---
title: O.C.G.A. § 35-3-5. Creation of director; appointment and removal; powers and duties.
collection: code
id: 35-3-5
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 35-3-5 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/35-3-5
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/35-3-5.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/35-3-5/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t35-t36-ch1-59-(v27)-2025-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=66569db4_0#page=111
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/35-3.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/35-3-4.5.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/35-3-6.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia
heading_path: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES / GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 35-3-5. Creation of director; appointment and removal; powers and duties.

(a) There is created the position of director.

(b) The director shall be the chief administrative officer and shall be both appointed and removed by the board with the approval of the Governor.

(c) The director shall coordinate and supervise the work of the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel created by Code Section 19-15-4 or shall designate a person from within the bureau to serve as the coordinator and supervisor and shall provide such staffing and administrative support to the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel as may be necessary to enable it to carry out its statutory duties.

(d) The director shall report the death of any child to the chairperson of the review committee, as such term is defined in Code Section 19-15-1, for the county in which such child resided at the time of death, unless the director or his or her designee has knowledge that such death has been reported by the county medical examiner or coroner, pursuant to Code Section 19-15-3, and shall provide such review committee access to any records of the bureau relating to such child.

(e) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, and subject to the general policy established by the board, the director shall supervise, direct, account for, organize, plan, administer, and execute the functions vested in the bureau by this chapter.

## History

Ga. L. 1974, p. 109, § 2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 599, § 2/SB 146; Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-8/SB 365; Ga. L. 2025, p. 1029, § 35(11)/SB 153, effective July 1, 2025.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-1/SB 365, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This part shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Journey Ann Cowart Act.’”

Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-9/SB 365, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for transparency relative to investigations involving child abuse and child fatalities in order to best protect the children of this state. The General Assembly finds that more disclosure of information may be necessary when a child is deceased. The General Assembly intends that agencies and departments of this state share data in order to conduct research for the purpose of preventing child fatalities in this state.”

## Law Reviews

For article on the 2014 amendment of this Code section, see 31 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 25 (2014).

## Amendments

The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “board” for “Board of Public Safety” in subsection (b).