You have requested in your letter of January 21, 2020, my opinion whether the misdemeanor offense contained in O.C.G.A. § 16-12-225(b), enacted during the 2019 Session of the General Assembly, should be designated as an offense for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted.  You have further requested guidance in identifying any additional misdemeanor offenses in O.C.G.A. §§ 16-12-210 -16-12-22 and 16-12-226, also enacted during the 2019 Session of the General Assembly, and if so identified, whether they should be designated as offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. Pursuant to Georgia law, I make the following designations in relation to your question.

 

Generally, under Georgia law, in addition to the determination of fingerprintable offenses which the General Assembly may mandate by statute, O.C.G.A. § 35‑3‑33 (a)(1)(A)(v) provides that the Attorney General may designate any other offense as one for which those charged with violations are to be fingerprinted.  See, e.g., 2018 Op. Att’y Gen. 2018‑3, 2017 Op. Att’y Gen. 2017‑1, 2015 Op. Att’y Gen. 2015‑2, 2014 Op. Att’y Gen. 2014‑2, 2013 Op. Att’y Gen. 2013‑4, 2012 Op. Att’y Gen. 2012‑6, 2011 Op. Att’y Gen. 2011‑5, 2011 Op. Att’y Gen. 2011‑1.

 

The misdemeanor offense at issue is O.C.G.A. § § 16-12-225(b). This Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor of high and aggravated nature for “[a]ny person, whose acts or omissions of gross, willful, or wanton negligence contribute to or cause the endangerment of patients, trafficking of low THC oil or its manufacturing byproducts, or criminal distribution of raw materials and agricultural inputs.”  I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16-12-225(b) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.

 

After reviewing O.C.G.A. §§ 16-12-210 -16-12-22 and 16-12-226, I did not identify any other misdemeanor offenses contained in these Code sections. I, therefore, do not designate any additional offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted.  

I trust that my revisions of the specific designations of those offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted will aid you in discharging your duties pursuant to the Georgia Crime Information Act.

 

 

Prepared by:

Rebecca Dobras

Assistant Attorney General