Georgia § 35-3-5 - Director - Creation; appointment and removal; powers and duties.

§ 35-3-5. Director - Creation; appointment and removal; powers and duties.

There is created the position of director. The director shall be the chief administrative officer and shall be both appointed and removed by the Board of Public Safety with the approval of the Governor. The director shall coordinate and supervise the work of the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel created by Code Section 19-15-4 or shall designate a person from within the bureau to serve as the coordinator and supervisor and shall provide such staffing and administrative support to the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel as may be necessary to enable it to carry out its statutory duties. The director shall report the death of any child to the chairperson of the review committee, as such term is defined in Code Section 19-15-1, for the county in which such child resided at the time of death, unless the director or his or her designee has knowledge that such death has been reported by the county medical examiner or coroner, pursuant to Code Section 19-15-3, and shall provide such review committee access to any records of the bureau relating to such child. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, and subject to the general policy established by the board, the director shall supervise, direct, account for, organize, plan, administer, and execute the functions vested in the bureau by this chapter. (Ga. L. 1974, p. 109, § 2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 599, § 2/SB 146; Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-8/SB 365.) Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-1/SB 365, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Journey Ann Cowart Act.'" Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-9/SB 365, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for transparency relative to investigations involving child abuse and child fatalities in order to best protect the children of this state. The General Assembly finds that more disclosure of information may be necessary when a child is deceased. The General Assembly intends that agencies and departments of this state share data in order to conduct research for the purpose of preventing child fatalities in this state." Law reviews. - For article on the 2014 amendment of this Code section, see 31 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 25 (2014).