2020 Georgia Code
Title 17 - Criminal Procedure
Chapter 14 - Restitution and Distribution of Profits to Victims of Crimes
Article 1 - Restitution
§ 17-14-14. Restitution Payments; Wage Assignments; Review of Compliance; Interest

1. Payments pursuant to an order for restitution shall be made to the clerk of the court or to any other person, for the benefit of the victim or victims, as the ordering authority shall order.
2. In each case in which payment of restitution is ordered as a condition of probation or parole, the ordering authority may require any employed offender to execute a wage assignment to pay the restitution.
3. Until such time as the restitution has been paid or the sentence has been completed, the clerk of court or the community supervision officer, county or Department of Juvenile Justice juvenile probation officer, or probation officer serving pursuant to Article 6 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 assigned to the case, whoever is responsible for collecting restitution, shall review the case not less frequently than twice yearly to ensure that restitution is being paid as ordered. If the restitution was ordered to be made within a specific period of time, the case shall be reviewed at the end of the specific period of time to determine if the restitution has been paid in full. The final review shall be conducted before the sentence or probationary or parole period expires. If it is determined at any review that restitution is not being paid as ordered, a written report of the violation shall be filed with the court on a form prescribed by the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia.
4. If the ordering authority permits the offender to pay restitution in other than a lump sum, the ordering authority may require the offender to pay interest on the amount of restitution due the victim or the victim's estate. Such interest shall be set at the same rate as is provided by Code Section 7-4-12 for judgments.

(Code 1933, § 27-3014, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1382, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 5/HB 172; Ga. L. 2015, p. 422, § 5-37/HB 310.)

- Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 1/HB 172, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Crime Victims Restitution Act of 2005.'"

Ga. L. 2015, p. 422, § 6-1/HB 310, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that this Act shall apply to sentences entered on or after July 1, 2015.

- For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 231 (2015).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Disbursement of funds when victim cannot be located.

- Restitution payments should not be returned to the probationer when the intended recipient cannot be located; instead, the funds should be retained for the benefit of the victim until the completion of the seven-year holding period, and at that point, the account should be reported and subsequently delivered to the State Revenue Commissioner in accordance with the laws of this state concerning disposition of unclaimed property. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U87-17.

- O.C.G.A. § 17-14-14 does not authorize the payment of noncourt ordered restitution to probation supervisors, who are specifically prohibited from collecting such payments under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-31. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-50.

Collection and disbursement of payments of fines and restitution as may be established as conditions upon the grant of parole may be undertaken by probation supervisors employed by the Department of Offender Rehabilitation (now Department of Corrections) so long as such payments are specifically required by court order as the result of a criminal proceeding. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-50.