Department of Community Health, as follows:
"31-7-17. (a) Effective July 1, 2009, all matters relating to the licensure and regulation of hospitals and related institutions pursuant to this article shall be transferred from the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) to the Department of Community Health. (b) The Department of Community Health shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Community Health by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (c) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by the Department of Human Resources which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Community Health. In all such instances, the Department of Community Health shall be substituted for the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Community Health shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (d) All persons employed by the Department of Human Resources in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this

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Code section on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the Department of Community Health in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of community health. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Community Health on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Community Health."

SECTION 2-38. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-7-159, relating to licensure and regulation of home health agencies transferred to Department of Community Health, as follows:
"31-7-159. (a) Effective July 1, 2009, all matters relating to the licensure and regulation of home health agencies pursuant to this article shall be transferred from the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) to the Department of Community Health. (b) The Department of Community Health shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Community Health by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (c) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by the Department of Human Resources which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Community Health. In all such instances, the Department of Community Health shall be substituted for the Department of Human

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Resources, and the Department of Community Health shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (d) All persons employed by the Department of Human Resources in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the Department of Community Health in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of community health. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Community Health on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Community Health."

SECTION 2-39. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-7-265, relating to facility licensing and employee records checks for personal care homes transferred to Department of Community Health, as follows:
"31-7-265. (a) Effective July 1, 2009, all matters relating to facility licensing and employee records checks for personal care homes pursuant to this article shall be transferred from the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) to the Department of Community Health. (b) The Department of Community Health shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Community Health by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (c) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by the Department of Human Resources which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of

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Community Health pursuant to this Code section shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Community Health. In all such instances, the Department of Community Health shall be substituted for the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Community Health shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (d) All persons employed by the Department of Human Resources in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the Department of Community Health in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of community health. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Community Health on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Community Health."

SECTION 2-40. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-7-308, relating to licensure and regulation of private home care providers transferred to Department of Community Health, as follows:
"31-7-308. (a) Effective July 1, 2009, all matters relating to the licensure and regulation of private home care providers pursuant to this article shall be transferred from the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) to the Department of Community Health. (b) The Department of Community Health shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative

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orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Community Health by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (c) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by the Department of Human Resources which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Community Health. In all such instances, the Department of Community Health shall be substituted for the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Community Health shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (d) All persons employed by the Department of Human Resources in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Community Health pursuant to this Code section on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the Department of Community Health in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of community health. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Community Health on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Community Health."

SECTION 2-41. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-10-4, relating to appointment of state registrar of vital records, as follows:
"31-10-4. The commissioner shall appoint the state registrar of vital records, hereinafter referred to as 'state registrar,' subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, classified service."
SECTION 2-42. Said Title 31 is further amended by revising Code Section 31-29-6, relating to rights of employees under State Personnel Administration, as follows:

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"31-29-6. Any employee of any state institution, agency, or department who qualifies under Code Section 31-29-1 shall be given credit for all salary adjustments and the same eligibility for step increases to which he or she would have been entitled under the rules of the State Personnel Board had he or she not contracted tuberculosis or infectious hepatitis and had he or she remained on the job full time in the same capacity and with the same status as he or she had previously attained."

SECTION 2-43. Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations, is amended by revising Code Section 34-9-52, relating to officials, personnel, and employees subject to State Personnel Administration and compensation of board members and administrative law judges, as follows:
"34-9-52. (a) All members of the board, including the chairperson thereof, shall be in the unclassified service, as defined in Code Section 45-20-2, and shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The salaries of all members of the board, including the chairperson thereof, shall be as provided in this Code section. The chairperson and each member of the board shall receive an annual salary which is equal to 90 percent of the base annual salary plus cost-of-living adjustments provided in Code Section 45-7-4 for each Judge of the Court of Appeals.
(b)(1) Each administrative law judge, whose method of appointment, removal, and terms of office shall remain as now provided by law, shall be in the unclassified service as defined in Code Section 45-20-2, except for certain compensation purposes, shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The compensation of the administrative law judges shall be fixed by the board based on a pay grade of the general pay schedule issued pursuant to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board and each administrative law judge shall be eligible for increases in compensation as established on the general pay schedule, subject to the review and approval of the board. (2) Each administrative law judge employed by the board shall be entitled to any annual cost-of-living adjustment increases provided for all state employees. (3) All administrative law judges appointed prior to January 1, 1990, shall be placed on the same pay grade of the general pay schedule and at the step which is the equivalent of one full step above their salary as established on July 1, 1989. (c) As a cost-of-living adjustment, the annual base salary of all of the members of the board, including the chairperson thereof, shall be increased by the same percentage provided to state officials by subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-4. (d) All other officials, personnel, and employees of the board shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board."

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SECTION 2-44. Said Title 34 is further amended by revising Code Section 34-9-355, relating to appointment of administrator, State Personnel Administration coverage, administration of article, and members of retirement system, as follows:
"34-9-355. (a) The board of trustees shall appoint the administrator of the fund, and he or she shall serve at the pleasure of the trustees and without term of office. All officials, personnel, and employees of the Board of Trustees of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund are placed in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 unless otherwise excluded by law; provided, however, that except for purposes of determining compensation, the administrator shall not be in the classified service. (b) The administrator shall administer this article under such policies and rules and regulations as may be adopted by the trustees and shall be authorized to hire such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the fund. (c) All employees of the fund shall be deemed to be employees of the state and, as such, members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia."

SECTION 2-45. Said Title 34 is further amended by revising Code Section 34-15-2, relating to July transfer of Division of Rehabilitation Services to the Department of Labor, as follows:
"34-15-2. (a) The Division of Rehabilitation Services within the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services), including the disability adjudication section and the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, is transferred to the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001, and that division shall become the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001. The functions, duties, programs, institutions, and authority of the Division of Rehabilitation Services which were vested in the Department of Human Resources on June 30, 2001, are vested in the Department of Labor effective July 1, 2001. The division shall be administered by a director appointed by the Commissioner. The policy-making functions which were vested in the Board of Human Resources (now known as the Board of Human Services) or the Department of Human Resources pertaining to the Division of Rehabilitation Services are vested in the Commissioner of Labor effective July 1, 2001. (b) The Department of Labor shall, from July 1, 2001, assume possession and control of all records, papers, equipment, supplies, office space, and all other tangible property possessed and controlled by the Department of Human Resources as of June 30, 2001, in the Department of Human Resources' administration of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. All funds attributable to the Division of Rehabilitation Services and its programs and institutions from state, federal, and any other public or private source, shall be transferred to the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001.

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(c) The Department of Human Resources shall calculate, in consultation with the Department of Labor, the amount of all funds of or attributable to the Division of Rehabilitation Services and its programs and institutions from any source that are used to provide administrative or other services within the Department of Human Resources, including funds from the disability adjudication section, the cost allocation system, and any indirect costs funding from the federal government or any other source. The amount calculated shall be transferred to the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001. Any changes or amendments made to the structure or placement of division programs and institutions, the allocation and expenditure of division funds, division rules, regulations, policies and procedures, or the administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources pertaining to the division, between May 1, 2000, and July 1, 2001, shall be made in consultation with the Commissioner of Labor. In addition, on and after May 1, 2000, the Department of Human Resources shall make available to the Department of Labor all records and information of the Department of Human Resources and the Division of Rehabilitation Services which relate to the functions, duties, and administration of the division, to assist in the orderly transfer of the division to the Department of Labor. (d) All officers, employees, and agents of the Division of Rehabilitation Services who, on June 30, 2001, are engaged in the performance of a function or duty which shall be vested in the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001, by this chapter, shall be automatically transferred to the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001. An equivalent number of positions or funds of the Department of Human Resources which provide administrative support to the Division of Rehabilitation Services shall be transferred to the Department of Labor on July 1, 2001. Such persons shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Labor on and after July 1, 2001, but consistent with the compensation and benefits of other employees of that department holding positions substantially the same as the transferred employees, the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2001, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees, and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2001. Accrued annual and sick leave shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Labor. The Department of Human Resources shall be responsible for payment of the accrued Fair Labor Standards Act compensatory time possessed by said employees. Such accrued compensatory time shall be used by or paid to said employees prior to July 1, 2001.
(e)(1) The Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor is the designated state unit for the vocational rehabilitation program.

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(2) The Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor shall conform to federal standards in all respects necessary for receiving federal grants and the Commissioner of the Department of Labor is authorized and empowered to effect such changes as may, from time to time, be necessary in order to comply with such standards. (3) The Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor is authorized to employ, on a full or part-time basis, such medical, psychiatric, social work, supervisory, institutional, and other professional personnel and such clerical and other employees as may be necessary to discharge the duties of the division under this chapter. The division is also authorized to contract for such professional services as may be necessary. (4) Classified employees of the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor under this chapter shall in all instances be employed and dismissed in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. (5) All personnel of the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor are authorized to be members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia as provided in Chapter 2 of Title 47. All rights, credits, and funds in that retirement system which are possessed by state personnel transferred by provisions of this chapter to the Department of Labor, or otherwise had by persons at the time of employment with that department, are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor. (f) The Department of Labor shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources which are in effect on June 30, 2001, and which relate to the functions of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (g) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2001, by the Department of Human Resources or the Division of Rehabilitation Services pertaining to the Division of Rehabilitation Services transferred to the Department of Labor by this chapter shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Labor. In all such instances, the Department of Labor shall be substituted for the Department of Human Resources or the Division of Rehabilitation Services, and the Department of Labor shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (h) The Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Labor shall conform all service delivery regions to the state service delivery regions provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 50-4-7."

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SECTION 2-46. Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to law enforcement officers and agencies, is amended by revising Code Section 35-1-6, relating to appointment of nonuniformed investigators, salaries, status, assignment, and powers, as follows:
"35-1-6. (a) The commissioner is authorized to appoint five nonuniformed investigators who shall be certified peace officers pursuant to Chapter 8 of this title, the 'Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Act.' The commissioner shall determine the salaries of such investigators. The investigators shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and therefore shall not be governed by any rules of position, classification, appointment, promotion, demotion, transfer, dismissal, qualification, compensation, seniority privileges, tenure, or other such matters concerning their employment as may now or hereafter be established by the State Personnel Board or any successor boards or agencies. The investigators shall be assigned to the Internal Affairs Section of the Department of Public Safety in the office of the commissioner at the department's headquarters complex. (b) The investigators shall have full arrest powers in cases involving internal affairs and in such cases shall be authorized:
(1) To investigate crimes committed anywhere in the state; (2) To arrest any person violating the criminal laws of this state; (3) To serve and execute warrants after notifying the law enforcement agency of the local jurisdiction of the intent to serve such warrant or warrants; (4) To enforce in general the criminal laws of this state; and (5) To carry firearms while performing their duties."

SECTION 2-47. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-2-46, relating to dismissal of officers, troopers, and communications officers, as follows:
"35-2-46. All officers, troopers, and communications officers who are in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 may be dismissed from their employment with the department only in accordance with Chapter 20 of Title 45 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder."

SECTION 2-48. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-2-47, relating to suspension pending dismissal, as follows:
"35-2-47. All officers, troopers, and communications officers who are in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 may be suspended pending their dismissal from

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employment with the department as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 45 or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder."

SECTION 2-49. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-2-74, relating to the Governor to prescribe coverage by State Personnel Administration, as follows:
"35-2-74. (a) The Governor is authorized, in his discretion, to direct by executive order that the employees of the Security Guard Division shall be covered by the rules of the State Personnel Board and in such order shall specify the date on which the rules shall become applicable to such personnel. (b) The application of the rules of the State Personnel Board to employees of the Security Guard Division shall not affect any other personnel of the Department of Public Safety."

SECTION 2-50. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-3-6, relating to the director, classification in State Personnel Administration, and compensation, as follows:
"35-3-6. The director shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and his or her compensation shall be fixed by the board."

SECTION 2-51. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-3-9, relating to narcotics agents, as follows:
"35-3-9. (a) The director is authorized to retain on a contractual basis such persons as he or she shall deem necessary to detect and apprehend violators of the criminal statutes of this state pertaining to the possession, sale, or use of narcotics or other dangerous drugs. (b) Those persons contracting with the director pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall be known as narcotics agents. (c) The investigative services provided for in this Code section shall be designed to support local law enforcement efforts. The director shall, with the advice and consent of the board, appoint a three-member priority committee composed of a representative from the Georgia Sheriffs Association, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, and the District Attorneys Association. The committee shall establish priorities for use of investigative resources and determine the bona fide nature of requests for assistance. The recommendations of the committee shall be followed by the director except where otherwise expressly authorized by the board. (d) Narcotics agents shall have all powers necessary and incidental to the fulfillment of their contractual obligations, including the power of arrest when authorized by the director. (e) No person shall be a narcotics agent unless he is at least 18 years of age.

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(f) The director shall conduct a background investigation of all potential narcotics agents. If the background investigation discloses a criminal record, the applicant shall not be retained without the express approval of the board. (g) Any matters pertaining to narcotics agents shall be exempt from Chapter 14 of Title 50, relating to meetings open to the public. (h) Persons retained as narcotics agents shall be considered persons in the service of the bureau under a contract of hire with that agency whose employment of those persons as narcotics agents shall be considered an employment in the usual course of the business of that agency. Persons retained by the bureau as narcotics agents shall have all the rights and privileges of other employees of the bureau; provided, however, that such persons shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and therefore shall not be governed by any rules of position, classification, appointment, promotion, demotion, transfer, dismissal, qualification, compensation, seniority privileges, tenure, or other such matters concerning their employment established by the State Personnel Board or any successor boards or agencies. (i) The director shall have all powers necessary and incidental to the effective operation of this Code section."

SECTION 2-52. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-3-11, relating to applicability to agents of bureau of rules of State Personnel Board and State Personnel Administration, and retention of badge and weapon by disabled agent, as follows:
"35-3-11. (a) All agents of the bureau shall be governed by such rules of position, classification, appointment, promotion, demotion, transfer, dismissal, qualification, compensation, seniority privileges, tenure, and other employment standards as may now or hereafter be established under such merit system controls as may be authorized by Chapter 20 of Title 45. (b) This Code section shall not apply to narcotics agents as provided for in Code Section 35-3-9. (c) As used in this subsection, the term 'disability' means a disability that prevents an individual from working as a law enforcement officer. When an agent of the bureau leaves the bureau as a result of a disability arising in the line of duty, such agent shall be entitled as part of such agent's compensation to retain his or her weapon and badge pursuant to regulations promulgated by the director."

SECTION 2-53. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-3-31, relating to establishment of center, staff and equipment generally, and State Personnel Administration status of personnel, as follows:

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"35-3-31. (a) There is established for the state, within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a system for the intrastate communication of vital information relating to crimes, criminals, and criminal activity, to be known as the Georgia Crime Information Center. (b) Central responsibility for the development, maintenance, and operation of the center shall be vested with the director of the center with the assistance and guidance of the Georgia Crime Information Council, the establishment of which is provided for in Code Section 35-3-32. (c) The director of the center shall maintain the necessary staff along with support services to be procured within the Georgia state government, such as computer services from the Department of Administrative Services, physical space and logistic support from the Department of Public Safety, and other services or sources as necessary, to enable the effective and efficient performance of the duties and responsibilities ascribed to the center in this article. (d) All personnel of the center shall be administered according to appropriate special and standard schedules issued pursuant to the rules of the State Personnel Board with due recognition to be given by the latter to the special qualifications and availability of the types of individuals required in such an agency."

SECTION 2-54. Said Title 35 is further amended by revising Code Section 35-3-81, relating to establishment, development, maintenance, operation of center, and staff, as follows:
"35-3-81. (a) There is authorized within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the Missing Children Information Center. The center shall serve as a central repository of information regarding missing children and shall collect and disseminate such information as is necessary to assist in the location of missing children. (b) Central responsibility for the development, maintenance, and operation of the center shall be vested in the supervisor of the center who shall be appointed by the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. (c) The supervisor of the center shall maintain the necessary staff along with support services to be procured within the Georgia state government to enable the effective and efficient performance of the duties and responsibilities assigned to the center in this article. (d) All personnel of the center shall be administered according to appropriate special and standard schedules issued pursuant to the rules of the State Personnel Board."

SECTION 2-55. Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, is amended by revising Code Section 36-5-28, relating to members of county governing authority to receive compensation increase when classified service employees receive increase, calculation, and effective date, as follows:

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"36-5-28. Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the compensation to which a member of a governing authority is entitled under general or local law shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amount to which a member of a county governing authority is entitled under general or local law shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amount to which a member of a county governing authority is entitled under general or local law shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amount to which a member of a county governing authority is entitled under general or local law shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective."

SECTION 2-56. Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to mental health, is amended by revising Code Section 37-1-5, relating to department to succeed to applicable rules and regulations, transfer of rights, responsibilities, duties, personnel, and property, as follows:
"37-1-5. (a) The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities pursuant to Code Section 37-1-4 and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities pursuant to Code Section 37-1-4. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (b) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by the Department of

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Human Resources which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities pursuant to Code Section 37-1-4 shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. In all such instances, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall be substituted for the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (c) All persons employed by the Department of Human Resources in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities pursuant to Code Section 37-1-4 on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of behavioral health and developmental disabilities. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to the department shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. (d) On July 1, 2009, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall receive custody of the state owned real property in the custody of the Department of Human Resources on June 30, 2009, and which pertains to the functions transferred to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities pursuant to Code Section 37-1-4."

SECTION 2-57. Said Title 37 is further amended by revising Code Section 37-1-21, relating to institutional powers and duties, as follows:
"37-1-21. (a) The department is designated and empowered as the agency of this state responsible for supervision and administrative control of: state facilities for the treatment of mental illness or the habilitation and treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities; programs for the care, custody, and treatment of addictive disease; and other facilities,

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institutions, or programs which now or hereafter come under the supervision and administrative control of the department. With respect to all such facilities, institutions, or programs the department shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To create all necessary offices, appoint and remove all officers of such facilities, institutions, or programs, prescribe and change the duties of such officers from time to time, and fix their salaries, other than the commissioner's salary, as provided for by the pay plan covering positions in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The department shall discharge and cause to be prosecuted any officer or other person who shall assault any patient in any of such facilities or institutions or who shall knowingly use toward any such patient any other or greater force than the occasion may require; (2) To refuse or accept and hold in trust for any such facility, institution, or program any grant or devise of land or bequest or donation of money or other property for the particular use specified or, if no use is specified, for the general use of such facility, institution, or program; (3) To bring suit in its name for any claims which any such facility or institution may have, however arising; (4) To appoint police of such facilities, institutions, or programs who are authorized, while on the grounds or in the buildings of the respective facilities, institutions, or programs to make arrests with the same authority, power, privilege, and duties as the sheriffs of the respective counties in which such facilities, institutions, or programs are situated; and (5) To have full authority to receive and treat patients ordered admitted to such facilities, institutions, or programs pursuant to any law, to receive any voluntary patients, to discharge such patients pursuant to law, to contract with patients or other persons acting on behalf of patients or legally responsible therefor, and in general to exercise any power or function with respect to patients provided by law. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide always the highest quality of diagnosis, treatment, custody, and care consistent with medical, therapeutic, and habilitative evidence based practice and knowledge. It is the further intent of the General Assembly that the powers and duties of the department with respect to patients shall be administered by persons properly trained professionally for the exercise of their duties, consistent with the intention expressed in this Code section. (b) The board is empowered to prescribe all rules and regulations for the management of such facilities, institutions, and programs not conflicting with the law."

SECTION 2-58. Said Title 37 is further amended by revising Code Section 37-2-6.1, relating to community service boards, program director, staff, budget, facilities, powers and duties, and exemption from state and local taxation, as follows:

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"37-2-6.1. (a) Each community service board shall employ an executive director to serve as its chief executive officer who shall direct the day-to-day operations of the community service board. Such executive director shall be appointed and removed by the community service board and shall appoint other necessary staff pursuant to an annual budget adopted by the board, which budget shall provide for securing appropriate facilities, sites, and professionals necessary for the provision of disability and health services. The community service board may delegate any power, authority, duty, or function to its executive director or other staff. The executive director or other staff is authorized to exercise any power, authority, duty, or function on behalf of the community service board. (b) Each community service board, under the jurisdiction of its board, shall perform duties, responsibilities, and functions and may exercise power and authority described in this subsection. Each program may exercise the following power and authority:
(1) Each community service board may adopt bylaws for the conduct of its affairs; provided, however, that the community service board shall meet at least quarterly, and that all such meetings and any bylaws shall be open to the public, as otherwise required under Georgia law; (2) Each community service board may make and enter into all contracts necessary and incidental to the performance of its duties and functions; (3) Each community service board may acquire by purchase, gift, lease, or otherwise and may own, hold, improve, use, and sell, convey, exchange, transfer, lease, sublease, and dispose of real and personal property of every kind and character, or any interest therein, for its corporate purposes; (4) Each community service board may contract to utilize the services of the Department of Administrative Services, the state auditor, or any other agency of state, local, or federal government; (5) Each community service board may provide, either independently or through contract with appropriate state or local governmental entities, the following benefits to its employees, their dependents, and survivors, in addition to any compensation or other benefits provided to such persons:
(A) Retirement, pension, disability, medical, and hospitalization benefits, through the purchase of insurance or otherwise, but medical and hospitalization benefits may only be provided through the Department of Community Health under the same conditions as provided for such benefits to state employees, and the Department of Community Health shall so provide if requested; (B) Life insurance coverage and coverage under federal old age and survivors' insurance programs; (C) Sick leave, annual leave, and holiday leave; and (D) Any other similar benefits including, but not limited to, death benefits; (6) Each community service board may cooperate with all units of local government in the counties where the community service board provides services as well as neighboring

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regions and with the programs of other departments, agencies, and regional commissions and regional planning boards; (7) Each community service board shall establish and maintain a personnel program for its employees and fix the compensation and terms of compensation of its employees; provided, however, that each community service board shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 20 of Title 45, for so long as and to the extent that each employee of such board remains subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board or as otherwise provided by law; (8) Each community service board may receive and administer grants, gifts, contracts, moneys, and donations for purposes pertaining to the delivery of disability services or of health services; (9) Each community service board may establish fees for the provision of disability services or health services according to the terms of contracts entered into with the department, Department of Human Services, Department of Public Health, or Department of Community Health, as appropriate; (10) Each community service board may accept appropriations, loans of funds, facilities, equipment, and supplies from local governmental entities in the counties where the community service board provides services; (11) Each member of the community service board may, upon approval of the executive director, receive reimbursement for actual expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of such office; provided, however, that such reimbursement shall not exceed the rates and allowances set for state employees by the Office of Planning and Budget or the mileage allowance for use of a personal car as that received by all other state officials and employees or a travel allowance of actual transportation cost if traveling by public carrier; (12) Each community service board shall elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from among its membership. The members shall also elect a secretary and treasurer from among its membership or may designate the executive director of the community service board to serve in one or both offices. Such officers shall serve for such terms as shall be prescribed in the bylaws of the community service board or until their respective successors are elected and qualified. No member shall hold more than one office of the community service board; except that the same person may serve as secretary and treasurer. The bylaws of the community service board shall provide for any other officers of such board and the means of their selection, the terms of office of the officers, and an annual meeting to elect officers; (13) Each community service board may have a seal and alter it; (14) Each community service board may establish fees, rates, rents, and charges for the use of facilities of the community service board for the provision of disability services or of health services, in accordance with the terms of contracts entered into with the department, Department of Human Services, Department of Public Health, or Department of Community Health, as appropriate;

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(15) Each community service board may borrow money for any business purpose and may incur debt, liabilities, and obligations for any business purpose. A debt, liability, or obligation incurred by a community service board shall not be considered a debt, liability, or obligation of the state or any county or any municipality or any political subdivision of the state. A community service board may not borrow money as permitted by this Code section if the highest aggregate annual debt service requirements of the then current fiscal year or any subsequent year for outstanding borrowings of the community service board, including the proposed borrowing, exceed 15 percent of the total revenues of the community service board in its fiscal year immediately preceding the fiscal year in which such debt is to be incurred. Interest paid upon such borrowings shall be exempt from taxation by the state or its political subdivisions. A state contract with a community service board shall not be used or accepted as security or collateral for a debt, liability, or obligation of a community service board without the prior written approval of the commissioner; (16) Each community service board, to the extent authorized by law and the contract for the funds involved, may carry forward without lapse fund balances and establish operating, capital, and debt reserve accounts from revenues and grants derived from state, county, and all other sources; and (17) Each community service board may operate, establish, or operate and establish facilities deemed by the community service board as necessary and convenient for the administration, operation, or provision of disability services or of health services by the community service board and may construct, reconstruct, improve, alter, repair, and equip such facilities to the extent authorized by state and federal law. (c) Nothing shall prohibit a community service board from contracting with any county governing authority, private or other public provider, or hospital for the provision of disability services or of health services. (d) Each community service board exists for nonprofit and public purposes, and it is found and declared that the carrying out of the purposes of each community service board is exclusively for public benefit and its property is public property. Thus, no community service board shall be required to pay any state or local ad valorem, sales, use, or income taxes. (e) A community service board shall not have the power to tax, the power to issue general obligation bonds or revenue bonds or revenue certificates, or the power to financially obligate the state or any county or any municipal corporation. (f) A community service board shall not operate any facility for profit. A community service board may fix fees, rents, rates, and charges that are reasonably expected to produce revenues, which, together with all other funds of the community service board, will be sufficient to administer, operate, and provide the following: (1) Disability services or health services; (2) The cost of acquiring, constructing, equipping, maintaining, repairing, and operating its facilities; and

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(3) The creation and maintenance of reserves sufficient to meet principal and interest payments due on any obligation of the community service board. (g) Each community service board may provide reasonable reserves for the improvement, replacement, or expansion of its facilities and services. Reserves under this subsection shall be subject to the limitations in paragraph (15) of subsection (b) of this Code section. (h) Each county and municipal corporation of this state is authorized to convey or lease property of such county or municipal corporation to a community service board for its public purposes. Any property conveyed or leased to a community services board by a county or municipal corporation shall be operated by such community service board in accordance with this chapter and the terms of the community service board's agreements with the county or municipal corporation providing such conveyance or lease. (i) Each community service board shall keep books of account reflecting all funds received, expended, and administered by the community service board which shall be independently audited annually. (j) A community service board may create, form, or become a member of a nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, or other nonprofit entity, the voting membership of which shall be limited to community service boards, governmental entities, nonprofit corporations, or a combination thereof, if such entity is created for purposes that are within the powers of the community service board, for the cooperative functioning of its members, or a combination thereof; provided, however, that no funds provided pursuant to a contract between the department and the community service board may be used in the formation or operation of the nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, or other nonprofit entity. No community service board, whether or not it exercises the power authorized by this subsection, shall be relieved of compliance with Chapter 14 of Title 50, relating to open and public meetings, and Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspection of public records, unless otherwise provided by law. (k) No community service board shall employ or retain in employment, either directly or indirectly through contract, any person who is receiving a retirement benefit from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia except in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of Code Section 47-2-110; provided, however, that any such person who is employed as of July 1, 2004, may continue to be employed. (l) A community service board may join or form and operate, either directly or indirectly, one or more networks of community service boards, disability or health service professionals, and other providers of disability services or health services to arrange for the provision of disability services or health services through such networks; to contract either directly or through such networks with the Department of Community Health to provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries; to provide disability services or health services in an efficient and cost-effective manner on a prepaid, capitation, or other reimbursement basis; and to undertake other disability or health services related managed care activities. For purposes of this subsection only and notwithstanding Code Section 33-3-3 or any other provision of law, a community service board shall be permitted to and shall comply with

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the requirements of Chapter 20A of Title 33 to the extent that such requirements apply to the activities undertaken by the community service board or by a community service board under this subsection or subsection (j) of this Code section. No community service board, whether or not it exercises the powers authorized by this subsection, shall be relieved of compliance with Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to inspection of public records, unless otherwise provided by law. Any licensed health care provider shall be eligible to apply to become a participating provider under such a plan or network that provides coverage for health care, disability services, or health services which are within the lawful scope of the provider's license, but nothing in this Code section shall be construed to require any such plan or network to provide coverage for any specific health care, disability service, or health service."

SECTION 2-59. Said Title 37 is further amended by revising Code Section 37-2-6.2, relating to employees whose jobs include duties or functions which became duties or functions of a community service board on July 1, 1994, rights, duties, and benefits of employees, as follows:
"37-2-6.2. (a)(1) Those employees whose job descriptions, duties, or functions as of June 30, 1994, included the performance of employment duties or functions which will become employment duties or functions of the personnel of a community service board on July 1, 1994, shall become employees of the applicable community service boards on and after July 1, 1994. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the applicable community service board on and after July 1, 1994. Employees who are subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board and who are transferred to a community service board shall retain all existing rights under such rules. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 1994, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 1994, without any interruption in membership service and without the loss of any creditable service. For purposes of coverage under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, such employees transferred to the community service boards on July 1, 1994, shall be deemed to be state employees. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 1994, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the community service board. Any person who is granted employment rights and benefits as a member of a community service board pursuant to this subsection and who later becomes employed, without any break in service, by the department, Department of Human Services, or Department of Public Health, a hospital thereof, another community service board, a county board of health for which such person provides services pursuant to this title, or a regional board shall retain, in that later employment position, all such rights and benefits. Such rights and benefits shall also be

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retained by any person who is employed on June 30, 1994, by the former Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases (now known as the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities) of the former Department of Human Resources, a hospital thereof, a county board of health for which such person provides services pursuant to this title, or a regional board and who later becomes employed, without any break in service, by a community service board. (2) Classified employees of a community service board under this chapter shall in all instances be employed and dismissed in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. (3) All rights, credits, and funds in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia which are possessed by personnel transferred by provisions of this Code section to the community service boards are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the community service boards. (b) As to those persons employed by the former Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases (now known as the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities) of the former Department of Human Resources, a hospital thereof, or a regional board on June 30, 1994, any termination from state employment after that date of any such person who is a member of the classified service shall not result from the anticipated or actual employment or utilization by: (1) The department; (2) A regional board; (3) A community service board; (4) A hospital; (5) The Department of Human Services; (6) The Department of Public Health; or (7) Any private provider of disability services or health services of any person who is not an employee of the state or a political subdivision thereof to perform the duties and functions of such terminated state personnel unless such termination and utilization is the result of a reduction in appropriations for such duties or functions or is the result of a reduction in force caused by any other state department or agency which has ceased to contract with the department, the Department of Human Services, or the Department of Public Health for the services which had been provided by the terminated state personnel."

SECTION 2-60. Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to military, emergency management, and veterans affairs, is amended by revising Code Section 38-2-132, relating to administration of militia and Department of Defense, personnel, and State Personnel Administration, as follows:

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"38-2-132. The militia of the state shall be commanded and its affairs administered pursuant to law by the Governor, as commander in chief, through the Department of Defense and the military division thereof which shall consist of the adjutant general, two assistant adjutants general, and such other officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees as the adjutant general shall from time to time prescribe; provided, however, that nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prejudice the status under the rules of the State Personnel Board of any person employed in the Military Division, Department of Defense. Such other officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees shall perform such duties as may be required by the adjutant general who shall fix their compensation subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board."

SECTION 2-61. Said Title 38 is further amended by revising Code Section 38-4-9, relating to the commissioner of veterans service, employment of personnel, preference to veterans, surviving spouses, and dependents, and advise Governor, board, and General Assembly, as follows:
"38-4-9. The commissioner of veterans service is authorized and directed to employ competent personnel to assist in the administration of the Department of Veterans Service. The commissioner shall give reasonable preference to veterans, their surviving spouses, and dependents in the matter of employment in the department; provided, however, that competency and efficiency shall not be sacrificed because of veteran affiliation, relationship, or service. It shall be the duty of the commissioner to advise the Governor, the Veterans Service Board, and the General Assembly as to needed veterans' legislation. As executive officer, the commissioner shall have exclusive authority to employ personnel necessary to carry out the purposes of this article and shall define the duties of employees, assign their official stations, and fix their compensation subject to the rules of the State Personnel Board."

SECTION 2-62. Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, is amended by revising Code Section 40-15-4, relating to motorcycle safety coordinator authorized, duties, and requirements, as follows:
"40-15-4. (a) The commissioner shall appoint a state-wide motorcycle safety coordinator who shall carry out and enforce the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the department. The coordinator shall be placed in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. (b) The coordinator shall also be authorized to:
(1) Promote motorcycle safety throughout the state;

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(2) Provide consultation to the various departments of state government and local political subdivisions relating to motorcycle safety; and (3) Do any other thing deemed necessary by the commissioner to promote motorcycle safety in the state."

SECTION 2-63. Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to penal institutions, is amended by revising Code Section 42-8-26, relating to qualifications of probation supervisors, compensation and expenses, conflicts of interest, and bonds, as follows:
"42-8-26. (a) In order for a person to hold the office of probation supervisor, he or she must be at least 21 years of age at the time of appointment and must have completed a standard two-year college course, provided that any person who is employed as a probation supervisor on or before July 1, 1972, shall not be required to meet the educational requirements specified in this Code section, nor shall he or she be prejudiced in any way for not possessing the requirements. The qualifications provided in this Code section are the minimum qualifications and the department is authorized to prescribe such additional and higher educational qualifications from time to time as it deems desirable, but not to exceed a four-year standard college course. (b) The compensation of the probation supervisors shall be set pursuant to the rules of the State Personnel Board. Probation supervisors shall also be allowed travel and other expenses as are other state employees.
(c)(1) No supervisor shall engage in any other employment, business, or activities which interfere or conflict with his or her duties and responsibilities as probation supervisor. (2) No supervisor shall own, operate, have any financial interest in, be an instructor at, or be employed by any private entity which provides drug or alcohol education services or offers a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program certified by the Department of Driver Services. (3) No supervisor shall specify, directly or indirectly, a particular DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program which a probationer may or shall attend. This paragraph shall not prohibit any supervisor from furnishing any probationer, upon request, the names of certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. Any supervisor violating this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (d) Each probation supervisor shall give bond in such amount as may be fixed by the department payable to the department for the use of the person or persons damaged by his or her misfeasance or malfeasance and conditioned on the faithful performance of his or her duties. The cost of the bond shall be paid by the department; provided, however, that the bond may be procured, either by the department or by the Department of Administrative Services, under a master policy or on a group blanket coverage basis, where only the number of positions in each judicial circuit and the amount of coverage for each position are listed in a schedule attached to the bond; and in such case each individual shall

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be fully bonded and bound as principal, together with the surety, by virtue of his or her holding the position or performing the duties of probation supervisor in the circuit or circuits, and his or her individual signature shall not be necessary for such bond to be valid in accordance with all the laws of this state. The bond or bonds shall be made payable to the department."

