Georgia Official and Statistical Register 1983-84 - the Digital Library ...

Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators,State Board Of Examiners For Certification OfHoward E. Holcomb, Chairman ............. CartersvilleOliver R. Delk. Ill ............................ AtlantaJames C. Fincher .............................. RomeFred G. Pohland ............................. AtlantaRobert Troxler........................ Stone MountainHarold E. Kerkhoff ......................... Sugar HillWater Well Standards Advisory CouncilH. Dale Smith, Chairman ................ Richmond HillJohn B. Fernstrom............................ AtlantaJack Dupree............................... HamptonJosephine C. Jones ........................... AtlantaWilliam I. Peeples ........................... AmericusR.L. Ward, Jr. .............................. MariettaState Campaign & Financial Disclosure Commission(Attached to the Office of Secretary of State forAdministrative purposes.)(See Chapter IV for listing of members.)COMPTROLLER GENERAL(Commissioner of Insurance)*The Comptroller General is charged with the duties of keeping complete books (balanced every ten days) on all taxes, feesand other funds which the Department of Revenue and allother Departments and Offices pay to and deposit with theGeneral Fund of the State, and the signing of all warrantsissued to each Department, Board or Commission, with complete books thereon. The Act of August 19. 19l2.(Ga. L. 1912.p. 119) created the Insurance Department under the Comptroller General, naming him Insurance Commissioner andauthorizing him to appoint a Deputy Insurance Commissionerand all necessary personnel (OCGA Title 33). The Act ofFebruary 24. 1949 (Ga. L. 1949, p. 1057) named the InsuranceCommissioner as Safety Fire Commissioner with authority toappoint a State Fire Marshal who in turn appoints his Deputyand other necessary personnel, all to serve during the pleasureof the Safety Fire Commissioner. The Act of February 25,1949known as the Liquified Petroleum Safety Act gave the Insurance Commissioner the power to enforce that Act (OCGA10-1-260). Another Act of March 4, 1955 (Ga. L. 1955, p. 431)made the Comptroller General the Georgia Industrial LoanCommissioner (OCGA 7-3-7).The term of office of the Comptroller General is four years torun concurrent with the terms of the Governor and otherExecutive Officers. The minimum qualifications for the officeare citizenship for ten years, residence in Georgia for six yearsand age of twenty-five years.Authority and responsibilities of this Department are enumerated in OCGA Title 33.HISTORY. The Comptroller General was not designatedas a public officer in the first three State Constitutions. Theoffice was created by the Constitution of 1861 (Art. Ill, Sec. 2,Par. V111). H owever, by the Act of December 5, 1799 (M arbury& Crawford. p. 184) the General Assembly had provided for a*The 1983 Stale Constitution (effective July I. 1983) changes the titleof this constitutional office from Comptroller General to Commissioner of Insurance, with no change in duties or responsibilities. InNovember 1986, the new Constitution requires the people of Georgialo elect a Commissioner of Insurance.Comptroller General and had defined his duties and powers,merging under him all such as had been theretofore exercisedby auditors and treasurers appointed for special purposes. Thisoffice has been functioning continuously since 1799, and theoffice is specifically provided for in the Constitution of 1945(Art. V, Sec. 2, Par. I) and in OCGA.Johnnie LaFayette Caldwell,Thomaston. Comptroller General,1971-date. Born Aug. 10, 1922 inTaylor Co., Ga. Woodrow WilsonLaw School, 1952. Attorney.Democrat. Baptist. Mason.Shriner. Elk. Moose. US Army,WW II, 1943-45. Mbr, House ofRep. 1955-70. Wife, former Martha Lou Smisson; 3 children.Jennings B. Gar bade. Deputy Comptroller GeneralInsurance Department Ralph Terry. Chief Deputy.Examines companies and agents, collects premium taxes,examines policy forms and policy rates and administers insurance related laws. The Department investigates consumercomplaints regarding insurance companies.Safety Fire Division — Tom Eberhart, Fire Marshal.Responsible for the licensed use of hazardous substances, theinspections of buildings and blueprints for fire hazards and thesupervision of domestic and foreign manufacturers of mobilehomes sold in Georgia. The Division also provides instructionin fire safety.Industrial Loan Department - Jim Young, Deputy Industrial Loan Commissioner. Supervises loan companies makingloans of $3,000 or less, examines interest rates, transactions andadvertisements. The Department licenses loan companies andcollects taxes on loans.Administrative Division - Furnishes accounting, personnel, reporting, research, and other support services for theDepartment.THE DEPARTMENT OF LAWThe Department of Law with the Attorney General at thehead thereof, is vested with complete and exclusive authorityand jurisdiction in all matters of law relating to the executivebranch of government and every department, office, institution, commission, committee, board, and other agency thereof.Although the Attorney General performs a multitude of dutiesspecified in the Constitution and statutes of Georgia, it may bestated, generally that he acts as a lawyer with the State ofGeorgia as his client.The Law Department consists of eleven major divisions plusthe State Library.The office of Attorney General is an elective one with a termof four years. The Attorney General is elected by the voters atthe same general election at which the Governor and otherexecutive officers are elected. Minimum requirements for theoffice are U.S. citizenship for ten years, legal resident of thestate for four years immediately preceding election or appointment, and shall have attained the age of twenty-five years by the34