Georgia Code
Chapter 4 - Firefighter Standards and Training
§ 25-4-8. Qualifications of Firefighters Generally

The council shall be the final authority with respect to authorizing the employment, appointment, and certification of a person who has been convicted of a felony more than five but less than ten years prior to seeking employment when the person is seeking employment as a firefighter for any municipal, county, or state fire department which employs three or more firefighters who work a minimum of 40 hours per week and has the responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires, protecting life and property, and enforcing municipal, county, and state codes, as well as enforcing any law pertaining to the prevention and control of fires;
History. Ga. L. 1971, p. 693, § 7; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1224, § 7; Ga. L. 1980, p. 601, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 989, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 18; Ga. L. 1985, p. 283, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 325, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 243, § 5/SB 414; Ga. L. 2012, p. 83, § 1/HB 247; Ga. L. 2016, p. 64, § 4/HB 727; Ga. L. 2018, p. 202, § 1/HB 699; Ga. L. 2021, p. 782, § 1/SB 46; Ga. L. 2022, p. 168, § 6/SB 397.
The 2012 amendment, effective July 1, 2012, in subsection (b), deleted “of paragraph (2) of subsection (a)” preceding “of this Code section” near the beginning of the first sentence, and added the last sentence; and deleted “paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of” preceding “this Code section” in the first sentence of paragraph (c)(1).
The 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: “Except as provided in Code Section 25-4-12, any person employed or certified as a firefighter shall:”; inserted “, or pleaded guilty to,” near the beginning of paragraph (a)(2); and, in the ending paragraph following subparagraph (a)(2)(C), substituted “the employment, appointment, and certification” for “employment and certification”.
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, added the proviso at the end of paragraph (a)(6).
The 2021 amendment, effective May 10, 2021, added “pursuant to Code Section 42-5-57” at the end of subparagraph (a)(2)(A).
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted “state approved high school equivalency (HSE) diploma” for “general education development equivalency” in paragraph (a)(6).
Cross references.
Qualifications of peace officers generally, § 35-8-8 .
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2008, p. 243, § 1/SB 414, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘2008 Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council Act.’ ”
Law reviews.
For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 55 (2016).

Structure Georgia Code