Title 36

The employee benefit system shall be exempt from state and local taxes and fees. History. — Code 1981, § 36-21-9, enacted by Ga. L. 1999, p. 1190, § 1.

Wherever the words ‘‘city,’’ ‘‘town,’’ ‘‘municipality,’’ or ‘‘village’’ appear in the statutory laws of this state, such words shall be construed as synonymous, and the General Assembly so declares this to be its intention in the use of these words; such words shall be held to me…

Without express legislative authority, a municipal corporation may not grant to any person the right to erect or maintain a structure or obstruction in a public street. History. — Civil Code 1895, § 745; Civil Code 1910, § 894; Code 1933, § 69-304. History of Code section. — This…

The municipal authorities of any municipal corporation are authorized to permit the enclosure of any lane, alley, or portion thereof in such municipal corporation when the owners of the lots abutting on such lane or alley and the owners of any other lots to the enjoyment of which…

In all municipal corporations of this state having a population of 350,000 or more according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census, the municipal authorities of such municipal corporations are authorized to close any municipal streets adjacent to…

Except as provided in subsection (g) of Code Section 21-4-13, in the event that all seats on the governing authority of a municipality are vacant, the election superintendent of the county in which the municipality is located shall have the authority to call for a special electio…

The council or other governing body of a municipal corporation has discretion in the management and disposition of its property. Where such discretion is exercised in good faith, equity will not interfere therewith. History. — Civil Code 1895, § 746; Civil Code 1910, § 895; Code …

(a) One council may not, by an ordinance, bind itself or its successors so as to prevent free legislation in matters of municipal government. (b) The governing authorities of municipal corporations having a population of not less than 100,000 and not more than 135,000 according t…

A councilman or alderman of a municipal corporation shall be ineligible to hold any other municipal office during the term of office for which the councilman or alderman was chosen unless he first resigns as councilman or alderman before entering such other office. This Code sect…

Whenever the charter of any incorporated municipality provides for a prior period of residency in the municipality as a qualification for the election or appointment of any person to any office or position in the municipal government, residence in territory which is afterwards an…

It is improper and illegal for a member of a municipal council to vote upon any question brought before the council in which he is personally interested. History. — Civil Code 1895, § 751; Civil Code 1910, § 900; Code 1933, § 69-204. History of Code section. — This Code section i…

A municipal corporation in this state is authorized to surrender its corporate charter when such municipal corporation has not functioned under the corporate charter for a period of ten years, by petitioning the superior court of the county in which the municipal corporation lies…

(a) On and after July 1, 1995, any municipal corporation in this state shall be deemed an inactive municipality and its charter shall be repealed by operation of law if the municipal corporation fails to meet any of the minimum standards provided in subsection (b) of this Code se…

The right and power to organize work gangs or other means of confinement and to confine at labor therein, for a term not exceeding 30 days, persons convicted of violating the ordinances of municipal corporations is conferred on the municipal corporations or their respective autho…

It shall be unlawful for any municipal corporation to provide commissions or percentages of any fines and bond forfeitures derived from any arrests made by law enforcement officers as compensation or any part thereof. The sole basis of compensating such employees shall be by a fi…

It is declared to be the intention of the General Assembly to prescribe certain minimum standards which must exist as a condition precedent to the original incorporation of a municipal corporation of this state. History. — Ga. L. 1963, p. 251, § 1.

The General Assembly may, in connection with the incorporation of a new municipal corporation, at any time (before, after, or contemporaneously with the passage of the chartering Act) appropriate to the Department of Community Affairs funds for grants or loans or both to a specif…

When a municipal corporation is created by local Act within a county which has a special district for the provision of local government services consisting of the unincorporated area of the county, the territory within the new municipal corporation shall be removed from the speci…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘County’’ means a county in which a tax is being levied and collected for purposes of a metropolitan area system of public transportation. (2) ‘‘Fire station’’ means any property or facility that is located wholly within the territ…

(a) The General Assembly finds that: (1) The purpose of a special district is to provide services to a given geographic area and to finance the provision of those services from taxes, fees, and assessments levied in the geographic area which benefits from the services; (2) The cr…

When a municipal corporation is created by local Act as authorized in this chapter, the provisions of Code Section 36-30-7.1 shall not apply for two years from the date the first elected officials of such municipal corporation take office. No later than July 1 following the expir…

To be eligible for original incorporation as a municipal corporation, the minimum population standards of the area embraced within the proposed municipal boundary shall be as follows: (1) A total resident population of at least 200 persons; and (2) An average resident population …

To be eligible for original incorporation as a municipal corporation, the area embraced shall be so developed that at least 60 percent of the total number of lots and tracts in the area at the time of incorporation are used for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, …

Every local law granting an original municipal charter shall have attached thereto a certificate by the author of the bill stating that the minimum standards required by this chapter exist as to the area embraced. Existence of the standards may be determined, as to population, by…

of the Attorney General for Reserved. Repealed by Ga. L. 2015, p. 385, § 6-3/HB 252, effective July 1, 2015.

