Authority and Duties of Attorney General; Consumer Advisory Board; Relations With Other Regulatory Agencies

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Commerce and Trade
  4. Selling and Other Trade Practices
  5. Deceptive or Unfair Practices
  6. Fair Business Practices Act
  7. Authority and Duties of Attorney General; Consumer Advisory Board; Relations With Other Regulatory Agencies

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  1. The Attorney General shall have the necessary powers and authority to carry out the duties vested in him or her pursuant to this title. Any authority, power, or duty vested in the Attorney General by any provision of this title and Code Section 46-5-27 may be exercised, discharged, or performed by any employee of the office of the Attorney General acting in the Attorney General's name and by his or her delegated authority. The Attorney General shall be responsible for the official acts of such persons who act in his or her name and by his or her authority.
    1. A Consumer Advisory Board is created whose duty it shall be to advise and make recommendations to the Attorney General. The board shall consist of 15 members. Appointments of members of this board made after July 1, 2015, shall be made by the Attorney General; however, the Attorney General shall not be an appointee. One member shall be appointed from each congressional district and the remaining members shall be appointed from the state at large. At least four members shall be attorneys representing consumers' interests and two of these consumers' attorneys shall represent Georgia Indigent Legal Services or any other legal aid society. At least four members shall be representatives of the business community, two of which are recommended by the Georgia Retail Association and two recommended for appointment by the Business Council of Georgia, Inc.
    2. All members appointed to the board by the Attorney General shall be appointed for terms of three years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. In the event of a vacancy during the term of any member by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise, the appointment of a successor by the Attorney General shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term of such member.
    3. The board shall elect its chairman and shall meet not less than once every four calendar months at a time and place specified in writing by the Attorney General. The board may also meet from time to time upon its own motion as deemed necessary by a majority of the members thereof for the purpose of conducting routine or special business. Each member of the board shall serve without pay but shall receive standard state per diem for expenses and receive standard travel allowance while attending meetings and while in the discharge of his or her responsibilities.
    4. The board shall assist the Attorney General in an advisory capacity in carrying out the duties and functions of the office concerning:
      1. Policy matters relating to consumer interests; and
      2. The effectiveness of the state consumer programs and operations.
    5. The board shall make recommendations concerning:
      1. The improvement of state consumer programs and operations;
      2. The elimination of duplication of effort;
      3. The coordination of state consumer programs and operations with other local and private programs related to consumer interests;
      4. Legislation needed in the area of consumer protection; and
      5. Avoidance of unnecessary burdens on business, if any, resulting from the administration of this part.
  3. The Attorney General shall receive all complaints under this part and shall refer all complaints or inquiries concerning conduct specifically approved or prohibited by the Department of Agriculture, Commissioner of Insurance, Public Service Commission, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Banking and Finance, or other appropriate agency or official of this state to that agency or official for initial investigation and corrective action other than litigation.
  4. Any official of this state receiving a complaint or inquiry as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section shall advise the Attorney General of his or her action with respect to the complaint or inquiry.
  5. All officials and agencies of this state having responsibility under this part are authorized and directed to consult and assist one another in maintaining compliance with this part.
  6. In the event a person holding a professional license as defined in Chapter 4 of Title 26 or in Title 43 shall be determined by the Attorney General to be operating a business or profession intentionally, persistently, and notoriously in a manner contrary to this part, the Secretary of State, at the instruction of the Attorney General, shall begin proceedings to revoke such professional license.
  7. The Attorney General shall not be authorized to exercise any powers granted in this part against a person regulated by an agency or department listed in subsection (c), subsection (d), or subsection (e) of this Code section with regard to conduct specifically approved or prohibited by such agency or department if such agency or department certifies to the Attorney General that the exercise of such powers would not be in the public interest.
  8. Nothing contained in this part shall be construed as repealing, limiting, or otherwise affecting the existing powers of the various regulatory agencies of the State of Georgia except that all agencies of this state, in making determinations as to whether actions or proposed actions of persons subject to their jurisdiction and control are in the public interest, shall consider the situation in the light of the policies expressed by this part.

(Ga. L. 1975, p. 376, § 5; Ga. L. 1983, p. 743, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 10; Ga. L. 1986, p. 855, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 10; Ga. L. 1988, p. 426, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 2-6/HB 228; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1088, § 2/SB 148.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Attorney General" for "administrator" throughout this Code section; rewrote subsection (a); in subsection (b), substituted "members. Appointments of members of this board made after July 1, 2015, shall be made by the Attorney General;" for "members with the administrator or his designee to serve as the ex officio member. The members of this board shall be appointed by the Governor" near the beginning of paragraph (b)(1), in paragraph (b)(2), deleted the subparagraph (A) designation, substituted "All members" for "On and after July 1, 1983, the Consumer Advisory Board shall consist of 15 members who shall be appointed by the Governor as provided in this paragraph. The initial terms of those members other than the ex officio member shall be as follows: five members shall be appointed to serve for a term ending July 1, 1984; five members shall be appointed to serve for a term ending July 1, 1985; and five members shall be appointed for a term ending July 1, 1986. Thereafter, all members" at the beginning, and substituted "Attorney General" for "Governor" twice, deleted former subparagraph (b)(2)(B), which read: "(B) The first members appointed under this paragraph shall be appointed for terms which begin July 1, 1983. The members of the Consumer Advisory Board serving on April 1, 1983, shall remain in office until June 30, 1983, and until their successors are appointed.", inserted "or her" near the end of paragraph (b)(3), and deleted former paragraph (b)(6), which read: "The board shall make a written report to the Governor not less frequently than at the end of each calendar year on its activities and the administration of this part, with such recommendations for changes, if any, as the board deems proper."; substituted "this part and shall" for "this part. He shall" near the beginning of subsection (c); inserted "or her" in subsection (d); deleted former subsection (h), which read: "On December 31 of each year the administrator shall make a written report to the Governor summarizing the types and numbers of complaints received and the dispositions concerning these complaints by his office."; and redesignated former subsection (i) as present subsection (h).

Cross references.

- Consumers' insurance advocate, T. 33, C. 57.

Law reviews.

- For comment, "The Georgia Fair Business Practices Act: Business As Usual," see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 453 (1993).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in State ex rel. Ryles v. Meredith Chevrolet, Inc., 145 Ga. App. 8, 244 S.E.2d 15 (1978).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Administrator may authorize delegate to receive documentary materials.

- The administrator does not have to be present and personally receive documentary materials required of persons pursuant to the Fair Business Practices Act; the administrator, on the contrary, may authorize a delegate to perform this function for the administrator. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-134.

Not all complaints need be referred to other agencies.

- Pursuant to subsection (c) of Ga. L. 1975, p. 376, § 5 (see now O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393), the administrator is required to refer to the Board of Registration of Used Car Dealers all complaints concerning conduct specifically approved or prohibited by the board, but those matters involving conduct not specifically approved or prohibited by the Used Car Dealers' Registration Act (see now O.C.G.A. § 43-47-1 et seq.), or the rules and regulations of the board, need not be referred to the board. 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 78-79.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 54A Am. Jur. 2d, Monopolies, Restraints of Trade, and Unfair Trade Practices, §§ 770 et seq., 1018.

C.J.S.

- 87 C.J.S., Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition, §§ 393 et seq., 445, 446.


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