09 AM
14 0902
ADOPTED
Senators
Johnson of the 1st, Williams of the 19th, Rogers of the 21st, Brown of the 26th,
Adelman of the 42nd, Reed of the 35th and Thompson of the 33rd offered the
following amendment:
Amend
the committee substitute to SB 17 by adding after the first
word "To"
on line 1 the
words "revise provisions relating to
ethical conduct relating to public office; to"
By
inserting after the first semicolon on line 5 the following:
to
amend Part 6 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 45 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, so as to
revise the powers and duties of the committee and provide for reports to the
committee of the names of members of the General Assembly who have not filed
required state personal income tax returns;
By
renumbering Section 5 as Section 7 and inserting new Sections 5 and 6 to read as
follows:
SECTION
5.
Part
6 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, is amended in
Code Section 45-10-93, relating to powers and duties of the committee, by
revising paragraphs (4) and (5) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(4)
To
summons
summon
any person to appear, give sworn testimony, or produce documentary or other
evidence;
(5)
To adopt such
procedural
rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this part;
and"
SECTION
6.
Said
part is further amended in said Code Section 45-10-93 by revising paragraph (1),
paragraph (2), paragraph (5), and subparagraph (6)(A) of subsection (b) as
follows:
"(1)
To advise and assist the General Assembly in establishing rules and regulations
relating to conflicts between the private interests of a member of the
legislative branch of state government and
the
his or
her duties as such;"
"(2)
To receive and investigate
all
complaints alleging a violation of the
procedural
rules and regulations established by the committee;"
"(5)
To prepare and publish
an annual
report
periodic
reports for the General Assembly
summarizing the activities of the committee and recommending legislation that in
its judgment will promote the purposes of this part;"
"(6)(A)
To conduct an investigation of the merits of a written complaint by any person
who
believes
that a violation of this part has occurred
alleges
misconduct on the part of a member of the General Assembly or a member of the
staff of the General Assembly. If there
are found no reasonable grounds to believe that a violation has occurred, the
complaint shall be dismissed, subject to being reopened upon discovery of
additional evidence or relevant material. If the committee determines that
there are such reasonable grounds to believe that a violation has occurred, it
shall give notice by summoning the persons believed to have committed the
violation to a hearing. The committee may file a complaint
charging
violations of this part
alleging
misconduct on the part of a member of the General Assembly or a member of the
staff of the General Assembly. Nothing in
this Code section shall be construed to limit or encumber the right of the
committee to initiate on probable cause an investigation on its own cognizance
as it deems necessary to fulfill its obligations under this
part;"
SECTION
6.
Said
part is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"45-10-95.
(a)
The state revenue commissioner shall prior to the convening of each annual
session of the General Assembly report to the committee the name of any member
of the General Assembly who has not filed a Georgia personal income tax return
for the most recent preceding calendar year for which a return was required by
law to be filed by such member. The state revenue commissioner shall give
written notice of the pending report to each member of the General Assembly who
is to be named at least 20 days prior to making such report. The provisions of
this Code section shall control over the provisions of Code Section 48-7-60,
relating to confidential treatment of state income tax return
information.
(b)
Upon receipt of a report from the state revenue commissioner, the committee may
conduct an investigation of whether a member of the General Assembly has
committed misconduct by failing to file a required Georgia personal income tax
return or may refer the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee in the case of a
Senator or to the House Committee on Ethics in the case of a member of the House
of Representatives."