SECTION 2-64. Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and businesses, is amended by revising Code Section 43-1-2, relating to appointment and general powers of division director, members and meetings of professional licensing boards, examination standards, roster of licensees, and funding, as follows:
"43-1-2. (a)(1) There is created within the office of the Secretary of State the professional licensing boards division as successor to the office of the joint-secretary of the state examining boards. The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to appoint a director of the professional licensing boards division. (2) Any action of the joint-secretary taken with regard to any state examining board prior to July 1, 2000, shall thereafter be deemed to be action taken by the director of the professional licensing boards division and that division director shall thereafter act in the stead of such joint-secretary and succeed to the powers and duties of the joint-secretary with regard to those state examining boards. The rights, privileges, entitlements, or duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, or other transactions entered into by the joint-secretary prior to July 1, 2000, shall continue to exist and shall not be impaired or diminished by reason of the succession of the division director to the powers and duties of the joint-secretary.
(b) The salary of the division director shall be fixed by the Secretary of State, and he or she shall hold office at the pleasure of the Secretary of State. (c) The Secretary of State, notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, shall employ personnel as deemed necessary to carry out this chapter and to provide for all services required by each of the professional licensing boards and shall establish within the guidelines provided by the laws and rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board the qualifications of such personnel. (d) The division director, with the approval of the Secretary of State, notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, shall enter into such contracts as are deemed necessary to carry out this chapter to provide for all services required by each of the professional licensing boards. (e) The Secretary of State, notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, shall have the power to employ and shall set the qualifications and salary for a deputy division director and shall appoint executive directors as required who shall act in the absence of the division director and who shall perform such other functions of the division director under this chapter as the division director may designate. The deputy division

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director and executive directors as appointed shall be in the unclassified service and shall be excluded from the classified service as defined in Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 45. (f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, each member of the various professional licensing boards may receive the expense allowance as provided by subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 and the same mileage allowance for the use of a personal car as that received by all other state officials and employees or a travel allowance of actual transportation cost if traveling by public carrier within the state. Any board member shall also be reimbursed for any conference or meeting registration fee incurred in the performance of his or her duties as a board member. For each day's service outside of the state as a board member, such member shall receive actual expenses as an expense allowance as well as the same mileage allowance for the use of a personal car as that received by other state officials and employees or a travel allowance of actual transportation cost if traveling by public carrier or by rental motor vehicle. Expense vouchers submitted by members of the various professional licensing boards are subject to approval of the president or chairperson of the respective board and the division director. (g) All meetings and hearings of the respective professional licensing boards shall be held in the capitol, at the site of the office of the respective board, or at such other site as may be requested by the chairperson or president of a professional licensing board and approved by the division director. (h) A majority of the appointed members of a professional licensing board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by that board. (h.1) Members of a professional licensing board shall serve until the expiration of the term for which they were appointed and until their successors have been appointed and qualified unless otherwise specified under the provisions of this title. (i) A schedule of all meetings and hearings of the various professional licensing boards shall be maintained at the office of the division director and be available for public review. (j) The division director may establish administrative standards for the examination of applicants for licensure by the various professional licensing boards, notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary. These administrative standards may include the setting of date, time, and location of examinations, subject to the approval of the respective professional licensing boards. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, examination criteria, examination grading procedures, examination fees, examination passing score requirements, and other matters pertaining to the examination of applicants for licensure may be adopted by rules of the respective professional licensing boards as necessary to implement such examination standards. Examination standards, including examination criteria, grading procedures, and passing score requirements, developed in agreement or in conjunction with a national association of state boards or other related national association for the administration of a nationally recognized uniform examination may be adopted in lieu of state standards by the respective professional licensing boards. (k) The division director shall prepare and maintain a roster containing the names and addresses of all current licensees for each of the various professional licensing boards. A

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copy of this roster shall be available to any person upon request at a fee prescribed by the division director sufficient to cover the cost of printing and distribution. The following shall be treated as confidential and need not be disclosed without the approval of the professional licensing board to which application is made:
(1) Applications and other personal information submitted by applicants, except to the applicant, staff, and the board; (2) Information, favorable or unfavorable, submitted by a reference source concerning an applicant, except to the staff and the board; (3) Examination questions and other examination materials, except to the staff and the board; and (4) The deliberations of the board with respect to an application, an examination, a complaint, an investigation, or a disciplinary proceeding, except as may be contained in official board minutes. (l) Funding for the office of the division director and the various professional licensing boards served by such office shall be contained in a common budget unit as defined in Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45, the 'Budget Act.'"

SECTION 2-65. Said Title 43 is further amended by revising Code Section 43-40-4, relating to the office of commissioner, qualifications, restrictions, staff, oath, duties and powers, and reimbursement, as follows:
"43-40-4. (a) There is established within the commission the office of real estate commissioner. (b) The commissioner shall be a full-time employee of the commission and shall serve as the chief executive officer of the commission. The commission shall in its discretion appoint the commissioner and fix his or her annual salary. Any person, in order to qualify for appointment to the office of commissioner, shall be a person of good moral character and shall possess such qualifications as the commission may require. The commissioner shall hold no interest in any real estate business or related business while serving as commissioner. The commissioner, with the approval of the commission, may employ and fix the compensation of a secretary, investigators, and other staff to assist the commissioner in his or her duties. Such employees shall not be placed in the classified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2, provided that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect any employee in the classified service as of July 1, 1981. (c) The commissioner shall take an oath to discharge faithfully the duties of his or her office. (d) The commissioner shall be charged with the duties and powers as delegated by the commission.

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(e) The commissioner shall be allowed reimbursement for travel and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of his or her duties, the same as other state officers and employees, and shall receive payment of the same in the manner provided for members of the commission."

SECTION 2-66. Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public officers and employees, is amended by revising Code Section 45-1-4, relating to complaints or information from public employees as to fraud, waste, and abuse in state programs and operations, as follows:
"45-1-4. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Government agency' means any agency of federal, state, or local government charged with the enforcement of laws, rules, or regulations. (2) 'Law, rule, or regulation' includes any federal, state, or local statute or ordinance or any rule or regulation adopted according to any federal, state, or local statute or ordinance. (3) 'Public employee' means any person who is employed by the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the state or by any other department, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other agency of the state. This term also includes all employees, officials, and administrators of any agency covered by the rules of the State Personnel Board and any local or regional governmental entity that receives any funds from the State of Georgia or any state agency. (4) 'Public employer' means the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the state; any other department, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other agency of the state which employs or appoints a public employee or public employees; or any local or regional governmental entity that receives any funds from the State of Georgia or any state agency. (5) 'Retaliate' or 'retaliation' refers to the discharge, suspension, or demotion by a public employer of a public employee or any other adverse employment action taken by a public employer against a public employee in the terms or conditions of employment for disclosing a violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation to either a supervisor or government agency. (6) 'Supervisor' means any individual:
(A) To whom a public employer has given authority to direct and control the work performance of the affected public employee; (B) To whom a public employer has given authority to take corrective action regarding a violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation of which the public employee complains; or (C) Who has been designated by a public employer to receive complaints regarding a violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation.

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(b) A public employer may receive and investigate complaints or information from any public employee concerning the possible existence of any activity constituting fraud, waste, and abuse in or relating to any state programs and operations under the jurisdiction of such public employer. (c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, such public employer shall not after receipt of a complaint or information from a public employee disclose the identity of the public employee without the written consent of such public employee, unless the public employer determines such disclosure is necessary and unavoidable during the course of the investigation. In such event, the public employee shall be notified in writing at least seven days prior to such disclosure.
(d)(1) No public employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any policy or practice preventing a public employee from disclosing a violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation to either a supervisor or a government agency. (2) No public employer shall retaliate against a public employee for disclosing a violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation to either a supervisor or a government agency, unless the disclosure was made with knowledge that the disclosure was false or with reckless disregard for its truth or falsity. (3) No public employer shall retaliate against a public employee for objecting to, or refusing to participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the public employer that the public employee has reasonable cause to believe is in violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation. (4) Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection shall not apply to policies or practices which implement, or to actions by public employers against public employees who violate, privilege or confidentiality obligations recognized by constitutional, statutory, or common law. (e)(1) A public employee who has been the object of retaliation in violation of this Code section may institute a civil action in superior court for relief as set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection within one year after discovering the retaliation or within three years after the retaliation, whichever is earlier. (2) In any action brought pursuant to this subsection, the court may order any or all of the following relief:
(A) An injunction restraining continued violation of this Code section; (B) Reinstatement of the employee to the same position held before the retaliation or to an equivalent position; (C) Reinstatement of full fringe benefits and seniority rights; (D) Compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration; and (E) Any other compensatory damages allowable at law. (f) A court may award reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and expenses to a prevailing public employee."

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SECTION 2-67. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-2-41, relating to committee of doctors to develop fitness standards, licensed physician to make physical examination, contracts for assessments of employees, fee for committee members and consultants, and certification, as follows:
"45-2-41. (a) The commissioner of administrative services, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board, shall appoint up to five doctors of medicine licensed by the state and other specialists, as appropriate, to develop standards of medical and physical fitness required for persons about to be appointed to positions in the state service. Such standards shall be related to the duties required of specific positions in the state service. The commissioner of administrative services shall develop the forms to secure the information needed to determine if prospective employees meet the medical and physical fitness standards required to perform the essential functions of the relevant position. (b) If a physical examination is required by the standards of medical and physical fitness, a licensed medical practitioner may perform the assessment and report the findings to a physician in the employ of or under contract with the state or respective employing department. The licensed medical practitioner may be of the applicant's choice and at the applicant's expense or may be a licensed physician in the employ of or under contract with the state or respective employing department. When the licensed physician is in the employ of or under contract with the state or respective employing department, the assessment and findings shall be made to the respective department and shall be final, except as provided in the State Personnel Board rules. (c) The commissioner of administrative services may, through a competitive proposal process, enter into an agreement on behalf of the departments to contract with medical practitioners for the purpose of conducting assessments for medical and physical fitness as required by the standards of medical and physical fitness. In such case, each department may use the selected contractor as an expense of a departmental employee selection process or may recommend that prospective employees seek the examination at the contractor's site at the prospective employee's expense. If the prospective employee chooses to use a medical practitioner other than one selected by the department or under contract with the state on behalf of the department, the findings and recommendations of such other practitioner shall be furnished to the medical practitioner selected by the department or under contract with the state on behalf of the department for final determination of the medical and physical fitness of the prospective employee. Expenses for the medical practitioner under contract with the state on behalf of the department shall be paid by the respective employing department based upon the services provided by such medical practitioner. (d) The State Personnel Board is authorized to establish a fee and make payment of same to the consultants appointed by the commissioner of administrative services for services rendered in the development of standards of medical and physical fitness for state

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employees; provided, however, that no state employee shall receive additional compensation for services as a consultant for developing the standards of medical and physical fitness. (e) The certification required by Code Section 45-2-40 shall be completed as required in the rules of the State Personnel Board; provided, however, that if a physical examination is required by the standards for medical and physical fitness, the physical examination shall be completed prior to the date of appointment, and the reporting of results shall occur within a prescribed number of calendar days from the date of appointment."

SECTION 2-68. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-2-44, relating to State Personnel Board to adopt rules and regulations and expenditure of funds, as follows:
"45-2-44. The State Personnel Board, subject to the approval of the Governor, shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this article. The board, through the commissioner of administrative services, is authorized to expend allocated funds for the necessary forms and other incidental administrative expenses in effectuating this article. All other expenses shall be borne by the prospective employee or the respective employing department in accordance with the rules of the board."

SECTION 2-69. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-7-4, relating to annual salaries of certain state officials and cost-of-living adjustments, as follows:
"45-7-4. (a) The annual salary of each of the state officials listed below shall be as follows:
(1) Governor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 60,000.00
An allowance in an amount specified in the appropriations Act shall also be provided for the operation of the Governor's mansion.
(2) Lieutenant Governor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,920.00
(3) Adjutant general
The adjutant general shall continue to receive the pay and allowances under the same procedure as provided by law.
(4) Commissioner of Agriculture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,429.00
(5) Attorney General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114,633.00
(6) Reserved.
(7) Commissioner of Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,396.00

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(8) Reserved.

(9) Commissioner of Labor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,418.00

The above amount of salary for the Commissioner of Labor shall include any compensation received from the United States government, and the amount of state funds paid shall be reduced by the amount of compensation received from the United States government.

(10) Reserved.

(11) Each member of the Public Service Commission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96,655.00

(12) Reserved.

(13) State School Superintendent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,708.00

(14) Secretary of State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,708.00

(15) Reserved.

(16) Reserved.

(17) Reserved.

(18) Each Justice of the Supreme Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139,418.00

(19) Each Judge of the Court of Appeals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138,556.00

(20) Each superior court judge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99,862.00

Each superior court judge shall also receive any supplement paid to such judge by the county or counties of such judge's judicial circuit as may be provided for by law. Each superior court judge shall also receive reimbursement of travel expenses as provided by law.

(21) Each district attorney. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,905.00

Each district attorney shall also receive any supplement paid to such district attorney by the county or counties of such district attorney's judicial circuit as may be provided for by law. Each district attorney shall also receive reimbursement of travel expenses as provided by law.

(22) Each member of the General Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(A) Reserved. (B) Each member of the General Assembly shall also receive the allowances provided by law. The amount of the daily expense allowance

16,200.00

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which each member is entitled to receive under the provisions of Code Section 28-1-8 shall be as provided in that Code section. The mileage allowance for the use of a personal car on official business shall be the same as that received by other state officials and employees. (C) In addition to any other compensation and allowances authorized for members of the General Assembly, each member may be reimbursed for per diem differential and for actual expenses incurred in the performance of duties within the state as a member of the General Assembly in an amount not to exceed $7,000.00 per year. Expenses reimbursable up to such amount shall be limited to one or more of the following purposes: lodging, meals, per diem differential, postage, personal services, printing and publications, rents, supplies (including software), telecommunications, transportation, utilities, and purchasing or leasing of equipment. If equipment purchased by a member has a depreciated value of $100.00 or less when such member leaves office, the equipment does not need to be returned to the state. No reimbursement shall be made for any postage which is used for a political newsletter. No reimbursement shall be paid for lodging or meals for any day for which a member receives the daily expense allowance as provided in this paragraph. Such expenses shall be reimbursed upon the submission of sworn vouchers to the legislative fiscal office. Such sworn vouchers shall be accompanied by a supporting document or documents showing payment for each expense claimed or an explanation of the absence of such documentation. No sworn voucher or supporting document shall be required for per diem differential. (D) The amount of per diem differential which may be claimed for each day under subparagraph (C) of this paragraph shall be the difference between the daily expense allowance authorized for members of the General Assembly and $119.00; provided, however, that the General Appropriations Act for any fiscal year may increase such amount of $119.00 per day to an amount not in excess of the federal per diem rate then in effect for the state capital as specified by the General Services Administration. Per diem differential shall be paid by the legislative fiscal office to the member upon the member's notification to the legislative fiscal office of the days for which the daily expense allowance was received for which the member wishes to claim the per diem differential, and the legislative fiscal office shall keep a record of the days for which per diem differential is so claimed and paid. (E) For the purposes of this paragraph, a year shall begin on the convening date of the General Assembly in regular session each year and end on the day prior to the convening of the General Assembly in the next

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calendar year. Any voucher or claim for any reimbursement for any year as defined in this paragraph shall be submitted no later than the fifteenth of April immediately following the end of such year. No reimbursement shall be made on any voucher or claim submitted after that date. Any amounts remaining in such expense account at the end of the first year of the two year biennium may be claimed for expenses incurred during the second year of the two year biennium. Any amounts remaining in any expense account which are not so claimed by April 15 of the year following the second year of the biennium and any amounts claimed which are returned as hereafter provided for in this paragraph shall lapse and shall be remitted by the legislative fiscal office to the general fund of the state treasury. Any former member of the General Assembly may be reimbursed for expenses incurred while a member of the General Assembly upon compliance with the provisions of this paragraph. The Legislative Services Committee is empowered to provide such procedures as it deems advisable to administer the provisions of this paragraph, including, but not limited to, definitions of the above list of items for which reimbursement may be made and the form of the voucher or claim which must be submitted to the legislative fiscal office. In the event of any disagreement as to whether any reimbursement shall be made or any allowance shall be paid, the Legislative Services Committee shall make the final determination. In the event any reimbursement is made or any allowance is paid and it is later determined that such reimbursement or payment was made in error, the person to whom such reimbursement or payment was made shall remit to the legislative fiscal office the amount of money involved. In the event any such person refuses to make such remittance, the legislative fiscal office is authorized to withhold the payment of any other moneys to which such person is entitled until the amount of such reimbursement or payment which was made in error shall be realized.
(23) Speaker of the House of Representatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,800.00

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall also receive the salary and allowances authorized as a member of the General Assembly. Upon the taking of office by the members of the General Assembly on the convening day of the regular session of the General Assembly in 1983, the annual salary of the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall become $22,800.00. After such date, the Speaker shall also receive as additional salary a sum equal to the amount of salary over $30,000.00 per annum which is received by the Lieutenant Governor as of that date or thereafter; and the salary of the Speaker shall be adjusted at the beginning of each term so as to include such additional sum.

(24) President Pro Tempore of the Senate.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,800.00

The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall also receive the salary and allowances authorized as a member of the General Assembly.

(25) Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives

. 4,800.00

The Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives shall also receive the salary and allowances authorized as a member of the General Assembly.
(b) As a cost-of-living adjustment except as qualified below as to members and member-officers of the General Assembly, the annual salary of each state official whose salary is established by Code Section 45-7-3, this Code section, and Code Sections 45-7-20 and 45-7-21, including members of the General Assembly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives, may be increased by the General Assembly in the General Appropriations Act by a percentage not to exceed the average percentage of the general increase in salary as may from time to time be granted to employees of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government. However, any increase for such officials shall not include within-grade step increases for which employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 are eligible. Any increase granted pursuant to this subsection shall become effective at the same time that funds are made available for the increase for such employees, except increases for members and member-officers of the General Assembly. That portion of the increase determined by the Legislative Services Committee to reflect a cost-of-living increase based upon objective economic criteria shall become effective for members and member-officers at the same time that funds are made available for the increase for such employees. The balance of the increase for members and member-officers of the General Assembly shall become effective on the convening of the next General Assembly in January of the next odd-numbered year. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase.

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(c) The annual salary being received on June 30, 1980, shall be increased by 8 percent for each state official listed in subsection (a) of this Code section who:
(1) Is not a member of the General Assembly; and (2) Is not a contributing member of a state retirement system and, therefore, does not benefit by or participate in any program whereunder a portion of the employee contributions to the state retirement system are made on behalf of the employee by the employer."

SECTION 2-70. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-7-54, relating to voluntary contributions by state government employees through payroll deductions to certain not for profit organizations, as follows:
"45-7-54. (a) Any department, agency, authority, or commission of the state is authorized to deduct designated amounts from the salaries or wages of its employees and remit such moneys to not for profit organizations, associations, or corporations providing tangible services and benefits to state government or its employees. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, no such deduction shall be made unless at least 2,500 of the full-time employees of the state request such deduction. Where 2,500 or more full-time employees of the state request payroll deduction services to any not for profit organization, association, or corporation having among its objectives educational, legislative, or professional development activities related to promoting and enhancing the efficiency, productivity, and welfare of state government services or of state government employees, then the state shall provide such deductions as an additional employment benefit to its employees. (b) Where 500 or more full-time state employees who are employed in the Division of Family and Children Services or in the law enforcement, corrections officer, or registered nursing disciplines request payroll deduction services to any not for profit association having among its specific objectives (1) professional development activities related to such employment, (2) the provision of assistance to or on behalf of persons who are killed, injured, in need of medical attention, or otherwise in need of assistance while engaged in such employment or as a result of such employment, or (3) promoting or enhancing law enforcement, corrections, or registered professional nursing in the State of Georgia, then the state shall provide such deductions as an additional employment benefit to its employees. This provision shall not be interpreted to require the agency or state to provide the funds for any employee's dues or contributions. (c) The commissioner of administrative services shall have the authority to administer this Code section and to determine and compel compliance with its provisions. (d) No deduction shall be made under this Code section without the express written and voluntary consent of the employee. Each such request shall designate the exact amount to be deducted. Any employee who consents to such deduction is authorized to terminate the

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deduction with two weeks' written notice to the department, agency, authority, or commission. (e) No deduction shall be made under this Code section to any organization, association, or corporation which engages in collective bargaining with the state or encourages its members to strike or stop work. (f) Each department, agency, authority, or commission of the state shall collect from the deductions withheld a cost of administration fee not to exceed 1 percent of the total deduction collected. (g) No person shall disclose to any other person the name of any employee deducting amounts, or the organizations, associations, or corporations designated, except as is necessary to accomplish the purpose of this article or as otherwise authorized in writing by the individual employee. (h) Departments, agencies, authorities, and commissions and their employees shall not incur any liability for errors or omissions made in performance of the payroll deduction agreement between the state and the employee, provided that this Code section does not confer immunity from criminal or civil liability for conversion, theft by conversion, theft by taking, theft by extortion, theft by deception, or any other intentional misappropriation of the money or property of another."

SECTION 2-71. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-10-20, relating to definitions, as follows:
"45-10-20. As used in this part, the term:
(1) 'Agency' means any agency, authority, department, board, bureau, commission, committee, office, or instrumentality of the State of Georgia but shall not mean a political subdivision of the State of Georgia. (2) 'Business' means any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, organization, self-employed individual, trust, or other legal entity. (3) 'Employee' means any person who, pursuant to a written or oral contract, is employed by an agency. (4) 'Family' means spouse and dependents. (5) 'Full-time' means 30 hours of work for the state per week for more than 26 weeks per calendar year. (6) 'Limited powers' means those powers other than state-wide powers. (7) 'Part-time' means any amount of work other than full-time work. (8) 'Person' means any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, organization, or other legal entity. (9) 'Public official' means any person elected to a state office and means any person appointed to a state office where in the conduct of such office the person so appointed has

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administrative and discretionary authority to receive and expend public funds and to perform certain functions concerning the public which are assigned to him or her by law. (10) 'State-wide powers' means those powers exercised by public officials which affect and influence all of state government. Public officials who exercise such powers include but are not limited to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, members of the General Assembly, Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeals, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the state auditor, the state accounting officer, the commissioner of administrative services, members of the State Personnel Board, the director of the Office of Planning and Budget, judges of the superior courts, and district attorneys. (11) 'Substantial interest' means the direct or indirect ownership of more than 25 percent of the assets or stock of any business. (12) 'Transact business' or 'transact any business' means to sell or lease any personal property, real property, or services on behalf of oneself or on behalf of any third party as an agent, broker, dealer, or representative and means to purchase surplus real or personal property on behalf of oneself or on behalf of any third party as an agent, broker, dealer, or representative."

SECTION 2-72. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-10-27, relating to construction of part with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Administration, as follows:
"45-10-27. This part shall in no way supersede any provision of Chapter 20 of this title or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto."

SECTION 2-73. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-12-72, relating to establishment of Office of Planning and Budget, and general provisions, as follows:
"45-12-72. (a) There is established in the office of the Governor the Office of Planning and Budget as a separate budget unit for the purpose of promoting economy and efficiency in the fiscal management of the state government. The Governor shall be ex officio director of the budget. (b) The Governor, through the Office of Planning and Budget, shall have such supervision of every public department, agency, and institution as shall be necessary to secure uniformity and accuracy of accounts and efficient conduct of its fiscal affairs. He may inquire into the methods of conducting the affairs of any public body; he may prescribe and direct the use of such forms of accounts, records, and reports as may be necessary to further efficiency and an adequate system of records for budget-making purposes; and he may prescribe and direct the use of standards of efficiency for public employees, including the establishment of working hours.

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(c) The administrative head of the Office of Planning and Budget is the director of the Office of Planning and Budget, who shall be appointed by the Governor to serve at the Governor's pleasure. The director shall be responsible for management of the office and shall exercise supervision and control over the office. The director of the Office of Planning and Budget is authorized to employ such other professional, technical, and clerical personnel as the director may deem necessary to carry out the duties prescribed in this part. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the employees of the Office of Planning and Budget shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, under Article 1 of Chapter 20 of this title. The Office of Planning and Budget shall pay its share of the administrative cost of operating the state system of personnel management in the manner prescribed in Code Section 45-20-4. All employees in the position classification policy coordinator shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. Any and all salary increases for such employees shall be based, in part, on each individual employee's job performance as measured by a standard operative appraisal system and, in part, on general increases given to all state employees. The Governor is authorized to delegate to the director of the Office of Planning and Budget such powers, duties, and authority under this part as the Governor deems advisable; and the Governor shall have the right to retract any such delegation at any time. (d) The Attorney General, the state treasurer, the Comptroller General, the state revenue commissioner, and the state auditor shall render such advice and assistance and furnish such information to the Office of Planning and Budget as may be requested and needed."

SECTION 2-74. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-15-30, relating to the Department of Law, assistants, deputies, and other support personnel, determination of duties, salaries, and effect promotions, limitation on private practice of law, and disclosure requirement for assistant attorney general representing criminal defendant, as follows:
"45-15-30. There is created a Department of Law with the Attorney General at the head thereof and with such numbers of deputy attorneys general, assistant attorneys general, special assistant attorneys general, other attorneys, paraprofessional personnel, and other employees or independent contractors as the Attorney General shall deem necessary to carry out the functions of the Attorney General and the Department of Law. The Attorney General is authorized to determine the title and to change the title of any attorney or other employee of the Department of Law or any attorney at law under independent contract to the Department of Law in order to define the duties and responsibilities of any attorney or other employee of the said department and to establish salaries and effect promotions of any such attorney or other employee of the said department, except that those positions in the department which are within the classified service on April 18, 1975, shall be covered by the procedures prescribed by the State Personnel Board. Neither the Attorney General nor any other attorney at law employed full time by the Department of Law shall engage

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in the private practice of law during his or her term of appointment. Attorneys at law under independent contract to the Department of Law may engage in the private practice of law even though they may have been appointed or designated either specially or generally as assistant attorneys general or attorneys. Notwithstanding that any attorney at law under independent contract to the Department of Law has been appointed or designated either specially or generally as an assistant attorney general and thus is identified with the State of Georgia as its representative for cases arising within the scope of that appointment or designation, representation of a defendant in criminal proceedings by that assistant attorney general shall not constitute a conflict of interest if that assistant attorney general provides written disclosure of such appointment or designation to the defendant prior to accepting employment by that defendant or, when a court has appointed an assistant attorney general to represent an indigent criminal defendant, disclosures to the defendant and to the court, to be reflected in the record of that court, such appointment or designation as assistant attorney general."

SECTION 2-75. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-16-11, relating to compensation of county coroners, increases, calculation, supplements, and expenses, as follows:
"45-16-11. (a)(1) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the minimum annual salary of each coroner in any of the counties in this state in the following population brackets shall be fixed according to the population of the county in which he or she serves, as determined by the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each such coroner shall receive an annual salary, payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of the coroner's county, of not less than the amount fixed in the following schedule:

Population

Minimum Salary

0 -- 11,889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,200.00

11,890 -- 19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,400.00

20,000 -- 34,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,600.00
(2) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, where applicable, shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance

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based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, shall be increased by a percentage or an amount not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and in Code Section 45-16-11.1, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (3) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the coroner in such amount as it may fix from time to time; but no coroner's compensation supplement shall be decreased during any term of office. Any prior expenditure of county funds to supplement the coroner's salary in the manner authorized by this paragraph is ratified and confirmed. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of the coroner. (b) The amounts provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section and Code Section 45-16-11.1, as increased by paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall be increased by multiplying said amounts by the percentage which equals 5 percent times the number of completed four-year terms of office served by any coroner after December 31, 2000, effective the first day of January following the completion of each such period of service. (c) The minimum salaries provided for under this Code section shall be in addition to any fees paid by the county governing authority to the coroner on a per-call basis and in addition to any expenses. (d) The minimum salaries provided for in this Code section shall be considered as salary only. Expenses for deputies, equipment, supplies, copying equipment, and other necessary and reasonable expenses for the operation of a coroner's office shall come from funds other than the funds specified as salary in this Code section. (e) This Code section shall not be construed to reduce the salary of any coroner in office on July 1, 2001; provided, however, that successors to such coroners in office on July 1, 2001, shall be governed by the provisions of this Code section. All local legislation

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in effect on July 1, 2001, or enacted thereafter affecting compensation for coroners of the various counties shall be of full force and effect except where the same provides for a salary lower than provided in this Code section, in which event this Code section shall prevail."

SECTION 2-76. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-18-50, relating to definitions, as follows:
"45-18-50. As used in this article, the term:
(1) Reserved. (2) 'Council' means the Employee Benefit Plan Council established in Code Section 45-18-51. (3) 'Employee' means a member of the General Assembly or a person who works full time for the state and receives his or her compensation in a direct payment from a department, agency, authority, or institution of state government; a county department of family and children services or a county department of health; the Federal-State Shipping Point Inspection Service; the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund; a member of any local board of education; and public school teachers and public school employees as defined in Code Sections 20-2-880 and 20-2-910, exclusive of the members, employees, and officials of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. (4) 'Full time' means the employment of a person who works at least 30 hours per week and whose employment is intended to be continuing employment. This would exclude any student, seasonal, intermittent, or part-time employment; provided, however, that public school teachers and public school employees as defined in Code Sections 20-2-880 and 20-2-910 shall be deemed to be employed full time for the purposes of this article. This would also exclude employment intended for only a very limited duration or in a sheltered employment program for the purpose of training or transitioning a person into the continued employment environment."

SECTION 2-77. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-18-51, relating to creation of council, membership, terms of office, and vacancies, compensation and expense reimbursement, officers, executive secretary and staff support, meetings, adoption of procedures, and promulgation of rules and regulations, as follows:
"45-18-51. (a)(1) There is created an Employee Benefit Plan Council consisting of the following ten members appointed by the Governor: (A) The five members of the State Personnel Board who shall serve for terms of office which correspond with their terms of office on the State Personnel Board;

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(B) Two department heads who have employees eligible to participate in the employee benefit plans, which department heads shall serve for terms of office of four years; provided, however, that the initial term of one of such appointees shall be two years; and provided, further, that the office of such a member shall become vacant if he or she ceases to be a department head; (C) Two state employees who are eligible to participate in the employee benefit plans, which state employees shall serve for terms of office of four years; provided, however, that the initial term of one of such appointees shall be two years; and provided, further, that the office of such a member shall become vacant if he or she ceases to be a state employee; and (D) One member from a corporation domiciled in the State of Georgia that insures or administers employee benefit plans, which member shall serve for a term of office of four years. (2) Successors to the members of the council provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall have the same qualifications and shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of office of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. A vacancy on the council shall be filled by the Governor appointing a successor who possesses the same qualifications as his or her predecessor and who shall serve for the unexpired term. (b) The members of the council who are in state employment shall serve without compensation but, subject to fund availability, shall be reimbursed by the state department in which they are employed for all necessary expenses that may be incurred in the performance of their duties under this article in accordance with state travel regulations promulgated by the State Accounting Office. For those councilmembers who are not in state employment, the expense and mileage allowance shall be the same as that authorized for the General Assembly and shall be payable, subject to fund availability, from the Department of Administrative Services. (c) The Governor shall appoint one member to act as chairperson for a term specified by the Governor until a successor is duly appointed. The council shall elect one of its members as vice-chairperson to act in the absence of the chairperson. If the office of chairperson is vacated for any reason, the Governor shall appoint a successor. (d) Meetings of the council shall be scheduled at the discretion of the council chairperson and, where feasible, concomitant with the meetings of the State Personnel Board as provided in Chapter 20 of this title. All meetings of the council shall be open to the public. (e) The council shall adopt procedures for the conduct of its activities. (f) The commissioner of administrative services shall serve as executive secretary to the council and provide the council with staff support and other assistance in carrying out its duties. (g) In the promulgation of rules and regulations, the council shall be governed by Chapter 20 of this title."

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SECTION 2-78. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-18-55, relating to commissioner of personnel administration as executive officer and custodian, as follows:
"45-18-55. The commissioner of administrative services shall be the executive officer for the administration of this article and the custodian of such fund or funds as may be required in the implementation of this article. The commissioner of administrative services shall employ such personnel as may be necessary to carry out his or her duties and responsibilities under this article."

SECTION 2-79. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-18-70, relating to establishment and operation of the Capitol Hill Day-care Center, as follows:
"45-18-70. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the commissioner of administrative services in conjunction with the Georgia Building Authority is authorized by contract or otherwise to establish, equip, and operate a day-care center as a capitol hill pilot program for the purpose of serving children who are members of households of employees of state government in and around the state capitol. The commissioner of administrative services in conjunction with the Georgia Building Authority is authorized to establish or provide for the establishment of appropriate fees and charges to be chargeable against the state employees who are beneficiaries of services provided by such facility to pay for the cost of their operation and to accept money, equipment, or other property donated for use in connection with the facility."

SECTION 2-80. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-18-72, relating to start-up costs, as follows:
"45-18-72. The commissioner of administrative services shall present recommendations no later than December 1, 1986, for funding any start-up costs of the pilot project."

SECTION 2-81. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-19-22, relating to definitions, as follows:
"45-19-22. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Administrator' means the administrator of the Commission on Equal Opportunity provided for by Code Section 45-19-24, which agency is composed of an Equal Employment Division and a Fair Housing Division.

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(2) 'Board' means the Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Equal Opportunity created by Code Section 45-19-23. (3) 'Disability' means a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities, unless an employer demonstrates that the employer is unable to accommodate reasonably to an employee's or prospective employee's disability without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's operation. (4) 'Discrimination' means any direct or indirect act or practice of exclusion, distinction, restriction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or any other act or practice of differentiation or preference in the treatment of a person or persons because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or age or the aiding, abetting, inciting, coercing, or compelling of such an act or practice. This term shall not include any direct or indirect act or practice of exclusion, distinction, restriction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or any other act or practice of differentiation or preference in the treatment of a person or persons because of religion if an employer demonstrates that the employer is unable to accommodate reasonably an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's operation. (5) 'Public employer' or 'employer' means any department, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other agency of the state which employs 15 or more employees within the state for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. A person elected to public office in this state is a public employer with respect to persons holding positions or individuals applying for positions which are subject to the state system of personnel administration created by Chapter 20 of this title, including the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Personnel Board or any personnel merit system of any agency or authority of this state. A person elected to public office in this state is not a public employer with respect to persons holding positions or individuals applying for positions on such officer's personal staff or on the policy-making level or as immediate advisers with respect to the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers of the office held by such officer. (6) 'Public employment' means employment by any department, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other agency of the State of Georgia. (7) 'Religion' means all aspects of religious observance and practice as well as belief. (8) 'Unlawful practice' means an act or practice declared to be an unlawful practice in Code Sections 45-19-29 through 45-19-31, 45-19-32, or 45-19-45."

SECTION 2-82. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-21-1, relating to definitions, as follows:

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"45-21-1. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Agency' means any agency as defined in Code Section 45-20-2, any authority, or any public corporation, but shall not include the board of regents and units of the University System of Georgia. (2) 'Appointing authority' means a person or group of persons authorized by law or delegated authority to make appointments to fill employee positions in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch of state government. (3) 'Board' means the State Personnel Board. (4) 'Commissioner' means the commissioner of administrative services or his or her designee. (5) 'Goal based plan' means a plan developed by the board or other appointing authority under subsection (d) of Code Section 45-21-2 designed to measure performance against business objectives or performance targets. (6) 'Incentive compensation plan' means a plan developed by the board under Chapter 20 of this title and subsection (c) of Code Section 45-21-2 or other appointing authority under subsection (c) of Code Section 45-21-2. (7) 'Incentive payment' means a one-time lump sum payment or a predetermined quarterly payment that does not become a part of base salary. (8) 'Meritorious award program' means a program developed by the board or other appointing authority under subsection (b) of Code Section 45-21-2."

