GA Code § 50-16-14 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 50 - State Government|Chapter 16 - Public Property|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 50-16-14. Authorization of Law Enforcement Officers and Security Personnel to Deny Entrance and Remove Persons From State Property; Assistance

 Certified law enforcement officers of the Department of Public Safety and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and security personnel employed by or under contract with the Department of Public Safety are authorized and empowered to deny the entrance of any person into or upon any property or building of the Georgia Building Authority or the state when the person's activities are intended to disrupt or interfere with the normal activities and functions carried on in such property or building or have the potential of violating the security of the personnel therein. Certified officers of the Department of Public Safety and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and security personnel employed by or under contract with the Department of Public Safety are authorized and empowered to deny entrance into or upon any such property or building of any person displaying any sign, banner, placard, poster, or similar device. Certified officers of the Department of Public Safety and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and security personnel employed by or under contract with the Department of Public Safety are authorized and empowered to remove any person from any such property or building when the person's activities interfere with or disrupt the activities and the operations carried on in such property or building or constitute a safety hazard to the property or building or the inhabitants thereof. The authority and power provided in this Code section and Code Section 50-16-15 shall also extend to any property or building utilized by the state or any agency thereof. Any law enforcement officer assisting the certified officers of the Department of Public Safety and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or the security personnel employed by or under contract with the Department of Public Safety shall have the same authority and power as provided by this Code section and Code Section 50-16-15.   (Ga. L. 1976, p. 471, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 850, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 137, § 5/HB 1074.)   Cross references.   - Employment of nonuniformed investigators to protect state property, § 35-1-6.    Authority of Georgia Building Authority to employ security guards, § 50-9-9.   Code Commission notes.   - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2010, a second occurrence of "the" was deleted preceding "certified officers" in the last sentence.   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Constitutionality.    - No constitutional infirmity is created by language in this section authorizing exclusion of those persons whom a guard, by the exercise of subjective evaluation, determines has the potential of violating the security of personnel or whose activities are intended to disrupt or interfere with the normal activities and functions carried on in the building. State v. Boone, 243 Ga. 416, 254 S.E.2d 367, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 898, 100 S. Ct. 206, 62 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1979).    Ga. L. 1976, p. 471, §§ 1 and 3 (see O.C.G.A. §§ 50-16-14 and50-16-16) are not facially overbroad nor so vague as to violate First Amendment freedoms of assembly or speech. State v. Boone, 243 Ga. 416, 254 S.E.2d 367, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 898, 100 S. Ct. 206, 62 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1979).    Ga. L. 1976, p. 471, §§ 1 and 3 (see O.C.G.A. §§ 50-16-14 and50-16-16) are not overbroad as "sweeping within their prohibitions" that may not be punished under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. State v. Boone, 243 Ga. 416, 254 S.E.2d 367, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 898, 100 S. Ct. 206, 62 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1979).    Ga. L. 1976, p. 471, §§ 1 and 3 (see O.C.G.A. §§ 50-16-14 and50-16-16) are not violative of due process or equal protection guarantees. State v. Boone, 243 Ga. 416, 254 S.E.2d 367, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 898, 100 S. Ct. 206, 62 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1979).    O.C.G.A. §§ 50-16-14 and50-16-16 do not violate First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and the right to assemble peaceably and petition the government for redress of their grievances. State v. Storey, 181 Ga. App. 161, 351 S.E.2d 502 (1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1017, 107 S. Ct. 1895, 95 L. Ed. 2d 501 (1987).   Language broadly construed.    - Language of this section authorizing denial of entrance into or upon state property to "any person displaying any sign, banner, placard, poster or similar device" is not to be narrowly construed as prohibiting entry merely because such signs or placards are present. State v. Boone, 243 Ga. 416, 254 S.E.2d 367, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 898, 100 S. Ct. 206, 62 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1979).   Threat of harm or disruption of operations required.    - Actual or imminent threat of harm or of disruption of on-going operations on state property or in buildings housing state agencies is required. State v. Boone, 243 Ga. 416, 254 S.E.2d 367, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 898, 100 S. Ct. 206, 62 L. Ed. 2d 133 (1979).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Arrests on state property.   - Within the limits of their respective territorial or statutory jurisdiction, local law enforcement authorities may arrest offenders upon state property for violations of state laws including property under the jurisdiction of the Georgia Building Authority Police. 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 92-6.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 16A Am. Jur. 2d, Constitutional Law, §§ 556, 560, 562, 571, 572.   C.J.S.   - 16A C.J.S., Constitutional Law, §§ 378, 379. 81A C.J.S., States, § 261.