The House Committee on Governmental Affairs offers the following substitute to HB 1362:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions for eligibility and qualifications for office, so as to provide that
persons having certain financial interest shall be ineligible to hold certain public offices; to
amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions for conflicts of interest, so as to prohibit state public
officials from having financial interest in certain state contracts or from transacting business
with the state; to revise disclosure provisions; to revise 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.
Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions for eligibility and qualifications for office, is amended by adding a new
Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"45-2-1.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the terms 'agency,' 'family,' 'financial interest,' 'public
official,' and 'transact business' or 'transact any business' shall have the same meanings as
provided for in Code Section 45-10-20.
(b) In addition to the provisions of Code Section 45-2-1, the following persons are
ineligible to hold any public offices provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section; and
the existence of any of the following facts shall be a sufficient reason for vacating any
office held by a public official, provided that the acts of such official, while holding a
commission, shall be valid as the acts of an officer de facto when a person, for himself or
herself or on behalf of any business, or for any business in which such person or member
of his or her family has a financial interest, to:
(1) Transact any business with any agency or any federal agency or department; or
(2) Have a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in:
(A) A contract made by a state agency or any federal agency or department; or
(B) Which the state or a state agency or any federal agency or department is an
interested party,
and of which interest such person has knowledge and reason to know.
(c) This Code section shall apply to the public offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, and the Commissioners
of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance."
</ins> SECTION 2.
Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions for conflicts of interest, is 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 <ins>executive, legislative, or judicial branch of</ins> 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.
<ins>(5) 'Financial interest' means any direct or indirect ownership, interest in a partnership,
or holding of stock in a corporation, except where such holding constitutes less than 3
percent of the total proprietary interest of such corporation.
</ins> <del>(5)(6)</del> 'Full-time' means 30 hours of work for the state per week for more than 26 weeks
per calendar year.
<del>(6)(7)</del> 'Limited powers' means those powers other than state-wide powers.
<del>(7)(8)</del> 'Part-time' means any amount of work other than full-time work.
<del>(8)(9)</del> 'Person' means any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm,
enterprise, franchise, association, organization, or other legal entity.
<ins>(9)(10)</ins> '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
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,
<ins>regardless of whether or not such person is serving with or without compensation on a
full-time, part-time, intermittent, or consultant basis.
</ins> <del>(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
</del>
<del>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.
</del> (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 3.
Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 45-10-22, relating to full-time public
officials with state-wide powers prohibitions, and public officials or employees with limited
powers prohibitions, as follows:
"45-10-22.
<del>(a)(1)</del> It shall be unlawful for any <del>full-time</del> public official <del>who has state-wide powers,</del> for
himself <ins>or herself</ins> or on behalf of any business, or for any business in which such public
official or member of his <ins>or her</ins> family has a <del>substantial</del> <ins>financial</ins> interest, to:
<ins>(1) Transact</ins> <del>transact</del> any business with any agency; <ins>or
(2) Have a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in:
(A) A contract made by a state agency; or
(B) Which the state or a state agency is an interested party,
and of which interest a public official has knowledge and reason to know.
</ins> <del>(2) It shall be unlawful for any public official who has limited powers, for himself or on
behalf of any business, or for any business in which such public official or member of his
</del>
<del>family has a substantial interest to transact any business with the agency for which such
public official serves.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply
to:
(1) Any transaction made pursuant to sealed competitive bids;
(2) Any transaction when the amount of a single transaction does not exceed $250.00 and
when the aggregate of all such transactions does not exceed $9,000.00 per calendar year;
and
(3) Any transaction involving the lease of real property to or from any agency if such
transaction has been approved by the State Properties Commission or the Space
Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services.
</del> <ins>(c)(b)</ins> Any person who knowingly violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be
subject to the penalties provided for in Code Section 45-10-28."
SECTION 4.
Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 45-10-24, relating to part-time public
officials with state-wide powers prohibitions, part-time employees prohibitions, and
exceptions to prohibitions, as follows:
"45-10-24.
<del>(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, it shall be unlawful for
any part-time public official who has state-wide powers, for himself or on behalf of any
business, or for any business in which such public official or member of his family has a
substantial interest to transact any business with any agency.
(2)(a)</del> Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, it shall be unlawful for
any part-time employee, for himself or on behalf of any business, or for any business in
which such employee or member of his family has a substantial interest to transact any
business with the agency by which such employee is employed.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to:
(1) Any transaction made pursuant to sealed competitive bids;
(2) Any transaction when the amount of a single transaction does not exceed $250.00 and
when the aggregate of all such transactions does not exceed $9,000.00 per calendar year;
(3) Any transaction involving the lease of real property to or from any agency if such
transaction has been approved by the State Properties Commission or the Space
Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services; and
(4) Any transaction involving the purchase of surplus state property at a public auction.
(c) Any person who knowingly violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be subject
to the penalties provided for in Code Section 45-10-28."
SECTION 5.
Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 45-10-24.1, relating to exemption for
transactions by family owned business when university system employee has interest, and
requirements, as follows:
"45-10-24.1.
Subsection (a) of Code Section 45-10-23 and <del>paragraph (2) of</del> subsection (a) of Code
Section 45-10-24 shall not apply to a transaction with a unit of the University System of
Georgia by a family owned business in which an employee of the university system or a
member of the employee's family has an ownership interest where all of the following
apply:
(1) The employee or one or more members of the employee's family or both have an
ownership interest in a family owned business, but the employee is not actively engaged
in the day-to-day management of the business;
(2) The employee is employed by a department of the unit of the university system in a
position below that of department head; and
(3) The transaction is:
(A) With a unit of the university system different than the unit employing the
employee; or
(B) With a department of the employing unit of the university system different than the
department employing the employee."
SECTION 6.
Said part is further amended by revising the introductory language of subsection (a) of Code
Section 45-10-25, relating to exceptions to prohibitions on transactions with state agencies,
as follows:
"45-10-25.
(a) The provisions of Code Sections <del>45-10-22,</del> 45-10-23, and 45-10-24 shall not apply to:"
SECTION 7.
Said part is further amended by revising Code Section 45-10-26, relating to annual disclosure
statements concerning business transactions with state and public records, as follows:
"45-10-26.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, any public <del>official or
</del> employee, whether for himself, herself, or on behalf of any business, or any business in
which such public official or employee or any member of his or her family has a substantial
interest who transacts business with the state or any agency thereof shall disclose such
transactions. Such disclosure shall be submitted prior to January 31 each year to the State
Ethics Commission on such forms as it shall prescribe and shall include an itemized list of
the previous year's transactions with the dollar amount of each transaction reported and
totaled. Such disclosure statements shall be public records.
<ins>(a.1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, any public official, whether
for himself, herself, or on behalf of any business, or any business in which such public
official or employee or any member of his or her family has an interest less than a financial
</ins>
<ins>interest who transacts business with the state or any agency thereof, shall disclose such
transactions. Such disclosure shall be made in the same manner as the disclosures required
by subsection (a) of this Code section.
</ins> (b) The requirement to disclose certain transactions as provided in subsection (a) of this
Code section shall not apply to any transaction when the amount of a single transaction
does not exceed $250.00 and when the aggregate of all transactions does not exceed
$9,000.00 per calendar year.
(c) Any person who fails to file a disclosure statement as required in subsection (a) of this
Code section shall be subject to the penalties provided for in Code Section 45-10-28."
SECTION 8.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.