SECTION 2-83. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-23-3, relating to definitions, as follows:
"45-23-3. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Controlled substance' means any drug, substance, or immediate precursor included in the definition of the term 'controlled substance' in paragraph (4) of Code Section 16-13-21. (2) 'Convicted' or 'conviction' refers to a final conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction or the acceptance of a plea of guilty. (3) 'Dangerous drug' means any drug or substance defined as such under Code Section 16-13-71. (4) 'Marijuana' means any substance described in paragraph (16) of Code Section 16-13-21. (5) 'Public employee' means any person employed on a full-time, part-time, temporary, or intermittent basis by the state, including any agency, authority, department, bureau, or instrumentality thereof, or by any entity covered under the state system of personnel administration created by Chapter 20 of this title. Such term shall also include all employees, officials, or administrators of any public school system, including, but not

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limited to, primary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions operated by local or independent boards of education that receive any funds from the State of Georgia or any agency thereof. (6) 'Public employer' means any state agency, department, board, bureau, or other instrumentality. This term also includes any agency covered under the state system of personnel administration created by Chapter 20 of this title or any public school system, including, but not limited to, primary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions operated by local or independent boards of education that receive any funds from the State of Georgia or any agency thereof. (7) 'Public employment' means employment by any public employer."

SECTION 2-84. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-23-4, relating to suspension or termination of public employee convicted of drug offense, as follows:
"45-23-4. (a) Any public employee who is convicted for the first time, under the laws of this state, the United States, or any other state, of any criminal offense involving the manufacture, distribution, sale, or possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug shall be suspended from his or her public employment for a period of not less than two months. Any such employee shall be required as a condition of completion of suspension to complete a drug abuse treatment and education program licensed under Chapter 5 of Title 26 and approved by: (1) the State Personnel Board in the case of employees employed by departments or agencies subject to the board's rules and regulations, as such terms are defined in Code Section 45-20-2; or (2) the public employer having management and control of the employee in the case of other public employees. (b) Any public employee who is convicted for a second or subsequent time, under the laws of this state, the United States, or any other state, of any criminal offense involving the manufacture, distribution, sale, or possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug shall be terminated from his or her public employment and shall be ineligible for other public employment for a period of five years from the most recent date of conviction."

SECTION 2-85. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-23-7, relating to continuance of employment for drug user, and requirements and procedure, as follows:
"45-23-7. On and after July 1, 1990, if, prior to an arrest for an offense involving a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug, a public employee notifies the employee's public employer that the employee illegally uses a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug and is receiving or agrees to receive treatment under a drug abuse treatment and education program licensed under Chapter 5 of Title 26 and approved by: (1) the State

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Personnel Board in the case of employees employed by departments or agencies subject to the board's rules and regulations, as such terms are defined in Code Section 45-20-2; or (2) the public employer having management and control of the employee in the case of other public employees, the public employee shall be entitled to maintain the employee's public employment for up to one year as long as the employee follows the treatment plan. During this period, the public employee shall not be separated from public employment solely on the basis of the employee's drug dependence, but the employee's work activities may be restructured if practicable to protect persons or property. No statement made by an employee to a supervisor of the public employee or other person in order to comply with this Code section shall be admissible in any civil, administrative, or criminal proceeding as evidence against the public employee. The rights granted by this Code section shall be available to a public employee only once during a five-year period and shall not apply to any public employee who has refused to be tested or who has tested positive for a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug."

SECTION 2-86. Said Title 45 is further amended by revising Code Section 45-23-8, relating to administrative procedures, as follows:
"45-23-8. Administrative procedures for the implementation of this chapter shall be promulgated by the State Personnel Board for departments or agencies subject to the board's rules and regulations, as such terms are defined in Code Section 45-20-2 and by other public employers for other public employees under their management and control. Such procedures shall include those elements of due process of law required by the Constitution of Georgia and the United States Constitution."

SECTION 2-87. Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public utilities and public transportation, is amended by revising Code Section 46-2-42, relating to employment of assistant director of Utility Finance Section, employment of accountants, statisticians, experts, and clerical personnel, and classification of employees, as follows:
"46-2-42. (a) The director of the Utility Finance Section shall employ an assistant director who shall be employed at the pleasure of the commission and as provided by law. (b) The director shall employ such accountants, statisticians, experts, and clerical personnel as are necessary for the effective performance of the duties of the section, and such employees shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (c) Rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board concerning compensation and promotion shall not apply to employees of the Utility Finance Section."

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SECTION 2-88. Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising Code Section 48-2-5, relating to the office of deputy state revenue commissioner, as follows:
"48-2-5. (a) There is created the office of deputy state revenue commissioner, who shall exercise the authority of the commissioner in matters specified by law and in any other such matters as the commissioner may delegate to him or her in writing. The actions of the deputy commissioner, within the scope of his or her authority, shall have the same force and effect as the actions of the commissioner. (b) The deputy commissioner shall be appointed by the commissioner. He or she shall hold office at the pleasure of the commissioner and shall not be subject to the state system of personnel administration provided by Chapter 20 of Title 45. The deputy commissioner shall take the oath of office of the commissioner as provided in subsection (d) of Code Section 48-2-2. (c) The deputy commissioner shall receive a salary as determined by the commissioner, subject to the approval of the Office of Planning and Budget and paid from funds appropriated by the department. The deputy commissioner's salary shall in no event exceed the salary of the commissioner. (d) The deputy commissioner shall execute and file an official surety bond approved as to form and sufficiency by the Attorney General in the same amount as required for the commissioner by subsection (e) of Code Section 48-2-2. The premium on the bond shall be paid as an expense of the department. (e) The deputy commissioner shall have the authority of the commissioner to:
(1) Issue licenses; (2) Make proposed and final assessments; (3) Deny protests and claims for refund; (4) Issue summons of garnishment; (5) Enter into agreements extending statutory periods of limitation; (6) Issue, amend, and cancel tax executions; and (7) Execute all documents and papers necessary for the performance of his or her or the commissioner's duties or for the exercise of his or her authority or the authority of the commissioner which has been delegated to him or her in writing."

SECTION 2-89. Said Title 48 is further amended by revising Code Section 48-2-6, relating to departmental organization, employees, compensation, and collection of delinquent taxes by contractors, as follows:
"48-2-6. (a) The commissioner shall establish by executive order such units within the department as he or she deems proper for its administration and shall designate persons to be directors

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and assistant directors of such units to exercise such authority as he or she may delegate to them in writing. (b) The commissioner shall have the authority to employ as many persons as he or she deems necessary for the administration of the department and for the discharge of the duties of his or her office. He or she shall issue all necessary directions, instructions, orders, and rules applicable to such persons. He or she shall have authority, as he or she deems proper, to employ, assign, compensate, and discharge employees of the department within the limitations of the department's appropriation, the requirements of the state system of personnel administration, including the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, and the restrictions set forth by law. (c) All employees of the department shall be compensated upon a fixed salary basis and no person shall be compensated for services to the department on a commission or contingent fee basis. (d) Neither the commissioner nor any officer or employee of the department shall be given or receive any fee, compensation, loan, gift, or other thing of value in addition to the compensation and expense allowance provided by law for any service or pretended service either rendered or to be rendered as commissioner or as an officer or employee of the department. (e) The commissioner is authorized to provide for the collection of delinquent taxes, including penalties and interest, by contractors. Any such contractors must be approved by the commissioner. No employee of the department shall be approved as a contractor under this subsection. Such contractors shall be compensated only on a commission or contingent fee basis."

SECTION 2-90. Said Title 48 is further amended by revising Code Section 48-5-183, relating to salaries of tax collectors and tax commissioners, as follows:
"48-5-183. (a) Nothing contained in this Code section shall apply to any tax commissioner or tax collector who is compensated by the fee system of compensation in lieu of a fixed salary. On and after January 1, 1995, no tax collector or tax commissioner in a county having a population of 45,000 or more shall be entitled to fees authorized by Code Section 48-5-180 or Code Section 40-2-33.
(b)(1) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, except for the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the minimum annual salary of each tax collector and tax commissioner who is compensated by an annual salary shall be fixed according to the population of the county in which he or she serves, as determined by the United States decennial census of 2000 or any future such census; provided, however, that such annual salary shall be recalculated in any year following a census year in which the Department of Community Affairs publishes a census estimate for the county prior to July 1 in such year that is higher than the immediately preceding decennial census. Each such officer

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shall receive an annual salary, payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of his or her county, of not less than the amount fixed in the following schedule:

Population

Minimum Salary

0 - 5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 29,832.20

6,000 - 11,889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,967.92

11,890 - 19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,408.38

20,000 - 28,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,721.70

29,000 - 38,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,035.03

39,000 - 49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,352.46

50,000 - 74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,164.60

75,000 - 99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,800.09

100,000 - 149,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,434.13

150,000 - 199,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,344.56

200,000 - 249,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,458.82

250,000 - 299,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,682.66

300,000 - 399,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,207.60

400,000 - 499,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,316.72

500,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,425.84
(2) Whenever the state employees subject to compensation plans authorized and approved in accordance with Code Section 45-20-4 receive a cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase of a certain percentage or a certain amount, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, in subsection (g) of Code Section 48-5-137, and, where applicable, in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-213, or the amounts derived by increasing each of said amounts through the application of longevity increases pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section, where applicable shall be increased by the same percentage or same amount applicable to such state employees. If the cost-of-living increase or general performance based increase received by state employees is in different percentages or different amounts as to certain categories of employees, the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, in subsection (g) of Code Section 48-5-137, and, where applicable, in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-213, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, shall be increased by a percentage or an amount

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not to exceed the average percentage or average amount of the general increase in salary granted to the state employees. The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase or average amount increase when necessary. The periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, in subsection (g) of Code Section 48-5-137, and, where applicable, in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-213, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases, as authorized by this paragraph shall become effective on the first day of January following the date that the cost-of-living increases received by state employees become effective; provided, however, that if the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective on January 1, such periodic changes in the amounts fixed in the minimum salary schedule in paragraph (1) of this subsection, in subsection (g) of Code Section 48-5-137, and, where applicable, in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-213, or the amounts derived through the application of longevity increases as authorized by this paragraph, shall become effective on the same date that the cost-of-living increases or general performance based increases received by state employees become effective. (3) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the tax commissioner in such amount as it may fix from time to time; but no tax commissioner's compensation supplement shall be decreased during any term of office. Any prior expenditure of county funds to supplement the tax commissioner's salary in the manner authorized by this paragraph is ratified and confirmed. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of the tax commissioner. (c) In any county in which more than 50 percent of the population of the county according to the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census resides on property of the United States government which is exempt from taxation by this state, the population of the county for the purpose of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be deemed to be the total population of the county minus the population of such county which resides on property of the United States government. (d) The amounts provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section, subsection (g) of Code Section 48-5-137, and, where applicable, Code Section 21-2-213, as increased by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section, shall be increased by multiplying said amounts by the percentage which equals 5 percent times the number of completed four-year terms of office served by any tax collector or tax commissioner after December 31, 1976, effective the first day of January following the completion of each such period of service. This Code section shall not be construed to affect any local legislation except where the local legislation provides for a salary lower than the salary provided in this Code section, in which event this Code section shall prevail. This Code section shall not be construed to reduce the salary of any tax collector or tax commissioner in office on July 1, 1991; provided, however, that successors to such tax collectors and tax commissioners in office on July 1, 1991, shall be governed by the provisions of this Code

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section. The minimum salaries provided for in this Code section shall be considered as salary only. Expenses for deputies, equipment, supplies, copying equipment, and other necessary and reasonable expenses for the operation of a tax collector's or tax commissioner's office shall come from funds other than the funds specified as salary in this Code section. (e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code section, any tax collector or tax commissioner who, prior to July 1, 1979, was entitled to the commissions allowed by Code Section 40-2-33 may elect to receive the salary he or she was receiving prior to July 1, 1979, together with such commissions relating to the sale of motor vehicle license plates in lieu of the minimum salary provided in subsection (b) of this Code section. (f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code section, any tax collector or tax commissioner who, prior to January 1, 1980, was receiving a salary lower than the applicable minimum salary provided by subsection (b) of this Code section pursuant to a local law but who also was receiving certain fees and commissions in addition thereto may elect to be excluded from this Code section. (g) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (f) of this Code section, any local Acts in effect on or enacted subsequent to January 1, 1980, which deal with the compensation of the various tax collectors or tax commissioners, shall remain in full force and effect, except in those instances where such local Acts provide for a salary which is less than the minimum salary provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, in which event this Code section shall prevail. (h) This Code section shall not be construed so as to place any tax collector or tax commissioner who is on the fee system of compensation on January 1, 1980, on a salary system of compensation. Any such officer who is compensated under the fee system of compensation on January 1, 1980, shall continue to be compensated pursuant to the fee system of compensation until the General Assembly abolishes by local Act the fee system of compensation for such officer and places him or her on an annual salary equal to or greater than the minimum annual salary provided in this Code section."

SECTION 2-91. Said Title 48 is further amended by revising Code Section 48-5-263, relating to qualifications, duties, and compensation of appraisers, as follows:
"48-5-263. (a) Qualifications.
(1) The commissioner shall establish, and the Department of Administrative Services may review, the qualifications and rate of compensation for each appraiser grade. (2) Each appraiser shall, before his or her employment, obtain a satisfactory grade, as determined by the commissioner, on an examination prepared by the commissioner and an institution of higher education in this state.

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(b) Duties. Each member of the county property appraisal staff shall: (1) Make appraisals of the fair market value of all taxable property in the county other than property returned directly to the commissioner; (2) Maintain all tax records and maps for the county in a current condition. This duty shall include, but not be limited to, the mapping, platting, cataloging, and indexing of all real and personal property in the county; (3) Prepare annual assessments on all taxable property appraised in the county and submit the assessments for approval to the county board of tax assessors; (4) Prepare annual appraisals on all tax-exempt property in the county and submit the appraisals to the county board of tax assessors; (5) Prepare and mail assessment notices after the county board of tax assessors has determined the final assessments; (6) Attend hearings of the county board of equalization and provide information to the board regarding the valuation and assessments approved by the county board of tax assessors on those properties concerning which appeals have been made to the county board of equalization; (7) Provide information to the department as needed by the department and in the form requested by the department; (8) Attend the standard approved training courses as directed by the commissioner for all minimum county property appraisal staffs; (9) Compile sales ratio data and furnish the data to the commissioner as directed by the commissioner; (10) Comply with the rules and regulations for staff duties established by the commissioner; and (11) Inspect mobile homes located in the county to determine if the proper decal is attached to and displayed on the mobile home by the owner as provided by law; notify the residents of those mobile homes to which a decal is not attached of the provisions of Code Sections 48-5-492 and 48-5-493; and furnish to the tax collector or tax commissioner a periodic list of those mobile homes to which a decal is not attached.
(c) Compensation. Staff appraisers shall be paid from county funds. The rates of compensation established by the commissioner shall not preclude any county from paying a higher rate of compensation to any appraiser grade."

SECTION 2-92. Said Title 48 is further amended by revising Code Section 48-5-267, relating to state payments for minimum staff of appraisers, and state salary supplements for qualified appraisers, as follows:
"48-5-267. (a) An amount which is equal to one-half of the total compensation payable to the minimum staff in all of the counties, as determined by the commissioner with the approval

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of the Department of Administrative Services, shall be paid to the counties by the department in the following manner:
(1) The greater of 15 percent of the amount appropriated and deemed available by the commissioner for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this part regarding minimum staff compensation or $200,000.00, if deemed available by the commissioner, shall be distributed equally among all of the counties of the state; and (2) The payment to be made to each county from the remainder of the amount after distribution as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, if any, shall be equal to the remaining amount multiplied by a fraction, the denominator of which is the total of all parcels of real property located within the state and the numerator of which is the number of parcels of real property located within the county. (b) Payments provided for in this Code section shall be made in the manner determined by the commissioner. The commissioner shall not make any payments to any county which: (1) Is not maintaining its records as required by this part; (2) Has not employed a minimum staff of appraisers; or (3) In the case of Class I counties, has not entered into a contract providing for the performance of the requirements of this part. (c) Payments provided for in this Code section shall be paid from funds appropriated to the department. (d) In addition to the payments for minimum staff appraisers authorized by this Code section, the commissioner, from funds appropriated for that purpose, shall pay to qualified appraisers employed by county governments salary supplements in accordance with the following provisions: (1) Each individual employed as a staff appraiser who has earned the Certified Assessment Evaluator designation or the Certified Personalty Evaluator designation, as conferred by the International Association of Assessing Officers, shall be paid a salary supplement of $1,000.00 per year; (2) Each individual employed as a staff appraiser who has earned the Georgia Certified Appraiser designation conferred by the Georgia Association of Assessing Officials shall be paid a salary supplement of $750.00 per year. The qualifications and requirements necessary for achievement of the Georgia Certified Appraiser designation shall be approved by the commissioner before any supplements are paid for this designation; and (3) Salary supplements shall be paid to each individual qualifying under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection only for the period of time he or she is actually employed by a county as a staff appraiser and only for the period of time that he or she holds the qualifying designation. Salary supplements shall be paid to each qualified individual for only one qualifying designation at any one time."

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SECTION 2-93. Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to social services, is amended by revising Code Section 49-1-5, relating to suspension and removal of county board member, county director, or employee or official of department, as follows:
"49-1-5. (a) In order that the public welfare laws of this state may be better enforced, the Governor is authorized and empowered to suspend any member of any county board, any county director, or any employee or official of the department whenever he or she shall find that good cause for such suspension exists. Such suspension shall be by executive order of the Governor, which shall state the reason therefor. A copy of such order of suspension shall be sent to the person so suspended within five days after it is issued, by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, together with a notice from the Governor or his or her executive secretary that the suspended person may be heard before the Governor at such time as may be stated in the notice, which hearing shall be not less than ten nor more than 20 days from the date of the notice. Upon such hearing, if the Governor shall find that good cause for the removal of the person so suspended exists, he or she is authorized and empowered to remove such member of any county board, any county director, or any employee or official in the department; whereupon, such person's tenure of office or employment shall terminate, subject to the right of appeal granted to any employee by or under authority of Chapter 20 of Title 45, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law. If the Governor shall find that good cause for the removal of such person does not exist, he or she shall, by appropriate executive order, restore him or her to duty. (b) In addition to removal by the Governor as specified in subsection (a) of this Code section, the director of the Division of Family and Children Services may terminate the employment of any county director or district director subject to any right of appeal granted to such terminated director by or under the authority of Chapter 20 of Title 45, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law."

SECTION 2-94. Said Title 49 is further amended by revising Code Section 49-2-2.1, relating to Department of Human Services becomes successor-in-interest to all rights, duties, and obligations of former Department of Human Resources, as follows:
"49-2-2.1. (a) The Department of Human Services shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2009, and which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Human Services pursuant to Code Section 49-2-1 and shall further succeed to any rights, privileges, entitlements, obligations, and duties of the Department of Human Resources that are in effect on June 30, 2009, which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Human Services pursuant to

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Code Section 49-2-1. Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall remain in effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by the Department of Human Services by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law. (b) The rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions entered into before July 1, 2009, by the Department of Human Resources which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Human Services pursuant to Code Section 49-2-1 shall continue to exist; and none of these rights, privileges, entitlements, and duties are impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to the Department of Human Services. In all such instances, the Department of Human Services shall be substituted for the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Human Services shall succeed to the rights and duties under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other transactions. (c) All persons employed by the Department of Human Resources in capacities which relate to the functions transferred to the Department of Human Services pursuant to Code Section 49-2-1 on June 30, 2009, shall, on July 1, 2009, become employees of the Department of Human Services in similar capacities, as determined by the commissioner of human services. Such employees shall be subject to the employment practices and policies of the Department of Human Services on and after July 1, 2009, but the compensation and benefits of such transferred employees shall not be reduced as a result of such transfer. Transferred employees who were subject to the state system of personnel administration provided for by Chapter 20 of Title 45 will lose no rights granted under such system as a result of such transfer. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on June 30, 2009, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 2009. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 2009, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the Department of Human Services. (d) On July 1, 2009, the Department of Human Services shall receive custody of the state owned real property in the custody of the Department of Human Resources on June 30, 2009, and which pertains to the functions transferred to the Department of Human Services pursuant to Code Section 49-2-1."

SECTION 2-95. Said Title 49 is further amended by revising Code Section 49-3-4, relating to appointment of staff, salaries, and power of commissioner to transfer employees, as follows:
"49-3-4. (a) The county department staff necessary to administer welfare activities within the county shall be appointed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Department of Human Services and the State Personnel Board and subject to the approval of the

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commissioner of human services. Staff appointments shall meet the qualifications prescribed by the department. (b) The salaries of the members of the staff shall be fixed by the county director in conformity with the salary schedule prescribed by the Department of Human Services. (c) The commissioner shall have power to transfer from one county to another or from one district to another any employee of a county department."

SECTION 2-96. Said Title 49 is further amended by revising Code Section 49-3-7, relating to removal of county director for falsification of qualifications, as follows:
"49-3-7. The State Personnel Board and the Department of Administrative Services shall remove from office any county director who has falsified any statement relating to his or her education, social welfare service, or other qualification, in any particular, whether material or immaterial. The application of the county director for examination, on file with the Department of Administrative Services, shall not be allowed to be varied by other evidence offered by the county director; the application itself shall be the controlling factor in the determination of its truth or untruth."

SECTION 2-97. Said Title 49 is further amended by revising Code Section 49-4A-5, relating to transfer of functions and employees of Division of Youth Services, and personnel administration, as follows:
"49-4A-5. (a) The department shall carry out all functions and exercise all powers relating to the administration, supervision, and management of juvenile detention facilities, including youth development centers, and jurisdiction over said youth development centers and other juvenile detention facilities is vested in the department. (b) Any employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice who became so employed by virtue of their transfer from the Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Human Services) on June 30, 1992, shall retain their compensation and benefits and such may not be reduced. Transferred employees who were subject to the state system of personnel administration provided for by Chapter 20 of Title 45 will lose no rights granted under such system as a result of such transfer. Retirement rights of such transferred employees existing under the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia or other public retirement systems on July 1, 1992, shall not be impaired or interrupted by the transfer of such employees and membership in any such retirement system shall continue in the same status possessed by the transferred employees on June 30, 1992. Accrued annual and sick leave possessed by said employees on June 30, 1992, shall be retained by said employees as employees of the department.

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(c)(1) The department shall conform to federal standards for a merit system of personnel administration in the respects necessary for receiving federal grants and the board is authorized and empowered to effect such changes as may, from time to time, be necessary in order to comply with such standards. (2) The department is authorized to employ, on a full-time or part-time basis, such medical, psychiatric, social work, supervisory, institutional, and other professional personnel and such clerical and other employees as may be necessary to discharge the duties of the department under this chapter. The department is also authorized to contract for such professional services as may be necessary. (3) Classified employees of the department under this chapter shall in all instances be employed and dismissed in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. (4) All personnel of the department are authorized to be members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia created in Chapter 2 of Title 47. All rights, credits, and funds in that retirement system which are possessed by state personnel transferred by provisions of this chapter to the department, or otherwise had by persons at the time of employment with the department, are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the department."

SECTION 2-98. Said Title 49 is further amended by revising Code Section 49-5-6, relating to merit system to conform to federal standards, power to employ and contract for professional services, employment and dismissal procedures, and membership in state retirement system, as follows:
"49-5-6. (a) The department shall conform to federal standards for a merit system of personnel administration in the respects necessary for receiving federal grants and the board is authorized and empowered to effect such changes as may, from time to time, be necessary in order to comply with such standards. (b) The department is authorized to employ, on a full or part-time basis, such medical, psychiatric, social work, supervisory, institutional, and other professional personnel and such clerical and other employees as may be necessary to discharge the duties of the department under this chapter. The department is also authorized to contract for such professional services as may be necessary. (c) Superintendents of training schools and other facilities and institutions now or hereafter under the jurisdiction and control of the department shall be employed and dismissed for cause by the board on the recommendation of the commissioner. Professional personnel and other employees of such training schools, facilities, and institutions shall be employed and dismissed for cause by the commissioner on the recommendation of the superintendent. All other professional personnel and all other employees of the department under this

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article shall be employed and dismissed for cause by the commissioner in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the board in regard thereto. Employees of the department under this article shall in all instances be employed and dismissed in accordance with rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. (d) All personnel of the Division of Family and Children Services are authorized to be members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, Chapter 2 of Title 47. All rights, credits, and funds in that retirement system which are possessed by state personnel transferred by provisions of this article to the division, or otherwise had by persons at the time of employment with the division, are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the division."

SECTION 2-99. Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, is amended by revising Code Section 50-5-53, relating to authorization to employ assistants, fix salaries, and make assignments, as follows:
"50-5-53. Subject to applicable rules of the State Personnel Board, the Department of Administrative Services may appoint as many assistants and employees, and fix their salaries, as are essential to the state's interest in the execution of the terms and provisions of this part. Assignment of an assistant or assistants to any of the departments, institutions, or agencies of the state may be made by the Department of Administrative Services. It shall be unlawful for any other agency of the state to employ any person for the purposes set out in this part unless that person complies with the minimum requirements for purchasing personnel established by the Department of Administrative Services."

SECTION 2-100. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-5B-2, relating to administrative units, directors, and employees, as follows:
"50-5B-2. (a) The state accounting officer shall establish such units within the State Accounting Office as he or she deems proper for its administration, including The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of the State of Georgia as separate units with distinct accounting functions, and shall designate persons to be directors and assistant directors of such units to exercise such authority as he or she may delegate to them in writing. (b) The state accounting officer shall have the authority, within budgetary limitations, to employ as many persons as he or she deems necessary for the administration of the office and for the discharge of the duties of the office. The state accounting officer shall issue all necessary directions, instructions, orders, and rules applicable to such persons. He or she shall have authority, as he or she deems proper, to employ, assign, compensate, and

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discharge employees of the office within the limitations of the office's appropriation, the requirements of the state system of personnel administration provided for in Chapter 20 of Title 45, and restrictions set forth by law."

SECTION 2-101. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-8-6, relating to divisions, sections, and offices of department, as follows:
"50-8-6. The department shall be divided into such divisions, sections, or offices as may be necessary from time to time. All divisions, sections, or offices in existence immediately prior to July 1, 1989, shall continue to exist in accordance with this article. Thereafter, divisions, sections, and offices shall be abolished, reorganized, or established from time to time by the commissioner and as otherwise specified by law. The commissioner shall appoint such directors, deputies, and assistants as may be necessary to manage such divisions, sections, and offices. Such positions shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2."
SECTION 2-102. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-8-17, relating to employees serve in unclassified service, and election option for current classified employees, as follows:
"50-8-17. Employees of the department shall serve in the classified and unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2."
SECTION 2-103. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-8-142, relating to employees, as follows:
"50-8-142. The commissioner of community affairs may appoint employees as may be necessary to implement such powers and duties as are described by this article. The employees of the Office of Rural Development shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2. The commissioner of community affairs shall describe the duties and fix the compensation for all such employees."
SECTION 2-104. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-12-71, relating to appointment, terms, and expenses of board members, as follows:
"50-12-71. (a) The board shall be composed of 17 members to be appointed as follows:

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(1) Sixteen members shall be appointed by the Governor, five members for initial terms of two years; five members for initial terms of three years; four members for initial terms of four years; and two members provided for in 1991 for initial terms of five years. Seven of the members appointed by the Governor may reside in any area of the state. Of the remaining nine members appointed by the Governor, one member shall reside in and be appointed from each of the nine districts provided in subsection (b) of this Code section. Successors to such members shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of six years; and (2) One member shall be appointed by the Commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base in Houston County, Georgia, for an initial term of four years, and successors shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of six years. This member may reside in any area of the state. (b) For the purpose of appointing nine members of the board, the state shall be divided into nine districts based upon the ZIP Code areas as designated by the United States Postal Service and as such areas exist on January 1, 1989. The nine districts shall be composed as follows: District 1:
ZIP Code Areas 305 and 307; District 2:
ZIP Code Area 306; District 3:
ZIP Code Areas 300, 301, 302, and 303; District 4:
ZIP Code Areas 304, 308, and 309; District 5:
ZIP Code Areas 310 and 312; District 6:
ZIP Code Areas 318 and 319; District 7:
ZIP Code Area 317; District 8:
ZIP Code Area 316; and District 9:
ZIP Code Areas 313, 314, and 315. (c) Of the 17 members of the board, at least 11 members shall have experience in and be representative of the aviation industry or profession. Initial appointments shall be made prior to July 1, 1989, except that the additional members provided for in 1991 shall be appointed prior to October 1, 1991. In the event a vacancy occurs in the membership of the board, the Governor shall promptly fill the same for the unexpired term. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

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(d) The board shall elect a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and such other officers as it deems advisable from its own membership. The members shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in attending meetings of the board. The board is authorized to employ such personnel as it deems necessary to enable it to carry out its duties and functions; however, such employees may not be subject to the state system of personnel administration provided for in Chapter 20 of Title 45. The board shall meet once each quarter and at such other times as the board deems necessary but not more than eight times annually."

SECTION 2-105. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-13-2, relating to definitions, as follows:
"50-13-2. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Agency' means each state board, bureau, commission, department, activity, or officer authorized by law expressly to make rules and regulations or to determine contested cases, except the General Assembly; the judiciary; the Governor; the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; the State Financing and Investment Commission; the State Properties Commission; the Board of Bar Examiners; the Board of Corrections and its penal institutions; the State Board of Workers' Compensation; all public authorities except as otherwise expressly provided by law; the State Personnel Board; the Department of Administrative Services or commissioner of administrative services; the Technical College System of Georgia; the Department of Revenue when conducting hearings relating to alcoholic beverages or relating to bona fide coin operated amusement machines or any violations relating thereto; the Georgia Tobacco Community Development Board; the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan; any school, college, hospital, or other such educational, eleemosynary, or charitable institution; or any agency when its action is concerned with the military or naval affairs of this state. The term 'agency' shall include the State Board of Education and Department of Education, subject to the following qualifications:
(A) Subject to the limitations of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, all otherwise valid rules adopted by the State Board of Education and Department of Education prior to January 1, 1990, are ratified and validated and shall be effective until January 1, 1991, whether or not such rules were adopted in compliance with the requirements of this chapter; and (B) Effective January 1, 1991, any rule of the State Board of Education or Department of Education which has not been proposed, submitted, and adopted in accordance with the requirements of this chapter shall be void and of no effect.

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(2) 'Contested case' means a proceeding, including, but not restricted to, rate making, price fixing, and licensing, in which the legal rights, duties, or privileges of a party are required by law to be determined by an agency after an opportunity for hearing. (2.1) 'Electronic' means, without limitation, analog, digital, electronic, magnetic, mechanical, optical, chemical, electromagnetic, electromechanical, electrochemical, or other similar means. (3) 'License' means the whole or part of any agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or similar form of permission required by law, but it does not include a license required solely for revenue purposes. 'Licensing' includes the agency process respecting the grant, denial, renewal, revocation, suspension, annulment, withdrawal, or amendment of a license. (3.1) 'Mailed' includes electronic means of communication. (3.2) 'Mailing list' includes electronic means of distribution. (4) 'Party' means each person or agency named or admitted as a party or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party. (5) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency. (5.1) 'Record' means information created, transmitted, received, or stored either in human perceivable form or in a form that is retrievable in human perceivable form. (6) 'Rule' means each agency regulation, standard, or statement of general applicability that implements, interprets, or prescribes law or policy or describes the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of any agency. The term includes the amendment or repeal of a prior rule but does not include the following:
(A) Statements concerning only the internal management of an agency and not affecting private rights or procedures available to the public; (B) Declaratory rulings issued pursuant to Code Section 50-13-11; (C) Intra-agency memoranda; (D) Statements of policy or interpretations that are made in the decision of a contested case; (E) Rules concerning the use or creation of public roads or facilities, which rules are communicated to the public by use of signs or symbols; (F) Rules which relate to the acquiring, sale, development, and management of the property, both real and personal, of the state or of an agency; (G) Rules which relate to contracts for the purchases and sales of goods and services by the state or of an agency; (H) Rules which relate to the employment, compensation, tenure, terms, retirement, or regulation of the employees of the state or of an agency; (I) Rules relating to loans, grants, and benefits by the state or of an agency; or (J) The approval or prescription for the future of rates or prices."

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SECTION 2-106. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-13-40, relating to office created and chief state administrative law judge, as follows:
"50-13-40. (a) There is created within the executive branch of state government the Office of State Administrative Hearings. The office shall be independent of state administrative agencies and shall be responsible for impartial administration of administrative hearings in accordance with this article. The office shall be assigned for administrative purposes only, as that term is defined in Code Section 50-4-3, to the Department of Administrative Services. (b) The head of the office shall be the chief state administrative law judge who shall be appointed by the Governor, shall serve a term of six years, shall be eligible for reappointment, and may be removed by the Governor for cause. The chief state administrative law judge shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for a period of at least five years. The chief state administrative law judge shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and shall receive a salary to be determined by the Governor. All successors shall be appointed in the same manner as the original appointment and vacancies in office shall be filled in the same manner for the remainder of the unexpired term. (c) The chief state administrative law judge shall promulgate rules and regulations and establish procedures to carry out the provisions of this article. (d) The chief state administrative law judge shall have the power to employ clerical personnel and court reporters necessary to assist in the performance of his or her duties.
(e)(1) The chief state administrative law judge shall have the power to employ full-time assistant administrative law judges who shall exercise the powers conferred upon the chief state administrative law judge in all administrative cases assigned to them. Each assistant administrative law judge shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for a period of at least three years. The chief state administrative law judge may establish different levels of administrative law judge positions and the compensation for such positions shall be determined by the chief state administrative law judge. (2) The chief state administrative law judge may appoint a special assistant administrative law judge on a temporary or case basis as may be necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the office, pursuant to a fee schedule established in advance by the chief state administrative law judge. A special assistant administrative law judge shall have the same qualifications and authority as a full-time assistant administrative law judge. (3) The chief state administrative law judge may designate in writing a qualified full-time employee of an agency other than an agency directly connected with the proceeding to conduct a specified hearing, but such appointment shall only be with the prior consent of the employee's agency. Such employee shall then serve as a special

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designated assistant administrative law judge for the purposes of the specific hearing and shall not be entitled to any additional pay for this service. (4) When the character of the hearing requires utilization of a hearing officer with special skill and technical expertise in the field, the chief state administrative law judge may so certify in writing and appoint as a special lay assistant administrative law judge a person who is not a member of the bar of this state or otherwise not qualified under this Code section. Such appointment shall specify in writing the reasons such special skill is required and the qualifications of the appointed individual. (5) The chief state administrative law judge may designate a class of hearings for which individuals with the necessary skill and training need not meet the qualifications of paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection. These full-time associate administrative law judges shall exercise the powers conferred upon the chief state administrative judge in the class of administrative cases assigned to them. The chief state administrative law judge shall determine the compensation for such positions. (f) The chief state administrative law judge and any administrative law judge employed on a full-time basis: (1) shall not otherwise engage in the practice of law; and (2) shall not, except in the performance of his or her duties in a contested case, render legal advice or assistance to any state board, bureau, commission, department, agency, or officer."

