HB189.html

40_13_50.
In every court of this state having jurisdiction over the violation of traffic laws or traffic ordinances, the judge, or the judges where there is more than one judge, may provide by written order for the establishment of a traffic violations bureau for the handling or disposition of certain traffic cases in substantial compliance with this article. The court shall promulgate and provide to the clerk of the traffic violations bureau a list of the traffic offenses which shall be handled and disposed of by the traffic violations bureau. However, nothing in this article shall authorize the judge of such court to employ any person or persons to administer this article.

40_13_51.
(a) The court may appoint a clerk or deputy clerk or deputy clerks, who shall be named in the order establishing the traffic violations bureau, for the purpose of receiving money as provided in this article. Any deputy clerk so appointed shall be under the direct supervision of and attached to the office of the clerk of the court.
(b) Such person or persons, except where such person is the clerk of the court and is already under bond, shall be bonded in the sum of $2,500.00.

40_13_52.
The court may, in its order, provide that there shall be maintained in the office of the traffic violations bureau cards known as 'traffic offense cards.' Upon each traffic offense card shall appear: the name and address of the person charged with a traffic offense; the date of the birth of such person; the sex of such person; and his driver´s license number. The card shall be numbered so that it may show any previous traffic offense, giving the date of the offense, the trial date, the citation number, the disposition of the case, and the amount of any fine paid Reserved.

40_13_53.
(a) Subject to the exceptions set out in subsection (b) of this Code section, any officer who arrests any person for the violation of a traffic law or traffic ordinance alleged to have been committed outside the corporate limits of any municipality shall permit such person to be released upon being served with a citation and complaint and agreeing to appear, as provided in this article. If such officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the person will not obey such citation and agreement to appear, the officer may require such person to surrender his driver´s license in accordance with Code Section 17_6_11.
~~(b)~~ The following offenses shall not be handled or disposed of by a traffic violations bureau:
(1) Any offense for which a driver´s license may be suspended by the commissioner of public safety;
(2) Any motor vehicle registration violation;
(3) A violation of Code Section 40_5_20;
(4) Speeding in excess of 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit; or
(5) Any offense which would otherwise be a traffic violations bureau offense but which arose out of the same conduct or occurred in conjunction with an offense which is excluded from the jurisdiction of the traffic violations bureau. Any such offense shall be subject to the maximum punishment set by law.

40_13_54.
The original citation and complaint shall be sent by the officer issuing it to the traffic violations bureau of the court within 24 hours of the arrest. The defendant named in the citation shall be given the second copy. The officer issuing the citation and complaint shall retain one copy for himself or herself, and the court may, by order, provide that an additional copy shall be made for the use of any municipality in the county or the Department of Public Safety.

40_13_55.
Any person cited for any traffic offense under the jurisdiction of the traffic violations bureau of the court shall be permitted to give a cash bond for his or her appearance under the terms and conditions as set forth upon the citation and complaint given to him or her at the time he or she is cited by the arresting officer for a traffic violation.

40_13_56.
No officer giving a citation and complaint to a defendant for a traffic violation shall accept a cash bond ~~himself~~.

40_13_57.
In the event an officer has authority to issue citation and complaint as set forth in Code Section 40_13_53 but declines to do so because of his belief that such person will not obey the citation and agreement to appear, such officer may bring such person to the traffic violations bureau and such person may be allowed to post a cash bond for his appearance in accordance with the schedule established by the court Reserved.

40_13_58.
Where a defendant cited for a traffic violation posts a cash bond according to the schedule set up by court order and fails to appear in court at the term of court and on the day set in the original citation and complaint, then and in that event, such failure shall be construed as an admission of guilt and the cash bond may be forfeited without the necessity for the statutory procedure provided for the forfeiture of statutory bail bonds. A judgment of guilty may be entered accordingly, ordering the case disposed of and settled. The proceeds of the cash bond shall be applied and distributed as any fine imposed by said court would be. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as preventing the judge from ordering the defendant to appear and stand trial.

40_13_59.
(a) The traffic violations bureau of the court shall record on the prescribed form, as set out in Code Section 40_13_52, the driving record of the defendant. If there is no previous record of the driver´s history, the citation appearing on the original citation and complaint shall be entered on the driver´s traffic offense card; and each traffic offense thereafter shall be entered thereon, with the disposition thereof, up to a period of four years.
(b) All the pending cases which appear on the citation and complaint issued by the arresting officer, as provided for in this article, shall be filed at the cashier´s desk in the traffic violations bureau of the court and shall be retained there up until 72 hours, or such other period of time as the judge shall fix by order, prior to the time the case is set for trial in the court. If cash bond is posted according to the schedules prescribed by order of the judge at any time up to 72 hours, or such other period of time as the judge shall fix by order, prior to the date of the court appearance, as specified in the citation and complaint, the same shall be entered on the driver´s traffic offense card and an entry shall be made thereon that the driver has posted a cash bond.
(c) Within 72 hours after the date set for a hearing in the court on the citation and complaint given, where the defendant has posted a cash bond and has failed to appear for the hearing, the court shall enter an order that the cash bond has been forfeited in accordance with this article. Such order shall be recorded on the back of the citation and complaint which is maintained in the traffic violations bureau of the court and shall also be recorded on the defendant´s traffic offense card Reserved.