When a new municipal corporation is created by local Act, the governing authority of the municipal corporation shall have all the same powers to license and regulate alcoholic beverages within its territory as did the governing authority of the county when such territory was with…

(a) When a new municipal corporation is created by Act of the General Assembly, the new municipality shall assume the ownership, control, care, and maintenance of county road rights of way located within the area incorporated unless the municipality and the county agree otherwise…

(a) When a new municipal corporation is created by local Act, the local Act may provide for a transition period not to exceed 24 months for the orderly transition of governmental functions from the county to the new municipal corporation. The local Act may specify the time or tim…

When a new municipal corporation is created by local Act, the chartering local Act may provide for the initial terms of office of members of the governing authority to be of any length or lengths; and the provisions of this Code section shall control over any conflicting provisio…

(a) Each municipal corporation of this state shall, unless otherwise provided in the local law relating to a particular municipal corporation, be authorized to establish and maintain a municipal court having jurisdiction over the violation of municipal ordinances and over such ot…

Municipal court judges shall be licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia and an active member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia; provided, however, that any judge serving on June 30, 2011, who does not meet the qualifications required by this Code section may s…

(a) The municipal courts are granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of a first offense violation of Code Section 3-3-23, relating to furnishing alcoholic beverages to, and purchase and possession of alcoholic beverages by, a person under 21 years of age, if the offense occurred …

(a) The municipal court of each municipal corporation in counties where there is no state court is granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of any violation of Code Section 16-7-21, relating to criminal trespass, if the offense occurred within the corporate limits of such municipa…

Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of law, in municipal courts which have jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses or ordinance violations, such offenses or violations may be tried upon a uniform traffic citation, summons, citation, or an accusation. History. — Code 1981,…

(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, in addition to any other jurisdiction vested in the municipal courts, such courts shall have the right and power to conduct trials, receive pleas of guilty, and impose sentence upon defendants for violating any…

(a) All judges of the municipal courts, and all judges of courts exercising municipal court jurisdiction, shall periodically satisfactorily complete a training course as provided in Article 2 of this chapter. (b) The Georgia Municipal Courts Training Council shall keep records of…

Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of law, local or general, sessions of a municipal court may be held outside the municipality for which the municipal court is established if such sessions are held within a county in which the municipality is located or has its legal s…

(a) For purposes of this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Municipal court’’ shall have the same meaning as described in subsection (a) of Code Section 36-32-1. (2) ‘‘Municipal court clerk’’ shall mean the primary person most directly responsible for the administration of a municipal…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any general or local Act, the governing authority of each municipal corporation within this state having a municipal court, as provided by the Act incorporating the municipal corporation or any amendments thereto, is auth…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘judge’’ means an individual serving as an appointed municipal court judge. (b)(1) A judge may be removed during his or her term of office by a two-thirds’ vote of the entire membership of the governing authority of the municipal corpor…

All judges of all municipal courts in this state shall have and are given the same powers and authorities as magistrates in the matter of and pertaining to criminal cases of whatever nature in the several courts of this state. History. — Ga. L. 1935, p. 458, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. …

Any municipal corporation shall have full power and authority to provide, by ordinance, for the forfeiture of bonds given by offenders for their appearance before municipal courts and to provide for the collection of the same from the principal and sureties on such bonds by judgm…

All municipal courts having authority to try offenses against the laws of the municipal corporations in which such courts are located shall have the power and authority: (1) To impose fines upon persons convicted of such offenses, with the alternative of other punishment allowed …

(a) The municipal court of any municipality is granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of cases where a person is charged with the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana if the offense occurred within the corporate limits of such municipality. The jurisdiction of any such c…

(a) The municipal court of any municipality shall be granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of cases where a person is charged with transactions in drug related objects in violation of Code Section 16-13-32 if the offense occurred within the corporate limits of such municipality…

(a) The municipal court of each municipality is granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of cases where a person is charged with a misdemeanor under Code Section 40-6-10 of knowingly operating or knowingly authorizing the operation of a motor vehicle without effective insurance of…