2021 Georgia Code
Title 15 - Courts
Chapter 21 - Payment and Disposition of Fines and Forfeitures
Article 6 - County Drug Abuse Treatment and Education Fund
§ 15-21-100. Imposition of Additional Penalty for Certain Offenses

1. 1. In every case in which any court shall impose a fine, which shall be construed to include costs, for any offense prohibited by Code Section 16-13-30, 16-13-30.1, 16-13-30.2, 16-13-30.3, 16-13-30.5, 16-13-31, 16-13-31.1, 16-13-32, 16-13-32.1, 16-13-32.2, 16-13-32.3, 16-13-32.4, 16-13-32.5, or 16-13-32.6, there shall be imposed as an additional penalty a sum equal to 50 percent of the original fine. The additional 50 percent penalty shall also be imposed in every case in which a fine is imposed for violation of:
      1. Code Section 3-3-23.1;
      2. Code Section 40-6-391;
      3. Code Section 40-6-393 or 40-6-394 if the offender was also charged with a violation of Code Section 40-6-391; or
      4. Code Section 52-7-12.
   2. If no fine is provided for in the applicable Code section, and the judge places the defendant on probation, the fine authorized by Code Section 17-10-8 shall be applicable.
2. The sums required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall be in addition to the amount required by Code Section 47-17-60 to be paid into the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund or Code Section 47-11-51 concerning the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia.

(Code 1981, §15-21-100, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2018, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 15; Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 2-4/HB 1176; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 1-10/SB 367.)

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, designated the existing provisions of subsection (a) as paragraph (a)(1); redesignated former paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) as present subparagraphs (a)(1)(A) and (a)(1)(B), respectively; deleted "or" at the end of present subparagraph (a)(1)(B); redesignated former paragraph (a)(3) as present subparagraph (a)(1)(C); substituted "; or" for a period at the end of present subparagraph (a)(1)(C); added subparagraph (a)(1)(D); and designated the ending undesignated paragraph as paragraph (a)(2).

- Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 9-1(a)/HB 1176, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2012, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense and shall be considered a prior conviction for the purpose of imposing a sentence that provides for a different penalty for a subsequent conviction for the same type of offense, of whatever degree or level, pursuant to this Act."

- For article on the 2012 amendment of this Code section, see 29 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 290 (2012). For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 139 (2016). For note, "Give It to Me, I'm Worth It: The Need to Amend Georgia's Record Restriction Statute to Provide Ex-Offenders with a Second Chance in the Employment Sector," see 52 Ga. L. Rev. 267 (2017).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Fee not authorized on drug conviction.

- Upon conviction of a defendant of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, the trial court was without authority to impose a fine, penalty fee, and D.A.T.E. fee; the penalty for the offense does not include monetary fines. Rawls v. State, 210 Ga. App. 408, 436 S.E.2d 527 (1993).

Cited in Hermann v. State, 249 Ga. App. 535, 548 S.E.2d 666 (2001).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Applicable to drug-related felonies and convictions.

- Additional penalties called for in O.C.G.A. §§ 15-12-100 and40-5-75 are to be imposed upon convictions for drug-related felonies and misdemeanors. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U90-21.

- O.C.G.A. § 15-12-100 can only be applied to criminal conduct which occurred on or after July 1, 1990. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U90-23.

- In imposing the additional penalty pursuant to subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 15-12-100, court costs should be included in determining the amount of the original fine. 1996 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U96-14.