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O.C.G.A. § 50-3-100

English as official language; constitutional rights; documents in other languages; exceptions

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Ruiz v. Hull (1998)

Most recently applied in 989 So. 2d 1001 - Cole v. Riley (March 2008)

L. 1996, p. 1631, § 1; Ga

How often courts cite this section

19982000200810
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) The English language is designated as the official language of the State of Georgia. The official language shall be the language used for each public record, as defined in Code Section 50-18-70, and each public meeting, as defined in Code Section 50-14-1, and for official Acts of the State of Georgia, including those governmental documents, records, meetings, actions, or policies which are enforceable with the full weight and authority of the State of Georgia.

(b) This Code section shall not be construed in any way to deny a person’s rights under the Constitution of Georgia or the Constitution of the United States or any laws, statutes, or regulations of the United States or of the State of Georgia as a result of that person’s inability to communicate in the official language.

(c) State agencies, counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivisions of this state are authorized to use or to print official documents and forms in languages other than the official language, at the discretion of their governing authorities. Documents filed or recorded with a state agency or with the clerk of a county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision must be in the official language or, if the original document is in a language other than the official language, an English translation of the document must be simultaneously filed.

(d) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply: (1) When in conflict with federal law;

(2) When the public safety, health, or justice requires the use of other languages;

(3) To instruction designed to teach the speaking, reading, or writing of foreign languages;

(4) To instruction designed to aid students with limited English proficiency in their transition and integration into the education system of the state; and

(5) To the promotion of international commerce, tourism, sporting events, or cultural events.

Current official text: Official Code of Georgia Annotated (LexisNexis). Digitized from the Internet Archive scan of the OCGA. Reproduced from public-domain Georgia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.