Which 2009 Georgia misdemeanors did the Attorney General designate as fingerprintable?

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 2009 session of the General Assembly, plus three offenses from the 2007 and 2008 sessions that had not yet been addressed. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v), the Attorney General has authority to designate offenses for which charged persons must be fingerprinted at arrest.

Of seven offenses presented, the AG designated two and declined to designate five. The two designated offenses are: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3(i) (knowingly making or accepting a false statement to enable an institution to wrongfully obtain Move on When Ready Act payments, which fund dual-enrollment college courses for high schoolers) and O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2(b) (unlawful conduct during a 911 telephone call). The five non-designated offenses are: § 40-2-140 (failure to comply with the federal Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 and related PSC/DPS/DOR rules), § 46-7-39 (failure to comply with Georgia motor carrier law and PSC/DPS/DOR rules), § 48-2-35.1(c)(3) (sales tax refund fraud based on patently improper bad-faith positions), § 16-9-4(c)(5) (persons under 21 using false ID to enter age-restricted facilities or buy age-restricted goods), and § 16-11-127(f) (licensed firearm carriers consuming alcohol in a restaurant while carrying).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. 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: What is the "Move on When Ready Act"?
A: A Georgia program (now substantially restructured) that allowed eligible high school students to take dual-enrollment college courses with state-funded tuition payments to participating institutions. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3(i) made it a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly make or accept a false statement or misrepresentation that enabled an institution to wrongfully obtain payment under the Act. This is a public-fund fraud offense, which fits the AG's pattern for designation.

Q: What does "unlawful conduct during a 911 call" cover?
A: O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2(b) prohibits making prank, harassing, or otherwise misuse-related calls to 911. Designation as fingerprintable supports prosecution of repeat 911 misuse, which can interfere with emergency response systems.

Q: Why weren't the motor carrier offenses designated?
A: O.C.G.A. § 40-2-140 and § 46-7-39 are regulatory compliance offenses for trucking companies and similar carriers. The AG had no detailed rationale, but the pattern across these annual GCIC update opinions is that purely regulatory compliance offenses (registration, fee payment, agency rules) tend not to be designated unless they involve fraud or theft. The motor carrier offenses are about industry compliance, not individual misconduct.

Q: Why wasn't sales tax refund fraud designated?
A: This is harder to predict from the AG's general pattern. Most fraud-against-the-State offenses do get designated. But § 48-2-35.1(c)(3) is narrowly drawn (it requires a "patently improper position" that is "knowingly and willfully advanced in bad faith"), and the AG may have viewed it as an audit-and-assessment matter rather than a typical criminal case. The 2010-2 opinion gives no detailed reasoning.

Q: Why wasn't false ID for entering bars designated?
A: The AG's reasoning is not in the opinion. Underage use of false ID under § 16-9-4(c)(5) is closely related to the broader false-ID-manufacturing offense in § 16-9-4(b), which has been designated. One possible reason is that this provision targets young offenders for whom designation might impose disproportionate long-term consequences. Another is that traditional underage fake-ID enforcement happens at the bar door rather than through criminal prosecution.

Q: What about the licensed-firearm-carrier-drinking-in-a-restaurant offense?
A: O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127(f) prohibits licensed firearm carriers from consuming alcohol in restaurants while carrying. The AG declined to designate it. The most likely reason is that this is a regulatory restriction on lawful gun carriers rather than a substantive criminal offense, and designation could create significant background-check consequences for carry license holders who otherwise operate within the law.

Q: How many offenses did the AG actually consider?
A: Seven, but only six are listed in the opinion's body. The opening paragraph mentions "three misdemeanor offenses enacted during the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions" that were brought forward for first review along with the 2009 offenses. The substantive analysis numbers seven offenses: § 20-2-161.3(i), § 40-2-140, § 46-7-39, § 48-2-35.1(c)(3), § 16-9-4(c)(5), § 16-11-127(f), and § 16-11-39.2(b).

Background and statutory framework

Annual GCIC update opinions are operational guidance to the criminal-justice information system. They tell GCIC, sheriffs, and police departments which misdemeanor offenses require fingerprint capture at arrest. Without designation, an arrest will not be entered into the central criminal history database, and recidivist sentencing enhancements may not work in practice.

