Which 2008 Georgia misdemeanors did the Attorney General designate as fingerprintable for entry in the criminal history database?

Plain-English summary

The Deputy Director of the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) sent the Attorney General a list of new misdemeanor offenses enacted during the 2008 session of the General Assembly. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v), the Attorney General has authority to designate offenses, beyond those listed in the statute, that should trigger fingerprinting at the time of arrest.

Of the 13 offenses presented, the AG designated 11 and declined to designate 2. The designated offenses cover a wide range: alcohol vaporizing devices and AWOL alcohol consumption (§ 3-3-33), removing a dog's collar to prevent the owner from finding it (§ 4-8-6.1), retail property fencing/receipt of stolen goods (§ 16-8-5.2), being a spectator at dog fights (§ 16-12-37(c)), selling marijuana-flavored products to minors (§ 16-13-30.6(c)), county or city employees issuing backdated permits (§ 36-60-26), driving without a license (§ 40-5-20, already designated in 2008-6), driving while suspended (§ 40-5-121, already designated in 2008-6), travel advance fraud against public funds (§ 45-7-32(a)), state purchasing misuse for personal benefit (§ 50-5-80(b)), and state purchasing card misuse (§ 50-5-83(c)).

The AG declined to designate the two Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) symbol misuse offenses (§ 38-3-142 and § 38-3-143). Those offenses prohibit using GEMA's name or symbols without permission to imply association with the agency. The AG concluded fingerprinting was not required for them.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why did the AG designate so many of the 2008 misdemeanors?
A: The 2008 session produced a number of offenses with theft, fraud, or animal-cruelty elements that the AG had historically designated. Public-fund fraud (travel advances, state purchasing card misuse), retail-property fencing, and dog-fight spectatorship all fit established designation patterns. Alcohol vaporizing devices and marijuana-flavored products to minors are new categories that the AG treated as fingerprintable because of the substantive harm potential.

Q: What is "retail property fencing"?
A: O.C.G.A. § 16-8-5.2 made it a misdemeanor to knowingly buy, sell, transfer, or possess with intent to sell retail property that the person knew or should have known was stolen. It is the receipt-of-stolen-goods offense as it applies specifically to retail merchandise. Designation as fingerprintable allows criminal history tracking, which is important for organized retail crime cases.

Q: Why was being a spectator at a dog fight made fingerprintable?
A: O.C.G.A. § 16-12-37(c) imposed graduated penalties on persons present only as spectators at dog fights. Designation as fingerprintable supports prosecution of organized animal cruelty by capturing the supporting cast of attendees, not just the principal participants.

Q: What does the alcohol-vaporizing-device offense (§ 3-3-33) cover?
A: It made it a misdemeanor to purchase, offer for sale or use, sell, or use any vaporized form of alcohol produced by an alcohol vaporizing device, and to own or possess such a device. The technology (e.g., AWOL devices) was being marketed at the time. Georgia banned it and the AG designated the offense as fingerprintable.

Q: Why were the GEMA symbol offenses not designated?
A: The opinion does not explain in detail. The pattern across the GCIC update opinions is that purely regulatory or unauthorized-use offenses without a fraud or theft element tend not to be designated. Section 38-3-142 and § 38-3-143 prohibit using GEMA's name or symbols without permission, which is a regulatory branding rule rather than an offense involving harm to a victim or public funds. The AG treated those as outside the designation pattern.

Q: What is the backdated-permit offense (§ 36-60-26)?
A: It made it unlawful for a county, municipal corporation, or other issuing authority to issue any backdated license, permit, or other authorizing document in any territorial area no longer within the issuing authority's jurisdiction. This typically arose in zoning and annexation contexts where a property had been annexed away from a county to a city, and the prior issuing authority then tried to issue documents covering the now-annexed area. The misdemeanor catches county and municipal employees who knowingly issue these.

Q: What about the typo in the original opinion text?
A: The original opinion contains an apparent typo, designating "any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-32(a)" twice in a row, once correctly for § 45-7-32(a) and once where it should have referenced § 50-5-80(b). The numbered enumeration treats § 50-5-80(b) (the twelfth offense) as designated; the cross-reference to § 45-7-32(a) in that paragraph is the typo. The substantive designation of § 50-5-80(b) is clear from context.

Q: Did this opinion confirm the 2008-6 designations?
A: Yes, indirectly. The opinion lists driving without a license and driving while suspended (the two offenses 2008-6 covered) and notes that these "have previously" been designated, citing 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. 2008-6. The cross-reference acts as a re-confirmation in the official record.

Background and statutory framework

Annual GCIC update opinions are operational. They tell GCIC, sheriffs, and police departments which misdemeanor offenses require fingerprint capture at arrest. Without designation, an arrest for a non-felony, non-mandatorily-fingerprintable offense will not be entered in the central criminal history database. That has practical effects: future enhanced-sentencing predicates may be missed, background checks won't show the arrest, and prosecutors may struggle to establish recidivist elements.

The 2009-1 opinion is the second of two related opinions from the 2008 legislative-session cycle. The earlier 2008-6 opinion handled the two big driving offenses (driving without a license and driving while suspended) on a stand-alone basis because the General Assembly's felony recidivism enhancement made fingerprinting urgent. The 2009-1 opinion sweeps up the remainder of the 2008 misdemeanors.

