Source: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/2019-3
Timestamp: 2020-07-14 13:32:42
Document Index: 616752515

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 40', '§ 43', '§ 43', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 42', '§ 42', '§ 42', '§ 43', '§ 42', '§ 16']

2019-3 | Office of Attorney General of Georgia Chris Carr
Official Opinion 2019-3
2019 update of crimes and offenses for which the Georgia Crime Information Center is authorized to collect and file fingerprints.
You have requested in your letter of August 14, 2019, my opinion concerning whether any of the following misdemeanor offenses enacted during the 2019 Session of the General Assembly should be designated as offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. Pursuant to Georgia law, I make the following designations in relation to your question.
The offenses under review from the 2019 Session of the General Assembly include: O.C.G.A. § 2‑8‑218(a) (willfully rendering or furnishing a false or fraudulent report to the Agricultural Commodity Commission for Propane which is required pursuant to Article 6 of Title 2, Chapter 8); O.C.G.A. § 2‑8‑218(b) (violating any provision of Article 6 of Title 2, Chapter 8 or any marketing order duly issued by the Commission); O.C.G.A. § 16‑5‑23.1(k) (committing a battery against a sports official while such sports official is officiating an amateur contest); O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(b) (any employee or agent knowingly engaging in sexually explicit conduct with specified persons); O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(c) (any employee or agent knowingly engaging in sexual contact with specified persons); O.C.G.A. § 16‑10‑28 (making a unlawful request for emergency services assistance under certain circumstances); O.C.G.A. § 16‑13‑121 (selling or transferring possession of kratom to, or possession of kratom by, a person under 18 years of age[1]; O.C.G.A. § 40‑11‑17 (removing from, towing or immobilizing a motor vehicle in a private parking lot between midnight and 9:00 a.m.); and O.C.G.A. § 43‑24A‑15(a) (violating the Georgia Massage Therapy Practice Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 43‑24A‑1 through 43‑24A‑33).
The first misdemeanor offense at issue is O.C.G.A. § 2‑8‑218(a). This Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person to willfully render or furnish a false or fraudulent report, state, or record to the Agricultural Commodity Commission for Propane required pursuant to Article 6 of Title 2, Chapter 8, or to any marketing order effective under this article. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 2‑8‑218(a) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The second misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 2‑8‑218(b). This Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person to violate any provision of Article 6 of Title 2, Chapter 8 or any provision of any marketing order duly issued by the Agricultural Commodity Commission for Propane under this article. Offenses arising from a violation of this Code section do not, at this time, appear to be offenses for which fingerprinting is required. I am not, at this time, designating misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 2‑8‑218(b) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The third misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑5‑23.1(k). This Code Section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for any person to commit a battery against a sports official while such sports official is officiating an amateur contest or while such sports official is on or exiting the property where he or she will officiate or has completed officiating an amateur sports contest. I hereby designate misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16‑5‑23.1(k) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The fourth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(b). This Code section provides that when any employee or agent knowingly engages in sexually explicit conduct as defined in the statute with a person whom such employee or agent knows or reasonably should have known is one of the categories of individuals listed in O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(b)(1)‑(7), that employee or agent has committed the offense of improper sexual contact by employee or agent in the first degree, which is a felony pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(f). If, however, at the time of the offense, the victim of the offense is at least 14 years of age but less than 21 years of age and the defendant is 21 years of age or younger and is not more than 48 months older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of misdemeanor pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(f)(2). I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. §§ 16‑6‑5.1(b) and 16‑6‑5.1(f)(2) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The fifth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(c). This Code section provides that when any employee or agent knowingly engages in sexual contact, excluding sexually explicit conduct, with another person whom such employee or agent knows or reasonably should have known is one of the categories of individuals listed in O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(c)(1)‑(7), that employee or agent has committed the offense of improper sexual contact by employee or agent in the second degree, which is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(g), unless the child is under the age of 16 years, which is a felony as provided by O.C.G.A. § 16‑5‑6.1(g)(2). Upon a second or subsequent conviction of improper sexual contact in the second degree, that employee or agent shall be guilty of a felony pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(g)(3). If, however, at the time of the offense, the victim of the offense is at least 14 years of age but less than 21 years of age and the employee or agent is 21 years of age or younger and is not more than 48 months older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of misdemeanor pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16‑6‑5.1(g)(2). I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. §§ 16‑6‑5.1(c) and 16-6-5.1(g) and under O.C.G.A. §§ 16‑6‑5.1(c) and 16‑6‑5.1(g)(2) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The sixth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑10‑28. This Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for any person to knowingly and intentionally transmit in any manner a request for emergency services assistance knowing at the time of the request that there is no reasonable ground for believing the truth of the information that forms the basis of such request, and the request involves or relates to a destructive device or hazardous substance, an individual who has caused or threatened to cause physical harm to him or herself or another individual with a deadly weapon, an individual who has used or threatened to use violence against another person, or the use of any electronic device to alter or conceal the location or identity of the person making the request. I hereby designate misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16‑10‑28 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The seventh misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16‑13‑121. This Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person to sell or transfer possession of kratom to a person under 18 years of age and for any person under 18 years of age to possess kratom. I hereby designate misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16‑10‑121 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The eighth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 40‑11‑17. This Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person to remove, tow, or immobilize, or cause to be removed, towed, or immobilized a motor vehicle left in a paid private parking lot between midnight and 9:00 a.m. of the following day. Offenses arising from a violation of this Code section do not, at this time, appear to be offenses for which fingerprinting is required. I am not, at this time, designating misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 40‑11‑17 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
The ninth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 42‑24A‑15. This Code section, along with O.C.G.A. § 42‑24A‑24(c), provides that any person, entity, or board recognized massage therapy educational program, that violates the Georgia Massage Therapy Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 42‑24A‑1 through 42‑24A‑33, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon a second conviction, such person, entity, or program shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of high and aggravated nature, and upon a third conviction, such person, entity, or program shall be guilty of a felony. O.C.G.A. § 43‑24A‑24(c). Given the graduated nature of the offenses contained in these Code sections, I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 42‑24A‑15 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.
[1] “Kratom” is defined as “the tropical evergreen known as Mitragyna speciosa, which is native to Southeast Asia and contains the alkaloid mitragynine.” O.C.G.A. § 16‑13‑120.