GA Code § 40-5-1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic|Chapter 5 - Drivers' Licenses|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 40-5-1. Definitions

 As used in this chapter, the term:    "Assessment component” means the standard screening instrument or instruments designated by the Department of Driver Services which are used to screen for the extent of an individual's alcohol or drug use and its impact on driving.   Reserved.   "Cancellation of driver's license” means the annulment or termination by formal action of the department of a person's license because of some error or defect in the license or because the licensee is no longer entitled to such license. The cancellation of a license is without prejudice, and application for a new license may be made at any time after such cancellation.  (3.1) "Clinical evaluation” means an evaluation under Chapter 7 of Title 37 at a facility to diagnose an individual's substance abuse or dependence and, if indicated, to refer the individual to appropriate treatment.    "Code Section 40-6-391” means Code Section 40-6-391 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as now or hereafter amended, any federal law or regulation substantially conforming to or parallel with the offense covered under Code Section 40-6-391, any local ordinance adopted pursuant to Article 14 of Chapter 6 of this title, which ordinance adopts the provisions of Code Section 40-6-391, or any previously existing or existing law of this or any other state, which law was or is substantially conforming to or parallel with Code Section 40-6-391.   "Commissioner” means the commissioner of driver services.   "Conviction” means a forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure a defendant's appearance in court, the payment of a fine, a plea of guilty, or a finding of guilt on a traffic violation charge, regardless of whether the sentence is suspended, probated, or rebated.   "Department” means the Department of Driver Services.   "Disqualification of driver's license” means a prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle.  (8.1) "Driver education training course” means any course approved by the department pursuant to Code Section 40-5-10.   (8.2) "Driver training school” means any person licensed by the department pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 43.    "For hire” means to operate a motor vehicle in this state for the purpose of transporting passengers for compensation or donation as a limousine carrier, ride share network or driver, or taxi service as such terms are defined in Code Section 40-1-190.  (9.1) "For-hire license endorsement” means an endorsement to a driver's license pursuant to Code Section 40-5-39 that authorizes the holder of the license to operate a motor vehicle for the purpose of transporting passengers in this state for compensation or donation as a limousine carrier, ride share network or driver, or taxi service as such terms are defined in Code Section 40-1-190.    "Intervention component” means a program which delivers therapeutic education about alcohol and drug use and driving and peer group counseling concerning alcohol and drug use over a period of 20 hours utilizing a methodology and curriculum approved and certified by the Department of Driver Services for the DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs under subsection (e) of Code Section 40-5-83.   "Limousine carrier” means any limousine company or provider which is licensed with this state pursuant to paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-1-151.   "Mail” means to deposit in the United States mail properly addressed and with postage prepaid. For purposes of payment of a reinstatement or restoration fee for a driver's license suspension or revocation, "mail" shall also mean payment via means other than personal appearance.   "Owner” means a person other than a lienholder or security interest holder having the property in or title to a vehicle. The term includes a person entitled to the use and possession of a vehicle subject to a lien or security interest in another person, but excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security.  (13.5) "Personal information” means any information that identifies a person, including but not limited to an individual's fingerprint, photograph, or computerized image, social security number, driver identification number, name, address (other than five-digit ZIP Code), telephone number, and medical or disability information.    "Present and future minimum motor vehicle insurance coverage” means minimum coverage as specified in Chapter 34 of Title 33, which coverage cannot be canceled except for a subsequent conviction of an offense enumerated in Code Section 40-5-54 and after giving the commissioner 20 days' written notice prior to the effective date of the cancellation.   "Resident” means a person who has a permanent home or abode in Georgia to which, whenever such person is absent, he or she has the intention of returning. For the purposes of this chapter, there is a rebuttable presumption that the following person is a resident:   Any person who accepts employment or engages in any trade, profession, or occupation in Georgia or enters his or her children to be educated in the private or public schools of Georgia within ten days after the commencement of such employment or education; or   Any person who, except for infrequent, brief absences, has been present in the state for 30 or more days;  provided, however, that no person shall be considered a resident for purposes of this chapter unless such person is either a United States citizen or an alien with legal authorization from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.      "Revocation of driver's license" means the termination by formal action of the department of a person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways, which license shall not be subject to renewal or restoration, except that an application for a new license may be presented and acted upon by the department after the expiration of the applicable period of time prescribed in this chapter.  (16.01) "Ride share driver" means an individual who uses his or her personal passenger car, as defined in paragraph (41) of Code Section 40-1-1, to provide transportation for passengers arranged through a ride share network service.   (16.02) "Ride share network service" means any person or entity that uses a digital network or Internet network to connect passengers to ride share drivers for the purpose of prearranged transportation for hire or for donation. The term "ride share network service" shall not include any corporate sponsored vanpool or exempt rideshare as such terms are defined in Code Section 40-1-100, provided that such corporate sponsored vanpool or exempt rideshare is not operated for the purpose of generating a profit.   (16.1) "Singularly or in combination" means that the department, in determining whether or not a person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways is to be revoked as a habitual violator, is to treat each charge for which a conviction was obtained as a separate transaction when determining whether or not a person has the requisite convictions which mandate such a revocation.   (16.2) "Substance abuse treatment program" means a program of treatment under Chapter 7 of Title 37 at a facility authorized to provide services designed to meet an individual's substance abuse treatment needs based upon the results of a clinical evaluation performed by a provider other than the provider of the treatment program for such individual.    "Suspension of driver's license" means the temporary withdrawal by formal action of the department of a person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways, which temporary withdrawal shall be for a period specifically designated by the department.   "Taxi service" means any taxicab company or provider which utilizes a motor vehicle or similar vehicle, device, machine, or conveyance to transport passengers; uses a taximeter; and is registered with the Department of Public Safety and, if applicable, is authorized to provide taxicab services pursuant to an ordinance of a local government in this state.    (Code 1933, § 68B-101, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1008, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 519, § 2; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1154, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1886, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 40; Ga. L. 1994, p. 514, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 920, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1250, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 40; Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 8; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1446, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 731, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5-1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 17-1/HB 501; Ga. L. 2010, p. 9, § 1-78/HB 1055; Ga. L. 2010, p. 932, § 1/HB 396; Ga. L. 2011, p. 355, § 1/HB 269; Ga. L. 2014, p. 710, § 1-6/SB 298; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1262, § 5/HB 225; Ga. L. 2017, p. 774, § 40/HB 323; Ga. L. 2021, p. 403, § 1/HB 466.)    The 2017 amendment,  effective May 9, 2017, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "United States Immigration and Naturalization Service" for "U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service" in the undesignated paragraph at the end of paragraph (15).    The 2021 amendment,  effective July 1, 2021, added paragraphs (8.1) and (8.2).   Code Commission notes.   - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1991, the terms defined in this Code section were placed in alphabetical order and redesignated accordingly and at the end of the introductory language of paragraph (15) the quotation marks around "resident" were deleted.   Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2001, "ZIP Code" was substituted for "ZIP code" in paragraph (13.5).   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Teen-age and Adult Driver Responsibility Act'."   Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 27, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment made by the Act to this Code section shall apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 1997, and shall not apply to offenses committed prior to that date.   Law reviews.   - For article on the effect of nolo contendere plea on conviction, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 723 (1979). For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 196 (1997). For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 203 (1997). For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 213 (2015).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Definition of "conviction."    - Definition of "conviction" clearly evidenced the legislature's intention that a bond forfeiture arising from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs committed prior to the enactment of former Code 1933, § 68B 308 (see now O.C.G.A. § 40-5-58), was considered a "conviction" for the purpose of that section. Cofer v. Crowell, 146 Ga. App. 639, 247 S.E.2d 152 (1978).    Neither state nor federal procedural due process bars General Assembly from defining "conviction" in former Code 1933, § 68B-101 (see now O.C.G.A. § 40-5-1) to include forfeiture of bail or collateral. Haley v. Hardison, 247 Ga. 750, 279 S.E.2d 712 (1981).    Statutory definition of "conviction" does not carve out an exception for entries of pleas of guilty or the payment of a fine in a first offender situation. Nor does the definition require an adjudication of guilt. Salomon v. Earp, 190 Ga. App. 405, 379 S.E.2d 217 (1989), overruled on other grounds, Pender v. Witcher, 196 Ga. App. 856, 397 S.E.2d 193 (1990).    Definition of "conviction" found in O.C.G.A. § 40-5-1(6) is limited to traffic violation charges. Entry of a guilty plea to a charge other than a traffic violation charge does not fit within the expansive definition of "conviction." Priest v. State, 261 Ga. 651, 409 S.E.2d 657 (1991).   Definition of "resident."    - Reading paragraph (15) of O.C.G.A. § 40-5-1 and O.C.G.A. § 40-5-20(a) in pari materia shows that the intention of the General Assembly was not to exempt undocumented aliens from the requirement of obtaining a Georgia driver's license but to permit visitors with no intention of becoming "residents" to drive here without obtaining a Georgia license. Diaz v. State, 245 Ga. App. 380, 537 S.E.2d 784 (2000).    Defendant was not a "resident" required to obtain a Georgia driver's license even though the defendant was instructed to do so by police, because the defendant testified that the defendant was not living as a resident in Georgia, was there temporarily for job training, and owned a house and resided in Florida. Williams v. State, 336 Ga. App. 442, 784 S.E.2d 808 (2016).   Illegal aliens.   - Statutes barring illegal aliens residing in Georgia from obtaining a Georgia driver's license does not deprive the illegal aliens of equal protection of the laws in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. John Doe No. 1 v. Ga. Dep't of Pub. Safety, 147 F. Supp. 2d 1369 (N.D. Ga. 2001).    Cited in Martines v. Worley & Sons Constr., 278 Ga. App. 26, 628 S.E.2d 113 (2006); Garcia-Carrillo v. State, 322 Ga. App. 439, 746 S.E.2d 137 (2013); Barrow v. Mikell, 298 Ga. 429, 782 S.E.2d 439 (2016).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   ALR.   - Who is "owner" within statute making owner responsible for injury or death inflicted by operator of automobile, 74 A.L.R.3d 739.   Validity of state statutes, regulations, or other identification requirements restricting or denying driver's licenses to illegal aliens, 16 A.L.R.6th 131.