The 2010-2 opinion is the third in a series covering 2007, 2008, and 2009 legislative sessions (along with 2008-1, 2008-6, and 2009-1). The pattern across these opinions is consistent: fraud against public funds gets designated; regulatory compliance offenses generally do not; offenses with substantive harm to identifiable victims tend to get designated. The 2010-2 opinion's two designations both fit the public-fund-fraud / public-safety-system-misuse categories.

The statutory architecture is in O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1). The first three categories (felonies, fugitives, persons confined in prisons) are mandatory by statute. The fourth category is whatever offenses the Attorney General has designated under § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v). The annual update opinions fill that fourth category as the General Assembly enacts new misdemeanors.

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. § 20-2-161.3(i), Move on When Ready Act fraud (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2(b), unlawful conduct during 911 call (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 40-2-140, Unified Carrier Registration Act compliance (NOT designated)
- O.C.G.A. § 46-7-39, Georgia motor carrier compliance (NOT designated)
- O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35.1(c)(3), sales tax refund fraud (NOT designated)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-9-4(c)(5), false ID for age-restricted entry (NOT designated)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127(f): firearm carrier drinking in restaurant (NOT designated)

Source

• Landing page: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/2010-2
• Original PDF: not linked from landing page

Original opinion text

You have requested, in your letter of October 16, 2009, my opinion concerning whether any of the following misdemeanor offenses enacted during the 2009 Session of the General Assembly and three misdemeanor offenses enacted during the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions, should be designated as offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. Those offenses include: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3(i) (issuance or acceptance of a false statement or misrepresentation that enables an eligible institution to wrongfully obtain any payment under the "Move on When Ready Act"); O.C.G.A. § 40-2-140 (penalties for noncompliance with requirements of registration and payment of fees by motor carriers pursuant to the federal "Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005" and noncompliance with orders, rules, or regulations of the Public Service Commission, Department of Public Safety, or Department of Revenue); O.C.G.A. § 46-7-39 (penalties for violations of Georgia law regulating motor carriers or orders, rules or regulations of the Public Service Commission, Department of Public Safety, or Department of Revenue); O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35.1(c)(3) (penalties for taxpayers' fraudulently obtained refunds); O.C.G.A. § 16-9-4(c)(5) (penalties for persons under 21 years of age who utilize false identification to obtain entry into an age-restricted facility or to purchase an age-restricted product); O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127(f) (prohibitions on alcoholic beverage consumption by persons licensed or permitted to carry firearms in a restaurant or eating establishment while carrying a firearm); and O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2(b) (unlawful conduct during a 9-1-1 telephone call). 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. § 20-2-161.3(i). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to knowingly make or accept a false statement or misrepresentation in order to enable an eligible institution to wrongfully obtain any payment under the "Move on When Ready Act." I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3(i) as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The second misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 40-2-140. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any foreign or domestic motor carrier, leasing company leasing to a motor carrier, broker or freight forwarder, who is engaged in interstate commerce, to (1) fail to comply with or aid and abet in the failure to comply with the registration and fee payment requirements of the federal "Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005," and (2) fail to comply with or aid or abet in the failure to comply with any order, rule, or regulation of the Public Service Commission, Department of Public Safety, or Department of Revenue. 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 third misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 46-7-39. That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person to fail to comply with or aid or abet in the failure to comply with Georgia law regulating motor carriers; or any order, rule or regulation of the Public Service Commission, Department of Public Safety, or the Department of Revenue. 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 fourth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35.1(c)(3). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor if a person obtains all or part of the excessive amount of his or her sales or use tax refund claim based upon a patently improper position that is knowingly and willfully advanced in bad faith. 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 fifth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-9-4(c)(5). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for the first offense and a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for the second offense for any person under 21 years of age to knowingly possess, display, or use any false identification for the purpose of obtaining entry into an age-restricted facility or purchasing any age-restricted consumable good. 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 sixth misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127(f). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for a licensed firearm carrier to consume an alcoholic beverage in a restaurant or eating establishment while carrying a firearm. 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 seventh misdemeanor offense is O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2(b). That Code section provides that it shall be a misdemeanor to commit the offense of unlawful conduct during a 9-1-1 call. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2(b) 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