2021 Georgia Code
Title 15 - Courts
Chapter 21 - Payment and Disposition of Fines and Forfeitures
Article 4 - Peace Officer, Prosecutor, and Indigent Defense Funding
§ 15-21-74. Assessment and Collection of Penalties; Transfer of Payments to Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority; Quarterly Accounting
The sums provided for under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-21-73 shall be assessed and collected by the court officer charged with the duty of collecting moneys arising from fines and shall be paid over to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority by the last day of the month there following, to be deposited by the authority into the general treasury. The sums provided for under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-21-73 shall be assessed and collected by the court officer charged with the duty of collecting moneys arising from forfeited bonds and shall be paid over to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority by the last day of the month there following for remittance to the Office of the State Treasurer; provided, however, that if the local governing authority has an approved procedure to verify the applicant's income as set forth in Code Section 17-12-80, the court officer shall remit 50 percent of such funds to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, and the remaining 50 percent shall be remitted to the local governing authority and reported to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority. The authority shall, on a quarterly basis, make a report and accounting of all funds collected and disbursed pursuant to this article and shall submit such report and accounting to the Office of Planning and Budget, the House Budget and Research Office, and the Senate Budget and Evaluation Office no later than 60 days after the last day of the preceding quarter.
(Code 1981, §15-21-74, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1094, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 15; Ga. L. 2004, p. ES3, § 5/HB 1EX; Ga. L. 2008, p. VO1, § 1-6/HB 529; Ga. L. 2008, p. 846, § 11/HB 1245; Ga. L. 2010, p. 863, § 2/SB 296; Ga. L. 2014, p. 866, § 15/SB 340.)
The 2014 amendment, effective April 29, 2014, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "House Budget and Research Office" for "House Budget Office" and substituted "Senate Budget and Evaluation Office" for "Senate Budget Office" in the last sentence of this Code section.
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 2008, p. VO1, § 1-6/HB 529, which amended this Code section, was passed by the General Assembly as HB 529 at the 2007 regular session but vetoed by the Governor on May 30, 2007. The General Assembly overrode that veto on January 28, 2008, and the Act became effective on that date.
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Application of surcharge.
- Surcharge authorized by the Peace Officer and Prosecutor Training Fund Act of 1983, O.C.G.A. § 15-21-70 et seq., should not be collected in cases in which the offense occurred prior to July 1, 1983, even though trial and/or conviction is after that date. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U83-51.
Priority of disbursement.- In the event of partial or installment payments of funds, the payments must be allocated proportionally between money attributable to the fine and to the surcharges, and the amount applicable to the surcharges allocated proportionally to the fund. 1996 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U96-8.
Necessity for court ordering payment of penalty.- Sentencing judge is not required to make the additional penalty part of the sentence; both the additional penalty and the additional sum in the case of bonds may be added on by the respective court officer whose duty it is to collect the moneys in each particular case. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-80.
Responsibility for assessing and collecting moneys.- There is no single "court officer" who is responsible for assessing, collecting, and remitting to the Department of Revenue the sums described in O.C.G.A. Art. 2, Ch. 21, T. 15. Prosecuting attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of courts, and probation officers each are responsible for assessing and collecting the described penalty in any case in which they are "charged with the duty of collecting moneys arising from fines and forfeited bonds." 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-80.
