GA Code § 50-5-80 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 50 - State Government|Chapter 5 - Department of Administrative Services|Article 3 - State Purchasing|Part 1 - General Authority, Duties, and Procedure|§ 50-5-80. Unlawful to Use Resources or Methods Established Pursuant to This Article to Obtain Anything of Value for Personal Benefit or Gain; Penalties for Violators; Applicability

  As used in this Code section, the term "person" includes natural persons, firms, partnerships, corporations, or associations.   It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for his or her own personal benefit, or for the benefit of any other person, any goods, services or other things of value, through any resource or method established pursuant to this article, including, but not limited to, purchase orders, government contracts, credit cards, charge cards, or debit cards.     Any person who violates subsection (b) of this Code section by obtaining any goods, services, or other things of value in the aggregate value of less than $500.00 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature which shall be punishable by not more than 12 months' imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $5,000.00. In addition to the foregoing criminal penalties, any such person shall also be subject to immediate termination of state employment and shall owe restitution to the state equal to the amount of such unlawful purchases, plus interest to be assessed at a rate of 12 percent per annum to be calculated from the date each unlawful purchase was made.   Any person who violates subsection (b) of this Code section by obtaining any goods, services, or other things of value in the aggregate value of $500.00 or more shall be guilty of a felony which shall be punishable by not less than one nor more than 20 years' imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $50,000.00 or triple the amount of such unlawful purchases, whichever is greater. In addition to the foregoing criminal penalties, any such person shall also be subject to immediate termination of state employment and shall owe restitution equal to the amount of such unlawful purchases, plus interest to be assessed at a rate of 12 percent per annum to be calculated from the date each such unlawful purchase was made.       Any person who knowingly assists another person in violating subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature which shall be punishable by not more than 12 months' imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $5,000.00 if the unlawfully purchased goods, services, or other things of value are valued in the aggregate of less than $500.00. In addition to such criminal penalties, any such person shall also be subject to immediate termination of state employment and shall owe restitution equal to the amount of such unlawful purchases, plus interest to be assessed at a rate of 12 percent per annum to be calculated from the date each unlawful purchase was made.   Any person who knowingly assists another person in violating subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony which shall be punishable by not less than one nor more than 20 years' imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $50,000.00 or triple the amount of the unlawful purchases, whichever is greater, if the goods, services, or other things of value are in the aggregate value of $500.00 or more. In addition to such criminal penalties, any such person shall also be subject to immediate termination of state employment and shall owe restitution for the amount of such unlawful purchases, plus interest to be assessed at a rate of 12 percent per annum to be calculated from the date each unlawful purchase was made.     This Code section shall not apply to any official employee purchase program for technology resources facilitated by and through the Georgia Technology Authority for state employees and public school employees of county or independent boards of education.    (Ga. L. 1939, p. 160, §§ 10, 10a, 10b, 10c; Ga. L. 1996, p. 885, § 10; Ga. L. 2005, p. 117, § 15/HB 312; Ga. L. 2006, p. 72, § 50/SB 465; Ga. L. 2008, p. 776, § 1/HB 1113.)   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1996, p. 885, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Purchasing Reform Act of 1996.'"   Ga. L. 1996, p. 885, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "The General Assembly declares and finds that many of the laws establishing guidelines and requirements for the purchasing of supplies, materials, and equipment by and for state departments and agencies were developed decades earlier and prior to the increase in available sources of supply and the expansion of technology. It is the intent of the General Assembly that these laws be amended to reflect these changes in order to provide greater flexibility for state agencies to make their purchases and to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy which can result in purchase delays and increased administrative costs."   Ga. L. 2008, p. 776, § 4/HB 1113, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section shall apply to all transactions occurring on and after July 1, 2008.   JUDICIAL DECISIONS    Cited in Phillips v. State, 127 Ga. App. 499, 194 S.E.2d 278 (1972).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL    Area planning and development commissions (now regional development centers) are authorized to use department  to obtain best prices and terms available in marketplace; an alternative is for local political subdivisions to purchase the necessary equipment, material, or supplies through the department and then appropriate or loan the material, equipment, or supplies to the area planning and development commissions in their area. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 70-202.   Clothing purchases for children at center through department.   - Proposed clothing purchase policy of a Georgia Youth Development Center to allow the students at the center to engage in selective buying by arranging with the supervisor of purchases (now commissioner) to budget a specified total from the center's budget to be spent for clothes and shoes per quarter at one or more of the local department stores designated in advance by the commissioner cannot be conducted by or through the office of the commissioner. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-8.   Fingerprinting required for violators.    - Offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 50-5-80(b) are designated as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. 2009 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2009-1.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 63C Am. Jur. 2d, Public Officers and Employees, §§ 253, 262, 265, 346, 375. 64 Am. Jur. 2d, Public Works and Contracts, § 19.   C.J.S.   - 81A C.J.S., States, § 328 et seq.