Syfert Injury Law Firm
Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation
Call Now: 904-383-7448Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation
Call Now: 904-383-7448The general appropriations bill shall embrace nothing except appropriations fixed by previous laws; the ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the government; payment of the public debt and interest thereon; and for support of the public institutions and educational interests of the state. All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject.
- Art. III, Sec. X, Para. IV.
- State financing and investment generally, § 50-17-20 et seq.
- The purpose of this and other paragraphs on appropriation control is to end the practice of allocating or earmarking particular taxes for the use by any specific department, and to require the General Assembly to appropriate from the general fund specific amounts for each fiscal year for the support of each department or agency. Gregory v. Hamilton, 215 Ga. 735, 113 S.E.2d 395 (1960) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. IX, Para. III).
Cited in Irons v. Harrison, 185 Ga. 244, 194 S.E. 749 (1937); Atlanta Fin. Co. v. Brown, 187 Ga. 729, 2 S.E.2d 415 (1939); Schaffer v. Oxford, 102 Ga. App. 710, 117 S.E.2d 637 (1960).
It is exclusive function of legislative branch to appropriate money in form of a general appropriations bill. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-18.
Discretion lies with the state agency to determine which fiscal year's funds were obligated by particular contract. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-163.
- A state agency may contract with a party in one fiscal year for services to be performed in the next fiscal year so long as the funds to meet the obligations of the contract were existing in the agency's appropriation and were unobligated prior to the execution of the contract. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-163.
This paragraph excludes amendments to a general appropriations Act for a prior fiscal year. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-53 (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. IX, Para. III).
Appropriations Act may not alter responsibilities or powers of state agency which are derived from general law. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-46.
Appropriation Act does no more or no less than authorize maximum amount of funds to be spent for specified objects; it does not mandate such expenditures. 1973 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 73-80.
Establishment of obligation to pay funds into state treasury is matter of substantive law, and under this paragraph substantive laws cannot be contained in the General Appropriations Act. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-118 (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. IX, Para. III).
Actual power of a public agency to spend public money for particular activities or purposes must be pursuant to a general law, not an appropriations Act. 1973 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 73-80.
- This paragraph prohibits an appropriations Act from doing anything other than authorizing a state agency to spend up to a maximum amount for a purpose or function which the agency is permitted or required by general law. 1977 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 77-87.
- Departments, institutions, and agencies can pay dues and membership fees in state and national organizations from appropriated funds. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-110.
- 63C Am. Jur. 2d, Public Funds, § 44.
- Particularity of specification of purpose required in appropriation bill, 20 A.L.R. 981.