SECTION 2-107. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-13-44, relating to administrative transfer of individuals to Office of State Administrative Hearings, approval of chief state administrative law judge, funding of transferred positions, and transferred employees status, as follows:
"50-13-44. (a) Any full-time hearing officer or equivalent position, used exclusively or principally to conduct or preside over hearings for a covered agency immediately prior to July 1, 1994, shall be administratively transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings, if such employee qualifies under Code Section 50-13-40. Any person serving immediately prior to July 1, 1994, as an independent hearing officer or equivalent under contract or written order of appointment shall be administratively transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings as of July 1, 1994, and shall continue as a special assistant administrative law judge. All full-time staff of covered agencies who have exclusively or principally served as support staff for administrative hearings shall be administratively transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings as of July 1, 1994. All equipment or other tangible property in possession of covered agencies which is used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this Code section shall be transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings as of July 1, 1994. (b) All such transfers shall be subject to the approval of the chief state administrative law judge and such personnel or property shall not be transferred if the chief state

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administrative law judge determines that the hearing officer, staff, equipment, or property should remain with the transferring agency. (c) Funding for functions and positions transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings under this article shall be transferred as provided for in Code Section 45-12-90. The employees of the Office of State Administrative Hearings shall be in the unclassified service unless they are in the classified service as such term is defined by Code Section 45-20-2. (d) The chief state administrative law judge shall assess agencies the cost of services rendered to them in the conduct of hearings.
(e)(1) Any full-time hearing officer of the State Personnel Board used exclusively or principally to conduct or preside over hearings for such board immediately prior to July 1, 1997, shall be administratively transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings if such employee qualifies under Code Section 50-13-40. Any person serving immediately prior to July 1, 1997, as an independent hearing officer under contract or written order of appointment shall be administratively transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings as of July 1, 1997, and shall continue as a special assistant administrative law judge. All full-time staff of the State Personnel Board who have exclusively or principally served as support staff for administrative hearings conducted by such hearing officers shall be administratively transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings as of July 1, 1997. All equipment or other tangible property in possession of the State Personnel Board which is used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this subsection shall be transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings as of July 1, 1997. (2) Funding for functions and positions transferred to the Office of State Administrative Hearings under this subsection shall be transferred as provided for in Code Section 45-12-90."

SECTION 2-108. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-18-93, relating to duties of division, as follows:
"50-18-93. It shall be the duty of the division to:
(1) Establish and administer, under the direction of a state records management officer, who shall be employed under the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, a records management program; (2) Develop and issue procedures, rules, and regulations establishing standards for efficient and economical management methods relating to the creation, maintenance, utilization, retention, preservation, and disposition of records, filing equipment, supplies, microfilming of records, and vital records programs; (3) Assist state agencies in implementing records programs by providing consultative services in records management, conducting surveys in order to recommend more

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efficient records management practices, and providing training for records management personnel; and (4) Operate a records center or centers which shall accept all records transferred to it through the operation of approved retention schedules, provide secure storage and reference service for the same, and submit written notice to the applicable agency of intended destruction of records in accordance with approved retention schedules."

SECTION 2-109. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-25-5.1, relating to chief information officer, appointment and removal, compensation, and powers and duties, as follows:
"50-25-5.1. (a) There is created the position of the chief information officer for the State of Georgia who shall be both appointed and removed by a vote of a majority of the full membership to which the authority is entitled. The authority shall determine the compensation of the chief information officer. The chief information officer shall serve as the executive director of the authority. (b) Subject to the general policy established by the authority, the chief information officer shall have the following powers and duties in addition to those otherwise enumerated in this chapter:
(1) To supervise, direct, account for, organize, plan, administer, and execute the functions required of the chief information officer by the authority; (2) To provide assistance to agency heads in evaluating information officer performance for each agency and in selection of candidates for such positions; (3) To establish performance management standards, approved by the board regarding success of projects, agency technology performance, and authority performance; (4) To submit an annual budget for approval and adoption by the board; (5) To review periodic reports submitted by agencies; (6) To hire officers, agents, and employees, prescribe their duties and qualifications, and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the authority. Such officers, agents, and employees shall serve at the pleasure of the executive director. The executive director and other employees of the authority shall be considered state employees for purposes of employment and retirement benefits and subject to any laws, rules, or regulations governing eligibility for such benefits. Any officer or employee of the authority who is already a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia by virtue of services with another employer shall be entitled to credit for his or her services and shall not suffer any loss of such credit to which he or she is otherwise entitled. There shall be paid from the funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of the Georgia Technology Authority all employer's contributions required under this chapter; (7) To contract for the services of individuals or organizations not employed full time by the authority who or which are engaged primarily in the rendition of personal services

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rather than the sale of goods or merchandise, such as, but not limited to, the services of attorneys, accountants, systems engineers, consultants, and advisers, and to allow suitable compensation for such services; and to make provisions for group insurance, retirement, or other employee benefit arrangements, provided that no part-time or contract employees shall participate in group insurance or retirement benefits; and (8) To perform such other duties as the authority may direct from time to time."

SECTION 2-110. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-26-22, relating to transfer of personnel to Department of Community Affairs, as follows:
"50-26-22. Effective July 1, 1996, without diminishing the powers of the authority pursuant to Code Section 50-26-8, all personnel positions authorized by the authority in fiscal year 1996 shall be transferred to the Department of Community Affairs. All employees of the authority on June 30, 1996, whose positions are transferred by the authority to the Department of Community Affairs shall become employees of the Department of Community Affairs and shall become employees in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2."

SECTION 2-111. Said Title 50 is further amended by revising Code Section 50-34-18, relating to transfer of positions authorized by authority to Department of Community Affairs, as follows:
"50-34-18. Effective July 1, 2002, without diminishing the powers of the authority pursuant to Code Section 50-34-6, all personnel positions authorized by the authority in Fiscal Year 2002 shall be transferred to the Department of Community Affairs. All employees of the authority on June 30, 2002, whose positions are transferred by the authority to the Department of Community Affairs shall become employees of the Department of Community Affairs and shall become employees in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2."

PART III SECTION 3-1. Personnel, equipment, and facilities that were assigned to the State Personnel Administration as of June 30, 2012, shall be transferred to the Department of Administrative Services on the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3-2. Appropriations for functions which are transferred by this Act may be transferred as provided in Code Section 45-12-90.

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PART IV SECTION 4-1. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 4-2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

__________

CRIMES AND OFFENSES HEALTH ABORTION; CHANGE PROVISIONS REGARDING WHEN ABORTION IS LEGAL; REPORTING; PENALTIES; CONFIDENTIALITY.

No. 631 (House Bill No. 954).

AN ACT

To amend Article 5 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to abortion, so as to change certain provisions relating to criminal abortion; to change certain provisions relating to when abortion is legal; to amend Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, so as to define certain terms; to require a determination of gestational age prior to abortion; to provide for certain reporting requirements with respect to performance of abortions; to change certain provisions relating to civil and professional penalties for violations of the "Woman's Right to Know Act"; to provide for confidentiality; to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to the "Woman's Right to Know Act"; to state legislative findings; to provide for other related matters; to provide effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. The General Assembly makes the following findings:
(1) At least by 20 weeks after fertilization there is substantial evidence that an unborn child has the physical structures necessary to experience pain; (2) There is substantial evidence that, by 20 weeks after fertilization, unborn children seek to evade certain stimuli in a manner which in an infant or an adult would be interpreted as a response to pain;

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(3) Anesthesia is routinely administered to unborn children who have developed 20 weeks or more past fertilization who undergo prenatal surgery; (4) Even before 20 weeks after fertilization, unborn children have been observed to exhibit hormonal stress responses to painful stimuli. Such responses were reduced when pain medication was administered directly to such unborn children; (4.1) Probable gestational age is an estimate made to assume the closest time to which the fertilization of a human ovum occurred and does not purport to be an exact diagnosis of when such fertilization occurred; and (5) It is the purpose of the State of Georgia to assert a compelling state interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates that they are capable of feeling pain.

SECTION 2. Article 5 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to abortion, is amended by revising Code Sections 16-12-140 and 16-12-141, relating to criminal abortion and when abortion is legal, respectively, as follows:
"16-12-140. (a) A person commits the offense of criminal abortion when, in violation of Code Section 16-12-141, he or she administers any medicine, drugs, or other substance whatever to any woman or when he or she uses any instrument or other means whatever upon any woman with intent to produce a miscarriage or abortion. (b) A person convicted of the offense of criminal abortion shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years.

16-12-141. (a) No abortion is authorized or shall be performed in violation of subsection (a) of Code Section 31-9B-2.
(b)(1) No abortion is authorized or shall be performed after the first trimester unless the abortion is performed in a licensed hospital, in a licensed ambulatory surgical center, or in a health facility licensed as an abortion facility by the Department of Community Health. (2) An abortion shall only be performed by a physician licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43. (c)(1) No abortion is authorized or shall be performed if the probable gestational age of the unborn child has been determined in accordance with Code Section 31-9B-2 to be 20 weeks or more unless the pregnancy is diagnosed as medically futile, as such term is defined in Code Section 31-9B-1, or in reasonable medical judgment the abortion is necessary to:
(A) Avert the death of the pregnant woman or avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. No such condition shall be deemed to exist if it is based on a diagnosis or claim of a mental

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or emotional condition of the pregnant woman or that the pregnant woman will purposefully engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death or in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function; or (B) Preserve the life of an unborn child. As used in this paragraph, the term 'probable gestational age of the unborn child' has the meaning provided by Code Section 31-9B-1. (2) In any case described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the physician shall terminate the pregnancy in the manner which, in reasonable medical judgment, provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive unless, in reasonable medical judgment, termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk either of the death of the pregnant woman or of the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman than would another available method. No such greater risk shall be deemed to exist if it is based on a diagnosis or claim of a mental or emotional condition of the pregnant woman or that the pregnant woman will purposefully engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death or in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. If the child is capable of sustained life, medical aid then available must be rendered. (d) Hospital or other licensed health facility records shall be available to the district attorney of the judicial circuit in which the hospital or health facility is located."

SECTION 3. Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health, is amended by adding a new Chapter 9B to read as follows:

"CHAPTER 9B

31-9B-1. (a) As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Abortion' has the meaning provided by Code Section 31-9A-2. (2) 'Medical emergency' has the meaning provided by Code Section 31-9A-2. (3) 'Medically futile' means that, in reasonable medical judgment, the unborn child has a profound and irremediable congenital or chromosomal anomaly that is incompatible with sustaining life after birth. (4) 'Physician' has the meaning provided by Code Section 31-9A-2. (5) 'Probable gestational age of the unborn child' means what will, in reasonable medical judgment and with reasonable probability, be the postfertilization age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is planned to be performed or induced, as dated from the time of fertilization of the human ovum.

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(6) 'Reasonable medical judgment' means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved. (7) 'Unborn child' has the meaning provided by Code Section 31-9A-2.

31-9B-2. (a) Except in the case of a medical emergency or when a pregnancy is diagnosed as medically futile, no abortion shall be performed or attempted to be performed unless the physician performing it has first made a determination of the probable gestational age of the unborn child or relied upon such a determination made by another physician. (b) Failure by any physician to conform to any requirement of this Code section constitutes unprofessional conduct for purposes of paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of Code Section 43-34-8 relating to medical licensing sanctions.

31-9B-3. (a) Any physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion shall report to the department, in conjunction with the reports required under Code Section 31-9A-6 and in accordance with forms and rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department:
(1) If a determination of probable gestational age was made, the probable gestational age determined and the method and basis of the determination; (2) If a determination of probable gestational age was not made, the basis of the determination that a medical emergency existed or that a pregnancy was diagnosed as medically futile; (3) If the probable gestational age was determined to be 20 or more weeks, the basis of the determination that the pregnant woman had a medically futile pregnancy or had a condition which so complicated her medical condition as to necessitate the termination of her pregnancy to avert her death or to avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, or the basis of the determination that it was necessary to preserve the life of an unborn child; and (4) The method used for the abortion and, in the case of an abortion performed when the probable gestational age was determined to be 20 or more weeks, whether the method of abortion used was one that, in reasonable medical judgment, provided the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive or, if such a method was not used, the basis of the determination that the pregnancy was medically futile or that termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk either of the death of the pregnant woman or of the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman than would other available methods. (b) By June 30 of each year, the department shall issue a public report providing statistics for the previous calendar year compiled from all of the reports covering that year submitted in accordance with this Code section for each of the items listed in subsection (a) of this

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Code section. Each such report shall also provide the statistics for all previous calendar years during which this Code section was in effect, adjusted to reflect any additional information from late or corrected reports. The department shall take care to ensure that none of the information included in the public reports could reasonably lead to the identification of any pregnant woman upon whom an abortion was performed. (c) The department shall ensure that the names and identities of the physicians filing reports under this chapter shall remain confidential. The names and identities of such physicians shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. (d) Any physician who fails to submit a report by the end of the grace period of 30 days following the due date shall be subject to sanctions as specified in subsection (e) of Code Section 31-9A-6. (e) The department shall adopt such rules and regulations as are reasonable and necessary to implement the provisions of this Code section."

SECTION 4. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 31-9A-6.1, relating to civil and professional penalties for violations of the "Woman's Right to Know Act," as follows:
"31-9A-6.1. (a) In addition to whatever remedies are available under the common or statutory law of this state, failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter shall be reported to the Georgia Composite Medical Board for disciplinary action. (b) Any plaintiff seeking relief in the form of civil remedies for a violation of Code Section 31-9B-2 shall produce clear and convincing evidence that the physician determining the probable gestational age of the fetus or the physician whose determination was relied upon was negligent in his or her determination. (c) Any female who solicits or conspires to solicit an abortion who makes a false representation of her age or name shall not have standing to state a claim against any party pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 9B of this title nor shall any agency or instrumentality of the state consider any action related to such claim."

SECTION 5. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (2) of Code Section 31-9A-2, relating to definitions relative to the "Woman's Right to Know Act," as follows:
"(2) 'Medical emergency' means any condition which, in reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant female as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of substantial or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman or death of the unborn child. No such condition shall be deemed to exist if it is

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based on a diagnosis or claim of a mental or emotional condition of the pregnant woman or that the pregnant woman will purposefully engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death or in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function."

SECTION 6. For purposes of promulgating rules and regulations, this Act shall become effective upon approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. For all other purposes, this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

__________

MOTOR VEHICLES GEORGIA MOTOR COMMON CARRIER ACT OF 2012; ENACT.

No. 632 (House Bill No. 865).

AN ACT

To enact the "Georgia Motor Common Carrier Act of 2012"; to amend Chapter 1 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the identification and regulation of motor vehicles, so as to transfer the functions of regulating motor carriers and limousine carriers from the Georgia Public Service Commission to the Georgia Department of Public Safety; to amend Code Section 40-3-26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to delivery of certificate, notice to junior security interest holders and lienholders, and disposition of certificate when first lien or security interest satisfied, so as to provide for the electronic delivery of notices of recordings of security interests and liens; to amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to drivers' licenses, so as to authorize chauffeur endorsements on driver's licenses; to modify, amend, and repeal provisions of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, so as to conform certain cross-references, remove duplication of provisions, and remove such functions from current provisions; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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PART I The Georgia Motor Carrier Act.

SECTION 1. Chapter 1 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the identification and regulation of motor vehicles, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 3 Part 1

40-1-50. This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Motor Carrier Act of 2012.'

40-1-51. The General Assembly finds that the for-hire transportation of persons and property are a privilege that require close regulation and control to protect public welfare, provide for a competitive business environment, and provide for consumer protection. To that end, the provisions of this article are enacted. This is a remedial law and shall be liberally construed. The Department of Public Safety is designated as the agency to implement and enforce this article. Exceptions contained in this article shall have no effect on the applicability of any other provision of law applicable to motor vehicles, commercial motor vehicles, operators of motor vehicles, or carrier operations.

40-1-52. There is created and established a division within the Department of Public Safety to be known as the Motor Carrier Compliance Division. The Motor Carrier Compliance Division shall consist of two sections, the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section and the Motor Carrier Regulation Compliance Section. Except as provided in Chapter 2 of Title 35, the members of the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section shall be known and designated as law enforcement officers. The Motor Carrier Regulation Compliance Section shall be responsible for the regulation of the operation of motor carriers and limousine carriers in accordance with this article and motor carrier safety and the transportation of hazardous materials as provided in Code Section 40-1-8 and Article 2 of this chapter.

40-1-53. The department is authorized to enforce this article by instituting actions for injunction, mandamus, or other appropriate relief.

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40-1-54. (a) The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate and administer the provisions of this article pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.' (b) The commissioner is authorized to issue such orders, authorizations, and modification thereof as necessary to implement this article. (c) A court shall take judicial notice of all rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this Code section.

40-1-55. Every officer, agent, or employee of any corporation and every person who violates or fails to comply with this article relating to the regulation of motor carriers and limousine carriers or any order, rule, or regulation of the Department of Public Safety, or who procures, aids, or abets therein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Misdemeanor violations of this article may be prosecuted, handled, and disposed of in the manner provided for by Chapter 13 of this title.

40-1-56. (a) Any motor carrier or limousine carrier subject to the provisions of Part 2 or Part 3 of this article that fails to register as a motor carrier or limousine carrier with the department or that is subject to the jurisdiction of the department and willfully violates any law administered by the department or any duly promulgated regulation issued thereunder, or that fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any order after notice thereof, shall be liable for a penalty not to exceed $15,000.00 for such violation and an additional penalty not to exceed $10,000.00 for each day during which such violation continues.
(b)(1) The department, after a hearing conducted after not less than 30 days' notice, shall determine whether any motor carrier has failed to register or willfully violated any law administered by the department, or any duly promulgated regulation issued thereunder, or has failed, neglected, or refused to comply with any order of the department. Upon an appropriate finding of a violation, the department may impose by order such civil penalties as are provided by subsection (a) of this Code section. In each such proceeding, the department shall maintain a record as provided in paragraph (8) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-13-13 including all pleadings, a transcript of proceedings, a statement of each matter of which the department takes official notice, and all staff memoranda or data submitted to the department in connection with its consideration of the case. All penalties and interest thereon, at the rate of 10 percent per annum, recovered by the department shall be paid into the general fund of the state treasury. (2) Any party aggrieved by a decision of the department may seek judicial review as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section. (c)(1) Any party who has exhausted all administrative remedies available before the department and who is aggrieved by a final decision of the department in a proceeding

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described in subsection (b) of this Code section may seek judicial review of the final order of the department in the Superior Court of Fulton County. (2) Proceedings for review shall be instituted by filing a petition within 30 days after the service of the final decision of the department or, if a rehearing is requested, within 30 days after the decision thereon. A motion for rehearing or reconsideration after a final decision by the department shall not be a prerequisite to the filing of a petition for review. Copies of the petition shall be served upon the department and all parties of record before the department. (3) The petition shall state the nature of the petitioner's interest, the facts showing that the petitioner is aggrieved by the decision, and the ground, as specified in paragraph (6) of this subsection, upon which the petitioner contends that the decision should be reversed. The petition may be amended by leave of court. (4) Within 30 days after service of the petition or within such further time as is stipulated by the parties or as is allowed by the court, the agency shall transmit to the reviewing court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceedings under review. By stipulation of all parties to the review proceedings, the record may be shortened. A party unreasonably refusing to stipulate that the record be limited may be taxed for the additional costs. The court may require or permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record. (5) If, before the date set for hearing, application is made to the court for leave to present additional evidence, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and there were good reasons for failure to present it in the proceedings before the agency, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the department upon such procedure as is determined by the court. The department may modify its findings and decision by reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence and any modifications, new findings, or decisions with the reviewing court. (6) The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury and shall be confined to the record. The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the department as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision of the department or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse the decision of the department if substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the department's findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:
(A) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (B) In excess of the statutory authority of the commission department; (C) Made upon unlawful procedure; (D) Clearly not supported by any reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the record as a whole; or (E) Arbitrary or capricious. (7) A party aggrieved by an order of the court in a proceeding authorized under subsection (b) of this Code section may appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia or to the

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Court of Appeals of Georgia in accordance with Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 5, the 'Appellate Practice Act.'

40-1-57. Rules, orders, and regulations previously adopted which relate to functions performed by the Pubic Service Commission which were transferred under this Article to the Department of Public Safety shall remain of full force and effect as rules, orders, and regulations of the Department of Public Safety until amended, repealed, or superseded by rules or regulations adopted by the department.

Part 2

40-1-100. As used in this part, the term:
(1) 'Carrier' means a person who undertakes the transporting of goods or passengers for compensation. (2) 'Certificate' or 'motor carrier certificate' means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to this part or under the 'Motor Carrier Act of 1929,' under the 'Motor Carrier Act of 1931,' or under prior law. (3) 'Commissioner' means the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. (4) 'Company' shall include a corporation, a firm, a partnership, an association, or an individual. (5) 'Exempt rideshare' means:
(A) Government endorsed rideshare programs; (B) Rideshare programs in which a rideshare driver seeks reimbursement for, or the rideshare participants pool or otherwise share, rideshare costs such as fuel; or (C) The leasing or rental of a vehicle, in the ordinary course of the lessor's or rentor's business, for rideshare purposes as part of a government endorsed rideshare program, or for rideshare under a contract requiring compliance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. (6) 'For compensation' or 'for hire' means an activity wherein for payment or other compensation a motor vehicle and driver are furnished to a person by another person, acting directly or knowingly and willfully acting with another to provide the combined service of the vehicle and driver, and includes every person acting in concert with, under the control of, or under common control with a motor carrier who shall offer to furnish transportation for compensation or for hire, provided that no exempt rideshare shall be deemed to involve any element of transportation for compensation or for hire. (7) 'Government endorsed rideshare program' means a vanpool, carpool, or similar rideshare operation conducted by or under the auspices of a state or local governmental transit instrumentality, such as GRTA, a transportation management association, or a community improvement district, or conducted under the auspices of such transit

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agencies, including through any form of contract between such transit instrumentality and private persons or businesses. (8) 'GRTA' means the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which is itself exempt from regulation as a carrier under Code Section 50-32-71. (9) 'Household goods' means any personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling when a part of the equipment or supplies of such dwelling and such other similar property as the commissioner may provide for by regulation; provided, however, that such term shall not include property being moved from a factory or store except when such property has been purchased by a householder with the intent to use such property in a dwelling and such property is transported at the request of, and with transportation charges paid by, the householder. (10) 'Motor carrier' means:
(A) Every person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any motor vehicle, including the lessees, receivers, or trustees of such persons or receivers appointed by any court, used in the business of transporting for hire persons, household goods, property, or engaged in the activity of nonconsensual towing pursuant to Code Section 44-1-13 for hire over any public highway in this state. (B) Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, the term 'motor carrier' shall not include:
(i) Motor vehicles engaged solely in transporting school children and teachers to and from public schools and private schools; (ii) Taxicabs which operate within the corporate limits of municipalities and are subject to regulation by the governing authorities of such municipalities; the provisions of this division notwithstanding, vehicles and the drivers thereof operating within the corporate limits of any city shall be subject to the safety regulations adopted by the commissioner of public safety pursuant to Code Section 60-1-8; (iii) Limousine carriers as provided for in Part 3 of this article; (iv) Hotel passenger or baggage motor vehicles when used exclusively for patrons and employees of such hotel; (v) Motor vehicles operated not for profit with a capacity of 15 persons or less when they are used exclusively to transport elderly and disabled passengers or employees under a corporate sponsored van pool program, except that a vehicle owned by the driver may be operated for profit when such driver is traveling to and from his or her place of work provided each such vehicle carrying more than nine passengers maintains liability insurance in an amount of not less than $100,000.00 per person and $300,000.00 per accident and $50,000.00 property damage. For the purposes of this part, elderly and disabled passengers are defined as individuals over the age of 60 years or who, by reason of illness, injury, age, congenital malfunction, or other permanent or temporary incapacity or disability, are unable to utilize mass transportation facilities as effectively as persons who are not so affected;

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(vi) Motor vehicles owned and operated exclusively by the United States government or by this state or any subdivision thereof; (vii) Vehicles, owned or operated by the federal or state government, or by any agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the federal or state government, or privately owned and operated for profit or not for profit, capable of transporting not more than ten persons for hire when such vehicles are used exclusively to transport persons who are elderly, disabled, en route to receive medical care or prescription medication, or returning after receiving medical care or prescription medication. For the purpose of this part, elderly and disabled persons shall have the same meaning as in division (iv) of this subparagraph; or (viii) Ambulances. (11) 'Passenger' means a person who travels in a public conveyance by virtue of a contract, either express or implied, with the carrier as to the payment of the fare or that which is accepted as an equivalent therefor. The prepayment of fare is not necessary to establish the relationship of passenger and carrier; although a carrier may demand prepayment of fare if persons enter his or her vehicle by his or her permission with the intention of being carried; in the absence of such a demand, an obligation to pay fare is implied on the part of the passenger, and the reciprocal obligation of carriage of the carrier arises upon the entry of the passenger. (12) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, trust, private or public corporation, municipality, county, political subdivision, public authority, cooperative, association, or public or private organization of any character. (13) 'Public highway' means every public street, road, highway, or thoroughfare of any kind in this state. (14) 'Vehicle' or 'motor vehicle' means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any combination thereof, determined by the commissioner.

40-1-101. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all motor carriers operating on the public roads of this state shall be subject to the requirements of this part and shall be deemed to have given consent to regulatory compliance inspections. (b) Unless expressly prohibited by federal law, the commissioner is vested with power to regulate the business of any person engaged in the transportation as a motor carrier of persons or property, either or both, for hire on any public highway of this state. (c) The commissioner is authorized to employ and designate a person or persons as necessary to implement and carry out the functions contained in this part. (d) All motor carriers shall:
(1) Obtain a certificate as required by this part;

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(2) Maintain liability insurance as provided in the rules and regulations of the department; (3) Act in compliance with Georgia's workers' compensation laws as provided in Chapter 9 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated; and (4) Be a United States citizen, or if not a citizen, present federal documentation verified by the United States Department of Homeland Security to be valid documentary evidence of lawful presence in the United States under federal immigration law.

40-1-102. (a) No motor carrier of passengers or household goods or property shall, except as otherwise provided in this part, operate without first obtaining from the commissioner a certificate. (b) Before a motor carrier may enter into any contract for the transportation of passengers, the motor carrier shall provide to all parties to the agreement a copy of the motor carrier's proof of legally required minimum insurance coverage and a valid certification number demonstrating that the motor carrier is currently certified by the commissioner, the Commissioner of Revenue, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or any other similarly required certifying agency. Any contract entered into in violation of this Code section shall be void and unenforceable.

40-1-103. (a) The department shall prescribe the form of the application for a motor carrier certificate and shall prescribe such reasonable requirements as to notice, publication, proof of service, maintenance of adequate liability insurance coverage, and information as may, in its judgment, be necessary and may establish fees as part of such certificate process. (b) A motor carrier certificate shall be issued to any qualified applicant, provided that such applicant is a motor carrier business domiciled in this state, authorizing the operations covered by the application if it is found that the applicant is fit, willing, and able to perform properly the service and conform to the provisions of this part and the rules and regulations of the department and has not been convicted of any felony as such violation or violations are related to the operation of a motor vehicle.

40-1-104. (a) The commissioner may, at any time after notice and opportunity to be heard and for reasonable cause, revoke, alter, or amend any motor carrier certificate, if it shall be made to appear that the holder of the certificate has willfully violated or refused to observe any of the lawful and reasonable orders, rules, or regulations prescribed by the commissioner or any of the provisions of this part or any other law of this state regulating or taxing motor vehicles, or both, or if in the opinion of the commissioner the holder of the certificate is not furnishing adequate service.

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(b) The commissioner may, at any time, after reasonable attempt at notice, immediately suspend any motor carrier certificate, if the commissioner finds such suspension necessary to protect life, health, or safety, or to protect the public and consumers. Certificate holders affected by such suspension may appeal to the commissioner for review pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedures Act.' The commissioner may exercise his or her discretion to designate a hearing officer for such appeals. (c) The commissioner, or his or her designated employees, may issue an out-of-service order or orders to a certificate holder, pursuant to the provisions of this article.

40-1-105. Any motor carrier certificate issued pursuant to this part may be transferred upon application to and approval by the commissioner, and not otherwise.

40-1-106. (a) The commissioner shall issue a motor carrier certificate to a person authorizing transportation as a motor carrier of passengers or household goods or property subject to the jurisdiction of the department if the commissioner finds that the person is fit, willing, and able to provide the transportation to be authorized by the certificate and to comply with regulations of the department. Fitness encompasses three factors:
(1) The applicant's financial ability to perform the service it seeks to provide; (2) The applicant's capability and willingness to perform properly and safely the proposed service; and (3) The applicant's willingness to comply with the laws of Georgia and the rules and regulations of the department. (b) The initial burden of making out a prima-facie case that an applicant is fit to provide such service rests with the applicant. (c) Upon an applicant making out a prima-facie case as to the motor carrier's ability to provide the service, the burden shifts to protestant to show that the authority sought should not be granted. (d) A protest of a motor carrier of passengers or of household goods or property to an application will not be considered unless the protesting motor carrier: (1) Possesses authority from the department to handle, in whole or in part, the authority which is being applied for and is willing and able to provide service and has performed service during the previous 12 month period or has actively in good faith solicited service during such period; (2) Has pending before the department an application previously filed with the department for substantially the same authority; or (3) Is granted by the commissioner leave to intervene upon a showing of other interests which in the discretion of the commissioner would warrant such a grant. (e) The commissioner may issue a certificate without a hearing if the application is unprotested or unopposed.

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40-1-107. The commissioner shall adopt rules prescribing the manner and form in which motor carriers of passengers or household goods or property shall apply for certificates required by this part. Such rules shall require that the application be in writing, under oath, and that the application:
(1) Contains full information concerning the applicant's financial condition, the equipment proposed to be used, including the size, weight, and capacity of each vehicle to be used, and other physical property of the applicant; (2) States the complete route or routes over which the applicant desires to operate and the proposed time schedule of the operation; and (3) Contains any such other or additional information as the commissioner may order or require.

40-1-108. Any motor carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner that transports passengers shall comply with the provisions of Code Section 3-3-23, concerning consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons under the age of 21. The commissioner shall provide to all motor carriers, at the time of registration or renewal of a certificate, an informational packet emphasizing the prohibition on alcohol consumption by persons under the age of 21 while being transported by the motor carrier.

40-1-109. The commissioner shall collect the following one-time fees upon initial application of a motor carrier pursuant to this part:
(1) A fee of $75.00 to accompany each application for a motor carrier certificate, or amendment to an existing certificate, where the applicant owns or operates fewer than six motor vehicles; (2) A fee of $150.00 to accompany each application for a motor carrier certificate, or amendment to an existing certificate, where the applicant owns or operates six to 15 motor vehicles; (3) A fee of $200.00 to accompany each application for a motor carrier certificate, or amendment to an existing certificate, where the applicant owns or operates more than 15 motor vehicles; (4) A fee of $75.00 to accompany each application for transfer of a motor carrier certificate; and (5) A fee of $50.00 to accompany each application for intrastate temporary emergency authority under Code Section 40-1-104.

40-1-110. The commissioner, upon the filing of an application for a motor carrier certificate, shall fix a time and place for hearing thereon and shall, at least ten days before the hearing, give

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notice thereof by advertising the same at the expense of the applicant in a newspaper in Atlanta, in which sheriffs' notices are published. If no protest is filed with the department or if the protest is subsequently withdrawn, the commissioner may issue the motor carrier certificate without a hearing.

40-1-111. When an application for a motor carrier certificate under this part has been in whole or in part denied by the commissioner, or has been granted by the commissioner, and the order of the commissioner granting same has been quashed or set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, a new application by the same petitioner or applicant therefor shall not be again considered by the department within three months from the date of the order denying the same or the judgment of the court quashing or setting aside the order.

40-1-112. (a) No motor carrier of household goods or property or passengers shall be issued a motor carrier certificate unless there is filed with the department a certificate of insurance for such applicant or holder on forms prescribed by the commissioner evidencing a policy of indemnity insurance by an insurance company licensed to do business in this state, which policy must provide for the protection, in case of passenger vehicles, of passengers and the public against injury proximately caused by the negligence of such motor carrier, its servants, or its agents; and, in the case of vehicles transporting household goods, to secure the owner or person entitled to recover against loss or damage to such household goods for which the motor common carrier may be legally liable. The department shall determine and fix the amounts of such indemnity insurance and shall prescribe the provisions and limitations thereof. The insurer shall file such certificate. The failure to file any form required by the department shall not diminish the rights of any person to pursue an action directly against a motor carrier's insurer. (b) The department shall have power to permit self-insurance, in lieu of a policy of indemnity insurance, whenever in its opinion the financial ability of the motor carrier so warrants. (c) It shall be permissible under this part for any person having a cause of action arising under this part to join in the same action the motor carrier and the insurance carrier, whether arising in tort or contract.

40-1-113. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Motor carrier transportation contract' means a contract, agreement, or understanding covering:
(A) The transportation of property for compensation or hire by the motor carrier; (B) Entrance on property by the motor carrier for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting property for compensation or hire; or

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(C) A service incidental to activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph, including, but not limited to, storage of property. Motor carrier transportation contract shall not include the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement administered by the Intermodal Association of North America or other agreements providing for the interchange, use, or possession of intermodal chassis, containers, or other intermodal equipment. (2) 'Promisee' means the person promising to provide transportation of property and any agents, employees, servants, or independent contractors who are directly responsible to such person but shall not include a motor carrier party to a motor carrier transportation contract with such person and such motor carrier's agents, employees, servants, or independent contractors directly responsible to such motor carrier. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a provision, clause, covenant, or agreement contained in, collateral to, or affecting a motor carrier transportation contract that purports to indemnify, defend, or hold harmless, or has the effect of indemnifying, defending, or holding harmless, the promisee from or against any liability for loss or damage resulting from the negligence or intentional acts or omissions of the promisee is against the public policy of this state and is void and unenforceable.

40-1-114. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in order to authorize the provision of passenger or household goods service for which there is an immediate and urgent need to a point or points, or within a territory, with respect to which there is no motor carrier service capable of meeting such need, upon receipt of an application for temporary emergency authority and upon payment of the appropriate fee as fixed by statute, the department may, in its discretion and without a hearing or other prior proceeding, grant to any person temporary motor carrier authority for such service. The order granting such authority shall contain the department's findings supporting its determination that there is an unmet immediate and urgent need for such service and shall contain such conditions as the commissioner finds necessary with respect to such authority. Emergency temporary motor carrier authority, unless suspended or revoked for good cause within such period, shall be valid for such time as the department shall specify but not for more than an aggregate of 30 days. Such authority shall in no case be renewed and shall create no presumption that corresponding permanent authority will be granted thereafter, except that, where a motor carrier granted temporary emergency motor carrier authority under the provisions of this Code section makes application during the period of said temporary emergency authority for permanent motor carrier authority corresponding to that authorized in its temporary emergency authority, the temporary emergency motor carrier authority will be extended to the finalization of the permanent authority application unless sooner suspended or revoked for good cause within the extended period.

