hb192_LC_28_2011_a_2.html
05 LC 28 2011
House Bill 192
By: Representatives Buckner of the 76th, Manning of the 32nd, Henson of the 87th, Orrock of the 58th, Buckner of the 130th, and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Code Section 15-21-132 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to assessment and collection of local victim assistance funds, so as to provide that local victim assistance funds collected by the courts shall be paid directly to the county governing authority or the district attorney; to provide for certain reports; to provide that the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall quarterly prepare and publish a report of all courts that have not filed certain reports; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.
Code Section 15-21-132 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to assessment and collection of local victim assistance funds, is amended by striking the Code section and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 15-21-132 to read as follows:
"15-21-132.
(a) The sums provided for in Code Section 15-21-131 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 Clerkś Cooperative Authority by the end of the month after the collection. The net proceeds shall be distributed by such authority as follows monthly:
(1) If the county where the fine was imposed operates or participates in any victim assistance program certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, then the moneys shall be paid over to the governing authority of the county for disbursement to those victim assistance programs; or
(2) If the county where the fine was imposed does not operate or participate in any victim assistance program certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, then the moneys shall be paid over to the district attorney of the judicial circuit in which the county is located for the purpose of defraying the costs of victim assistance activities carried out by the district attorneýs office. Such funds shall be paid over in the same manner as other county funds paid for operations of the district attorneýs office and shall be in addition to rather than in lieu of any other such funds.
All such funds shall be paid to the recipients by the last day of the month in which the funds are received; provided, however, that the governing authority of the county shall be authorized to hold as reserve funds an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the funds received by the governing authority in the preceding calendar year.
(b) The Georgia Superior Court Clerkś Cooperative Authority The court officer charged with the duty of collecting moneys arising from fines as provided for in Code Section 15-21-131 shall receive and distribute the funds collected pursuant to this Code section to the county governing authorities authority or district attorney, as appropriate, and shall submit a financial report to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council each month stating the amount collected and the amount disbursed to each county governing authority no later than the last day of the month following the month in which the funds were collected.
(c) The county governing authority receiving funds shall submit a financial report to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council semiannually stating the recipients that directly received funds during such reporting period no later than the last day of the month following the reporting period in which the funds were collected in order to allow coordination of local, state, and federal funding sources for similar services. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall report annually to the General Assembly the county governing authorities that failed to submit semiannual reports during the previous calendar year.
(d) All recipients of funds pursuant to this Code section shall submit an annual report to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the total amount of funds received from each county governing authority, the purposes for which the funds were expended, and the total number of victims served in each county for which the funds were received. A copy of each recipient́s annual report shall also be submitted to each county governing authority from which funds were received pursuant to this Code section.
(e) The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall promulgate rules governing the certification of victim assistance programs. The rules shall provide for the certification of programs which are designed to provide substantial assistance to victims of crime in understanding and dealing with the criminal justice system as it relates to the crimes committed against them. It is the intention of the General Assembly that certification shall be liberally granted so as to encourage local innovations in the development of victim assistance programs.
(f) The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall promulgate rules governing the revocation of certification of victim assistance programs. Such rules shall provide for the decertification of programs previously certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council that are no longer in compliance with the rules promulgated by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council pursuant to this Code section.
(g) Moneys arising from fines imposed pursuant to Code Section 15-21-131 shall not be paid to any victim assistance program that has not been certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council or to any program that has been decertified by such council.
(h) Each calendar quarter, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall prepare and publish a report that shall list each court which has not filed the reports required by subsection (b) of this Code section."

SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.