The referee shall be an attorney who is an active member of the State Bar of Georgia. The referee shall be a nonvoting member of the arbitration panel.
(Code 1933, § 7-406, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 2270, § 2; Code 1981, §9-9-116; Code 1981, §9-9-66, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1988, p. 903, § 3.)