The pattern in this opinion (designate fraud, theft, public-fund misuse, animal cruelty, controlled-substance to minors; decline to designate purely regulatory offenses) is consistent with the AG's long-running approach. The framework is not a formal rule but a recurring set of considerations: substantive harm to victims, public-fund integrity, fraud or deception elements, and impact on enhanced sentencing.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v), AG authority to designate fingerprintable offenses
- O.C.G.A. § 3-3-33, alcohol vaporizing devices (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 4-8-6.1, dog collar removal (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-8-5.2, retail property fencing (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-12-37(c), dog fight spectator (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30.6(c), sale of marijuana-flavored products to minors (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 36-60-26, backdated permits (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 38-3-142, GEMA name misuse (NOT designated)
- O.C.G.A. § 38-3-143, GEMA symbol misuse (NOT designated)
- O.C.G.A. § 40-5-20, driving without a license (already designated in 2008-6)
- O.C.G.A. § 40-5-121, driving while suspended (already designated in 2008-6)
- O.C.G.A. § 45-7-32(a), travel advance fraud (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 50-5-80(b), state purchasing misuse for personal benefit (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 50-5-83(c): state purchasing card misuse (DESIGNATED)

Prior AG opinion:
- 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. 2008-6: designation of § 40-5-20 and § 40-5-121

Source

• Landing page: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/2009-1
• Original PDF: not linked from landing page

Original opinion text

You have requested, in your letter of October 1, 2008, my opinion concerning whether any of the following misdemeanor offenses enacted during the 2008 Session of the General Assembly should be designated as offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. Those offenses include: O.C.G.A. § 3-3-33 (restrictions on purchase, sale, or use of vaporized form of alcoholic beverages and alcohol vaporizing devices); O.C.G.A. § 4-8-6.1 (restrictions on removal of certain collars from dogs); O.C.G.A. § 16-8-5.2 (retail property fencing); O.C.G.A. § 16-12-37(c) (spectator at any place for the fighting of dogs); O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30.6(c) (purchase and sale of marijuana-flavored products); O.C.G.A. § 36-60-26 (restrictions on issuance of backdated licenses, permits, or other authorizing documents); O.C.G.A. § 38-3-142 (prohibitions on use of agency name without written permission); O.C.G.A. § 38-3-143 (prohibitions on use or display of agency symbols without written permission); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-20 (driving without a valid license); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-121 (driving while license suspended or revoked); O.C.G.A. § 45-7-32(a) (unlawful use of travel advance received from public funds; fraudulent request for reimbursement of expenses valued at less than $500 in the aggregate); O.C.G.A. § 50-5-80(b) (unlawful use of resources or methods of state purchasing to obtain anything of value for personal benefit or gain); and O.C.G.A. § 50-5-83(c) (misuse of state purchasing card by employee of a department or agency). In addition to the list of fingerprintable offenses mandated 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. The first misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 3-3-33. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to purchase, offer for sale or use, sell, or use any vaporized form of an alcoholic beverage produced by an alcohol vaporizing device, and it is also a misdemeanor to own or possess any alcohol vaporizing device. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 3-3-33 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The second misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 4-8-6.1. That Code section places restrictions upon the removal of a dog's collar with the intention of preventing the dog's owner from locating such dog, without permission of the dog's owner. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 4-8-6.1 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The third misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-8-5.2. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to knowingly buy, sell, transfer, or possess with the intent to sell or transfer retail property that such person knows or should have known was stolen. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16-8-5.2 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The fourth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-12-37(c). That Code section provides graduated penalties for persons who are knowingly present only as spectators at any place for the fighting of dogs. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16-12-37(c) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The fifth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30.6(c). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to knowingly sell, transfer, or possess with the intent to sell or transfer to a minor marijuana-flavored products. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30.6(c) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The sixth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 36-60-26. That Code section provides that it shall be unlawful for any county, municipal corporation, or other issuing authority to issue any backdated license, permit or other authorizing document in any territorial or geographic area which is no longer within the regulatory jurisdiction of said issuing authority. The section further makes it a misdemeanor for any county employee or municipal corporation employee to knowingly violate the provisions of the section. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 36-60-26 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The seventh misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 38-3-142. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to knowingly and without permission from the director of such agency use the words "Georgia Emergency Management Agency," "Emergency Management Agency," or "GEMA" in connection with any publications or productions in a manner calculated to convey the impression that such publication or production is endorsed by or associated with such agency. An offense arising from a violation of this Code section does not, at this time, appear to be an offense for which fingerprinting is required and I am not, at this time, designating this offense as one for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The eighth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 38-3-143. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to use or display any symbol currently or previously used by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency without written permission from the director of such agency. An offense arising from a violation of this Code section does not, at this time, appear to be an offense for which fingerprinting is required and I am not, at this time, designating this offense as one for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The ninth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 40-5-20. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to drive without a valid driver's license. This office has previously opined that this offense is a misdemeanor for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. See 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. 2008-6. The tenth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 40-5-121. That Code section provides graduated penalties for persons who drive with a suspended or revoked driver's license. This office has previously opined that this offense is a misdemeanor for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. See 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. 2008-6. The eleventh misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 45-7-32(a). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to use any travel advance received from public funds for nongovernmental purposes or to knowingly submit or approve a fraudulent request to the state for reimbursement of expenses. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-32(a) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The twelfth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 50-5-80(b). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person to obtain for his or her own personal benefit, or the benefit of another person, any goods, services, or other things of value through any resource or method of state purchasing. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-32(a) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The thirteenth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 50-5-83(c). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for an employee of a state department or agency to knowingly use a purchasing card for personal gain, purchase unauthorized items on a purchasing card, purchase items in violation of that code section, and retain for such employee's personal use a rebate or refund from a vendor or financial institution for a purchase or the use of a purchasing card. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 50-5-83(c) as 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: DESTINY S. WASHINGTON Assistant Attorney General