Upon the making of a decision by the Secretary of State pursuant to Code Section 36-3-24 or in case no protest or exceptions are filed within the 30 days, the Secretary of State shall cause the survey and plat to be recorded in a book to be kept for that purpose, whereupon the same shall be final and conclusive as to the boundary line in dispute. When the boundary line in dispute has been established as final and conclusive as provided in this Code section, the same boundary line shall not again be subject to the procedures set forth in this article, and such boundary line may subsequently be changed only in accordance with Article 1 of this chapter, provided that nothing contained in this sentence shall affect any boundary line dispute in question on July 1, 1980, until the dispute is settled.
(Ga. L. 1899, p. 24, § 4; Civil Code 1910, § 476; Code 1933, § 23-406; Ga. L. 1980, p. 1178, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 36.)
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 1980, p. 1178, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that nothing in that Act, which added the last two sentences to this Code section, shall affect any boundary line disputes already in question, until such disputes are settled.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Mandamus cannot dictate where boundary line to be located.
- Trial court erred by granting a county mandamus relief in a county boundary line dispute action pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-3-20 et seq., because while mandamus was authorized to compel the Georgia Secretary of State to do certain tasks, it was not authorized to dictate where the boundary line was to be located. Bibb County v. Monroe County, 294 Ga. 730, 755 S.E.2d 760 (2014).
Secretary has discretion in conducting hearing.
- On remand of a county boundary dispute under O.C.G.A. § 36-3-20 et seq., a trial court erred by proscribing the Secretary of State from holding a new hearing or considering additional evidence before determining the boundary between two counties; O.C.G.A. § 36-3-24 gave the Secretary broad discretion in making the Secretary's determination. Kemp v. Monroe County, 298 Ga. 67, 779 S.E.2d 330 (2015).
Cited in Fine v. Dade County, 198 Ga. 655, 32 S.E.2d 246 (1944).