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40-1-115. A motor carrier of passengers may discontinue its entire service on any route upon 30 days' published notice to be prescribed by the department, and thereupon its certificate therefor shall be canceled. A motor carrier of passengers may discontinue any part of its service on any route upon 30 days' published notice, subject, however, to the right of the department to withdraw its certificate for such route if, in the opinion of the commissioner, such diminished service is not adequate or is no longer compatible with the public interest.

40-1-116. No subdivision of this state, including cities, townships, or counties, shall levy any excise, license, or occupation tax of any nature, on the right of a motor carrier to operate equipment, or on the equipment, or on any incidents of the business of a motor carrier.

40-1-117. (a) Each nonresident motor carrier shall, before any permit is issued to it under this part or at the time of registering as required by Code Section 40-2-140, designate and maintain in this state an agent or agents upon whom may be served all summonses or other lawful processes in any action or proceeding against such motor carrier growing out of its carrier operations; and service of process upon or acceptance or acknowledgment of such service by any such agent shall have the same legal force and validity as if duly served upon such nonresident carrier personally. Such designation shall be in writing, shall give the name and address of such agent or agents, and shall be filed in the office of the state revenue commissioner. Upon failure of any nonresident motor carrier to file such designation with the state revenue commissioner or to maintain such an agent in this state at the address given, such nonresident carrier shall be conclusively deemed to have designated the Secretary of State and his or her successors in office as such agent; and service of process upon or acceptance or acknowledgment of such service by the Secretary of State shall have the same legal force and validity as if duly served upon such nonresident carrier personally, provided that notice of such service and a copy of the process are immediately sent by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery by the Secretary of State or his or her successor in office to such nonresident carrier, if its address be known. Service of such process upon the Secretary of State shall be made by delivering to his or her office two copies of such process with a fee of $10.00. (b) Except in those cases where the Constitution requires otherwise, any action against any resident or nonresident motor carrier for damages by reason of any breach of duty, whether contractual or otherwise, or for any violation of this article or of any order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or other requirement established by the state revenue commissioner, may be brought in the county where the cause of action or some part thereof arose; and if the motor carrier or its agent shall not be found for service in the county where the action is instituted, a second original may issue and service be made in any other county

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where the service can be made upon the motor carrier or its agent. The venue prescribed by this Code section shall be cumulative of any other venue provided by law. (c) Except in those cases where the Constitution requires otherwise, for the purposes of venue only, any truck engaged exclusively in the transportation of agricultural or dairy products, or both, between farm, market, gin, warehouse, or mill shall not be classified as a motor common or contract carrier.

40-1-118. The commissioner shall prescribe just and reasonable rates, fares, and charges for transportation by motor carriers of household goods and for all services rendered by motor carriers in connection therewith. The tariffs therefor shall be in such form and shall be filed and published in such manner and on such notice as the department may prescribe. Such tariffs shall also be subject to change on such notice and in such manner as the department may prescribe. In order to carry out the purposes of this Code section, including the publication and maintenance of just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory rates and charges, the department shall establish a rate-making procedure for all carriers of household goods. Failure on the part of any motor carrier to comply with this Code section or the rules and regulations promulgated under this Code section may result in suspension or cancellation of said carrier's operating authority by the department.

40-1-119. No motor carrier of household goods or property shall charge, demand, collect, or receive a greater or lesser or different compensation for the transportation of property or for any service rendered in connection therewith than the rates, fares, and charges prescribed or approved by order of the department; nor shall any such motor carrier unjustly discriminate against any person in its rates, fares, or charges for service. The commissioner may prescribe, by general order, to what persons motor carriers of household goods may issue passes or free transportation; may prescribe reduced rates for special occasions; and may fix and prescribe rates and schedules.

40-1-120. Motor carriers of passengers shall not be compelled to carry baggage of passengers, except hand baggage, the character, amount, and size of which the motor carrier may limit by its rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the department; and the department may by rule or regulation limit the amount of the liability of the motor carrier therefor. If a motor carrier shall elect to carry the personal baggage of passengers, other than hand baggage, the department shall prescribe just and reasonable rates therefor and such other rules and regulations with respect thereto as may be reasonable and just, and may by rule or regulation limit the amount of the liability of the motor carrier therefor.

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40-1-121. The department shall prescribe the books and the forms of accounts to be kept by the holders of certificates under this part, which books and accounts shall be preserved for such reasonable time as may be prescribed by the department. The books and records of every certificate holder shall be at all times open to the inspection of any agent of the department for such purpose. The department shall have the power to examine the books and records of all motor carriers to whom it has granted certificates or permits to operate under this part and to examine under oath the officers and agents of any motor carrier with respect thereto.

40-1-122. Motor carriers shall observe the laws of this state in respect to size, weight, and speed of their vehicles. Intrastate motor carriers of passengers shall, and interstate motor carriers of passengers may, file with the department the schedules upon which they propose to operate their vehicles, which schedules shall be such that the net running time of vehicles between terminal points shall not exceed the lawful speed limit; and any motor carrier of passengers filing such a schedule shall be allowed to operate his or her vehicles on the highway at a rate of speed not exceeding the lawful speed limit in order to maintain a schedule so filed.

40-1-123. Any motor carrier which operates on the public highways of this state without the required certificate or permit, or after such certificate or permit has been canceled, or without having registered its vehicle or vehicles as provided for in this part, or which operates otherwise than is permitted by the terms of such certificate or permit or the laws of this state may be enjoined from operating on the public highways of this state upon the bringing of a civil action by the department, by a competing motor carrier or rail carrier, or by any individual.

40-1-124. Nothing in this part or any other law shall be construed to vest in the owner, holder, or assignee of any certificate or permit issued under this part any vested right to use the public highways of this state and shall not be construed to give to any motor carrier any perpetual franchise over such public highways.

40-1-125. (a) Upon issuance by the commissioner of an order suspending or revoking a motor carrier certificate, such motor carrier shall be afforded a hearing to be held in accordance with the procedures set forth in Code Section 40-1-56. (b) Any person whose motor carrier certificate has been suspended or revoked and who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the Department of Public Safety is entitled to judicial review in accordance with Code Section 40-1-56.

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40-1-126. In circumstances where a motor carrier is engaged in both interstate and intrastate commerce, it shall nevertheless be subject to all the provisions of this part so far as it separately relates to commerce carried on exclusively in this state. It is not intended that the department shall have the power of regulating the interstate commerce of such motor carrier, except to the extent expressly authorized by this part as to such commerce. The provisions of this part do not apply to purely interstate commerce nor to carriers exclusively engaged in interstate commerce. When a motor carrier is engaged in both intrastate and interstate commerce, it shall be subject to all the provisions of this part so far as they separately relate to commerce carried on in this state.

40-1-127. (a) All actions at law against motor carriers operating in this state, which actions seek to recover overcharges accruing on intrastate shipments, shall be initiated within a period of three years after the time the cause of action accrues, and not thereafter, provided that, if a claim for the overcharge is presented in writing to the carrier within the three-year period of limitation, the period shall be extended to include six months from the time notice in writing is given by the carrier to the claimant of disallowance of the claim or any part thereof. (b) A motor carrier of property may, upon notice to the commissioner of public safety, elect to be subject to the following requirements regarding rates, charges, and claims for loss or damage:
(1) A motor carrier of property shall provide to the shipper, upon request of the shipper, a written or electronic copy of the rate, classification, rules, and practices upon which any rate agreed to between the shipper and carrier may have been based. When the applicability or reasonableness of the rates and related provisions billed by a carrier is challenged by the person paying the freight charges, the commissioner of public safety shall determine whether such rates and provisions are reasonable or applicable based on the record before it. In cases where a carrier other than a carrier providing transportation of household goods seeks to collect charges in addition to those billed and collected which are contested by the payor, the carrier may request that the commissioner of public safety determine whether any additional charges over those billed and collected must be paid. A carrier must issue any bill for charges in addition to those originally billed within 180 days of the original bill in order to have the right to collect such charges; (2) If a shipper seeks to contest the charges originally billed by a motor carrier of property, the shipper may request that the commissioner of public safety determine whether the charges originally billed must be paid. A shipper must contest the original bill within 180 days in order to have the right to contest such charges; and (3) Claims for loss of or damage to property for which any motor carrier of property may be liable must be filed within nine months after the delivery of the property, except that

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claims for failure to make delivery must be filed within nine months after a reasonable time for delivery has elapsed. (c) The commissioner of public safety shall adopt rules regarding rates, charges, and claims for loss or damage applicable to carriers of household goods.

40-1-128. (a) Any officer, agent, or employee of any corporation, and any other person, who knowingly accepts or receives any rebate or drawback from the rates, fares, or charges established or approved by the department for motor carriers of passengers or household goods, or who procures, aids, or abets therein, or who uses or accepts from such motor carrier any free pass or free transportation not authorized or permitted by law or by the orders, rules, or regulations of the department, or who procures, aids, or abets therein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) The possession of goods, wares, or merchandise loaded on a motor vehicle consigned to any person, firm, or corporation, being transported or having been transported over the public highways in this state, without the authority of a permit or certificate for so transporting having been issued by the department under this article, shall be prima-facie evidence that such transportation of such goods, wares, or merchandise was an intentional violation of the law regulating the transportation of persons and property over the public highways in this state. (c) Any person claiming the benefit of any exception made in this article shall have the burden of proving that he or she falls within the exception.

40-1-129. (a) Whenever the department, after a hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 40-1-56, finds that any person, firm, or corporation is operating as a household goods carrier for hire without a valid certificate issued by the department or is holding itself out as such a carrier without such a certificate in violation of this part, the department may impose a fine of not more than $5,000.00 for each violation. The department may assess the person, firm, or corporation an amount sufficient to cover the reasonable expense of investigation incurred by the department. The department may also assess interest at the rate specified in Code Section 40-1-56 on any fine or assessment imposed, to commence on the day the fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All fines, assessments, and interest collected by the department shall be paid into the general fund of the state treasury. Any party aggrieved by a decision of the department under this subsection may seek judicial review as provided in Code section 40-1-56. (b) Any person, firm, or corporation who knowingly and willfully issues, publishes, or affixes or causes or permits the issuance, publishing, or affixing of any oral or written advertisement, broadcast, or other holding out to the public, or any portion thereof, that the person, firm, or corporation is in operation as a household goods carrier for hire without having a valid certificate issued by the department is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any fine

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or assessment imposed by the department pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not bar criminal prosecution pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.

40-1-130. In any advertisement for a motor carrier, whether by print, radio, television, other broadcast, or electronic media including but not limited to Internet advertising and any listing or sites on any website, the motor carrier shall include the motor carrier authorization number issued to it by the Department of Public Safety. The requirements of this Code section shall not apply to nonconsensual towing motor carriers providing services pursuant to Code Section 44-1-13. The department shall be required to issue a motor carrier authorization number to each registered motor carrier. Whenever the department, after a hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 40-1-56, finds that any person is advertising in violation of this Code section, the department may impose a fine of not more than $500.00 for an initial violation and not more than $15,000.00 for a second or subsequent violation.

Part 3

40-1-150. This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Limousine Carrier Act.'

40-1-151. As used in this part, the term:
(1) 'Certificate' or 'limousine carrier certificate' means a certificate issued by the department for the operation of limousines or limousine services under this part and such certificates issued by the Public Service Commission on or before June 30, 2012. (2) 'Chauffeur' means any person with a Georgia state driver's license who meets the qualifications as prescribed in this part and who is authorized by the commissioner of driver services to drive a motor vehicle of a limousine carrier as provided in paragraph (5) below. (3) 'Department' means the Department of Public Safety. (4) 'Limousine' means any motor vehicle that meets the manufacturer's specifications for a luxury limousine with a designed seating capacity for no more than ten passengers and with a minimum of five seats located behind the operator of the vehicle, and which does not have a door at the rear of the vehicle designed to allow passenger entry or exit; further, no vehicle shall be permitted to be operated both as a taxicab and a limousine. (5) 'Limousine carrier' means any person owning or operating a prearranged service regularly rendered to the public by furnishing transportation as a motor carrier for hire, not over fixed routes, by means of one or more unmetered:
(A) Limousines;

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(B) Extended limousines; (C) Sedans; (D) Extended sedans; (E) Sport utility vehicles; (F) Extended sport utility vehicles; (G) Other vehicles with a capacity for seating and transporting no more than 15 persons for hire including the driver; or (H) Any combination of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of this paragraph on the basis of telephone contract or written contract. A limousine carrier shall not use per capita rates or charges. (6) 'Person' means any individual, firm, partnership, private or public corporation, company, association, or joint-stock association, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof. (7) 'Public highway' means every public street, road, highway, or thoroughfare of any kind in this state. (8) 'Vehicle' or 'motor vehicle' means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any combination thereof, determined by the commission.

40-1-152. (a) No limousine carrier shall operate any motor vehicle owned or operated by a limousine carrier for the transportation of passengers for compensation on any public highway in this state except in accordance with the provisions of this article. (b) No person may engage in the business of a limousine carrier over any public highway in this state without first having obtained from the department a certificate to do so.

40-1-153. (a) The department shall prescribe the form of the application for a limousine carrier certificate and shall prescribe such reasonable requirements as to notice, publication, proof of service, maintenance of adequate liability insurance coverage, and information as may, in its judgment, be necessary and may establish fees as part of such certificate process. (b) A limousine carrier certificate shall be issued to any qualified applicant, provided that such applicant is a limousine carrier business domiciled in this state, authorizing the operations covered by the application if it is found that the applicant is fit, willing, and able to perform properly the service and conform to the provisions of this part and the rules and regulations of the department and has not been convicted of any felony as such violation or violations are related to the operation of a motor vehicle.

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40-1-154. (a) It shall be the duty of the department to regulate limousine carriers with respect to the safety of equipment. (b) The department shall require safety and mechanical inspections at least on an annual basis for each vehicle owned or operated by a limousine carrier. The department shall provide, by rule or regulation, for the scope of such inspections, the qualifications of persons who may conduct such inspections, and the manner by which the results of such inspections shall be reported to the department. (c) In addition to the requirements of this Code section, limousine carriers shall comply with the applicable provisions of Code Section 40-1-8.

40-1-155. No limousine carrier certificate issued under this part may be leased, assigned, or otherwise transferred or encumbered unless authorized by the department.

40-1-156. (a) The department may cancel, revoke, or suspend any limousine carrier certificate issued under this part on any of the following grounds:
(1) The violation of any of the provisions of this part; (2) The violation of an order, decision, rule, regulation, or requirement established by the department; (3) Failure of a limousine carrier to pay a fee imposed on the carrier within the time required by law or by the department; (4) Failure of a limousine carrier to maintain required insurance in full force and effect; and (5) Failure of a limousine carrier to operate and perform reasonable services. (b) After the cancellation or revocation of a certificate or during the period of its suspension, it is unlawful for a limousine carrier to conduct any operations as such a carrier.

40-1-157. Limousine certificates shall be valid unless suspended, revoked, or cancelled by the commissioner, or surrendered to the commissioner by the holder.

40-1-158. Pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner of driver services, each chauffeur employed by a limousine carrier shall secure from the Department of Driver Services a limousine chauffeur authorization and license endorsement.

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40-1-159. The commissioner shall collect the following one-time fees upon initial application of a limousine carrier pursuant to this part:
(1) A fee of $75.00 to accompany each application for a certificate, or amendment to an existing certificate, where the applicant owns or operates fewer than six limousines; (2) A fee of $150.00 to accompany each application for a certificate, or amendment to an existing certificate, where the applicant owns or operates six to 15 limousines; (3) A fee of $200.00 to accompany each application for a certificate, or amendment to an existing certificate, where the applicant owns or operates more than 15 limousines; and (4) A fee of $75.00 to accompany each application for transfer of a certificate.

40-1-160. Any limousine carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner that transports passengers shall comply with the provisions of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 3-3-23 and Code Section 3-9-6, concerning consumption of alcoholic beverages. The commissioner shall provide to all such limousine carriers, at the time of registration a certificate, an informational packet emphasizing the prohibition on alcohol consumption by persons under the age of 21 while being transported by the limousine carrier.

40-1-161. (a) The commissioner may, at any time after notice and opportunity to be heard and for reasonable cause, revoke, alter, or amend any limousine certificate issued under this part, or under prior law, if it shall be made to appear that the holder of the certificate has willfully violated or refused to observe any of the lawful and reasonable orders, rules, or regulations prescribed by the commissioner or any of the provisions of this part or any other law of this state regulating or taxing motor vehicles, or both, or if in the opinion of the commissioner the holder of the certificate is not furnishing adequate service.

40-1-162. The State of Georgia fully occupies and preempts the entire field of regulation over limousine carriers as regulated by this part; provided, however, that the governing authority of any county or municipal airport shall be authorized to permit any limousine carrier doing business at any such airport and may establish fees as part of such permitting process; provided, further, that such fees shall not exceed the airport's approximate cost of permitting and regulating limousine carriers; and provided, further, that such governing authorities of such airports shall accept a chauffeur's endorsement issued by the Department of Driver Services to the driver and evidence of a certificate issued to the limousine carrier by the Department of Public Safety as adequate evidence of sufficient criminal background investigations and shall not require any fee for any further criminal background investigation. The list of licensed limousine carriers on the website of the Department of

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Public Safety shall be sufficient evidence that a limousine carrier has a certificate issued by the Department of Public Safety.

40-1-163. (a) Notwithstanding the powers granted to the department regarding tariffs of other motor carriers, the department is not authorized to set, adjust, or change rates or charges for transportation of passengers, property, or passengers and property by a vehicle of a type listed in Code Section 40-1-118 that is managed, operated, owned, leased, rented, or controlled by a limousine carrier. (b) Any tariff issued by the department that exists as of June 30, 2007, that regulates the rates or charges for transportation of passengers, property, or passengers and property by a vehicle of a type listed in Code Section 40-1-118 that is managed, operated, owned, leased, rented, or controlled by a limousine carrier shall be void.

40-1-164. Before the department shall enter any order, regulation, or requirement directed against any limousine carrier, such carrier shall first be given reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter.

40-1-165. In any advertisement for a limousine carrier, whether by print, radio, television, other broadcast, or electronic media including but not limited to Internet advertising and any listing or sites on any website, the limousine carrier shall include the motor carrier authorization number issued to it by the Department of Public Safety. The department shall be required to issue a motor carrier authorization number to each registered limousine carrier. Whenever the department, after a hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 40-1-56, finds that any person is advertising in violation of this Code section, the department may impose a fine of not more than $500.00 for an initial violation and not more than $15,000.00 for a second or subsequent violation.

40-1-166. Each limousine carrier shall obtain and maintain commercial indemnity and liability insurance with an insurance company authorized to do business in this state which policy shall provide for the protection of passengers and property carried and of the public against injury proximately caused by the negligence of the limousine carrier, its servants, and its agents. The minimum amount of such insurance shall be:
(1) For capacity of 12 passengers or less, $300,000.00 for bodily injuries to or death of all persons in any one accident with a maximum of $100,000.00 for bodily injuries to or death of one person, and $50,000.00 for loss of damage in any one accident to property of others, excluding cargo; or

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(2) For capacity of more than 12 passengers, $500,000.00 for bodily injuries to or death of all persons in any one accident with a maximum of $100,000.00 for bodily injuries to or death of one person, and $50,000.00 for loss of damage in any one accident to property of others, excluding cargo.

40-1-167. Each limousine carrier which registers any vehicle under this article shall, for each such certificated vehicle, affix to the center of the front bumper of each such certificated vehicle a standard size license plate bearing the following information: (1) limousine carrier name, (2) city and state of principal domicile, (3) company telephone number, and (4) the vehicle classification, IE-1. The cost for such license plate shall be the sole responsibility of the limousine carrier and must be placed on each certificated vehicle prior to said vehicle being placed in service.

40-1-168. No subdivision of this state, including cities, townships, or counties, shall levy any excise, license, or occupation tax of any nature, on the right of a limousine carrier to operate equipment, or on the equipment, or on any incidents of the business of a limousine carrier.

40-1-169. The department is authorized to enforce the provisions of this part. Additionally, the department may hear a petition by a third party asserting that a limousine carrier has violated 40-1-152 and may impose the penalties and seek the remedies set out in 40-1-56 of this title if the department finds such a violation.

40-1-170. The provisions of this part and the powers granted to the department by this part to regulate limousine carriers shall apply to every vehicle of a type listed in Code Section 40-1-151 that is managed, operated, owned, leased, rented, or controlled by a limousine carrier."

SECTION 2. Code Section 40-3-26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to delivery of certificate, notice to junior security interest holders and lienholders, and disposition of certificate when first lien or security interest satisfied, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(2) The commissioner may enter into agreements with any such security interest holder or lienholder to provide a means of delivery by secure electronic measures of a notice of the recording of such security interest or lien. On or after January 1, 2013, the commissioner shall require that security interest holders and lienholders receive notice of recordings of security interests and liens electronically. Such requirement may be phased in based on criteria designated by the commissioner through duly adopted rules

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and regulations. Such security interest or lien shall remain on the official records of the department until such time as the security interest or lien is released by secure electronic measures or affidavit of lien or security interest release; after which release, or at the request of the lienholder or security interest holder, the certificate of title may be printed and mailed or delivered to the next lienholder or security interest holder or as otherwise provided by paragraph (1) of this subsection without payment of any fee provided by Code Section 40-3-38."

SECTION 3. Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to drivers' licenses, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"40-5-39. (a) The department shall endorse the driver's license of any approved limousine chauffeur employed by a limousine carrier. In order to be eligible for such endorsement, an applicant shall:
(1) Be at least 18 years of age; (2) Possess a valid Georgia driver's license which is not limited as defined in Code Section 40-5-64; (3) Not have been convicted, been on probation or parole, or served time on a sentence for a period of ten years previous to the date of application for any felony or any other crime of moral turpitude or a pattern of misdemeanors that evidences a disregard for the law unless he or she has received a pardon and can produce evidence of same. For the purposes of this paragraph, a plea of nolo contendere shall be considered to be a conviction, and a conviction for which a person has been free from custody and free from supervision for at least ten years shall not be considered a conviction unless the conviction is for a dangerous sexual offense which is contained in Code Section 42-1-12 or the criminal offense was committed against a victim who was a minor at the time of the offense; (4) Submit at least one set of classifiable electronically recorded fingerprints to the department in accordance with the fingerprint system of identification established by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department shall transmit the fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center, which shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of bureau records and an appropriate report and promptly conduct a search of state records based upon the fingerprints. After receiving the report from the Georgia Crime Information Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the department shall determine whether the applicant may be certified; and (5) Be a United States citizen, or if not a citizen, present federal documentation verified by the United States Department of Homeland Security to be valid documentary evidence of lawful presence in the United States under federal immigration law.

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(b) Such endorsement shall be valid for the same term as such person's driver's license, provided that each person seeking renewal of a driver's license with such endorsement shall submit to a review of his or her criminal history for verification of his or her continued eligibility for such endorsement prior to making application for such renewal using the same process set forth in subsection (a) of this Code section. If such person no longer satisfies the background requirements set forth herein, he or she shall not be eligible for the inclusion of such endorsement on his or her driver' license, and it shall be renewed without the endorsement. (c) Every chauffeur employed by a limousine carrier shall have his or her Georgia driver's license with the prescribed endorsement in his or her possession at all times while operating a motor vehicle of a limousine carrier. (d) The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to implement this Code section."

PART II Conformity of Cross-References.

SECTION 4. Code Section 20-1-10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certification by Public Service Commission required prior to contracting with motor or contract carrier, is amended by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b) No educational institution receiving state funds shall enter into an agreement with a motor carrier or contract carrier for the purpose of transporting students without first verifying that such carrier is certified by the Department of Public Safety as required by Article 5 of Chapter 2 of Title 35, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or any other similarly required certifying agency."

SECTION 5. Code Section 27-5-4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to wild animal licenses and permits generally, is amended by revising subsection (d) as follows:
"(d) No wild animal license or permit shall be required for a carrier regulated either by the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Civil Aeronautics Board, or the Department of Public Safety to import or transport any wild animal."

SECTION 6. Code Section 34-8-35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment, is amended by revising subparagraph (n)(10)(B) as follows:
"(B) The employer exercises no general control over such commission agent but only such control as is necessary to assure compliance with its filed tariffs and with the laws of the United States and the State of Georgia and the rules and regulations of the

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Department of Public Safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and all other regulatory bodies having jurisdiction of the premises; and"

SECTION 7. Chapter 2 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department of Public Safety, is amended by revising Article 5, relating to the Motor Carrier Compliance Division, as follows:

"ARTICLE 5

35-2-100. There shall be created and established a division of the Department of Public Safety to be known as the Motor Carrier Compliance Division, and within the division shall be created a section to be known as the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section. Except as provided in Code Section 35-2-102, the members of the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section shall be known and designated as 'law enforcement officers.'

35-2-101. (a) The Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section of the department shall have jurisdiction throughout this state with such duties and powers as are prescribed by law. (b) The primary duties of the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section shall be as follows:
(1) Enforcement of laws and regulations relating to the size and the weights of motor vehicles, trailers, and loads as provided for in Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 32; (2) Enforcement of laws and regulations relating to licensing and fuel tax registration requirements and the reporting of violations thereof to the Department of Revenue; (3) Enforcement of safety standards for motor vehicles and motor vehicle components; (4) Enforcement of laws relating to hazardous materials carriers; (5) Enforcement of all state laws on the following properties owned or controlled by the Department of Transportation or the State Road and Tollway Authority: rest areas, truck-weighing stations or checkpoints, wayside parks, parking facilities, toll facilities, and any buildings and grounds for public equipment and personnel used for or engaged in administration, construction, or maintenance of the public roads or research pertaining thereto; (6) Enforcement of Code Section 16-10-24, relating to obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers; (7) Directing and controlling traffic on any public road which is part of the state highway system but only in areas where maintenance and construction activities are being performed and at scenes of accidents and emergencies until local police officers or Georgia State Patrol officers arrive and have the situation under control;

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(8) Enforcement of Code Sections 32-9-4 and 40-6-54, relating to designation of restricted travel lanes; (9) Enforcement of Code Section 16-11-43, relating to obstructing highways, streets, sidewalks, or other public passages, on any public road which is part of the state highway system; (10) Enforcement of Code Section 16-7-43, relating to littering public or private property or waters, on any public road which is part of the state highway system; (11) Enforcement of Code Section 16-7-24, relating to interference with government property, on any public road which is part of the state highway system; and (12) Enforcement of any state law when ordered to do so by the commissioner. (c) In performance of the duties specified in subsection (b) of this Code section, certified law enforcement officers employed by the department or designated by the commissioner shall: (1) Be authorized to carry firearms; (2) Exercise arrest powers; (3) Have the power to stop, enter upon, and inspect all motor vehicles using the public highways for purposes of determining whether such vehicles have complied with and are complying with laws, the administration or enforcement of which is the responsibility of the department; (4) Have the power to examine the facilities where motor vehicles are housed or maintained and the books and records of motor carriers for purposes of determining compliance with laws, the administration or enforcement of which is the responsibility of the department; and (5) Exercise the powers generally authorized for law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties or otherwise to the extent needed to protect any life or property when the circumstances demand action. (d) The commissioner shall authorize law enforcement officers of the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section to make use of dogs trained for the purpose of detection of drugs and controlled substances while such officers are engaged in the performance of their authorized duties. If such authorized use of such a dog indicates probable cause to indicate the presence of contraband, the officer or officers shall in those circumstances have the full authority of peace officers to enforce the provisions of Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16, the 'Georgia Controlled Substances Act,' and Article 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 16, the 'Dangerous Drug Act'; provided, however, that the department must immediately notify the local law enforcement agency and district attorney of the jurisdiction where a seizure is made. (e)(1) Certified law enforcement officers employed by the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section may use a department motor vehicle while working an approved off-duty job, provided that:
(A) The off-duty employment is of a general nature that is the subject of a contract between the off-duty employer and the department and is service in which the use of

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the department motor vehicle is a benefit to the department or is in furtherance of the department's mission; (B) The off-duty employer agrees to pay and does pay to the department an amount determined by the commissioner to be sufficient to reimburse the department for the use of the vehicle and to pay the off-duty employee sufficient compensation. Pursuant to such contract, the department shall pay the employee of the department the compensation earned on off-duty employment whenever such employee performs such service in a department motor vehicle; and (C) The commissioner has specifically approved, in writing, the individual use of the vehicle by the employee. (2) At no time will an off-duty employee be allowed use of a department motor vehicle at any political function of any kind.

35-2-102. (a) The commissioner is authorized to establish a position to be known as 'weight inspector' within the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section of the Department of Public Safety. Weight inspectors shall be assigned to fixed scales facilities and shall not be authorized to operate outside such facilities. The number of such positions shall be determined by the commissioner within the limits set by available appropriations. Weight inspectors may be divided into such ranks as the commissioner deems appropriate. (b) The commissioner shall ensure that a weight inspector is properly trained regarding laws governing commercial motor vehicle weight, registration, size, and load, including, but not limited to, commercial motor vehicle provisions in Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 32 and safety standards for commercial motor vehicles and such motor vehicle components. The training required in the areas required by this subsection shall be equivalent to training provided to certified officers in the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section. (c) A weight inspector, at the fixed scales facility, shall be authorized to:
(1) Enforce noncriminal provisions relating to commercial motor vehicle weight, registration, size, and load and assess a civil penalty for a violation of such provisions; and (2) Detain a commercial motor vehicle that:
(A) Has a safety defect which is critical to the continued safe operation of the vehicle; (B) Is being operated in violation of any criminal law; or (C) Is being operated in violation of an out-of-service order as reported on the federal Safety and Fitness Electronic Records data base. The detention authorized by this paragraph shall be for the purpose of contacting a certified member of the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section or Georgia State Patrol. A certified officer shall report to the scene of a detained vehicle and take any further action deemed appropriate including completing the inspection and investigation, making an arrest, or bringing criminal or civil charges.

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(d) A weight inspector is not a peace officer and shall not be authorized to carry a firearm or exercise any power of arrest other than a citizen's arrest in accordance with Code Sections 17-4-60 and 17-4-61. At all times while a weight inspector is on duty, there shall be a supervisor over the weight inspector also on duty who shall be a certified peace officer."

SECTION 8. Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, is amended by revising paragraph (4) of Code Section 40-2-1, relating to definitions applicable to registration and licensing of motor vehicles, as follows:
"(4) 'Motor carrier' means: (A) Any entity subject to the terms of the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Section 14504a whether engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce, or both; or (B) Any entity defined by the commissioner or commissioner of public safety who operates or controls commercial motor vehicles as defined in 49 C.F.R. Section 390.5 or this chapter whether operated in interstate or intrastate commerce, or both."

SECTION 9. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-162, relating to formulas, rules, and apportionment of cost of annual license fees of motor buses to motor common carriers of passengers for hire operating partially outside state, as follows:
"(a) The commissioner shall apportion the cost of the annual fees for the licensing of motor buses to motor common carriers of passengers for hire operating a fleet of two or more motor buses either interstate, or both interstate and intrastate, under the authority of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Department of Public Safety of this state. The apportionment shall be done so that the total cost of the fees shall bear the same proportion to the annual fees for motor buses as the total number of miles traveled by the fleet of the carrier in this state in both interstate and intrastate operations during the preceding year bears to the total number of miles traveled by the fleet during the year in both interstate and intrastate operations."

SECTION 10. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 40-6-248.1, relating to securing loads on vehicles, as follows:
"(c) Nothing in this Code section nor any regulations based thereon shall conflict with federal Georgia Department of Public Safety, or Georgia Board of Public Safety regulations applying to the securing of loads on motor vehicles."

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SECTION 11. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 40-16-2, relating to the primary responsibilities of the Department of Driver Services, as follows:
"(b) Responsibility for the following functions formerly exercised by the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety is transferred as follows:
(1) Promulgation of regulations relating to the size and the weights of motor vehicles, trailers, and loads as provided for in Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 32 shall be vested in the Department of Transportation; and administrative enforcement of such regulations and the law enforcement function of apprehending and citing violators of such laws and regulations are transferred to the Department of Public Safety, as well as the function of promulgating regulations relative to its enforcement function; (2) Enforcement of laws and regulations relating to licensing and fuel tax registration requirements is transferred to the Department of Public Safety; (3) Administration of laws and regulations relating to certification of motor carriers and limousine carriers is transferred to the Department of Public Safety and administration of laws and regulations relating to carrier registration and registration and titling of vehicles is transferred to the Department of Revenue;"

SECTION 12. Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to property, is amended by revising Code Section 44-1-13, relating to removal of improperly parked cars or trespassing on personal property, as follows:
"44-1-13. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) ' Department' means the Department of Public Safety. (2) 'Private property' means any parcel or space of private real property. (a.1) Any person or his or her authorized agent entitled to the possession of any private property shall have the right to remove or cause to be removed from the property any vehicle or trespassing personal property thereon which is not authorized to be at the place where it is found and to store or cause to be stored such vehicle or trespassing personal property, provided that there shall have been conspicuously posted on the private property notice that any vehicle or trespassing personal property which is not authorized to be at the place where it is found may be removed at the expense of the owner of the vehicle or trespassing personal property. Such notice shall also include information as to the location where the vehicle or personal property can be recovered, the cost of said recovery, and information as to the form of payment; provided, however, that the owner of residential private property containing not more than four residential units shall not be required to comply with the posting requirements of this subsection. Only towing and storage firms issued permits or licenses by the local governing authority of the jurisdiction in which they operate or by the department, and having a secure impoundment facility, shall be permitted

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to remove trespassing property and trespassing personal property at the request of the owner or authorized agent of the private property.
(b)(1) The department shall have the authorization to regulate and control the towing of trespassing vehicles on private property if such towing is performed without the prior consent or authorization of the owner or operator of the vehicle, including the authority to set just and reasonable rates, fares, and charges for services related to the removal, storage, and required notification to owners of such towed vehicles. No storage fees shall be charged for the first 24 hour period which begins at the time the vehicle is removed from the property, and no such fees shall be allowed for the removal and storage of vehicles removed by towing and storage firms found to be in violation of this Code section. The department is authorized to impose a civil penalty for any violation of this Code section in an amount not to exceed $2,500.00. (2) In accordance with subsection (d) of this Code section, the governing authority of a municipality may require towing and storage operators to charge lower maximum rates on traffic moving between points within such municipality than those provided by the department's maximum rate tariff and may require higher public liability insurance limits and cargo insurance limits than those required by the department. The governing authority of a municipality shall not provide for higher maximum costs of removal, relocation, or storage than is provided for by the commission department. (c) In all municipalities, except a consolidated city-county government, having a population of 100,000 or more according to the United States decennial census of 1970 or any future such census a person entitled to the possession of an off-street parking area or vacant lot within an area zoned commercial by the municipality shall have the right to remove any vehicle or trespassing personal property parked thereon after the regular activity on such property is concluded for the day only if access to such property from the public way is blocked by a sturdy chain, cable, or rope stretched at least 18 inches above grade across all driveways or other ways providing access to the off-street parking area or vacant lot and there is conspicuously posted in the area a notice, the location of which must be approved by the municipality's police department, that any vehicle or trespassing personal property parked thereon which is not authorized to be in such area may be removed at the expense of the owner along with information as to where the vehicle or trespassing personal property may be recovered, the cost of said recovery, and information regarding the form of payment. (d)(1) In addition to the regulatory jurisdiction of the department, the governing authority of each municipality having towing and storage firms operating within its territorial boundaries may require and issue a license or permit to engage in private trespass towing within its corporate municipal limits pursuant to this Code section to any firm meeting the qualifications imposed by said governing authority. The fee for the license or permit shall be set by such governing authority. The maximum reasonable costs of removal, relocation, and storage pursuant to the provisions of this Code section shall be compensatory, as such term is used in the public utility rate-making procedures, and shall

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be established annually by the governing authority of each municipality having towing and storage firms operating within its territorial boundaries; provided, however, that no storage fees shall be charged for the first 24 hour period which begins at the time the vehicle is removed from the property, and no such fees shall be allowed for the removal and storage of vehicles removed by towing and storage firms found to be in violation of this Code section. (2) Towing and storage firms operating within a municipality's corporate limits shall obtain a nonconsensual towing permit from the department and shall file its registered agent's name and address with the department. (e) Any person who suffers injury or damages as a result of a violation of this Code section may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for actual damages, which shall be presumed to be not less than $100.00, together with court costs. A court shall award three times actual damages for an intentional violation of this Code section. (f) It shall be unlawful and punishable by a fine of $1,000.00 for any towing and storage firm, permitted or unpermitted, licensed or unlicensed, to enter into any agreement with any person in possession of private property to provide automatic or systematic surveillance of such property for purposes of removal and relocation of any such vehicle or trespassing personal property except upon call by such person in possession of such private property to such towing and storage firm for each individual case of trespass; provided, further, that it shall be unlawful and punishable by a fine of $1,000.00 for any towing and storage firm to pay to any private property owner or one in possession of private property any fee or emolument, directly or indirectly, for the right to remove a vehicle or trespassing personal property from said private property."

