1. Smith 175th 2. Turnquest 73rd 3. Dukes 161st
HB 872 HB 872/CA
H. B. No. 872 (AM)
By: Representatives Smith of the 175th, Turnquest of the
73rd and Dukes of the 161st
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1 To amend Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
2 relating to agriculture, so as to create the Georgia Tobacco
3 Community Development Board; to authorize the board to
4 determine an equitable allocation of private trust funds
5 among tobacco growers and tobacco quota owners; to authorize
6 the board to certify to private trustees instructions for
7 payment of private trust funds to eligible tobacco growers
8 and tobacco quota owners; to provide for the powers, duties,
9 membership, operations, and administrative attachment of the
10 board; to amend Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of
11 Georgia Annotated, relating to compensation of the members
12 of certain boards and commissions, so as to provide for the
13 compensation of members of the board; to amend Code Section
14 50-13-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
15 to definitions applicable to state administrative procedure,
16 so as to provide that the board shall not be subject to
17 Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative
18 Procedure Act"; to provide for other related matters; to
19 provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and
20 for other purposes.
21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
22 SECTION 1.
23 Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
24 to agriculture, is amended by adding at its end a new
25 Chapter 18 to read as follows:
26 "CHAPTER 18
27 2-18-1.
28 There is created the Georgia Tobacco Community Development
29 Board. The Governor, as chairperson; the Commissioner of
30 Agriculture, as vice chairperson; and the Attorney
31 General, as secretary, shall serve on the board ex
32 officio. The Governor shall appoint as additional members
33 six citizens of the state, two of whom are active tobacco
34 growers, two of whom are tobacco quota owners, and two of
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1 whom are citizens of the state with distinguished records
2 of public service. Within each category, one initial
3 appointee shall have a term of two years and the other
4 shall have an initial term of three years. Thereafter, all
5 terms of appointed members shall be three years. Each
6 member shall also serve until his or her successor is duly
7 appointed.
8 2-18-2.
9 As used in this chapter, the term:
10 (1) 'Equitable allocation of private trust funds among
11 tobacco growers and tobacco quota owners within the
12 state' means the formula, proportion, or other basis
13 which fairly distributes private trust funds among
14 active tobacco growers and tobacco quota owners, taking
15 into account their respective losses and the other
16 adverse effects they respectively suffer from declines
17 or anticipated declines in domestic cigarette
18 consumption caused by the Master Settlement Agreement
19 and such other substantially related factors as the
20 board may determine.
21 (2) 'Master Settlement Agreement' means the settlement
22 agreement (and related documents) entered into on
23 November 23, 1998, by the state and leading United
24 States tobacco product manufacturers. The Master
25 Settlement Agreement has been transmitted by the
26 Attorney General to the Secretary of State and shall be
27 maintained as a permanent record in the office of the
28 Secretary of State, together with the enrolled Act by
29 which this chapter is enacted. The Master Settlement
30 Agreement shall not be published with the Act, but the
31 Secretary of State shall, upon request and payment of
32 copying costs, make a copy or certified copy of such
33 document available to any member of the public.
34 2-18-3.
35 The Georgia Tobacco Community Development Board shall have
36 the following powers:
37 (1) To determine an equitable allocation of private
38 trust funds among tobacco growers and tobacco quota
39 owners within the state;
40 (2) To certify to private trustees or their delegates
41 instructions for payment of private trust funds to
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1 particular eligible tobacco growers and tobacco quota
2 owners;
3 (3) To contract with private trustees and other persons
4 for its statutory purposes and functions;
5 (4) To appoint a director to conduct executive functions
6 for the board. The director may be a state officer or
7 employee who shall serve as a borrowed servant at no
8 cost to the board;
9 (5) To promulgate rules, policies, procedures and the
10 like to guide its activities;
11 (6) To establish budgets for the allocation of payments
12 of private trust funds, including instructions to
13 trustees to establish a reserve from such payments to
14 be held for payments in future years, as provided by
15 trust indentures;
16 (7) To expend private trust funds for its administration
17 as permitted by private trust indentures;
18 (8) To identify other public and private funds for its
19 purposes, including economic relief for other sectors of
20 the tobacco economy in Georgia, and to make similar
21 arrangements for the disbursement of the other funds to
22 tobacco growers, tobacco quota owners, and other sectors
23 of the tobacco economy in Georgia; and
24 (9) To investigate, determine facts, and conduct such
25 other activities and functions as may be reasonably
26 necessary or convenient to its activities.
