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2018 Georgia Code 45-7-8 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 45-7-8 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 45-7-8

TITLE 45 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

Section 7. Salaries and Fees, 45-7-1 through 45-7-110.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

45-7-8. Officer dismissal for charging or taking fees not allowed or for services not performed.

Any public officer who shall charge or take fees not allowed by law or for service not performed shall, on conviction or proof thereof, be dismissed from office.

(Laws 1792, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 357; Code 1863, § 3634; Code 1868, § 3659; Code 1873, § 3710; Code 1882, § 3710; Penal Code 1895, § 1098; Penal Code 1910, § 1125; Code 1933, § 89-702.)

Cross references.

- Acceptance of other compensated office or appointment by member of General Assembly, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. II, Para. IV.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Section indicative of public policy.

- When proceedings were not brought under former Code 1933, § 89-702 (see now O.C.G.A. § 45-7-8) but were instituted under former Code 1933, § 24-2724 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-6-82), relating to removal of clerks for cause, former Code 1933, § 89-702 was at least indicative of the policy of this state that public officers shall not charge or take fees not allowed by law. Adamson v. Leathers, 60 Ga. App. 382, 3 S.E.2d 871 (1939).

Wrongful acts constituting malpractice in office.

- Any county commissioner who knowingly and willfully assists another public officer in charging and receiving unlawful fees was guilty of malpractice in office and of violating the provisions of former Code 1933, §§ 89-9907, 89-9908 (see now O.C.G.A. § 45-11-4). Cargile v. State, 67 Ga. App. 610, 21 S.E.2d 326 (1942).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Arrest fees for sheriff.

- A sheriff is not entitled to an arresting fee for an arrest made by the county police, when the sheriff does not participate in the arrest, but sheriffs are entitled to an arresting fee when they arrest in an arrest made by the Georgia State Patrol. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 96.

Arrest fees for game warden.

- When a game warden arrests a violator of the game and fish laws, the arrest fees go into the general funds of court. 1948-49 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 231.

Voluntary contributions to board's expenses not to be encouraged.

- Neither the State Board of Examiners in Optometry (now the State Board of Optometry), nor any member thereof should encourage voluntary contributions to assist in meeting the expenses incurred in the administration of the affairs of the board. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 504.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 67 C.J.S., Officers and Public Employees, §§ 233, 406, 409.

ALR.

- Liability of public officer or his bond to public body in respect of fees or charges which he illegally or improperly collected from members of public, 99 A.L.R. 647.

Removal of public officers for misconduct during previous term, 42 A.L.R.3d 691.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 45-7-8

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Bowen v. Griffith, 366 S.E.2d 293 (Ga. 1988).

Cited 9 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 7, 1988 | 258 Ga. 162

...162 (1988) 366 S.E.2d 293 BOWEN v. GRIFFITH. 45405. Supreme Court of Georgia. Decided April 7, 1988. R. Dale Perry, for appellant. Jacobs & Langford, Norman J. Slawsky, Hudson & Montgomery, James Hudson, for appellee. WELTNER, Justice. Bowen filed an action based upon OCGA § 45-7-8 that sought to remove Griffith from his office as chairman of the board of commissioners of Oglethorpe County....
...Bowen contends that Griffith's acceptance of county funds in excess of his statutory salary as chairman, together with his acceptance of county funds as expense allowances without itemization, subjects him to removal from office. Bowen relies upon these statutes: (a) OCGA § 45-7-8: Any public officer who shall charge or take fees not allowed by law or for services not performed shall, on conviction or proof thereof, be dismissed from office....
...of Oglethorpe County. 3. These factual and statutory elements generate the initial issues of this appeal: (a) Is Griffith a "public officer?" (b) Has he charged or taken "fees not allowed by law or for services not performed," as prohibited by OCGA § 45-7-8? 4....
...nor is he any the less a public officer because his authority or duty is confined to narrow limits. Polk v. James, 68 Ga. 128, 131 (1881). See also Dorsett v. Garrard, 85 Ga. 734, 737 (11 SE 768) (1890). 5. Regarding the second issue, however, OCGA § 45-7-8 does not apply to the payments to Griffith of additional salary and expense allowances....
...As to Griffith's salary as road superintendent, we apply a narrow construction to the term "fees," consistently with the historical context of the Act of 1792, and with the traditional strict construction of forfeitures, e.g., removal from office under OCGA § 45-7-8....
...for the services of a public officer in his official capacity." Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 3d ed., ad loc. Because neither the payments to Griffith of a salary as road superintendent nor the expense allowances are "fees" within the meaning of OCGA § 45-7-8, the sanction of removal from office cannot apply....
...fficient that a plaintiff is interested in having the laws executed and the duty in question enforced. Because Bowen contests the legality of certain expenditures of public funds, he states a claim for relief that is discrete from removal under OCGA § 45-7-8....