Georgia Code
Article 2 - Grants of Pardons, Paroles, and Other Relief
§ 42-9-45. General Rule-Making Power

History. Ga. L. 1943, p. 185, § 23; Ga. L. 1964, p. 487, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 948, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 283, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 42; Ga. L. 1992, p. 3221, § 10; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 15; Ga. L. 1995, p. 625, § 3; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1113, § 3; Ga. L. 2014, p. 444, § 2-12/HB 271; Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 2-2/HB 328; Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-32/HB 233; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 9-1/SB 367; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 42/SB 365; Ga. L. 2022, p. 168, § 9/SB 397.
The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, inserted “murder in the second degree,” near the beginning of subsection (g).
The 2015 amendments.
The first 2015 amendment, effective July 5, 2015, in subsection (b), inserted paragraph (b)(1) and (b)(2) designations, in paragraph (b)(2), inserted “and paragraph (3) of this subsection” twice, and added paragraph (b)(3). See Editor’s notes for applicability. The second 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted “fines and bond forfeitures” for “fines and forfeitures” at the end of the first sentence of subsection (a).
The 2016 amendment, effective April 27, 2016, twice substituted “paragraphs (3) and (4)” for “paragraph (3)” in paragraph (b)(2); and added paragraph (b)(4). See Editor’s notes for applicability.
The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “subsection (a)” for “subsection (b)” in divisions (b)(3)(A)(iii) and (b)(4)(A)(iii).
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted “state approved high school equivalency (HSE)” for “general educational development (GED)” in the first sentence in subparagraphs (b)(3)(G) and (b)(4)(G).
Cross references.
Power of board to order adult offender to make restitution to victim as condition of any relief ordered, § 17-14-3 .
Power of board to grant parole prior to completion of one-third of sentence if restitution to victim is ordered as condition of parole, § 17-14-4 .
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1995, the subsection originally designated as subsection (g) in the 1995 amendment was redesignated as subsection (h), owing to the fact that this Code section already contained a subsection (g).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 18, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective on January 1, 1995, upon ratification by the voters of this state at the 1994 November general election of that proposed amendment to Article IV, Section II, Paragraph II of the Constitution authorizing the General Assembly to provide for mandatory minimum sentences and sentences of life without possibility of parole in certain cases and providing restrictions on the authority of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant paroles. . . .” That amendment was ratified by the voters on November 8, 1994, so this Code section, as set out above, became effective on January 1, 1995.
Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994.’ ”
Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly declares and finds:
“(1) That persons who are convicted of certain serious violent felonies shall serve minimum terms of imprisonment which shall not be suspended, probated, stayed, deferred, or otherwise withheld by the sentencing judge; and
“(2) That sentences ordered by courts in cases of certain serious violent felonies shall be served in their entirety and shall not be reduced by parole or by any earned time, early release, work release, or other such sentence-reducing measures administered by the Department of Corrections.”
Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The provisions of this Act shall apply only to those offenses committed on or after the effective date of this Act; provided, however, that any conviction occurring prior to, on, or after the effective date of this Act shall be deemed a ‘conviction’ for the purposes of this Act and shall be counted in determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed for any offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.”
Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 17, not codified by the General Assembly, provides for severability.
Ga. L. 1998, p. 180, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly declares and finds: (1) That the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994,’ approved April 20, 1994 (Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959), provided that persons convicted of one of seven serious violent felonies shall serve minimum mandatory terms of imprisonment which shall not otherwise be suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld by the sentencing court; (2) That in State v. Allmond , 225 Ga. App. 509 (1997), the Georgia Court of Appeals held, notwithstanding the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994,’ that the provisions of the First Offender Act would still be available to the sentencing court, which would mean that a person who committed a serious violent felony could be sentenced to less than the minimum mandatory ten-year sentence; and (3) That, contrary to the decision in State v. Allmond , it is the expressed intent of the General Assembly that persons who commit a serious violent felony specified in the ‘Sentence Reform Act of 1994’ shall be sentenced to a mandatory term of imprisonment of not less than ten years and shall not be eligible for first offender treatment.”
Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 2-2(b)/HB 328, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that this Act shall be given retroactive effect to those sentences imposed before May 5, 2015, of Part II of this Act.”
Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 14-1/SB 367, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the provisions of Part IX of this Act shall be given retroactive effect to those sentences imposed before the effective date of Part IX of this Act (April 27, 2016).
Law reviews.
For note on the 1994 amendment of this Code section, see 11 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 159 (1994).
For article, “Garner v. Jones: Restricting Prisoners’ Ex Post Facto Challenges to Changes in Parole Systems,” see 52 Mercer L. Rev. 761 (2001).
For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2015).
For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 139 (2016).