SECTION 13. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 44-7-59, relating to removal of transportable housing from lands subject to writ of possession, as follows:
"44-7-59. If the court issues a writ of possession to property upon which the tenant has placed a manufactured home, mobile home, trailer, or other type of transportable housing and the tenant does not move the same within ten days after a final order is entered, the landlord shall be entitled to have such transportable housing moved from the property at the expense of the tenant by a motor common carrier licensed by the Department of Public Safety for the transportation of manufactured housing. There shall be a lien upon such transportable housing to the extent of moving fees and storage expenses in favor of the person performing such services. Such lien may be claimed and foreclosed in the same manner as special liens on personalty by mechanics under Code Sections 44-14-363 and 44-14-550, except that storage fees not to exceed $4.00 per day shall be expressly allowed."

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SECTION 14. Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public utilities and public transportation, is amended by revising Code Section 46-1-1, relating to definitions, exclusions, and Georgia Forest Product Trucking Rules, as follows:
"46-1-1. As used in this title, the term:
(1) 'Certificate' means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to this title. (2) 'Commission' means the Public Service Commission. (3) 'Company' shall include a corporation, a firm, a partnership, an association, or an individual. (4) 'Electric utility' means any retail supplier of electricity whose rates are fixed by the commission. (5) 'Gas company' means any person certificated under Article 2 of Chapter 4 of this title to construct or operate any pipeline or distribution system, or any extension thereof, for the transportation, distribution, or sale of natural or manufactured gas. (6) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, trust, private or public corporation, municipality, county, political subdivision, public authority, cooperative, association, or public or private organization of any character. (7) 'Railroad corporation' or 'railroad company' means all corporations, companies, or individuals owning or operating any railroad in this state. This title shall apply to all persons, firms, and companies, and to all associations of persons, whether incorporated or otherwise, that engage in business as common carriers upon any of the lines of railroad in this state, as well as to railroad corporations and railroad companies as defined in this Code section. (8) 'Rate,' when used in this title with respect to an electric utility, means any rate, charge, classification, or service of an electric utility or any rule or regulation relating thereto. (9) 'Utility' means any person who is subject in any way to the lawful jurisdiction of the commission."

SECTION 15. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 46-3-38, relating to applicability of part to moving or transportation of houses or buildings, as follows:
"46-3-38. In addition to the exceptions set forth in Code Section 46-3-37, this part shall not be construed as applying to and shall not apply to the moving or transportation of houses or buildings or parts thereof when such moving is under the jurisdiction of, and is undertaken pursuant to authority granted by, the Department of Public Safety."

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SECTION 16. Said title is further amended by repealing Chapter 7, relating to motor carriers, and designating said chapter as reserved.

SECTION 17. Said title is further amended by repealing Code Section 46-9-6, relating to limitations of actions against carriers for recovery of overcharges, requirements regarding rates, charges, and claims for loss or damage, and designating said Code section as reserved.

SECTION 18. Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is amended by revising division (5)(B)(ii) of Code Section 48-8-3, relating to exemptions from the state sales and use tax, as follows:
"(ii) 'Urban transit system' means a public transit system primarily urban in character which is operated by a street railroad company or a motor carrier, is subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety, and whose fares and charges are regulated by the Department of Public Safety, or is operated pursuant to a franchise contract with a municipality of this state so that its fares and charges are regulated by or are subject to the approval of the municipality. An urban transit system certificate shall be issued by the Department of Public Safety, or by the municipality which has regulatory authority, upon an affirmative showing that the applicant operates an urban transit system. The certificate shall be obtained and filed with the commissioner and shall continue in effect so long as the holder of such certificate qualifies as an urban transit system. Any urban transit system certificate granted prior to January 1, 2002, shall be deemed valid as of the date it was issued;"

SECTION 19. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-8-93, relating to nonimposition of tax on property ordered by and delivered to a purchaser outside a special district and conditions of delivery, as follows:
"48-8-93. No tax provided for in Code Section 48-8-82 shall be imposed upon the sale of tangible personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser at a point outside the geographical area of the special district in which the joint tax is imposed regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is made by the seller's vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by private or contract carrier licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Georgia Department of Public Safety."

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SECTION 20. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-8-107, relating to property ordered by and delivered to a purchaser at a point outside the geographical area of a special district in which tax is imposed, as follows:
"48-8-107. No sales and use tax provided for in Code Section 48-8-102 shall be imposed upon the sale of tangible personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser at a point outside the geographical area of the special district in which the sales and use tax is imposed under this article regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is made by the seller's vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by private or contract carrier licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Georgia Department of Public Safety."

SECTION 21. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-8-117, relating inapplicability of tax to certain sales of tangible personal property outside the taxing county, as follows:
"48-8-117. No tax provided for in this article shall be imposed upon the sale of tangible personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser at a point outside the geographical area of the county in which the tax is imposed regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is made by the seller's vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by private or contract carrier licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Georgia Department of Public Safety."

SECTION 22. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-8-208, relating to no tax on products ordered and delivered outside geographical area of a municipality, as follows:
"48-8-208. No tax provided for in this article shall be imposed upon the sale of tangible personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser at a point outside the geographical area of the municipality in which the tax is imposed regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is made by the seller's vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by private or contract carrier licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Georgia Department of Public Safety."

SECTION 23. Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 48-8-253, relating to nonimposition of tax on property ordered by and delivered to purchaser outside special district and conditions on delivery, as follows:

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"48-8-253. No tax provided for in this article shall be imposed upon the sale of tangible personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser at a point outside the geographical area of the special district in which the tax is imposed regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is made by the seller's vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by private or contract carrier licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Georgia Department of Public Safety."

SECTION 24. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 48-13-16, relating to excluded businesses or practitioners and other laws on occupation taxes or registration fees of local governments not repealed, as follows:
"(a) The following businesses or practitioners shall be excluded from occupation tax, registration fees, or regulatory fees under the provisions of this article but shall be subject to taxation and regulation as otherwise provided by general law and municipal charters:
(1) Those businesses regulated by the Georgia Public Service Commission and the Georgia Department of Public Safety; (2) Those electrical service businesses organized under Chapter 3 of Title 46; and (3) Any farm operation for the production from or on the land of agricultural products, but not including any agribusiness."

SECTION 25. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 48-13-18, relating to levy by municipalities of occupation taxes on licensed businesses, trades, and professions and prohibition of municipal licensing or taxation of businesses, trades, or operations operating registered vehicles, as follows:
"(b) Nothing contained in this Code section shall be construed to authorize the municipal licensing or taxation of businesses, trades, or occupations operating motor vehicles required to be registered with the Department of Public Safety of this state."

SECTION 26. Article 6 of Chapter 32 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to construction of Chapter 32, the "Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Act," is amended by revising Code Section 50-32-71, relating to exemption of buses, motor vehicles, and rapid rail systems of the authority from motor carrier regulations, as follows:
"50-32-71. No provision of Chapter 1 of Title 40 shall apply to any bus, other motor vehicle, or rapid rail system of the authority which provides transit services."

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PART III Effective Date and Repealer.

SECTION 27. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 28. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES EXEMPT FARRIERS FROM LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND REGISTRATION FOR VETERINARY MEDICINE AND VETERINARY TECHNOLOGY.

No. 633 (Senate Bill No. 324).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 43-50-44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to exemptions from licensing and registration for veterinary medicine or veterinary technology, so as to provide an additional exemption; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 43-50-44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to exemptions from licensing and registration for veterinary medicine or veterinary technology, is amended by striking the word "or" at the end of paragraph (19), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (20) and inserting "; or" in lieu thereof, and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(21) Any person lawfully engaged in the art or profession of farriery."

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SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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INSURANCE CHILD-ONLY HEALTH CARE POLICIES.

No. 634 (House Bill No. 1166).

AN ACT

To amend Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, so as to provide for individual health insurance coverage to children through child-only health policies; to provide for legislative intent; to establish a mandatory, uniform open enrollment period; to provide for definitions; to provide for guaranteed-issue coverage regardless of health status; to provide for special enrollment periods for loss of coverage because of a qualifying event; to provide for a list of qualifying events; to provide effective dates for coverage purchased during an open enrollment period or after a qualifying event; to provide notice and marketing requirements; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for an automatic repealer; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance, is amended by adding a new chapter to read as follows:

"CHAPTER 29B

33-29B-1. (a) It is the intention of this chapter to restore access to creditable health care coverage for Georgia's children, and that in order to do so, it is important to bring insurance providers into the market to offer individual health insurance coverage to children through child-only policies. (b) For the protection of the public, particularly children and families, and for the protection of insurers required by federal law to guarantee the issue of individual health policies to children who are less than 19 years of age without imposing any preexisting

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condition exclusions, it is the intent of the General Assembly to accomplish this goal by establishing that as a condition of issuing health insurance coverage in the individual market until January 1, 2014, insurers offer child-only policies during open enrollment periods specified by this chapter.

33-29B-2. (a) As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Child-only policy' means individual health insurance coverage for a qualified individual who is less than 19 years of age. Such term shall not include dependent health insurance for a qualified individual under another person's health insurance. (2) 'Creditable coverage' means medical expense coverage under any of the following:
(A) Medicare or Medicaid; (B) An employer based accident and sickness insurance or health benefit arrangement; (C) An individual accident and sickness insurance policy, including coverage issued by a health maintenance organization, nonprofit hospital or nonprofit medical service corporation, health care corporation, or fraternal benefit society; (D) A spouse's benefits or coverage under medicare or Medicaid or an employer based health insurance or health benefit arrangement; (E) A conversion policy; (F) A franchise policy issued on an individual basis to a member of a true association as defined in subsection (b) of Code Section 33-30-1; (G) A health policy formed pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Chapter 55; (H) A health policy provided through the Indian Health Service or a tribal organization program or both; (I) A state health benefits risk pool; (J) A health policy formed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Chapter 89; (K) A public health policy; or (L) A Peace Corps Act health benefit policy. (3) 'Health insurance' has the same meaning as accident and sickness policy as defined in Code Section 33-29-1. Such term shall not include: (A) Any policy of workers' compensation insurance or any policy of workers' insurance or any policy of liability insurance with or without supplementary expense coverage on the policy; (B) Any policy or contract of reinsurance; (C) Any policy, the renewal of which is subject to continuation of employment with a specified employer, any blanket or group policy of insurance, or any policy issued pursuant to the exercise of conversion privileges provided for in group insurance policies; (D) Life insurance, endowment or annuity contracts, or contracts supplemental thereto which contain only such provisions relating to accident and sickness insurance which provide additional benefits in case of death or dismemberment or loss of sight by

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accident, or which operate to safeguard such contracts against lapse or give a special surrender value or special benefit or an annuity in the event that the insured or annuitant becomes totally and permanently disabled as defined by the contract or supplemental contract; (E) Companies, organizations, or associations provided for in Chapters 18 and 19 of this title; or (F) Any policy of accident, sickness, or hospitalization insurance issued prior to January 1, 1961; long-term care, disability income, short-term, accident, dental-only, vision-only, fixed indemnity, limited-benefit, or credit insurance; coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance; insurance arising out of workers' compensation or similar law; automobile medical payment insurance; or insurance under which benefits are payable with or without regard to fault and that is statutorily required to be contained in any liability insurance policy or equivalent self-insurance. (4) 'Insurer' means an insurance company, insurance service, or insurance organization licensed to engage in the business of insurance in Georgia and which is subject to this title. Such term shall not include a group health policy. (5) 'Open enrollment period' means January 1, 2013, through January 31, 2013. (6) 'Qualified individual' means a resident of this state who is less than 19 years of age. (7) 'Qualifying event' means the loss of employer sponsored health insurance or the involuntary loss of other existing health insurance for any reason other than fraud, misrepresentation, or failure to pay a premium if the applicant is a qualified individual when the qualifying event occurs.

33-29B-3. (a) All insurers that deliver or issue for delivery individual health insurance in this state shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. As a condition of issuing coverage in the individual health market, an insurer shall ensure that at least one policy design issued pursuant to Code Section 33-29A-3 and this chapter shall be available to individuals applying for a child-only policy. (b) Insurers shall offer guaranteed-issue coverage to primary subscribers under the age of 19 years during open enrollment periods during which insurers shall accept applications for child-only policies. (c) During the open enrollment period set forth in subsection (b) of this Code section and within 30 days of a qualifying event, an insurer shall accept and grant an application to insure a qualified individual for a child-only policy on a guaranteed-issue basis without any limitations or exclusions of policy benefits based upon the applicant's health status pursuant to federal law. (d) Insurers shall not offer child-only policies outside of the open enrollment period, except insurers shall permit a child under the age of 19 years to apply and enroll for coverage during a special enrollment period under the terms of the health benefit policy if the child has experienced a qualifying event.

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(e) A special enrollment period shall last 30 days from the date the insurer receives notice of loss of coverage if:
(1) Such notice is provided to the insurer no later than the sixtieth day after the loss of coverage; (2) The loss of other coverage results from:
(A) Birth; (B) Adoption; (C) Marriage; (D) Dissolution of marriage; (E) Loss of employer sponsored insurance; (F) Loss of eligibility under Code Section 49-4-1 or 49-5-273; (G) Entry of a valid court or administrative order mandating the child be covered; or (H) Involuntary loss of other existing coverage for any reason other than fraud, misrepresentation, or failure to pay premium; or (3) The person under 19 years of age is not eligible for creditable coverage. (f) Coverage under individual policies applied for during the open enrollment period shall become effective within 30 days following the end of such period. Coverage under individual policies applied for during a special enrollment period shall become effective within 30 days following the end of the special enrollment period. (g) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit an insurer from setting a premium rate for individuals based upon medical underwriting so long as such rate is in compliance with the applicable product's rate filing on record with the department. An insurer may impose a surcharge for up to 12 months if an individual enrolls in a child-only policy without prior creditable coverage in the 63 day period preceding the date of application. The amount of the surcharge may be up to an additional 50 percent of the premium rate that would be charged if an individual enrolls in a child-only policy with prior creditable coverage in the 63 day period preceding the date of application.

33-29B-4. In the event that an individual under the age of 19 years is a dependent on a policy with a primary subscriber who is over the age of 19 years and such primary subscriber drops the policy, all dependents shall lose coverage as a result of the termination of coverage of the primary subscriber. Such individuals under the age of 19 years may apply for child-only policies during the open enrollment period or, in the case of a qualifying event, during a special enrollment period.

33-29B-5. An insurance carrier may deny coverage to an applicant for enrollment in a child-only policy if other creditable coverage is available. For purposes of this Code section, the term 'creditable coverage' shall not include eligibility for a high-risk pool insurance policy, but shall include current enrollment in a high-risk pool insurance policy.

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33-29B-6. (a) Insurers currently covering subscribers or dependents under the age of 19 years on individual policies shall continue to renew such policies in accordance with Code Section 33-29-21. (b) Notice of the open enrollment opportunity, open enrollment dates for new applicants, the opportunity to enroll due to a qualifying event, and instructions on how to enroll a child in a child-only policy shall be displayed continuously and prominently on the insurer's website throughout the year.

33-29B-7. Each insurer that participates in the individual market in Georgia shall submit to the Commissioner the following information at the time the insurer submits the information pertaining to 2013 that is required in Code Section 33-3-21:
(1) The number of applicants for a child-only policy during open enrollment period; (2) The number of individuals who enrolled in a child-only policy during the open enrollment period; and (3) The number of applicants denied enrollment in a child-only policy during the open enrollment period and the reasons for the denials.

33-29B-8. (a) The Commissioner shall adopt rules to implement and administer this chapter. (b) This chapter and the rules adopted by the Commissioner to administer this chapter shall stand repealed on January 1, 2014."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS FOR ISSUANCE OR RENEWAL OF PERMITS AND VARIANCES BY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION.

No. 635 (Senate Bill No. 427).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 12-2-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Environmental Protection Division, the director of the division, the Environmental Advisory Council, appeal procedures generally, permit applications, and inspections, so as to change certain provisions relating to processing of applications for issuance or renewal of permits and variances; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 12-2-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Environmental Protection Division, the director of the division, the Environmental Advisory Council, appeal procedures generally, permit applications, and inspections, is amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (c) as follows:
"(c)(1)(A) The director shall issue all orders and shall grant, deny, revoke, or amend all permits or variances provided for in the laws to be enforced by the division. The director shall also issue any certification which is required by any law of this state or the United States to be issued by the director, the Department of Natural Resources, or the State of Georgia relating to pollution control facilities or matters. The director shall develop and implement procedures for timely processing of applications made to the division for issuance or renewal of permits or variances, including but not limited to procedures for expedited review and granting of applications upon payment of a fee in an amount established by the director to offset the cost of expediting, all subject to compliance with requirements of law regarding such applications. Such procedures shall also provide any applicant who has applied to the division for issuance or renewal of a permit or variance with the ability to securely track the status of his or her application, with real time updates, via the division's Internet website. The director shall notify all permit or variance applicants within ten days of receipt of the application as to the completeness of the application and, if the director finds the same to be incomplete, what specific additional materials the applicant need submit to make the

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application complete. The director shall notify applicants within ten days of receipt of a completed application as to the name and address of the person assigned to perform the review and the date, time, and location of the application review. The director shall grant or deny any permit or variance within 90 days after receipt of all required application materials by the division, provided that the director may for any application order not more than one extension of time of not more than 60 days within which to grant or deny the permit or variance.
(B)(i) The director may identify professionals qualified to review certain permit applications in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the board of the Department of Natural Resources. (ii) A permit applicant may retain a qualified professional to review an application prior to submittal to the division. If the qualified professional certifies an application as complete, the division shall act expeditiously on the application. (iii) A qualified professional certifying an application shall be independent of any professional preparing the application. (iv) The applicant shall directly pay the fees of the qualified professional. (v) The director may remove the qualified status of a professional if the professional provides a certification for an inaccurate application."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2013.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

__________

CRIMES AND OFFENSES PROHIBIT INTIMIDATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN RETALIATION FOR OFFICER CARRYING OUT OFFICIAL DUTIES.

No. 636 (House Bill No. 541).

AN ACT

To amend Article 5 of Chapter 10 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to offenses related to judicial and other proceedings, so as to prohibit intimidation

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of law enforcement officers in retaliation for the officer's actions of carrying out his or her official duties; to provide for penalties; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 5 of Chapter 10 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to offenses related to judicial and other proceedings, is amended by revising Code Section 16-10-97, relating to intimidation or injury of grand or trial juror or court officer, as follows:
"16-10-97. (a) A person who by threat or force or by any threatening action, letter, or communication:
(1) Endeavors to intimidate or impede any grand juror or trial juror or any officer in or of any court of this state or any court of any county or municipality of this state or any officer who may be serving at any proceeding in any such court while in the discharge of such juror's or officer's duties; (2) Injures any grand juror or trial juror in his or her person or property on account of any indictment or verdict assented to by him or her or on account of his or her being or having been such juror; or (3) Injures any officer in or of any court of this state or any court of any county or municipality of this state or any officer who may be serving at any proceeding in any such court in his or her person or property on account of the performance of his or her official duties shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both. (b) As used in this Code section, the term 'any officer in or of any court' means a judge, attorney, clerk of court, deputy clerk of court, court reporter, or probation officer. (c) A person who by threat or force or by any threatening action, letter, or communication endeavors to intimidate any law enforcement officer, outside the scope and course of his or her employment, or his or her immediate family member in retaliation or response to the discharge of such officer's official duties shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, a fine not to exceed $5,000.00, or both."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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COMMERCE AND TRADE PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES FUNERAL DIRECTORS AND CEMETERIANS; REVISE PROVISIONS; RELEASE OF FUNDS FROM ESCROW; ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES; REGISTRATION OF PRENEED DEALERS; OVERSIGHT.

No. 637 (House Bill No. 933).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 14 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to cemetery and funeral services, and Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to funeral directors and establishments, embalmers, and crematories, so as to modify provisions relating to funeral directors and cemeterians; to provide for the release of funds from an escrow account when a monument is placed into a bonded memorial storage program; to allow for electronic signatures for funeral services and related preneed contracts; to clarify definitions relating to funeral services; to clarify registration requirements for preneed dealers; to provide for the oversight of funeral service preneed providers by the State Board of Funeral Service; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 14 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to cemetery and funeral services, is amended in Code Section 10-14-3, relating to definitions applicable to cemetery and funeral services, by revising paragraphs (12) and (17) and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(12) 'Cremation' includes any mechanical, chemical, thermal, or other professionally accepted process whereby a deceased human being is reduced to ashes. Cremation also includes any other mechanical, chemical, thermal, or other professionally accepted process whereby human remains are pulverized, burned, recremated, or otherwise further reduced in size or quantity." "(16.1) 'Funeral director in full and continuous charge' means a funeral director who is approved by the State Board of Funeral Service to assume full responsibility for the operations of a particular funeral establishment and who shall ensure that said establishment complies with this chapter and with all rules promulgated pursuant thereto as provided in Chapter 18 of Title 43. (17) 'Funeral service' means any service relating to the transportation, embalming, cremation, and interment of a deceased human being, as further described in Code Section 43-18-1."

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SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 10-14-18, relating to duties of registrant and written contract, as follows:
"(c) The written contract shall be completed prior to the signing of the contract by the customer and a copy of the contract shall be provided to the customer. As used in this subsection, the term 'signing' includes any manual, facsimile, conformed, or electronic signature, and the term 'electronic signature' means an electronic symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document."

SECTION 3. Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to funeral directors and establishments, embalmers, and crematories, is amended by revising paragraphs (5) and (10) of Code Section 43-18-1, relating to definitions pertaining to funeral directors and establishments, embalmers, and crematories, as follows:
"(5) 'Cremation' means the reduction of the dead human body to residue by intense heat or any mechanical, chemical, thermal, or other professionally accepted process. Cremation also includes any other mechanical, chemical, thermal, or other professionally accepted process whereby human remains are pulverized, burned, recremated, or otherwise further reduced in size or quantity." "(10) 'Funeral' or 'funeral services' means the observances, services, or ceremonies held for dead human bodies and includes any service relating to the transportation, embalming, cremation, and interment of a dead human body."

Reserved.

SECTION 4.

SECTION 5. Said article is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 43-18-50, relating to application for funeral service apprenticeship and period of apprenticeship, as follows:
"(c) The total period of apprenticeship shall be 3,120 hours and must be served in a minimum of 18 months, but the minimum period shall be in addition to the time required to graduate from a college of funeral service or other college pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 43-18-41. An apprentice shall be authorized to earn apprenticeship hours in an amount to be determined by the board while attending a postgraduate school or a program at an accredited college of funeral service or other college approved by the board."

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SECTION 6. Chapter 14 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to cemetery and funeral services, is amended by revising paragraph (2) of Code Section 10-14-3, relating to definitions applicable to cemetery and funeral services, as follows:
"(2) 'Boards' mean the State Board of Cemeterians as described and authorized in Chapter 8B of Title 43 and the State Board of Funeral Service as described and authorized in Chapter 18 of Title 43."

SECTION 7. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 10-14-3.1, relating to the authority of the State Board of Cemeterians, as follows:
"10-14-3.1. The boards shall have all administrative powers and other powers necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including the authority to promulgate rules and regulations, and the Secretary of State shall delegate to the boards all such duties otherwise entrusted to the Secretary of State; provided, however, that the Secretary of State shall have sole authority over matters relating to the regulation of funds, trust funds, and escrow accounts and accounting and investigations concerning such matters but may delegate authority to the appropriate board for the review of such investigations and the determination as to disciplinary matters, necessary sanctions, and the enforcement of such decisions and sanctions. The State Board of Funeral Service shall have authority to promulgate rules and regulations and make disciplinary and sanctioning decisions relating to funeral services or funeral merchandise. The State Board of Cemeterians shall have authority to promulgate rules and regulations and make disciplinary and sanctioning decisions relating to burial services or burial merchandise. The Secretary of State may delegate to each board according to such duties and responsibilities of the boards."

SECTION 8. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 10-14-4, relating to registration of dealers and cemeteries, perpetual care cemeteries trust funds, nonperpetual care cemeteries, and preneed escrow accounts, as follows:
"(2) Every person desiring to be a registered preneed dealer, other than a person already licensed by the Board of Funeral Service as a funeral services director in full and continuous charge or an owner of a cemetery licensed by the State Board of Cemeterians as a cemeterian, shall file with the Secretary of State a registration application in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, executed and duly verified under oath by the applicant, if the applicant is an individual, or by an executive officer or general partner, if the applicant is a corporation or partnership, or by an individual of similar authority, if the applicant is some other entity, and containing the following information:
(A) The name of the applicant;

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(B) The location, mailing address, and telephone number of the applicant's principal business location in Georgia and the same information for other locations where business is conducted, together with any trade names associated with each location; (C) All locations of the records of the applicant which relate to preneed sales in Georgia; (D) If the applicant is not a natural person, the names of the president, secretary, and registered agent if the applicant is a corporation, of each general partner if the applicant is a partnership, or of individuals of similar authority, if the applicant is some other entity and their respective addresses and telephone numbers; the name and address of each person who owns 10 percent or more of any class of ownership interest in the applicant and the percentage of such interest; and the date of formation and the jurisdiction of organization of the applicant; (E) A certified copy of a certificate of existence or certificate of authority issued in accordance with Code Section 14-2-128 if the applicant is a corporation; (F) A description of any judgment or pending litigation to which the applicant or any affiliate of the applicant is a party and which involves the operation of the applicant's preneed business in Georgia or which could materially affect the business or assets of the applicant; (G) Whether the applicant or any affiliate of the applicant owns any other entities in Georgia regulated by this chapter and, if so, the location, mailing address, telephone number, and type of registration of such other entities; (H) A consent to service of process meeting the requirements of Code Section 10-14-24 for actions brought by the State of Georgia; (I) A list of each individual employed, appointed, or authorized by the applicant to offer for sale or to sell any grave lots, burial rights, burial or funeral merchandise, or burial services on behalf of the applicant; (J) A balance sheet of the applicant dated as of the end of the most recent fiscal year and in no event dated more than 15 months prior to the date of filing, which the Secretary of State shall treat as confidential and not open to public inspection; (K) The name, address, location, and telephone number of the preneed trust or escrow account depository or depositories, the names of the accounts, and the account numbers; (L) An executed copy of the trust or escrow agreement required by Code Section 10-14-7 or 10-14-7.1; (M) The name, address, and telephone number of the trust or escrow agent; (N) Such other information and documents as the Secretary of State may require by rule; and (O) A filing fee of $250.00. The provisions of this paragraph notwithstanding, a person licensed by the Board of Funeral Service as a funeral services director in full and continuous charge or an owner of a cemetery licensed by the State Board of Cemeterians as a cemeterian shall not be

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required to separately register as a preneed dealer provided that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (N) of this paragraph are satisfied."

SECTION 9. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 10-14-5, relating to preneed sales agents, contracts, and retention of employee data, as follows:
"10-14-5. (a) All individuals who offer preneed contracts to the public, or who execute preneed contracts on behalf of any entity required to be registered as a preneed dealer, and all individuals who offer, sell, or sign contracts for the preneed sale of burial rights shall be registered with the Secretary of State as preneed sales agents, pursuant to this Code section, unless such individuals are exempted under this chapter or individually own a controlling interest in a preneed dealer registered under this chapter. For purposes of this chapter, any person licensed by or registered with the Board of Funeral Service as a funeral services director in full and continuous charge or an owner of a cemetery licensed by the State Board of Cemeterians as a cemeterian shall be deemed a registered preneed dealer, and regulated pursuant to the rules governing same, by virtue thereof. (b) All preneed sales agents must be employed by a registered preneed dealer. (c) A preneed dealer shall be liable for the activities of all preneed sales agents who are employed by the preneed dealer or who perform any type of preneed related activity on behalf of the preneed dealer. If a preneed sales agent violates any provision of this chapter, such preneed sales agent and each preneed dealer who employs such preneed sales agent shall be subject to the penalties and remedies set out in Code Sections 10-14-11, 10-14-19, 10-14-20, and 10-14-21. (d) A preneed sales agent may be authorized to sell, offer, and execute preneed contracts on behalf of all entities owned or operated by the agent's sponsoring preneed dealer. (e) If the application for his or her registration is sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery, an individual may begin functioning as a preneed sales agent as soon as a completed application for registration, as set forth in subsection (g) of this Code section, is submitted to the Secretary of State, provided that, if any such sales agent fails to meet the qualifications set forth in this chapter, the preneed dealer shall immediately upon notification by the Secretary of State cause such agent to cease any sales activity on its behalf. (f) The qualifications for a preneed sales agent are as follows:
(1) The applicant must be at least 18 years of age; (2) The applicant must not be subject to any order of the Secretary of State that restricts his or her ability to be registered as a preneed sales agent; and (3) The applicant must not have been adjudicated, civilly or criminally, to have committed fraud or to have violated any law of any state involving fair trade or business practices, have been convicted of a misdemeanor of which fraud is an essential element

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or which involves any aspect of the funeral or cemetery business, or have been convicted of a felony. (g) An application for registration as a preneed sales agent shall be submitted to the Secretary of State with an application fee of $100.00 by the preneed dealer on a form that has been designated by the Secretary of State and shall contain, at a minimum, the following: (1) The name, address, social security number, and date of birth of the applicant and such other information as the Secretary of State may reasonably require of the applicant; (2) The name, address, and license number of the sponsoring preneed dealer; (3) A representation, signed by the applicant, that the applicant meets the requirements set forth in subsection (f) of this Code section; (4) A representation, signed by the preneed dealer, that the applicant is authorized to offer, sell, and sign preneed contracts on behalf of the preneed dealer and that the preneed dealer has informed the applicant of the requirements and prohibitions of this chapter relating to preneed sales, the provisions of the preneed dealer's preneed contract, and the nature of the merchandise, services, or burial rights sold by the preneed dealer; (5) A statement indicating whether the applicant has any type of working relationship with any other preneed dealer or insurance company; and (6) A signed agreement by the applicant consenting to an investigation of his or her background with regard to the matters set forth in this Code section, including, without limitation, his or her criminal history. (h) An individual may be registered as a preneed sales agent on behalf of more than one preneed dealer, provided that the individual has received the written consent of all such preneed dealers. (i) A preneed dealer who has registered a preneed sales agent shall notify the Secretary of State within three business days of a change in such individual's status as a preneed sales agent with such preneed dealer or upon the occurrence of any other event which would disqualify the individual as a preneed sales agent. (j) Upon receipt and review of an application that complies with all of the requirements of this Code section, the Secretary of State shall register the applicant. The Secretary of State shall by rule provide for annual renewal of registration and a renewal fee of $50.00. (k) Each cemetery registered under this chapter shall maintain in its files for a period of five years a properly completed and executed application for employment in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State for each employee, officer, independent contractor, or other agent directly or indirectly involved in cemetery or preneed sales or any person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions. If a request is made, said forms shall be made available for inspection by authorized representatives of the Secretary of State."

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SECTION 10. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"10-14-5.1. Any individual engaged in the sale of life insurance shall not use the name of any funeral establishment or any price list which identifies the funeral establishment or any reference to a funeral establishment or crematory in connection with the sale of life insurance without the express written authorization of the funeral establishment. When a preneed funeral contract is funded by a life insurance policy, the funeral establishment shall be designated as the assignee of the death benefit payable under the policy in accordance with the terms of the preneed contract."

