Title 12

(a)(1) The commission shall be authorized to acquire, operate, maintain, house, and dispose of all state aviation assets assigned to the commission, to provide aviation services and oversight of such state aircraft and aviation operations for the mission of the commission and leg…

(a) Any person, company, corporation, or others purchasing timber from lands in Georgia shall, within 20 days of removal of such timber, furnish the seller of timber a scale ticket for each and every load of wood removed, when such load is sold by weight, cord, or measure of boar…

(a)(1) A county governing authority may by ordinance or resolution require all persons or firms harvesting standing timber in any unincorporated area of such county for delivery as pulpwood, logs, poles, posts, or wood chips to any woodyard or processing plant located inside or ou…

(a) The commission shall elect a chairman annually. (b) The members of the commission, including the chairman, shall receive such per diem subsistence allowances for each day of actual attendance at the meetings of the commission, as well as mileage to and from the place of meeti…

If any member of the commission, for any cause, fails to attend three successive meetings of the commission without good and valid cause or excuse or without leave of absence from the chairman his office shall be declared vacant by the commission. The chairman shall notify the Go…

It is the purpose of this part to protect the public by improving the standards relative to the practice of professional forestry. History. — Ga. L. 1951, p. 581, § 1; Ga. L. 1959, p. 161, § 1.

As used in this part, the term: (1) ‘‘Board’’ means the State Board of Registration for Foresters provided for by this part. (2) ‘‘Professional forestry’’ or ‘‘practice of professional forestry’’ means any professional service relating to forestry, such as investigation, evaluati…

(a) A State Board of Registration for Foresters is created whose duty it shall be to administer this part. (b) The board shall consist of five foresters who shall be selected and appointed by the Governor and who shall have the qualifications required by Code Section 12-6-43. (c) I…

Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Georgia and shall have been engaged in the practice of forestry for at least ten years, provided that only the citizenship and residency requirements of this Code section shall apply to the member …

Each member of the board shall be reimbursed as provided for in subsection (f ) of Code Section 43-1-2. History. — Ga. L. 1951, p. 581, § 5.

The Governor may remove any member of the board for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty. Vacancies in the membership of the board shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment only as provided in this part. History. — Ga. L. 1951, p. 581, § 6.

The board shall hold meetings as necessary. The board shall elect or appoint annually a chairman and a vice-chairman. The division director of the professional licensing boards division, as provided in Chapter 1 of Title 43, shall serve as secretary of the board in the same manne…

(a) The board shall have the power to promulgate rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of this state, which may be reasonably necessary for the proper performance of its duties and the regulation of the proceedings before it. (b) The board shall a…

The board shall keep a record of its proceedings. The records of the board shall be prima-facie evidence of the proceedings of the board set forth therein, and a transcript thereof, duly certified by the secretary of the board under seal, shall be admissible in evidence with the s…

(a) The minimum qualifications and requirements for registration as a registered forester shall be as follows: (1) Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from a school, college, or department of forestry approved by the board, passage of a board approved examination after graduati…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Agency’’ means the agency within the Department of Human Services which is responsible for enforcing orders for child support pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 19, the ‘‘Child Support Recovery Act.’’ (2) ‘‘Compliance wi…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Agency’’ means the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation created in Code Section 20-3-263 which is responsible for administering a program of guaranteed educational loans to eligible students and eligible parents known a…

(a) The commission shall have power and authority: (1) To take all action appropriate to foster, improve, and encourage reforestation; (2) To engage in research and other projects for the ascertainment and promulgation of better forestry practices; (3) To offer aid, assistance, a…

(a) The General Assembly finds that 433,000 acres of trees were planted in Georgia in 1984, while 640,000 acres were harvested during that year for a net loss of over 200,000 planted acres. The General Assembly further finds that the forest industry is of fundamental importance to …

(a) Applications for registration shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the board; shall contain statements made under oath, showing the applicant’s education and a detailed summary of the applicant’s technical work; and shall contain not fewer than five references, o…

When written examinations are required, they shall be held at such time and place as the division director of the professional licensing boards division, as provided in Chapter 1 of Title 43, shall determine. The methods of procedure shall be prescribed by the division director o…

(a) Any person who is licensed as a registered forester under the laws of another state may be licensed and registered under the laws of Georgia by reciprocity without having to qualify under the other provisions of this part, subject to the following conditions: (1) That the req…

Registration shall be determined upon a basis of individual personal qualifications. No firm, company, partnership, or corporation can be licensed. History. — Ga. L. 1951, p. 581, § 17.

