Georgia § 36-32-8 - Jurisdiction in cases of operating motor vehicle without certificate of emission inspection; retention of fines and bond forfeitures; transfer of cases.

§ 36-32-8. Jurisdiction in cases of operating motor vehicle without certificate of emission inspection; retention of fines and bond forfeitures; transfer of cases.

The municipal court of each municipality of each county required to comply with Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Title 12, known as the "Georgia Motor Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance Act," is granted jurisdiction to try and dispose of such cases in which a person is charged with a misdemeanor under Code Section 12-9-55 of operating a responsible motor vehicle without a certificate of emission inspection, if the offense occurred within the corporate limits of such municipality. The jurisdiction of such court shall be concurrent with the jurisdiction of any other courts within the county having jurisdiction to try and dispose of such cases. Any fines and bond forfeitures arising from the prosecution of such cases shall be retained by the municipality and shall be paid into the treasury of such municipality. Any defendant charged with a misdemeanor under Code Section 12-9-55 in a municipal court shall be entitled upon request to have the case against him transferred to the court having general misdemeanor jurisdiction in the county in which the alleged offense occurred. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to give any municipality the right to impose a fine in excess of the limits set forth in Code Section 12-9-55 . (Code 1981, § 36-32-8 , enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1390, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 36; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 36; Ga. L. 1992, p. 918, § 4; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 36; Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-32/HB 233.) Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 4-1/HB 233, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015, and shall apply to seizures of property for forfeiture that occur on or after that date. Any such seizure that occurs before July 1, 2015, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such seizure." Law reviews. - For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 1 (2015).