SECTION 11. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 10-14-7, relating to preneed escrow accounts, as follows:
"10-14-7. (a)(1) Each preneed dealer which sells burial or funeral merchandise on a preneed basis or preneed burial or funeral services, other than preneed funeral services described in Code section 10-14-7.1, shall establish and maintain a trust fund or a preneed escrow account. (2) With respect to each monument and outer burial container, bench, coping, and other burial and funeral merchandise items except for caskets, and except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the amount to be deposited to said trust or escrow account shall be not less than 35 percent of the sales price of such monument or outer burial container; in no event shall the amount deposited be less than 120 percent of the wholesale price of such items. For caskets, the amount to be deposited to said trust or escrow account shall be not less than 100 percent of the sales price of such merchandise; in no event shall the amount deposited be less than 110 percent of the wholesale price of such merchandise. If the contract of sale shall include grave spaces or items not deemed to be burial or funeral merchandise, the portion of the sales price attributable to the sale of the burial or funeral merchandise shall be determined, and it shall only be as to such portion of the total contract as constitutes burial or funeral merchandise that the deposit described in this paragraph shall be required. In the event that the sale of burial or funeral merchandise is under an installment contract, the required trust deposit shall be a pro rata part of the principal portion of each installment payment, such deposit only being required as payments are made by the purchaser for such burial or funeral merchandise. In the event the installment contract is discounted or sold to a third party, the seller shall be required to deposit an amount equal to the undeposited portion of the required deposit of the sales price of such burial or funeral merchandise at such time as if the contract were paid in full. (3) With respect to a monument, outer burial container, bench, coping, and other burial and funeral merchandise items except for caskets, the itemized sales price of which does

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not include the installation of such item, 100 percent of the installation cost shall be deposited in the trust or escrow account. (4) With respect to cash advance items and the sale of preneed funeral services, the amount to be deposited to said trust or escrow account shall be 100 percent of the sales price of such funeral services or the full amount of a cash advance item. The time and manner of deposit shall be the same as that specified for deposit of burial or funeral merchandise sale funds to the escrow account. (5) With respect to preneed burial services, the amount to be deposited to said trust or escrow account shall be not less than 35 percent of the sales price of such burial services; in no event shall the amount deposited be less than 120 percent of the wholesale price of such burial services. The time and manner of deposit shall be the same as that specified for deposit of burial or funeral merchandise sale funds to the escrow account. (b) The deposit specified in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), and (5) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be made not later than 30 days following the last day of the month in which any payment is received. (c) A preneed escrow account governed by the provisions of this Code section shall be established and maintained in a state bank, state savings and loan institution, savings bank, national bank, federal savings and loan association, whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or other governmental agency, or a state or federally chartered credit union insured under 12 U.S.C. Section 1781 of the Federal Credit Union Act, or other organization approved by the Secretary of State which is located and doing business in this state. (d)(1) If the account is maintained with a trustee, the assets of the trust fund shall be invested and reinvested by the trustee subject to all the terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions imposed by Georgia law upon executors and trustees regarding the making and depositing of investments with trust moneys pursuant to Code Sections 53-8-1 through 53-8-4 of the 'Pre 1998 Probate Code,' if applicable, or Code Sections 53-8-1 and 53-12-340 of the 'Revised Probate Code of 1998,' if applicable, or Chapter 12 of Title 53, 'The Revised Georgia Trust Code of 2010.' Subject to said terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions, the trustee of the preneed accounts shall have full power to hold, purchase, sell, assign, transfer, reinvest, and dispose of any of the securities and investments in which any of the assets of said account are invested, including proceeds of investments. (2) Any state bank, national bank, or other financial institution authorized to act in a fiduciary capacity in this state, which presently or in the future serves as a fiduciary or cofiduciary of the trust fund of a preneed dealer, may invest part or all of such trust fund held by it for investment in interests or participation in one or more common trust funds established by that state bank, national bank, or other financial institution for collective investment, if such investment is not expressly prohibited by the instrument, judgment, decree, or order creating the fiduciary relationship and if, in the case of cofiduciaries, the trust institution procures the consent of its cofiduciary or cofiduciaries to such

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investment, and notwithstanding the fact that such common trust funds are not invested and reinvested subject to all the terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions imposed by the laws of the State of Georgia upon executors and trustees in the making and disposing of their investments. (e)(1) For burial or funeral merchandise, funds shall be released from the trust or escrow account when the burial or funeral merchandise is delivered or, if the burial or funeral merchandise is not yet delivered, within the time required by law after a purchaser requests a refund. The preneed dealer is considered to have delivered burial or funeral merchandise when the burial or funeral merchandise is:
(A) Actually delivered to the purchaser at the time of need; (B) Actually delivered to the purchaser at the purchaser's request; (C) In the case of a monument, when the monument is attached to realty; (D) In the case of a monument, when the preneed dealer has the monument manufactured for the purchaser and placed into storage with a responsible third party bonded and insured for the wholesale value thereof and evidenced by a receipt specifically identifying the monument, the specific preneed contract, the location of the monument, and identify and address of the bonding and insuring parties; or (E) At such other times as prescribed by the rule or order of the Secretary of State. Notwithstanding the foregoing, outer burial containers may not be delivered prior to need. (2) Deposits made from funds received in payment of preneed services shall remain in the trust or escrow account until such services are performed, at which time said funds may be released to the preneed dealer. The trustee may require certification by the preneed dealer of delivery of merchandise or performance of services before release of funds. (3) The funds on deposit under the terms of this subsection regarded as escrow funds may not be pledged, hypothecated, transferred, or in any manner encumbered by the escrow agent nor may said funds be offset or taken for the debts of the preneed dealer until such time as the merchandise has been delivered or the services performed, but after delivery of the burial or funeral merchandise concerned. (f) At any time, in the event that the preneed trust or escrow account contains an amount less than the amount required by this Code section, the preneed dealer shall, within 15 days after the earlier of becoming aware of such fact or having been so notified by the Secretary of State, deposit into the preneed account an amount equal to such shortfall. In the event that the Secretary of State and the preneed dealer disagree regarding the amount of such shortfall, no penalty shall be imposed upon the preneed dealer for any failure to comply with this provision unless such failure occurs after notice and opportunity for a hearing as provided in Code Section 10-14-23. (g) In the case of release of trusted or escrowed funds to a purchaser at the purchaser's request pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section, a sum not less than the lesser of 10 percent of the trusted or escrowed amount or one-half of the interest earned or return upon such funds as of the date of release, as provided by the Secretary of State by rule or

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regulation, may be retained by the preneed dealer as an administrative fee for reimbursement of the preneed dealer for costs. (h) The trustee shall furnish yearly to the Secretary of State a financial report in a form designated by the Secretary of State with respect to the preneed trust or escrow account. (i) Trust funds shall not be invested in or loaned to any business venture controlled by the preneed dealer, a person who owns a controlling interest of a cemetery owner that is not a natural person, or an affiliate of any of these persons or entities. (j) Upon a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction of failure to deposit or maintain funds in the preneed trust or escrow account as required by this chapter or of fraud, theft, or other misconduct by the preneed dealer or the officers or directors of the preneed dealer which has wasted or depleted such funds, the preneed dealer or the officers or directors of the preneed dealer may be held jointly and severally liable for any deficiencies in the preneed trust or escrow account."

SECTION 12. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"10-14-7.1. (a) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in Chapter 1 of Title 7, the 'Financial Institutions Code of Georgia,' or in any other provision of law, a preneed dealer registered or deemed registered pursuant to Code Section 10-14-5 who provides funeral services shall provide for funds to be deposited in an escrow account pursuant to Code Section 10-14-7 or with a depository institution in accordance with this Code section and placed in an individual trust fund account that is:
(1) Titled in the name of a funeral establishment; (2) Established for the purpose of providing preneed funeral services; (3) Payable upon the death of the purchaser in favor of a funeral establishment for purposes of providing funeral services; and (4) Refundable to the purchaser's designee or the estate of the deceased, such that 100 percent of the trust funds following a deduction of any amounts paid or owing as taxes and a 3 percent charge for administrative costs shall be returned to the designee or estate where funeral services are not provided by the funeral establishment. (b)(1) One hundred percent of funds to be held in trust shall be deposited in the trust account. The deposit of such funds shall be made not later than 30 days following the last day of the month in which any payment is received. Trust fund accounts shall be established and maintained in a state bank, state savings and loan institution, savings bank, national bank, federal savings and loan association, whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or other governmental agency, or a state or federally chartered credit union insured under 12 U.S.C. Section 1781 of the Federal Credit Union Act, or other organization approved by the Secretary of State which is located and doing business in this state.

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(2)(A) If the account is maintained with a trustee, the assets of the trust account shall be invested and reinvested by the trustee subject to all the terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions imposed by Georgia law upon executors and trustees regarding the making and depositing of investments with trust moneys and subject to the limitations and restrictions imposed pursuant to this Code section. (B) Subject to said terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions, the trustee of a preneed account shall have full power to hold, purchase, sell, assign, transfer, reinvest, and dispose of any of the securities and investments in which any of the assets of said account are invested, including proceeds of investments. A personal representative shall be authorized to invest funds in:
(i) Interest-bearing deposits in any chartered state or national bank or trust company or savings and loan association located in this state to the extent the deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or comparable insurance; and (ii) Direct and general obligations of the United States government, obligations unconditionally guaranteed by the United States government, and obligations of the agencies of the United States government enumerated in Code Section 53-8-3. (C) In making investments pursuant to subparagraph (b)(2)(B) of this Code section and in acquiring and retaining those investments and managing the property of the estate, the personal representative shall exercise the judgment and care, under the circumstances then prevailing, which persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital. (3) In the event that the sale of burial or funeral merchandise is under an installment contract, the required trust deposit shall be a pro rata part of the principal portion of each installment payment, such deposit only being required as payments are made by the purchaser for such burial or funeral merchandise. (c) The trustee shall furnish yearly to the Secretary of State a financial report in a form designated by the Secretary of State with respect to the preneed trust or escrow account. (d) Upon a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction of failure to deposit or maintain funds in the trust account as required by this Code section or of fraud, theft, or misconduct by a funeral establishment or a funeral director or his or her employee, representative, or agent which has wasted or depleted such funds, the funeral establishment owners, funeral director, or employee, representative, or agent of a funeral director or establishment may be held jointly and severally liable for any deficiencies in the trust account. (e) Any other provision of law notwithstanding, a trust fund account established and maintained under this Code section and the moneys contained therein shall not be deemed an asset or income for purposes of recapture of income or funds owed or for any other purpose. (f) Nothing contained herein shall preclude a licensed funeral director in full and continuous charge from maintaining an escrow account with aggregate escrow funds

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for 100 percent of any preneed contract amount for purposes of passing through funds within 60 days to a trust fund account or payment of a policy of insurance for preneed services."

SECTION 13. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 10-14-17, relating to enumeration of fees, as follows:
"(d) Other than fees for the processing and for the sale of burial rights, burial or funeral merchandise, and burial or funeral services, no other fee may be directly or indirectly charged, contracted for, or received by a cemetery company as a condition for a customer to use any burial right, burial or funeral merchandise, or burial or funeral service, except for:"

SECTION 14. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 15. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCY REPORTS REGARDING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES AND DUPLICATE STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATION.

No. 638 (Senate Bill No. 428).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to administrative procedure, so as to provide for agency reports regarding federal government mandates and duplicate state and federal regulation; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to administrative procedure, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"50-13-4.1. Each agency shall prepare annually a report that specifies with detail those federal government mandates that require agency promulgation of rules and regulations rather than enactment of law by the General Assembly. Such report shall also identify state and federal regulatory duplication. A copy of such report shall be submitted to the Governor, Secretary of State, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary of the Senate, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and legislative counsel."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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CRIMES AND OFFENSES TORTS ASSISTED SUICIDE; PENALTIES; EXCEPTIONS; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; RACKETEERING ACTIVITY; REPORTING OF JUDGMENTS AGAINST HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.

No. 639 (House Bill No. 1114).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to homicide, so as to repeal certain provisions regarding offering to assist in the commission of a suicide; to prohibit assisted suicide; to provide for definitions; to provide for criminal penalties; to provide for certain exceptions; to provide for certain reporting requirements with respect to being convicted of assisting in a suicide; to amend Code Section 16-14-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions for the "Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act," so as to provide for assisted suicide as racketeering activity; to amend Title 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to torts, so as to provide for reporting requirements with respect to a civil judgment against a health care provider; to provide for applicability; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to homicide, is amended by repealing Code Section 16-5-5, relating to offering to assist in the commission of a suicide, and enacting a new Code Section 16-5-5 to read as follows:
"16-5-5. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Assists' means the act of physically helping or physically providing the means. (2) 'Health care provider' means any person licensed, certified, or registered under Chapter 9, 10A, 11, 11A, 26, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 39, or 44 of Title 43. (3) 'Suicide' means the intentional and willful termination of one's own life. (b) Any person with actual knowledge that a person intends to commit suicide who knowingly and willfully assists such person in the commission of such person's suicide shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years. (c) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to: (1) Pursuant to a patient's consent, any person prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications or medical procedures when such actions are calculated or intended to relieve or prevent such patient's pain or discomfort but are not calculated or intended to cause such patient's death, even if the medication or medical procedure may have the effect of hastening or increasing the risk of death; (2) Pursuant to a patient's consent, any person discontinuing, withholding, or withdrawing medications, medical procedures, nourishment, or hydration; (3) Any person prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications or medical procedures pursuant to, without limitation, a living will, a durable power of attorney for health care, an advance directive for health care, or a consent pursuant to Code Section 29-4-18 or 31-9-2 when such actions are calculated or intended to relieve or prevent a patient's pain or discomfort but are not calculated or intended to cause such patient's death, even if the medication or medical procedure may have the effect of hastening or increasing the risk of death; (4) Any person discontinuing, withholding, or withdrawing medications, medical procedures, nourishment, or hydration pursuant to, without limitation, a living will, a durable power of attorney for health care, an advance directive for health care, a consent pursuant to Code Section 29-4-18 or 31-9-2, or a written order not to resuscitate; or (5) Any person advocating on behalf of a patient in accordance with this subsection. (d) Within ten days of a conviction, a health care provider who is convicted of violating this Code section shall notify in writing the applicable licensing board for his or her licensure, certification, registration, or other authorization to conduct such health care provider's occupation. Upon being notified and notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the appropriate licensing board shall revoke the license, certification, registration, or other authorization to conduct such health care provider's occupation."

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SECTION 2. Code Section 16-14-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions for the "Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act," is amended by striking "or" at the end of division (9)(A)(xxxix), by striking the period and inserting in its place "; or" at the end of division (9)(A)(xl), and by adding a new division to read as follows:
"(xli) Code Section 16-5-5, relating to assisted suicide."

SECTION 3. Title 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to torts, is amended in Chapter 4, relating to wrongful death, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"51-4-6. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'health care provider' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 16-5-5. (b) Within ten days of a judgment, a health care provider against whom a judgment has been obtained under the provisions of this chapter shall notify in writing the applicable licensing board for his or her licensure, certification, registration, or other authorization to conduct such health care provider's occupation so that disciplinary action may be taken as determined necessary by the applicable board."

SECTION 4. This Act shall not apply to any offense committed before the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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COMMERCE AND TRADE OVERSIGHT AND REGULATION OF CERTAIN TELEMARKETING PRACTICES.

No. 640 (House Bill No. 1132).

AN ACT

To amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," so as to provide for oversight by the administrator of certain telemarketing practices; to provide for definitions; to provide for conduct by telephone solicitors; to provide for class actions; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"10-1-393.13. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'ADAD equipment' means any device or system of devices which is used, whether alone or in conjunction with other equipment, for the purpose of automatically selecting or dialing telephone numbers and disseminating prerecorded messages to the numbers so selected or dialed. (2) 'Business' means any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, organization, self-employed individual, trust, or other legal entity. (3) 'Caller identification service' means a type of telephone service which permits subscribers to see the telephone number of incoming telephone calls. (4) 'In this state' means the call:
(A) Originates from this state; or (B) Is directed by the caller to this state and received at the place to which it is directed. (5) 'Subscriber' means a person or business that has subscribed to telephone service from a local exchange company or mobile, wireless, or other telephone service provider or other persons living, residing, or working with such person or business. (6) 'Telephone solicitation' means any voice communication from a live operator, through the use of ADAD equipment or by other means, over a telephone line or computer network for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment

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in, property, goods, or services or donation to any organization, but shall not include communications:
(A) To any subscriber with that subscriber's prior express invitation or permission; (B) By or on behalf of any person or entity with whom a subscriber has a prior or current business or personal relationship; or (C) Which convey a political message. (b) Without otherwise limiting the definition of unfair or deceptive acts or practices under this part and without limiting any other Code section under this part, in connection with a telephone solicitation: (1) At the beginning of such call, the person or entity making the call shall state clearly the identity of the person or entity initiating the call; (2) No person or entity who makes a telephone solicitation to the telephone line of a subscriber in this state shall knowingly utilize any method to block or otherwise circumvent such subscriber's use of a caller identification service; (3) The telephone number displayed on the caller identification service shall be a working telephone number capable of receiving incoming calls at the time the call is placed; and (4) The identity of the caller displayed on the caller identification service shall accurately reflect the identity of the caller. (c) Notwithstanding Code Section 10-1-399, a claim of a violation of this Code section may be brought in a representative capacity and may be the subject of a class action under Code Section 9-11-23. Damages for such violation shall be the greater of actual damages or $10.00 per violation."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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PUBLIC UTILITIES PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION; REDISTRICTING.

No. 641 (Senate Bill No. 382).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to organization and members of the Public Service Commission, so as to change the description of the election districts for members of the Public Service Commission; to provide for manner of election and terms of office; to provide for continuation in office of current members; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to organization and members of the Public Service Commission, is amended by revising Code Section 46-2-1, relating to election of Public Service Commissioners and terms of office, as follows:
"46-2-1. (a) The Georgia Public Service Commission shall consist of five members to be elected as provided in this Code section. The members in office on January 1, 2012, and any member appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in such membership prior to the expiration of a term of office shall continue to serve out their respective terms of office. As terms of office expire, new members elected to the commission shall be required to be residents of one of five Public Service Commission Districts as hereafter provided, but each member of the commission shall be elected state wide by the qualified voters of this state who are entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, the election shall be held under the same rules and regulations as apply to the election of Governor. The Commissioners, who shall give their entire time to the duties of their offices, shall be elected at the general election next preceding the expiration of the terms of office of the respective incumbents. Their terms of office shall be six years and shall expire on December 31. (b) In order to be elected as a member of the commission from a Public Service Commission District, a person shall have resided in that district for at least 12 months prior to election thereto. A person elected as a member of the commission from a Public Service Commission District by the voters of Georgia shall continue to reside in that district during the person's term of office, or that office shall thereupon become vacant.

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(c) For the purpose of electing the members of the Public Service Commission, this state shall be divided into five Public Service Commission Districts described as follows:

BG: 1

District 001 Appling County Atkinson County Bacon County Baker County Ben Hill County Berrien County Brantley County Brooks County Bryan County Bulloch County Calhoun County Camden County Candler County Charlton County Chatham County Chattahoochee County Clay County Clinch County Coffee County Colquitt County Cook County Crisp County Decatur County Dodge County Dooly County Dougherty County Early County Echols County Effingham County Evans County Glynn County Grady County Irwin County Jeff Davis County Lanier County

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Lee County Liberty County Long County Lowndes County Macon County Marion County McIntosh County Miller County Mitchell County Montgomery County Muscogee County Pierce County Pulaski County Quitman County Randolph County Schley County Seminole County Stewart County Sumter County Tattnall County Telfair County Terrell County Thomas County Tift County Toombs County Turner County Ware County Wayne County Webster County Wheeler County Wilcox County Worth County

District 002 Baldwin County Barrow County Bibb County Bleckley County Burke County Clarke County Emanuel County

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Glascock County Greene County Gwinnett County Hancock County Houston County Jackson County Jasper County Jefferson County Jenkins County Johnson County Jones County Laurens County Morgan County Newton County Oconee County Putnam County Screven County Treutlen County Twiggs County Walton County Washington County Wilkinson County

District 003 Clayton County DeKalb County Fulton County Rockdale County

District 004 Banks County Bartow County Catoosa County Chattooga County Cherokee County Columbia County Dade County Dawson County Elbert County Fannin County Floyd County

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Forsyth County Franklin County Gilmer County Gordon County Habersham County Hall County Hart County Lincoln County Lumpkin County Madison County McDuffie County Murray County Oglethorpe County Pickens County Rabun County Richmond County Stephens County Taliaferro County Towns County Union County Walker County Warren County White County Whitfield County Wilkes County

District 005 Butts County Carroll County Cobb County Coweta County Crawford County Douglas County Fayette County Haralson County Harris County Heard County Henry County Lamar County Meriwether County Monroe County

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Paulding County Peach County Pike County Polk County Spalding County Talbot County Taylor County Troup County Upson County (d) The first members of the commission elected under this Code section shall be elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2012, from Public Service Commission Districts 3 and 5, shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election, and shall serve for terms of office of six years and until the election and qualification of their respective successors. Those members of the commission elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2014, from Public Service Commission Districts 1 and 4 shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election and shall serve for terms of office of six years and until the election and qualification of their respective successors. The member of the commission elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2016, from Public Service Commission District 2 shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election and shall serve for a term of office of six years and until the election and qualification of his or her respective successor. All future successors to members of the commission whose terms of office are to expire shall be elected at the state-wide general election immediately preceding the expiration of such terms, shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election, and shall serve for terms of office of six years."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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EDUCATION DECLARATIONS OF INTENT AND ATTENDANCE RECORDS FOR HOME SCHOOL TO BE SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; NOTICES OF UNEXCUSED ABSENCES MAY BE MADE BY UNITED STATES MAIL.

No. 642 (House Bill No. 39).

AN ACT

To amend Subpart 2 of Part 1 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to compulsory attendance for students in elementary and secondary education, so as to provide that declarations of intent and attendance records for home study programs are submitted to the Department of Education rather than local school superintendents; to provide that notice by local school systems to parents relating to unexcused absences may be made by United States mail; to provide for related matters; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Subpart 2 of Part 1 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to compulsory attendance for students in elementary and secondary education, is amended in Code Section 20-2-690, relating to requirements for private schools and home study programs, by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c) Parents or guardians may teach their children at home in a home study program which meets the following requirements:
(1) The parent, parents, or guardian must submit within 30 days after the establishment of a home study program and by September 1 annually thereafter a declaration of intent to utilize a home study program to the Department of Education, which may provide for electronic submittal of such declaration of intent; (2) The declaration shall include a list of the names and ages of the students who are enrolled in the home study program, the address where the home study program is located, and a statement of the 12 month period that is to be considered the school year for that home study program. Enrollment records and reports shall not be used for any purpose except providing necessary enrollment information, except with the permission of the parent or guardian of a child, pursuant to the subpoena of a court of competent jurisdiction, or for verification of attendance by the Department of Public Safety for the purposes set forth in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22; (3) Parents or guardians may teach only their own children in the home study program, provided the teaching parent or guardian possesses at least a high school diploma or a

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general educational development diploma, but the parents or guardians may employ a tutor who holds a high school diploma or a general educational development diploma to teach such children; (4) The home study program shall provide a basic academic educational program which includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science; (5) The home study program must provide instruction each 12 months to home study students equivalent to 180 school days of education with each school day consisting of at least four and one-half school hours unless the child is physically unable to comply with the rule provided for in this paragraph; (6) Attendance records for the home study program shall be kept and shall be submitted annually to the Department of Education and additionally, in accordance with department regulations for purposes of verification of attendance by the Department of Public Safety, for the purposes set forth in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22. The department may provide for electronic submittal of such records. Attendance records and reports shall not be used for any purpose except providing necessary attendance information, except with the permission of the parent or guardian of a child, pursuant to the subpoena of a court of competent jurisdiction, or for verification of attendance by the Department of Public Safety for the purposes set forth in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22; (7) Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm reference tests to evaluate their educational progress at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade and records of such tests and scores shall be retained but shall not be required to be submitted to public educational authorities; and (8) The home study program instructor shall write an annual progress assessment report which shall include the instructor's individualized assessment of the student's academic progress in each of the subject areas specified in paragraph (4) of this subsection, and such progress reports shall be retained by the parent, parents, or guardian of children in the home study program for a period of at least three years."

SECTION 2. Said subpart is further amended in Code Section 20-2-690.1, relating to mandatory education for children between ages six and 16, by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c) Any parent, guardian, or other person residing in this state who has control or charge of a child or children and who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $25.00 and not greater than $100.00, imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, community service, or any combination of such penalties, at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction. Each day's absence from school in violation of this part after the child's school system notifies the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child of five unexcused

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days of absence for a child shall constitute a separate offense. After two reasonable attempts to notify the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child of five unexcused days of absence without response, the school system shall send a notice to such parent, guardian, or other person by certified mail, return receipt requested, or first-class mail. Prior to any action to commence judicial proceedings to impose a penalty for violating this subsection on a parent, guardian, or other person residing in this state who has control or charge of a child or children, a school system shall send a notice to such parent, guardian, or other person by certified mail, return receipt requested. Public schools shall provide to the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of each child enrolled in public school a written summary of possible consequences and penalties for failing to comply with compulsory attendance under this Code section for children and their parents, guardians, or other persons having control or charge of children. The parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child or children shall sign a statement indicating receipt of such written statement of possible consequences and penalties; children who are age ten years or older by September 1 shall sign a statement indicating receipt of such written statement of possible consequences and penalties. After two reasonable attempts by the school to secure such signature or signatures, the school shall be considered to be in compliance with this subsection if it sends a copy of the statement, via certified mail, return receipt requested, or first-class mail, to such parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child or children. Public schools shall retain signed copies of statements through the end of the school year."

SECTION 3. Said subpart is further amended in Code Section 20-2-690.1, relating to mandatory education for children between ages six and 16, by revising subsection (d) as follows:
"(d) Local school superintendents in the case of private schools or home study programs and visiting teachers and attendance officers in the case of public schools shall have authority and it shall be their duty to file proceedings in court to enforce this subpart. The Department of Education shall coordinate with local school superintendents with respect to attendance records and notification for students in home study programs."

SECTION 4. Said subpart is further amended in Code Section 20-2-694, relating to administration and enforcement of compulsory attendance laws, as follows:
"20-2-694. It shall be the duty of each county and independent school system board of education and each local school superintendent within the state to administer this subpart and to secure its enforcement in cooperation with the other state and county agencies and in cooperation with the administrators of private schools and parents or guardians providing a home study program. The Department of Education shall coordinate with boards of education and local

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school superintendents regarding administration of this part with respect to students in home study programs."

SECTION 5. Said subpart is further amended in Code Section 20-2-701, relating to local school superintendents or visiting teachers and attendance officers to report truants to juvenile or other courts, by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a) Local school superintendents as applied to private schools and home study programs or visiting teachers and attendance officers as applied to public schools, after written notice to the parent or guardian of a child, shall report to the juvenile or other court having jurisdiction under Chapter 11 of Title 15 any child who is absent from a public or private school or a home study program in violation of this subpart. If the judge of the court places such child in a home or in a public or private institution pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 15, school shall be provided for such child. The Department of Education shall coordinate with local school superintendents with respect to attendance records and notification for students in home study programs."

SECTION 6. Sections 1, 3, 4, and 5 of this Act shall be applicable beginning with school year 2012-2013.

SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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EVIDENCE UNIFORM INTERSTATE DEPOSITIONS AND DISCOVERY ACT.

No. 643 (House Bill No. 46).

AN ACT

To amend Title 24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to evidence, so as to repeal the "Uniform Foreign Depositions Act" and to replace such Act with the "Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act"; to provide for a short title; to provide for definitions; to provide for issuance and service of subpoenas; to provide for depositions and production and inspection of documents and tangible evidence; to provide for protective orders; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and a contigent

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effective date and applicability; to provide for automatic repeal under certain circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

PART I SECTION 1-1.

Title 24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to evidence, is amended by repealing Article 6 of Chapter 10, the "Uniform Foreign Depositions Act," and enacting a new Article 6 to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 6

24-10-110. This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.'

24-10-111. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Foreign jurisdiction' means a state other than this state. (2) 'Foreign subpoena' means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction. (3) 'Person' means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. (4) 'State' means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Native American tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. (5) 'Subpoena' means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to:
(A) Attend and give testimony at a deposition; (B) Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of such person; or (C) Permit inspection of premises under the control of such person.

24-10-112. (a) To request issuance of a subpoena under this Code section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena to the clerk of superior court of the county in which the person receiving

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the subpoena resides. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this Code section shall not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state. (b) When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of superior court in this state, the clerk shall promptly issue and provide to the requestor a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed. (c) A subpoena under subsection (b) of this Code section shall:
(1) Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and (2) Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel. (d) This Code section shall only apply to a subpoena to be issued in this state if the foreign jurisdiction that issued the foreign subpoena has adopted a version of the 'Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.' (e) This Code section shall not apply to criminal proceedings.

24-10-113. (a) For purposes of this Code section, the term 'subpoena' shall have only the meaning set forth in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) of Code Section 24-10-111. (b) In addition to the mechanism for issuing subpoenas provided for in Code Section 24-10-112, whenever any mandate, writ, or commission is issued out of any court of record in a foreign jurisdiction, a witness may be compelled by subpoena issued by the clerk of superior court of the county in which such witness resides to appear and testify in the same manner and by the same process and proceeding as may be employed for the purpose of taking testimony in proceedings pending in this state.

24-10-114. A subpoena issued by the clerk of superior court under Code Section 24-10-112 or 24-10-113 shall be served in compliance with Code Section 24-10-23 and shall be served within a reasonable time prior to the appearance required by such subpoena.

24-10-115. Part 1 of Article 2 of this chapter shall apply to subpoenas issued under Code Section 24-10-112 or 24-10-113.

24-10-116. An application for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by the clerk of superior court under Code Section 24-10-112 or 24-10-113 shall comply with the statutes and court rules of this state and shall be submitted to the superior court of the county in which the subpoena was issued."

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PART II SECTION 2-1.

Title 24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to evidence, is amended by repealing Article 5 of Chapter 13 as enacted by HB 24, substantially revising, superseding, and modernizing provisions relating to evidence during the 2011-2012 biennium of the General Assembly, and enacting a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 5

24-13-110. This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.'

24-13-111. As used in this article, the term:
(1) 'Foreign jurisdiction' means a state other than this state. (2) 'Foreign subpoena' means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction. (3) 'Person' means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. (4) 'State' means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Native American tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. (5) 'Subpoena' means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to:
(A) Attend and give testimony at a deposition; (B) Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of such person; or (C) Permit inspection of premises under the control of such person.

24-13-112. (a) To request issuance of a subpoena under this Code section, a party shall submit a foreign subpoena to the clerk of superior court of the county in which the person receiving the subpoena resides. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this Code section shall not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.

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(b) When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of superior court in this state, the clerk shall promptly issue and provide to the requestor a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed. (c) A subpoena under subsection (b) of this Code section shall:
(1) Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and (2) Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel. (d) This Code section shall only apply to a subpoena to be issued in this state if the foreign jurisdiction that issued the foreign subpoena has adopted a version of the 'Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.' (e) This Code section shall not apply to criminal proceedings.

24-13-113. (a) For purposes of this Code section, the term 'subpoena' shall have only the meaning set forth in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) of Code Section 24-13-111. (b) In addition to the mechanism for issuing subpoenas provided for in Code Section 24-13-112, whenever any mandate, writ, or commission is issued out of any court of record in a foreign jurisdiction, a witness may be compelled by subpoena issued by the clerk of superior court of the county in which such witness resides to appear and testify in the same manner and by the same process and proceeding as may be employed for the purpose of taking testimony in proceedings pending in this state.

24-13-114. A subpoena issued by the clerk of superior court under Code Section 24-13-112 or 24-13-113 shall be served in compliance with Code Section 24-13-23 and shall be served within a reasonable time prior to the appearance required by such subpoena.

24-13-115. Article 2 of this chapter shall apply to subpoenas issued under Code Section 24-13-112 or 24-13-113.

24-13-116. An application for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by the clerk of superior court under Code Section 24-13-112 or 24-13-113 shall comply with the statutes and court rules of this state and shall be submitted to the superior court of the county in which the subpoena was issued."

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PART III SECTION 3-1.

(a) This part and Part I of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2011, and shall apply to subpoenas served on or after July 1, 2011, and in actions pending on or after July 1, 2011, except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this section.
(b)(1) Part II of this Act shall become effective only if HB 24, substantially revising, superseding, and modernizing provisions relating to evidence, is enacted during the 2011-2012 biennium of the General Assembly and becomes law on or before January 1, 2013, in which case Part II of this Act shall become effective on the same date that said HB 24 becomes effective and shall apply to subpoenas served on or after July 1, 2013, and in actions pending on or after July 1, 2013. (2) Part I of this Act shall stand repealed if and when Part II of this Act becomes effective as provided by paragraph (1) of this subsection. (3) If said HB 24 does not become law on or before January 1, 2013, as provided by paragraph (1) of this subsection, then Part II of this Act shall stand repealed on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 3-2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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PROPERTY VACANT AND FORECLOSED PROPERTY REGISTRIES.

No. 644 (House Bill No. 110).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 14 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating generally to mortgages, conveyances to secure debt, and liens, so as to provide for vacant and foreclosed real property registries; to provide for definitions; to provide for required elements of a form for such registrations; to provide for exemptions from registration; to provide for maximum fees and penalties for registration and failure to register; to provide for appellate rights; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 14 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating generally to mortgages, conveyances to secure debt, and liens, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"44-14-14. (a) For purposes of this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Agent' means an individual with a place of business in this state at which he or she is authorized to accept inquiries, notices, and service of process on behalf of a vacant or foreclosed real property owner. (2) 'Department' means the Department of Community Affairs. (3) 'Foreclosed real property' means improved or unimproved real property for which a land disturbance permit has been issued by a county or municipal corporation and is held pursuant to a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of a mortgage, deed of trust, security deed, deed to secure debt, or other security instrument securing a debt or obligation owed to a creditor or a deed in lieu of foreclosure in full or partial satisfaction of a debt or obligation owed to a creditor. (4) 'Street address' means the street or route address. Such term shall not mean or include a post office box. (5) 'Vacant real property' means real property that:
(A) Is intended for habitation, has not been lawfully inhabited for at least 60 days, and has no evidence of utility usage within the past 60 days; or (B) Is partially constructed or incomplete, without a valid building permit. Such term shall not include a building or structure containing multiple units with common ownership that has at least one unit occupied with evidence of utility usage. (b) Effective July 1, 2012: (1) A county or municipal corporation may establish by ordinance or resolution for the requirement of registration of vacant or foreclosed real property as provided in this Code section; (2) Notwithstanding county or municipal ordinances or resolutions that require registration for repeated ordinance violations that remain uncorrected for at least 90 days, no county or municipal corporation shall require registration of vacant property or real property that is unoccupied, uninhabited, abandoned, foreclosed, or advertised for foreclosure on any basis other than as set forth in this Code section or as may be otherwise authorized by general law; and (3) No county or municipal corporation shall require for purposes of a vacant or foreclosed real property registry established pursuant to this Code section any information or documentation other than as set forth in this Code section. Any requirements of a vacant or foreclosed real property registry established by a county or municipal ordinance or resolution in effect as of July 1, 2012, that are in conflict with the requirements of this Code section shall be hereby preempted.

