05 LC
14 9166
Senate
Bill 307
By:
Senator Rogers of the 21st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local
government, so as to repeal Chapter 16, relating to establishment of county
historical containers in the office of the probate judge upon the recommendation
of two successive grand juries; to provide that this Act shall not preclude the
maintenance of any existing historical container; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, is
amended by repealing and reserving Chapter 16 relating to establishment of
county historical containers in the office of the probate judge upon the
recommendation of two successive grand juries, as follows:
"CHAPTER
16
36-16-1.
Reserved.
The county
governing authority shall furnish, purchase, or cause to be furnished or
purchased a suitable filing case or other container to be placed in the office
of the judge of the probate court of the county and labeled
'Historical.'
36-16-2.
The
judge of the probate court of the county shall be required to receive from any
responsible citizen or citizens any data of a historical nature and place the
same on file in the historical container provided for in Code Section 36-16-1,
for safe preservation and historical reference. The matter to be entered for
preservation must be of general interest and not of a personal nature; it may
include records, proceedings, or minutes of any religious body or organization;
school records not otherwise preserved; records of civic, patriotic, or
fraternal organizations; and records of purely community affairs when of such
nature as to be of general interest and not otherwise recorded by court
procedure.
36-16-3.
The
judge of the probate court and the county board of education are made the sole
judges of the admissibility of any matter or document which may be submitted to
the judge of the probate court for filing, should any question arise as to the
historical value of such matter or document so submitted; and the judge of the
probate court and the board of education sitting in regular session shall have
authority to accept or reject any matter so submitted, provided that the judge
of the probate court shall be required to deposit in the historical container
all documents in his office pertaining to records of Confederate soldiers and
widows of such soldiers, as well as soldiers and their surviving spouses of all
other wars of our nation, a record of which he may have in his office, and to
make proper notations thereof in the book of record.
36-16-4.
The
judge of the probate court shall be required to keep a suitable record and index
in a book prepared for that purpose of all matter placed in the historical
container, with notations as to the nature of the matter on file, by whom, and
when placed on file. He shall be entitled to a fee of 25¢, payable by the
person filing such historical matter, for each article or document so deposited
by such person for preservation with him, provided that the county historian may
submit documents for preservation without payment of a fee to the judge of the
probate court.
36-16-5.
This
chapter shall not become operative in any county of this state until it has been
adopted and recommended by a majority vote of two successive regular grand
juries of the
county."
SECTION
2.
If
as of July 1, 2005, there has been established in any county a historical
container as authorized under former Chapter 16 of Title 36, the judge of the
probate court shall be authorized to maintain such container in such manner as
deemed appropriate by the judge of the probate court.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.