(a) Licenses shall be valid for up to two years and shall be renewable biennially on the renewal date established by the division director of the professional licensing boards division, as provided in Chapter 1 of Title 43. (b) The board shall require persons who are licensed und…

The board shall have the authority to refuse to grant a license to an applicant, to revoke the license of a person licensed by the board, or to discipline a person licensed by the board upon a finding by a majority of the board that the licensee or applicant has violated the provi…

A duplicate license to replace any lost, destroyed, or mutilated license may be issued, subject to the rules of the board, upon payment of a fee established by the board. History. — Ga. L. 1964, p. 409, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 953, § 10.

(a) Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the State Forestry Commission is authorized to manage, conserve, and protect any forest lands or forest properties belonging to or under the jurisdiction and control of any department, board, commission, bureau, agen…

In addition to any other remedy or criminal prosecution, whenever it shall appear to the board that any person, firm, company, partnership, association, or corporation, or their agents, officers, or directors, is or has been holding himself, itself, or themselves out to the public…

(a) No person shall use in connection with his name or otherwise assume, use, or advertise any title or description tending directly or indirectly to convey the impression that he is a registered forester without first having been licensed and registered as a registered forester a…

(a) Any person, firm, or partnership violating any provision of this part shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) Any person who: (1) Refuses upon request to surrender to the board or any duly authorized agent thereof any license held by such person; (2) Presents or attempts to use …

(a) The commission may enter into agreements with the secretary of agriculture of the United States in order to participate in the rural fire prevention and control program authorized by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95-313. (b) With respect to the fo…

The commission shall be the designated agency to expend through the department all federal-aid funds available under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95-313, for fire prevention and nursery work and for farm forestry or forest farming and nursery work. T…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Georgia Forest Fire Protection Act.’’ History. — Ga. L. 1949, p. 937, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 6, § 12.

The General Assembly, recognizing that the forest lands and resources of the state are a natural resource of great economic value to the citizens of the state, comprising two-thirds of the state’s area, or 24 million acres, and giving employment to over 177,000 Georgia citizens a…

As used in this part, the term: (1) ‘‘Forest fire’’ means any fire burning uncontrolled on any forest land covered wholly or in part by timber, brush, grass, or other flammable material. (2) ‘‘Forest lands’’ means all lands which are situated outside of corporate limits and which ha…

All forest fire protection work shall be under the direction and supervision of the State Forestry Commission, through the director of the commission, subject to this part and the laws of this state relative to forestry and forest fire prevention and suppression. The commission sha…

The members of the State Forestry Commission and any of its authorized agents or anyone acting at their direction shall have the right at any or all times to go upon any land for the purpose of preventing, controlling, or suppressing forest fires, as defined in Code Section 12-6-82…

The State Forestry Commission shall divide the state into fire protection units which will provide efficient and economical fire protection within the unit area. Such units will comprise one or more counties or portions of counties. History. — Ga. L. 1949, p. 937, § 9.

(a) In the discretion of the State Forestry Commission, there may be set up in each fire protection unit a board to be known as the unit forestry board, consisting of five members who shall be appointed by the State Forestry Commission. (b) The State Forestry Commission shall deter…

The duties of the unit forestry board shall be to assist in the efficient performance of this part and in the general conduct of the forestry program in the fire protection unit. History. — Ga. L. 1949, p. 937, § 11.

The State Forestry Commission shall prepare for each unit forestry board a plan for forest fire protection for the fiscal year and shall present such plan at a meeting of the board prior to July 1 of each year. It is the intent of the General Assembly that funds be appropriated to …

(a) As used in this Code section, ‘‘extreme forest fire emergency’’ means a condition whereby forest fires within the state are of such number, size, severity, and intensity that they cannot be controlled by the existing facilities of the State Forestry Commission and are endangeri…

(a) The commission shall have the right to acquire, in the name of the state, by purchase, lease, agreement, or condemnation, such land within the state as may be deemed necessary and proper. Condemnation proceedings shall be subject to the applicable provisions of law relating t…

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, any person, firm, corporation, or association lawfully entitled to burn any woods, lands, marshes, or any other flammable vegetation, whether in cultivated or uncultivated areas, shall prior to such burning obt…

Unless prohibited by the director of the State Forestry Commission pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 12-6-17, the owners of any forest land may accomplish controlled burning over their own land when a permit therefor is obtained pursuant to the requirements of Code Secti…

The title to all property already acquired or which may be acquired incidental to carrying out this part shall be vested in the State Forestry Commission. History. — Ga. L. 1949, p. 937, § 14.