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(c) Each registrant shall be required to file with a specifically identified office or officer a registration form, in paper or electronic format, as required by the county or municipal corporation, requiring submission of only the following information:
(1) The real property owner's name, street address, mailing address, phone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address; (2) The agent's name, street address, mailing address, phone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address; (3) The real property's street address and tax parcel number; (4) The transfer date of the instrument conveying the real property to the owner; and (5) At such time as it becomes available, recording information, including deed book and page numbers, of the instrument conveying the real property to the owner. (d) The department may promulgate a standard vacant or foreclosed real property registry form that requires only the information set forth in subsection (c) of this Code section, in paper and electronic format. If such form is promulgated by the department, all counties and municipal corporations with a vacant or foreclosed real property registry shall use such form. (e)(1) When any real property is acquired by foreclosure under power of sale pursuant to Code Section 44-14-160 or acquired pursuant to a deed in lieu of foreclosure and:
(A) The deed under power of sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure contains the information specified in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (c) of this Code section; (B) The deed is filed with the clerk of superior court within 60 days of the transfer; and (C) Proof of the following is provided to the office or officer in charge of the county or municipal foreclosed real property registry:
(i) A filing date stamp or a receipt showing payment of the applicable filing fees; and (ii) The entire deed under power of sale or entire deed in lieu of foreclosure, a county or municipal corporation shall not require the transferee to register such foreclosed real property pursuant to this Code section or the payment of any administrative fees pursuant to subsection (h) of this Code section. (2) No county or municipal corporation may require registration of vacant or foreclosed real property pursuant to this Code section within 90 days of such real property's transfer: (A) Pursuant to a deed under power of sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure; or (B) To the first subsequent transferee after the vacant real property has been acquired by foreclosure under power of sale pursuant to Code Section 44-14-160 or acquired pursuant to a deed in lieu of foreclosure. (f) An ordinance or resolution establishing a registry pursuant to this Code section may require a vacant or foreclosed real property owner to update the information specified in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (c) of this Code section within 30 days after any change in such required information regardless of whether the information provided to the registry was in the deed under power of sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

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(g) A vacant or foreclosed real property owner, or the agent of such owner, may apply to remove such vacant or foreclosed real property from the registry at such time as the real property no longer constitutes vacant or foreclosed real property. The county or municipal corporation shall grant or deny such application within 30 days, and if no such determination is made within 30 days, the application shall be deemed granted. (h) An ordinance or resolution establishing a vacant or foreclosed real property registry may require the payment of administrative fees for registration which shall reasonably approximate the cost to the county or municipal corporation of the establishment, maintenance, operation, and administration of the registry. Such fees shall not exceed $100.00 per registration. (i) An ordinance or resolution establishing a vacant or foreclosed real property registry may require penalties for failure to register or failure to update the information specified in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (c) of this Code section, provided that such penalties shall not exceed $1,000.00. (j) A county or municipal ordinance or resolution requiring the registration of vacant or foreclosed real property shall provide for administrative procedures. The administrative procedures shall include the right to appeal to the municipal or recorder's court in the city where the vacant or foreclosed real property is located or to the magistrate or recorder's court of the county in which the vacant or foreclosed real property is located, subject to applicable jurisdictional requirements. Any vacant or foreclosed real property owner affected by a county or municipal ordinance or resolution requiring vacant or foreclosed real property registration may challenge any determination made pursuant to such ordinance or resolution. (k) An ordinance or resolution adopted by the governing authority of a county to establish a registry pursuant to this Code section may, subject to and in accordance with the requirements of this Code section, require registration of vacant or foreclosed real property within the entire territory of the county, except territory located within the boundaries of any municipal corporation, unless otherwise allowed by intergovernmental agreement between the county and municipal corporation. (l) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prohibit a county or municipal ordinance or resolution requiring the registration of vacant or foreclosed real property from providing for exemptions from such registration. (m) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to impair, limit, or preempt in any way the power of a county or municipal corporation to enforce any applicable codes, as defined in Code Section 42-2-8, or to define or declare nuisances and to cause their removal or abatement by summary proceedings or otherwise. (n) Notwithstanding Code Section 36-74-30, an ordinance or resolution establishing a vacant or foreclosed real property registry may require the registration of residential rental property if such property is vacant or foreclosed real property."

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SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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EDUCATION QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION ACT; ADD ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC AND EXTRACURRICULAR OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS; ENACT THE ONLINE CLEARINGHOUSE ACT; PROVIDE VIRTUAL CLASSES.

No. 645 (House Bill No. 175).

AN ACT

To amend Part 14 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to other educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to provide various additional academic and extracurricular options for students; to enact the "Online Clearinghouse Act"; to create a clearinghouse through which local school systems and charter schools may offer their computer-based courses to students in other local school systems and charter schools; to provide for definitions; to provide for procedures and requirements for offering a course through the clearinghouse; to provide for enrollment in virtual courses offered through the clearinghouse; to provide for course fees and payment; to provide for assignment of grades; to provide for offering of courses as dual enrollment and to nonpublic school students; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for statutory construction; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Part 14 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to other educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-319.3. (a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Online Clearinghouse Act.' (b) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Charter school' means a local charter school, as defined in paragraph (7) of Code Section 20-2-2062, a state chartered special school, as defined in paragraph (16) of Code

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Section 20-2-2062, and a commission charter school, as defined in paragraph (2) of Code Section 20-2-2081. (2) 'Clearinghouse' means the clearinghouse established pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section. (3) 'One credit' and 'half-credit' mean the customary academic unit of credit granted for secondary school courses in this state. (4) 'Student's school system' means the local school system operating the school in which the student is lawfully enrolled. (c)(1) The department shall establish a clearinghouse of interactive distance learning courses and other distance learning courses delivered via a computer-based method offered by local school systems and charter schools for sharing with other local school systems and charter schools for the fee set pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section. The department shall review the content of each course prior to including it in the clearinghouse to ensure that it meets state curriculum standards. The department is authorized to approve courses for inclusion in the clearinghouse if the content meets state curriculum standards, the applicant meets all technical requirements, and the course is delivered by a highly qualified teacher who exhibits exceptional teaching skills and methodology as certified by the local school system or charter school, which teacher's credentials and skills shall be subject to review and approval by the department. (2) To offer a course through the clearinghouse, a local school system or charter school shall apply to the department in a form and manner prescribed by the department. The application for each course shall describe the course of study in as much detail as required by the department, the qualification and credentials of the teacher, the number of hours of instruction, the technology required to deliver and receive the course, the technical capacity of the local school system or charter school to deliver the course, the times that the local school system or charter school plans to deliver the course, and any other information required by the department. The department may require local school systems and charter schools to include in their applications information recommended by the State Board of Education. (3) The department shall review the technical specifications of each application submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection and shall determine if the local school system or charter school can satisfactorily deliver the course through the technology necessary for that delivery. All such courses shall be delivered only in accordance with technical specifications approved by the department. (4) The department may request additional information from a local school system or charter school that submits an application pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, if the department determines that such information is necessary. The department may negotiate changes in the proposal to offer a course, if the department determines that changes are necessary in order to approve the course. (5) The department shall catalog each course approved for the clearinghouse, through a print or electronic medium, displaying the following:

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(A) Information necessary for a student and the student's parent, guardian, or custodian and the student's school system or the student's charter school to decide whether to enroll in the course; and (B) Instructions for enrolling in that course, including deadlines for enrollment. (6) The department shall identify the copyright owner of each course in the catalog and shall assist local school systems and charter schools in understanding the process of registering copyrights and other protections of intellectual property under federal law, if requested. (d)(1) A student who is enrolled in a school operated by a local school system or in a charter school may enroll in a course included in the clearinghouse only if both of the following conditions are satisfied: (A) The student's enrollment in the course is approved by the student's school system or the student's charter school; and (B) The student's school system or the student's charter school agrees to accept for credit the grade assigned by the local school system or charter school delivering the course. (2) For each student enrolling in a course, the student's school system or the student's charter school shall transmit the student's identification number and the student's name to the local school system or charter school delivering the course. The school system or charter school delivering the course may request from the student's school system or the student's charter school other information from the student's school record. The student's school system or the student's charter school shall provide the requested information only in accordance with state law. (3) The student's school system or the student's charter school shall determine the manner in which and facilities at which the student shall participate in the course consistent with specifications for technology and connectivity adopted by the department. (4) A student may withdraw from a course prior to the end of the course only by a date and in a manner prescribed by the student's school system or the student's charter school. (5) A student who is enrolled in a school operated by a local school system or in a charter school and who takes a course included in the clearinghouse shall be counted in the funding formula of the student's school system or the student's charter school as if the student were taking the course from the student's school system or the student's charter school. (e)(1) The department shall set appropriate fees for one-credit and half-credit courses. (2) The department shall proportionally reduce the fee for any student who withdraws from a course prior to the end of the course pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (d) of this Code section. (3) For each student enrolled in a course included in the clearinghouse, and not later than the last day of that course, the department shall deduct the amount of the fee for that course from the student's school system or charter school allotment and shall pay that amount to the local school system or charter school delivering the course.

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(4) From the funds received pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, the local school system or charter school delivering the course shall pay the teacher conducting the course such additional amount of compensation as set by the department based on the number of students taking the course and the course fee. (f) The grade for a student who enrolls in a course included in the clearinghouse shall be assigned by the local school system or charter school that delivers the course and shall be transmitted by that school system or charter school to the student's school system or the student's charter school. (g) The department may determine the manner in which a course included in the clearinghouse may be offered as a dual enrollment program, may be offered to students who are enrolled in nonpublic schools or a home study program pursuant to Code Section 20-2-690, or may be offered at times outside the normal school day or school week, including any necessary additional fees and methods of payment for a course so offered. (h) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this Code section. The department may coordinate the clearinghouse established pursuant to this Code section with the Georgia Virtual School established pursuant to Code Section 20-2-319.1. (i) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit a local school system or charter school from offering an interactive distance learning course or other distance learning course using a computer-based method through any means other than the clearinghouse established and maintained under this Code section."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
Approved May 1, 2012.
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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS GEORGIA LEGISLATIVE RETIREMENT SYSTEM; MEMBERSHIP.
No. 646 (House Bill No. 183).
AN ACT
To amend Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and pensions, so as to provide that persons who first or again become members of the General Assembly on or after July 1, 2012, may elect to become members of the Georgia Legislative

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Retirement System; to provide that persons who are members of the General Assembly on July 1, 2012, but who are not members of the retirement system may elect membership; to provide for creditable service and the payment of the full actuarial value; to repeal certain obsolete provisions relative to membership by certain staff members; to provide for notification of return to service; to provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, is amended by revising Code Section 47-6-1, relating to definitions, as follows:
"47-6-1. As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Accumulated contributions' means the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member or paid by the member to establish or reestablish credit for service, which amounts are credited to his or her individual account in the system, together with regular interest thereon. Beginning on January 12, 1981, this term shall include the amount of employee contributions paid by the employer on behalf of members, together with regular interest thereon, excluding employee contributions paid by the employer for group term life insurance coverage. (2) 'Beneficiary' means any person in receipt of a retirement allowance or other benefit as provided by the system. (3) 'Board' means the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; provided, however, that if any member of such board of trustees is an active or retired member or a beneficiary of this retirement system, he or she shall not serve as a member of the board of trustees of this retirement system. (4) 'Creditable service' means prior service and membership service for which credit is allowable under this chapter, but in no case shall more than one year of service be creditable for all service in one calendar year, nor shall it include any service which has been or may be credited to a member by any other public retirement system of this state. (5) 'Date of establishment' means July 1, 1967. (6) 'Member' means any person included in the membership of the system. (7) 'Membership service' means service as paid for by the member, as provided for in Code Section 47-6-60. (8) 'Prior service' means service rendered prior to January 1, 1954, as a Representative, Senator, or staff member of the General Assembly and service, day for day, on active duty in any component of the armed forces of the United States during wartime or during any conflict in which military personnel were committed by the President of the United States, provided that no such service in excess of five years shall be creditable.

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(8.1) 'Prior service' shall also include military service which is creditable under Code Section 47-6-70.1. (9) 'Retirement allowance' means monthly payments for life pursuant to Code Section 47-6-80. (10) 'System' means the Georgia Legislative Retirement System."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 47-6-40, relating to qualifications for membership in the Georgia Legislative Retirement System, membership of persons who cease to become members of the General Assembly before age 60, and termination of membership, as follows:
"47-6-40. (a) Each person who first or again becomes a member of the General Assembly on or after July 1, 2012, may make an irrevocable election at the beginning of each term of office to become a member of the Georgia Legislative Retirement System within two months of taking office as a member of the General Assembly. Any member of this retirement system who is elected to a consecutive term of office and who has elected membership in this retirement system shall be deemed to have continuous membership from term to term and shall not be required to reapply each term. (b) If a member of the system ceases to be a member of the General Assembly before attaining age 60 and for reasons other than death, such member, unless he or she withdraws his or her contributions pursuant to Code Section 47-6-85, shall continue as a noncontributing member of the system. Any such noncontributing member shall not gain any additional membership service. If he or she again becomes a member of the General Assembly and a contributing member of the system, such member shall retain the membership service previously credited to him or her. If a member subject to this subsection withdraws his or her contributions upon ceasing to be a member of the General Assembly, any membership service credited to him or her at the time such contributions are withdrawn shall be forfeited and may not be reestablished if he or she again becomes a member of the General Assembly. (c) Should any member of the system in any period of five consecutive years after becoming a member be absent from service more than four years, withdraw his or her contributions or become a beneficiary of such system, or die, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member. (d) A member of the General Assembly serving on July 1, 2012, may make an irrevocable election to become a member of this retirement system and may obtain creditable service for prior service as a member of the General Assembly as provided in this Code section. In order to obtain such additional creditable service, the member must:
(1) Make application to the board of trustees in such manner as the board deems appropriate not later than December 31, 2012. Such application and payment must be

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made in conjunction with and simultaneously with the member's application for membership; and (2) Pay to the board of trustees an amount determined by the board of trustees to be sufficient to cover the full actuarial cost of granting the creditable service as provided in this Code section; provided, however, that no creditable service shall be granted or obtained pursuant to this Code section if such service may be used to calculate creditable service under any other public retirement system created by this title. (e) A member of the General Assembly may obtain creditable service for membership in 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 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."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 47-6-84, relating to termination of retirement allowance upon return to service and retirement benefits for retired members returning to service in the General Assembly, by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(c)(1) As used in this subsection, the term 'public employer' means any branch of state government and any state agency, department, board, bureau, or other instrumentality. This term also includes the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and any public school system, including, but not limited to, primary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions operated by local or independent boards of education that receive any funds from the State of Georgia or any agency thereof. (2) Any public employer that employs a retired plan member shall within 30 days of the employee's accepting employment notify the board of trustees in writing stating the name of the plan member and the number of hours the employee is expected to work annually and shall provide such other information as the board may request. Any employer that fails to notify the board of trustees as required by this subsection shall reimburse the retirement system for any benefits wrongfully paid. It shall be the duty of the retired plan member seeking employment by the employer to notify the employer of his or her retirement status prior to accepting such position. If a retired plan member fails to so notify the employer and the employer becomes liable to the retirement system, the plan member shall hold the employer harmless for all such liability."

SECTION 4. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, only if it is determined to have been concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; otherwise, this Act shall not become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2012, as required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.

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SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS EMPLOYMENT OF RETIRED TEACHERS; CHANGE DATE OF AUTOMATIC REPEAL.

No. 647 (House Bill No. 208).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 47-3-127.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment of a retired teacher as a full-time teacher or in other capacities, so as to change the date of automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 47-3-127.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment of a retired teacher as a full-time teacher or in other capacities, is amended by revising subsection (d) as follows:
"(d) The provisions of this Code section shall be automatically repealed on June 30, 2013."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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CRIMES AND OFFENSES REVISE CERTAIN PROVISIONS REGARDING RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE FRAUD.

No. 648 (House Bill No. 237).

AN ACT

To amend Article 5 of Chapter 8 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to residential mortgage fraud, so as revise the definition of "mortgage lending process"; to change provisions relating to the offense of mortgage fraud; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 5 of Chapter 8 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to residential mortgage fraud, is amended by revising paragraph (1) of Code Section 16-8-101, relating to definitions, as follows:
"(1) 'Mortgage lending process' means the process through which a person seeks or obtains a residential mortgage loan including, but not limited to, solicitation, application, or origination, negotiation of terms, third-party provider services, underwriting, signing and closing, and funding of the loan. Such term shall also include the execution of deeds under power of sale that are required to be recorded pursuant to Code Section 44-14-160 and the execution of assignments that are required to be recorded pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 44-14-162. Documents involved in the mortgage lending process include, but shall not be limited to, uniform residential loan applications or other loan applications; appraisal reports; HUD-1 settlement statements; supporting personal documentation for loan applications such as W-2 forms, verifications of income and employment, bank statements, tax returns, and payroll stubs; and any required disclosures."

SECTION 2. Said article is further amended by revising the undesignated paragraph at the end of Code Section 16-8-102, relating to the offense of residential mortgage fraud, as follows:
"An offense of residential mortgage fraud shall not be predicated solely upon information lawfully disclosed under federal disclosure laws, regulations, and interpretations related to the mortgage lending process nor upon truthful information contained in documents filed with the official registrar of deeds of any county of this state for the stated purpose of correcting scrivener's errors, mistakes, inadvertent misstatements, or omissions contained in previously filed documents."

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SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS GEORGIA JUDICIAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM; SURVIVOR'S BENEFITS.

No. 649 (House Bill No. 250).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 23 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, so as to provide that a member who rejected survivor's benefits may elect such benefits by paying the actuarial cost; to provide for a revised survivor's benefit option for persons who become members on or after July 1, 2012; to provide for options; to provide for the event of death or divorce; to provide for the death of an active member; to provide for the payment of the remainder of a member's accumulated contributions; to provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 23 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia Judicial Retirement System, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"47-23-84. If, upon the deaths of a retired member and, if applicable, a designated survivor, the total monthly benefits paid to the retired member and to any designated survivor do not equal or exceed the retired member's accumulated contributions at the time of his or her retirement, the difference shall be refunded to the person designated in writing by the member or the designated survivor, whichever was the last to receive a monthly retirement benefit under this Code section. If no person has been so designated, the amount shall be paid to the estate of the member or the designated survivor, whichever was the last to receive a monthly retirement benefit under this Code section."

SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 47-23-105, relating to spouses' benefits, ceasing spouses' benefits, vesting, and designation of survivors benefits, as follows:

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"47-23-105. (a)(1) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this Code section, each member of this retirement system shall pay for spouses' benefits an employee contribution of 2 1/2 percent of the salary paid to such member. Such contribution shall be in addition to that required under Article 5 of this chapter. The employing unit shall be authorized to deduct monthly the employee contributions required for spouses' benefits. Such contribution shall cease after the member has paid the contribution for a total of 16 years. (2) Upon the death of a member who is subject to this subsection and who has attained a minimum of ten years of creditable service and at least 60 years of age, the surviving spouse of such member shall be entitled to receive for life a monthly sum equal to 50 percent of the retirement benefit which the member was receiving at the time of the member's death, if retired at such time, or which would have been payable to the member had the member retired as of the date of the member's death. (3) Upon the death of a member who became a member by operation of Code Section 47-23-40 and who has attained a minimum of ten years of creditable service but had not attained age 60 at the time of death, the surviving spouse of such member shall be entitled to receive for life a monthly sum equal to 50 percent of the retirement benefit the member would have received had the member continued in service and retired at age 60. (4) Upon the death of a member other than a member who became a member by operation of Code Section 47-23-40 and who has attained a minimum of ten years of creditable service but had not attained age 60 at the time of death, the surviving spouse of such member shall be entitled to receive for life a monthly sum equal to 50 percent of the retirement benefit the member would have received as if the member were age 60 on the date of death based on the number of years of creditable service the member had on the date of death. (b)(1) Any member of this retirement system shall have the right to reject the spouses' benefits provided by this Code section by notifying the board in writing of such rejection on a form to be supplied by the board within 90 days after becoming a member. (2) Any member who becomes a member of this retirement system by operation of Code Section 47-23-40 who rejected the spouses' benefits provided by this Code section pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may subsequently obtain such benefits by so notifying the board in writing and by tendering all amounts which such member would have paid pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section if such member had not rejected such benefits, together with regular interest thereon. (3) Any member, other than a member who became a member of this retirement system by operation of Code Section 47-23-40, who rejected the spouses' benefits provided by this Code section pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may subsequently obtain such benefits by so notifying the board in writing and by tendering to the board of trustees such amount as determined by the actuary as necessary to grant such benefit

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without creating any accrued actuarial liability as to this retirement system. In order to vest for spouses' benefits, the member must have at least ten years of membership service. (c) If the spouse of a member dies or if a member ceases to be married, then such member who has elected to obtain spouses' benefits pursuant to this Code section may cease making the employee contributions for spouses' benefits. Such member shall notify the board in writing to cease deducting such employee contributions. Such notice shall be given within 90 days after the date of the death of the spouse or after the date the member ceases to be married; and, upon such notification, no further deductions shall be made. When a member ceases to make such employee contributions, there shall be no return of such contributions previously made by such member. (d) Any member of this retirement system who rejects spouses' benefits coverage or who ceases such coverage pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section because such member was unmarried at the time of such rejection, because such member's spouse died, or because such member ceased to be married shall have the option to elect spouses' benefits within 90 days after becoming married or remarried, as the case may be. Any member so electing must make the necessary contributions for spouses' benefits coverage for a total of at least ten years with regular interest thereon in order for such member's spouse to qualify for the spouses' benefits provided for by this Code section. (e) In order to vest for spouses' benefits, the member must have made the employee contributions for such benefits for at least ten years. (f) Any member at the time of retirement who has met the conditions of subsection (e) of this Code section may designate a natural person other than his or her spouse to receive a survivors benefit in the same manner and under the same conditions as provided for spouses' benefits; provided, however, that any person so designated shall receive a benefit equal to the normal spouse's benefit actuarially reduced in accordance to such person's and the member's projected life spans. Such actuarial adjustment shall be computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables and rates of interest last adopted by the board of trustees. Such benefit shall not exceed 50 percent of the member's monthly retirement benefit. (g) The provisions of this Code section shall apply only to persons who become members of this retirement system prior to July 1, 2012."

SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"47-23-105.1. (a) The provisions of this Code section shall apply only to persons who become members of this retirement system on or after July 1, 2012. (b) A member may make a one-time election to convert the retirement allowance otherwise payable to him or her into a modified retirement allowance of equivalent actuarial value and designate a natural person to receive a survivors benefit in accordance with one of the options set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this subsection. Such retirement

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allowance shall be actuarially reduced in accordance to the designated survivor's projected life span. Such actuarial adjustment shall be computed upon the basis of the mortality tables and rates of interest last adopted by the board of trustees Such election may be made only after the member has become eligible to retire and before the first payment of his or her retirement allowance normally becomes due. Such election shall be irrevocable except as otherwise provided in this Code section.
(1) Option one, known as the 100 percent joint and survivor option, shall consist of a reduced retirement allowance which is payable during the life of the retired member and which, upon his or her death, shall be continued at the same rate throughout the life of and paid to the designated survivor. (2) Option two, known as the 66 2/3 percent joint and survivor option, shall consist of a reduced retirement allowance which is payable during the life of the retired member and which, upon his or her death, shall be continued at the rate of two-thirds the reduced retirement allowance throughout the life of and paid to the designated survivor. (3) Option three, known as the 50 percent joint and survivor option, shall consist of a reduced retirement allowance which is payable during the life of the retired member and which, upon his or her death, shall be continued at the rate of one-half the reduced retirement allowance throughout the life of and paid to the designated survivor. (4) Option four, known as the pop-up option, shall be the election of options one, two, or three, with the added provision that in the event the designated survivor predeceases the retired member, the retirement allowance payable to the retired member after the death of the designated survivor shall be equal to the maximum retirement allowance which the retired member would have been entitled to receive under this chapter had such election not been made. (c) In the event a member is not married at the time he or she retires and the retired member does not elect a survivor's option and such member subsequently marries, the retired member may elect to begin receiving an actuarially reduced benefit of equivalent value and establish on behalf of the newly acquired spouse an option under this Code section. Such election shall be made within six months after the marriage. (d) In the event a retired member makes an election under subsection (b) of this Code section on behalf of a spouse and such spouse predeceases the retired member and the retired member subsequently remarries, the retired member may elect to begin receiving an actuarially reduced benefit of equivalent value and establish on behalf of a new designated survivor pursuant to an option under this Code section. (e) In the event a retired member makes an election under subsection (b) of this Code section on behalf of a spouse and a final judgment of complete divorce from the spouse is entered, then: (1) The retired member may elect to continue the optional allowance with the former spouse designated to receive all amounts and benefits upon the death of the retired member; or

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(2) The retired member may revoke the appointment of such spouse as a beneficiary; provided, however, that in such event the retirement benefit received by the retired member shall not increase. Such revocation may be made at any time after the entry of the final judgment of divorce. If the retired member elects to revoke the election, the spouse shall be treated in the same manner as is he or she had predeceased the retired member under subsection (d) of this Code section. (f) If an active vested member of this retirement system dies and is survived by a legal spouse, such spouse shall receive a benefit as if the member has retired on the date of his or her death and had elected option three."

SECTION 4. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, only if it is determined to have been concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; otherwise, this Act shall not become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2012, as required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.

SECTION 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN INVESTMENTS BY PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEMS.

No. 650 (House Bill No. 297).

AN ACT

To amend Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to retirement and pensions, so as to provide that public retirement systems shall be prohibited from expending or obligating funds for certain purposes; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to retirement and pensions, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"47-1-16. No public retirement system in this state shall have an insurable interest in active or retired members of such retirement system. No public retirement system shall have the authority to expend or obligate funds under the control of such retirement system to purchase life insurance on its members except where all benefits are paid to a member's estate or to a beneficiary designated by the individual member."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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PUBLIC UTILITIES UNIVERSAL ACCESS FUND; REQUIREMENTS FOR SURCHARGES.

No. 651 (House Bill No. 332).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 46-5-167 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Universal Access Fund, so as to provide requirements for showing contributions on customers' bills; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 46-5-167 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Universal Access Fund, is amended by revising subsection (g) as follows:
"(g) A local exchange company or other company shall not establish a surcharge on customers' bills to collect contributions required under this Code section without first

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submitting to the Public Service Commission the methodology and data used by such company for approval by the commission and upon a showing to the commission that the surcharge does not result in an increase in the company's service rates; provided, however, that such company shall not be required to submit for approval separate line items or surcharges that are specifically authorized or required by federal law or other provisions of state law."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective January 1, 2013.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS SHERIFFS' RETIREMENT FUND OF GEORGIA; RETIREMENT BENEFIT OPTIONS; DIVORCE BY RETIRED MEMBER.

No. 652 (House Bill No. 337).

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 47-16-101 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement benefit options under the Sheriffs' Retirement Fund of Georgia, failure of a member to select an option, effect of changes in retirement benefits and options, and change of option after receipt of payments, so as to provide that in the event of divorce a retired member who has elected a spouses' option may elect to continue or revoke such coverage; to provide for an increase in benefit; to provide for remarriage; to provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Code Section 47-16-101 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement benefit options under the Sheriffs' Retirement Fund of Georgia, failure of a member to select an option, effect of changes in retirement benefits and options, and change of option after receipt of payments, is amended by revising subsection (b) as follows:

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"(b)(1) Benefits payable to the spouse of a deceased member shall be payable for only so long as such spouse remains the widow or widower of such deceased member and, should such spouse remarry, any benefits payable to such spouse shall cease as of the date of remarriage. (2) At any time after the entry of a final judgment of divorce, a retired member receiving benefits under either Option Two or Option Three may continue receiving benefits under the option so chosen for the benefit of the former spouse or may revoke the election. In the event the retired member revokes the election, the retired member shall begin receiving the monthly retirement benefit which the retired member would have been entitled to receive under Option One. Benefits paid under Option One to a retired member following such revocation shall not be retroactive. In the event that the retired member remarries after divorce from the former spouse and the member elected to revoke Option Two or Option Three as provided in this paragraph, the retired member may elect to begin receiving reduced monthly retirement benefits of actuarial equivalence under either Option Two or Option Three. Such actuarial equivalence shall be based on the age of the retired member and the age of the retired member's new spouse at the time of such election and shall be computed on the Mortality Table GA5 1, with projection, using interest at 6 percent per annum, with a five-year age setback for females and monthly payment annuity functions."

SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, only if it is determined to have been concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; otherwise, this Act shall not become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2012, as required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS JUDGES OF THE PROBATE COURTS RETIREMENT FUND OF GEORGIA; PORTION OF FINES TO BE COLLECTED.

No. 653 (House Bill No. 351).

AN ACT

To amend Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenues collected from fines and fees in the probate courts, so as to change the portion of such fines paid to the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenues collected from fines and fees in the probate courts, is amended by revising Code Section 47-11-51, relating to payment to fund of a portion of criminal and quasi-criminal fines and forfeited bonds, duty to record and report collection, and penalties, as follows:
"47-11-51 (a) In every criminal and quasi-criminal case for violating state statutes or traffic laws which is before a judge of the probate court and in which case a fine is collected or a bond is forfeited, $3.00 shall be collected by the judge, clerk of court, or other collecting authority. Such bond or fine shall be construed to include costs. (b) The sum provided for shall be paid to the board before the payment of any cost or any claims whatsoever against such fine or forfeiture. It is made the duty of the judge of the probate court or other authority collecting the money to keep accurate records of the amount due the board so that the same may be audited or inspected at any time by any representative of the board at the direction of the board. Sums remitted to the board under this Code section shall be used as provided for elsewhere in this chapter.
(c)(1) All moneys required to be paid to the board by this Code section shall be due on the twentieth day of the month after collection. Each judge of the probate court, clerk of court, or other collecting authority shall pay such moneys to the board no later than such due date and shall submit with such moneys a sworn statement of the number and nature of transactions for which such moneys are required to be paid and the amount due. Such sworn statement shall be on a form furnished to each judge of the probate court by the board. (2) Moneys not paid when due shall bear interest at the rate of 7 percent per annum.

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(3) Moneys not paid within 60 days of the date they are due shall be delinquent. There shall be imposed on delinquent funds a specific penalty in the amount of 5 percent of the principal amount delinquent per month for each month such moneys remain delinquent; but such specific penalty shall not exceed 25 percent of the principal amount due. Such specific penalty shall be in addition to the 7 percent per annum interest charged on overdue moneys. (4) For failure to file the written report of transactions and amount due when due, there shall be imposed a specific penalty in the amount of $5.00 for each month such report remains overdue; but such specific penalty shall not exceed $50.00 for failure to file any one report. (5) By affirmative vote of all the members, the board, upon the payment of all overdue funds and interest and for good cause shown, may waive the specific penalties provided by paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES REVISE PROVISIONS REGARDING APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO PRACTICE VETERINARY MEDICINE; WAIVERS; SCHEDULING AND ADMINISTRATION OF EXAMINATIONS FOR VETERINARY TECHNICIANS.

No. 654 (House Bill No. 409).

AN ACT

To amend Article 3 of Chapter 50 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to licensing and registration of veterinarians and veterinary technicians, so as to revise certain provisions as to the application for a license to practice veterinary medicine; to provide for a waiver under certain circumstances; to revise certain provisions as to the scheduling and administration of examinations for veterinary technicians; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

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SECTION 1. Article 3 of Chapter 50 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to licensing and registration of veterinarians and veterinary technicians, is amended by revising Code Section 43-50-31, relating to application for license as a veterinarian, qualifications, determination as to admission or nonadmission to examination, and waiver, as follows:
"43-50-31. (a) Any person desiring a license to practice veterinary medicine in this state shall make application to the board. The application shall include evidence, satisfactory to the board, that:
(1) The applicant has attained the age of 18; (2) The applicant is of good moral character; (3) The applicant is a graduate of an accredited college or school of veterinary medicine or possesses an ECFVG certificate or its substantial equivalent; (4) The applicant has passed a board approved examination; provided, however, that the board may provide by rule or regulation for a waiver of any part of such examination for veterinarians who are licensed as such by another state and who are in good standing therewith; and (5) The applicant meets such other qualifications or provides such other information as the board may require by rule. (b) The application shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount established by the board. (c) The division director shall record the new licenses and issue a certificate of registration to the new licensees."

SECTION 2. Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 43-50-32, relating to frequency of examinations, notification to applicants of results, and admission for reexamination as a veterinarian, as follows:
"43-50-32. (a) The board shall hold at least one license examination during each year and may hold such additional license examinations as are necessary. (b) After each examination, the division director shall notify each examinee of the result of his or her examination. If an applicant fails a license examination, the applicant may take a subsequent examination upon payment of the registration and examination fees. No person may take the examination more than three times without review and approval by the board. Approval may be provided under such circumstances as the board deems appropriate."

SECTION 3. Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 43-50-53, relating to scheduling and administration of examinations, reexaminations, and reactivation, as follows:

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"43-50-53. (a) The board shall approve an examination to measure the competence of the applicant to engage in the practice as a veterinary technician and shall set by rule or regulation the score needed to pass any such examination. (b) If an applicant fails an examination, the applicant may take a subsequent examination upon payment of the registration and examination fees. No person may take the examination more than three times without review and approval by the board under such circumstances as the board deems appropriate. (c) Any veterinary technician in this state whose certificate of registration has been on inactive status for at least five consecutive years and who desires to reactivate such registration shall be required to take continuing education, pay all fees, and meet all other requirements and board rules or regulations for registration as a veterinary technician."

SECTION 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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ALCOHOL BREWPUBS; DEFINITION; AMOUNT OF BEER MANUFACTURED AND SOLD.

No. 655 (House Bill No. 472).

AN ACT

To amend Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages, so as to change the terms and conditions that exist for owners and operators of brewpubs; to provide for definitions; to increase the maximum quantity of barrels of beer that may be manufactured and sold; to remove that requirement that beer be sold solely in draft form; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages, is amended by revising paragraph (3) of Code Section 3-1-2, relating to definitions, as follows:
"(3) 'Brewpub' means any eating establishment in which beer or malt beverages are manufactured or brewed, subject to the barrel production limitation prescribed in Code

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Section 3-5-36 for retail consumption on the premises and solely in draft form. As used in this paragraph, the term 'eating establishment' means an establishment which is licensed to sell distilled spirits, beer, malt beverages, or wines and which derives at least 50 percent of its total annual gross food and beverage sales from the sale of prepared meals or food; provided, however, that barrels of beer sold to licensed wholesale dealers for distribution to retailers and retail consumption dealers, as authorized pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of Code Section 3-5-36, shall not be used when determining the total annual gross food and beverage sales."

SECTION 2. Said title is further amended by revising paragraph (2) of Code Section 3-5-36, relating to the brewpub exception to the three-tier distribution system, as follows:
"(2) A brewpub license authorizes the holder of such license to: (A) Manufacture on the licensed premises not more than 10,000 barrels of beer in a calendar year solely for retail sale on the premises; (B) Operate an eating establishment that shall be the sole retail outlet for such beer and may offer for sale any other alcoholic beverages produced by other manufacturers which are authorized for retail sale under this title, including wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages, provided that such alcoholic beverages are purchased from a licensed wholesaler for consumption on the premises only; and, provided, further, that in addition to draft beer manufactured on the premises, each brewpub licensee shall offer for sale commercially available canned or bottled malt beverages from licensed wholesalers; and (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, sell up to a maximum of 5,000 barrels annually of such beer to licensed wholesale dealers for distribution to retailers and retail consumption dealers;"

SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.

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ALCOHOL DISTILLERIES; TASTINGS ON PREMISES.

No. 656 (House Bill No. 514).

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 4 of Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to distilled spirits, so as to authorize free tastings of distilled spirits to be conducted on the premises of distillers as a part of educational and promotional distillery tours; to define certain terms; to provide for the conditions under which such consumer tastings may be conducted; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1. Chapter 4 of Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to distilled spirits, is amended by inserting at the end thereof a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 8

3-4-180. (a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Free tastings' means the provision of complimentary samples of distilled spirits to the public for consumption on the premises of a distiller. (2) 'Sample' means one-half of one ounce of distilled spirits. (b) The commissioner shall, upon proper application therefor, issue an annual permit to any distiller licensed in this state authorizing such distiller to conduct educational and promotional distillery tours which may include free tastings on the premises by members of the public of tax-paid varieties of distilled spirits manufactured by such distiller. (c) No distiller conducting free tastings under this Code section shall provide, directly or indirectly, more than the one sample to a person in one calendar day. Free tastings shall be held in a designated tasting area on the premises of the distiller, and all open bottles shall be visible at all times."

SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Approved May 1, 2012.