Georgia § 42-5-52 - 1. Submission to HIV test; separate housing for HIV infected persons.

§ 42-5-52. 1. Submission to HIV test; separate housing for HIV infected persons.

Any term used in this Code section and defined in Code Section 31-22-9.1 shall have the meaning provided for that term in Code Section 31-22-9.1. Where any person is committed to the custody of the commissioner to serve time in any penal institution of this state on and after July 1, 1988, the department shall require that person to submit to an HIV test within 30 days after the person is so committed unless that person is in such custody because of having committed an AIDS transmitting crime and has already submitted to an HIV test pursuant to Code Section 17-10-15. No later than December 31, 1991, the department shall require to submit to an HIV test each person who has been committed to the custody of the commissioner to serve time in a penal institution of this state and who remains in such custody, or who would be in such custody but for having been transferred to the custody of the Department of Human Resources (now known as the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities) under Code Section 42-5-52, if that person has not submitted to an HIV test following that person's most recent commitment to the custody of the commissioner and unless that person is in such custody because of having committed an AIDS transmitting crime and has already submitted to an HIV test pursuant to Code Section 17-10-15. Upon failure of an inmate to cooperate in HIV test procedures under this Code section, the commissioner may apply to the superior court for an order authorizing the use of such measures as are reasonably necessary to require submission to the HIV test. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit the authority of the department to require inmates to submit to an HIV test. Any person determined by the department to be an HIV infected person, whether or not by the test required by this Code section, should be housed separately at existing institutions from any other persons not infected with HIV if: That person is reasonably believed to be sexually active while incarcerated; That person is reasonably believed to be sexually predatory either during or prior to incarceration; or The commissioner determines that other conditions or circumstances exist indicating that separate confinement would be in the best interest of the department and the inmate population, but neither the department nor any officials, employees, or agents thereof shall be civilly or criminally liable for failing or refusing to house HIV infected persons separately from any other persons who are not HIV infected persons. (Code 1981, § 42-5-52.1 , enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1799, § 9; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 3-24/HB 228.) Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 1988, p. 1799, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "The General Assembly finds that Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and its causative agent, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), pose a grave threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state. In the absence of any effective vaccination or treatment for this disease, it threatens almost certain death to all who contract it. The disease is largely transmitted through sexual contacts and intravenous drug use, not through casual contact, and, while deadly, is therefore preventable. The key component of the fight against AIDS is education. Through public education and counseling our citizens can learn how the disease is transmitted and, thus, how to protect themselves and prevent its spread. The Department of Human Resources is encouraged to continue its efforts to educate all Georgians about the disease, its causative agent, and its means of transmission. In addition, voluntary testing should be encouraged for anyone who feels at risk of infection. While education, counseling, and voluntary testing are vital to the elimination of this epidemic, other measures are needed to protect the health of our citizens, and it is the intention of the General Assembly to enact such measures in the exercise of its police powers in order to deal with AIDS and HIV infection."