GA Code § 23-3-120 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 23 - Equity|Chapter 3 - Equitable Remedies and Proceedings Generally|Article 6 - Taxpayer Protection Against False Claims|§ 23-3-120. Definitions

 As used in this article, the term:    "Claim" means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property, and whether or not this state or a local government has title to such money or property that is:   Presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the state or local government;   Made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money or property is to be spent or used on the state's or local government's behalf or to advance a state or local government program or interest, and if the state or local government:   Provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; or   Will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded.    Such term shall not include requests or demands for money or property that the state or local government has paid to an individual as compensation for state or local government employment or as an income subsidy with no restrictions on that individual's use of the money or property.      "Knowing" and "knowingly" mean that a person, with respect to information:   Has actual knowledge of the information;   Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or   Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information.  No proof of specific intent to defraud is required.      "Local government" means any Georgia county, municipal corporation, consolidated government, authority, board of education or other local public board, body, or commission, town, school district, board of cooperative educational services, local public benefit corporation, hospital authority, taxing authority, or other political subdivision of the state or of such local government, including the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.   "Material" means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.   "Obligation" means an established duty, whether fixed or not, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee based or similar relationship, from law or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment.   "State" means the State of Georgia and any state department, board, bureau, division, commission, committee, public benefit corporation, public authority, council, office, or other governmental entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for this state.     (Code 1981, §23-3-120, enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 127, § 1-2/HB 822; Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 23/HB 79.)   Law reviews.   - For article, "The Georgia Taxpayer Protection and False Claims Act," see 65 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2013). For annual survey on construction law, see 65 Mercer L. Rev. 67 (2013).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Complaint based on information / records of public employer.    - Dismissal of a complaint filed by two teachers against a charter school was barred under the Taxpayer Protection Against False Claims Act, O.C.G.A. § 23-3-120 et seq., because the complaint asserted that while employed at the school, the teachers had access to information which led the teachers to believe that the school was violating state and federal laws as to student count and special education services, which were allegations based upon information or records that the teacher had access to as a result of the teachers' employment. Campbell v. Cirrus Education, 355 Ga. App. 628, 845 S.E.2d 393 (2020).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   ALR.   - Use of State False Claims Acts to Recover Taxes, 50 A.L.R.7th 1.