GA Code § 21-5-7.1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 21 - Elections|Chapter 5 - Ethics in Government|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 21-5-7.1. Technical Defects in Filings; Determination; Notice to the Subject of the Complaint and Opportunity to Correct the Defect; Administrative Fee; Dismissal of Complaints Where Best Efforts Have Been Made to Complete a Filing

 The commission shall adopt rules which shall provide that:    Upon the commission's receipt of a complaint, a determination shall be made as to whether the complaint relates to a technical defect in a filing. For this purpose, a technical defect shall include, but not be limited to, a defect such as an incorrect date or a failure to include a date, an incorrect contributor's occupation or a failure to include a contributor's occupation, an incorrect address or e-mail address or a failure to include an address or e-mail address, an incorrect employer or a failure to include an employer, accounting errors, or any other similar defects;   When the commission determines that a complaint relates to a technical defect in a filing, the subject of the complaint shall be issued a notice of the technical defect by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery and shall be given a period of 30 calendar days from the receipt of the notice to correct the technical defect. During the 30 day period the complaint shall be considered as received by the commission but not yet filed with the commission and shall not be considered a violation of this chapter. If during the 30 day period the technical defect is cured by an amended filing or otherwise, or if during the 30 day period the subject of the complaint demonstrates that there is no technical defect as alleged, the complaint shall be disposed of without filing or further proceedings and no penalty shall be imposed. If the subject of the complaint fails to respond to the notice of a technical defect, make an amended filing, or demonstrate that there is no technical defect as alleged by the thirty-first day, the commission shall impose and collect an administrative fee not to exceed $50.00 per technical defect. For the purposes of the penalties imposed by this paragraph, the same error or inaccurate entry shall be considered a single technical violation if the error or inaccurate entry appears multiple times on a single report or causes further errors or inaccurate entries in that report or in any future reports;   If the subject of the complaint does not pay the administrative fee required by paragraph (2) of this Code section, if any, and does not otherwise also comply with paragraph (2) of this Code section by the sixtieth day from the receipt of the notice of a technical defect, the commission shall conduct further investigation and the complaint may proceed further in accordance with the provisions of this chapter; and   When the commission determines in its discretion that best efforts have been made to complete a required filing, said filing shall be considered in compliance with this Code section and any complaint relative to said filing shall be dismissed.     (Code 1981, §21-5-7.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 859, § 7/HB 48; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1173, § 6/SB 17.)   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2005, p. 859, § 28/HB 48, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the Act shall not apply to any violation occurring prior to January 9, 2006.   Ga. L. 2010, p. 1173, § 1/SB 17, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act of 2010.'"   Ga. L. 2010, p. 1173, § 30/SB 17, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment to this Code section applies to all reports filed on and after January 10, 2011.   Law reviews.   - For article on the 2005 enactment of this Code section, see 22 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 119 (2005).