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Page Number: 37

16 

GEORGIA v. PUBLIC.RESOURCE.ORG, INC. 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

matter, the majority’s rule will prove difficult to administer.
According  to  one  group  of  amici,  nearly  all  jurisdictions
with annotated codes use private contractors that “almost 
invariably  prepare  [annotations]  under  the  supervision  of 
legislative-branch  or  judicial-branch  officials,  including 
state  legislators  or  state-court  judges.”  Brief  for  State  of 
Arkansas et al. as Amici Curiae 16–17.  Under the major-
ity’s view, any one of these commissions or counsels could 
potentially be reclassified as an “adjunct to the legislature.” 
Ante, at 11.  But the majority’s test for ascertaining the true
nature of these commissions raises far more questions than
it answers. 

The  majority  lists  a  number  of  factors—including  the
Commission’s  membership  and  funding,  how  the  annota-
tions  become  part  of  the  OCGA,  and  descriptions  of  the 
Commission  from  court  cases—to  support  its  conclusion 
that the Commission is really part of the legislature.  See 
ante, at 9–10.  But it does not specify whether these factors
are exhaustive or illustrative and, if the latter, what other 
factors may be important.  The majority also does not spec-
ify  whether  some  factors  weigh  more  heavily  than  others
when deciding whether to deem an oversight body a legis-
lative adjunct.

And  even  when  the  majority  does  list  concrete  factors,
pivotal guidance remains lacking.  For example, the major-
ity  finds  it  meaningful  that  9  out  of  the  Commission’s  15
members  are  legislators.  Ante,  at  9;  see  OCGA  §28–9–2 
(noting that the other members of the Commission include 
the State’s  Lieutenant Governor, a judge, a district attor-
ney, and three other state bar members).  But how many
legislative members are needed for a commission to become
a legislative adjunct?  The majority provides no answers to 
any of these questions. 

The  majority’s  rule  will  leave  in  the  lurch  the  many 

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