Georgia § 42-9-42 - 1. Use of HIV test results in granting relief from sentence; conditions.

§ 42-9-42. 1. Use of HIV test results in granting relief from sentence; conditions.

Any term used in this Code section and defined in Code Section 31-22-9.1 shall have the meaning provided for such term in Code Section 31-22-9.1. The board is authorized to obtain from any penal institution, with at least 60 days prior notice to that institution, and any such penal institution is authorized to provide the board with HIV test results regarding any person who applies or is eligible for clemency, a pardon, a parole, or other relief from a sentence or to require such person to submit to an HIV test and to consider the results of any such test in determining whether to grant clemency, a pardon, a parole, or other relief to such person. Test results obtained pursuant to the authority of this Code section may not be the sole basis for determining whether to grant or deny any such relief to such person, however. The board is further authorized to impose conditions upon any person to whom the board grants clemency, a pardon, a parole, or other relief and who is determined by an HIV test to be infected with HIV, which conditions may include without being limited to those designed to prevent the spread of HIV by that person. (Code 1981, § 42-9-42.1 , enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1799, § 10.) Cross references. - Child committing delinquent act constituting AIDS transmission crime including testing and reporting, § 15-11-603 . 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."