27 2-18-4.
28 The board is attached to the Department of Agriculture for
29 administrative purposes. Without limitation, the
30 department shall provide such staff and other services as
31 the board may need for its functions. Without detracting
32 from the status of the board as a budget unit, the
33 Department of Agriculture may expend its funds for
34 purposes of the board as if such funds were appropriated
35 directly to the board.
36 2-18-5.
37 There is created as a joint committee of the General
38 Assembly the Georgia Tobacco Community Development Board
39 Overview Committee to be composed of three members of the
40 House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the
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1 House and three members of the Senate appointed by the
2 President of the Senate. The members of the committee
3 shall serve two-year terms concurrent with their terms as
4 members of the General Assembly. The chairperson of the
5 committee shall be appointed by the President of the
6 Senate from the membership of the committee, and the vice
7 chairperson of the committee shall be appointed by the
8 Speaker of the House from the membership of the committee.
9 The chairperson and vice chairperson shall serve terms of
10 two years concurrent with their terms as members of the
11 General Assembly. Vacancies in an appointed member's
12 position or in the offices of chairperson or vice
13 chairperson of the committee shall be filled for the
14 unexpired term in the same manner as the original
15 appointment. The committee shall periodically inquire into
16 and review the operations of the Georgia Tobacco Community
17 Development Board, as well as periodically review and
18 evaluate the success with which the board is accomplishing
19 its statutory duties and functions as provided in this
20 chapter. The Governor, the President of the Senate, and
21 the Speaker of the House shall invite one or more members
22 of the state's congressional delegation to sit informally
23 with the committee, with the privilege to participate in
24 its deliberations and discussions but without power to
25 vote.
26 2-18-6.
27 The board in its activities shall not be subject to
28 Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative
29 Procedure Act.'"
30 SECTION 1.1.
31 Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia
32 Annotated, relating to compensation of the members of
33 certain boards and commissions, is amended by striking the
34 word "and" at the end of paragraph (14); by replacing the
35 period at the end of paragraph (15) with the symbol and word
36 "; and"; and by adding thereafter a new paragraph (16) to
37 read as follows:
38 "(16) Georgia Tobacco Community Development Board."
39 SECTION 2.
40 Code Section 50-13-2 of the Official Code of Georgia
41 Annotated, relating to definitions applicable to state
42 administrative procedure, is amended by striking paragraph
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1 (1) and inserting in lieu thereof a new paragraph (1) to
2 read as follows:
3 "(1) 'Agency' means each state board, bureau,
4 commission, department, activity, or officer authorized
5 by law expressly to make rules and regulations or to
6 determine contested cases, except the General Assembly;
7 the judiciary; the Governor; the State Board of Pardons
8 and Paroles; the State Financing and Investment
9 Commission; the State Properties Commission; the Board
10 of Bar Examiners; the Board of Corrections and its penal
11 institutions; the State Board of Workers' Compensation;
12 all public authorities; the State Personnel Board (Merit
13 System); the Department of Administrative Services or
14 commissioner of administrative services; the Department
15 of Technical and Adult Education; the Department of
16 Revenue when conducting hearings relating to alcoholic
17 beverages; the Georgia Tobacco Community Development
18 Board; any school, college, hospital, or other such
19 educational, eleemosynary, or charitable institution; or
20 any agency when its action is concerned with the
21 military or naval affairs of this state. The term
22 'agency' shall include the State Board of Education and
23 Department of Education, subject to the following
24 qualifications:
25 (A) Subject to the limitations of subparagraph (B) of
26 this paragraph, all otherwise valid rules adopted by
27 the State Board of Education and Department of
28 Education prior to January 1, 1990, are ratified and
29 validated and shall be effective until January 1,
30 1991, whether or not such rules were adopted in
31 compliance with the requirements of this chapter; and
32 (B) Effective January 1, 1991, any rule of the State
33 Board of Education or Department of Education which
34 has not been proposed, submitted, and adopted in
35 accordance with the requirements of this chapter shall
36 be void and of no effect."
37 SECTION 3.
38 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the
39 Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.
40 SECTION 4.
41 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
42 repealed.
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