Georgia § 15-21-208 - Financial penalty; collection.

§ 15-21-208. Financial penalty; collection.

In every case in which any court in this state shall impose a fine, which shall be construed to include costs, for trafficking a person for sexual servitude in violation of Code Section 16-5-46 or any violation of Code Section 16-6-10, 16-6-11, 16-6-12, 16-6-15, 16-6-16, or 16-12-100, there shall be imposed an additional penalty of $2,500.00 if the defendant was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense. Such sums shall be in addition to any amount required to be paid into any pension, annuity, or retirement fund under Title 47 or any other law and in addition to any other amounts provided for in this chapter. The sums provided for in this Code section shall be assessed and collected by the clerk or court officer charged with the duty of collecting moneys arising from fines and shall be paid over by the last day of the following month to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority for remittance to the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission, to be deposited into the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund. Any person whose duty it is to collect or remit the sums provided for in this Code section who intentionally refuses to collect or remit such sums shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (Code 1981, § 15-21-208 , enacted by Ga. L. 2015, p. 675, § 3-1/SB 8; Ga. L. 2019, p. 74, § 2-2/SB 158.) Ga. L. 2019, p. 74, § 3-1/SB 158, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2019, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2019, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense, and any resulting conviction shall be considered a prior conviction for the purpose of imposing a sentence that provides for a different penalty for a subsequent conviction." The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, deleted "16-6-14," following "16-6-12," in the middle of subsection (a). See Editor's note for applicability. Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2019, p. 74, § 1-1/SB 158, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Anti-Human Trafficking Protective Response Act.'" Law reviews. - For article on the 2019 amendment of this Code section, see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 63 (2019).