40_13_60.
Any state law traffic violation under the jurisdiction of the traffic violations bureau shall be characterized and classified as a ~~traffic violation and shall not be considered as a~~ misdemeanor. Unless a lesser punishment for an offense is otherwise provided by law, the maximum punishment for any such misdemeanor shall be confinement in jail for a period not to exceed 180 days, a fine not to exceed $1000.00, or both. Whenever any traffic violation is transferred from another court to a court which has a traffic violations bureau, if such offense is classified as a traffic violation on the traffic violations bureau schedule of the receiving court, such violation shall be handled and disposed of by such traffic violations bureau. Where a defendant demands a trial on a traffic violation, it shall be tried before a judge of the court which established the traffic violations bureau. The request for a trial shall not result in a loss of jurisdiction by the traffic violations bureau.

40_13_61.
All records other than those excepted in this article shall be maintained at the traffic violations bureau of the court. No accusation of an offense for which citation and complaint may be issued shall be entered on the misdemeanor docket maintained by the clerk of the court. No accusation for any offense coming under the jurisdiction of the traffic violations bureau of the court shall be taken by the prosecuting attorney of the court or maintained in his office unless said person to whom the said summons was issued fails to post a cash bond as defined in this article or fails to appear on the date specified in the summons to answer said complaint Reserved.

40_13_62.
When any person cited for a traffic violation pursuant to this article fails to appear in court on the date specified in the citation and in accordance with his written promise to appear, unless such person has posted a cash bond as provided in this article, the traffic violations bureau thereupon loses jurisdiction and the citation shall be forwarded to the prosecuting attorney of the court who shall have an accusation issued against such person. Upon motion of the prosecuting attorney, a bench warrant shall issue based on the accusation for the arrest of the defendant. The defendant´s case shall be docketed by the clerk of the court and handled as all other misdemeanors Reserved.

40_13_63.
The willful failure of any person to appear in accordance with the written promise contained on the citation and complaint and served upon such person shall constitute an offense which shall be punishable by fine in an amount not to exceed $200.00 or by confinement in jail for a period not to exceed three days.

40_13_64.
The court may provide that its traffic violations bureau, in addition to the duties set out in this article, shall have charge of what shall be called and designated in the court as the 'Suspended Sentence Division of the ______________ Court.' This division of the court shall be responsible for collecting fines imposed upon persons convicted in the court, where the sentence is suspended upon the payment of a fine. The person or persons in the division shall be authorized, where the judge imposing the sentence stipulates the same therein, to permit such persons receiving suspended sentences, in addition to the other conditions imposed in the suspended sentence, to pay the suspended sentence fine in installments. The person or persons responsible for the administration of the suspended sentence division shall be responsible for collecting the suspended sentence fine by installments and shall also be responsible for the arrest of persons who fail in this respect to comply with the conditions of the suspended sentence."

Chapter 13 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to prosecution of traffic offenses, is amended in Article 3 by striking Code Section 40-13-53, relating to release of arrested person upon service of citation and complaint and handling and disposition of offenses by traffic citations bureaus, and Code Section 40-13-54, relating to sending original of citation and complaint to traffic violations bureau and disposition of copies, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"40_13_53.
(a) Subject to the exceptions set out in subsection (b) of this Code section, any officer who arrests any person for the violation of a traffic law or traffic ordinance alleged to have been committed outside the corporate limits of any municipality shall permit such person to be released upon being served with a citation and complaint and agreeing to appear, as provided in this article. If such officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the person will not obey such citation and agreement to appear, the officer may require such person to surrender his driver´s license in accordance with Code Section 17_6_11.
~~(b)~~ The following offenses shall not be handled or disposed of by a traffic violations bureau:
(1) Any offense for which a driver´s license may be suspended by the commissioner of motor vehicle safety;
(2) Any motor vehicle registration violation;
(3) A violation of Code Section 40_5_20;
(4) Speeding in excess of 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit; or
(5) Any offense which would otherwise be a traffic violations bureau offense but which arose out of the same conduct or occurred in conjunction with an offense which is excluded from the jurisdiction of the traffic violations bureau. Any such offense shall be subject to the maximum punishment set by law.

40_13_54.
The original citation and complaint shall be sent by the officer issuing it to the traffic violations bureau of the court within 24 hours of the arrest. The defendant named in the citation shall be given the second copy. The officer issuing the citation and complaint shall retain one copy for himself or herself, and the court may, by order, provide that an additional copy shall be made for the use of any municipality in the county or the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety."