What do Public Officers have to file?

Once in office, Public Officials still have to file the following reports in order to maintain compliance with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act.

1. Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports (CCDR) ^[1]– Only elected public officials must file the CCDR
2. Personal Financial Disclosure Statement (PFDS) or Affidavit of Public Officer ^[2]
3. State Business Transaction Report ^[3]

Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports

Each elected public officer (a filer not in an election year) must file Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports regarding the balances in his/her campaign accounts on June 30th and December 31st in non-election years. Also, when a public officer leaves office, he/she must file Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports regarding the balances in his/her campaign accounts.

Personal Financial Disclosure Statement/ Affidavit

Every constitutional officer; elected state official, including the General Assembly; elected or appointed executive head of state department or agency; elected county official, every elected county or area school superintendent, and every elected member of a county or area board of education; and elected municipal office holder must electronically file a Personal Financial Disclosure Statement (PFDS) with the Commission regarding his/her personal financial situation in the previous calendar year. In election years, the PFDS must be filed either 7 or 15 days after qualifying as a candidate (depending on the level of public office); in non-election years, the PFDS must be filed between January 1st and July 1st.

As of 2011, Executive Directors and members of state Boards, Commissions and Authorities are no longer required to file a PFDS. However, such public officers are required to file an Affidavit of Public Officer, which is an annual affidavit swearing that the director or member did not take any official action from which he or she derived personal gain in the previous calendar year. The Affidavit must be filed before January 31 each year that the public officer holds office. If a person holds more than one board membership, he/she must list all of his/her board memberships on the Affidavit. A filer does not have to file multiple affidavits but may list all board memberships on one affidavit (but does not have to file multiple affidavits).

If a person holds a position that requires the filing of a PFDS and is a member of a state Board, Authority or Commission, he/she should file the PFDS and Affidavit.

State Business Transaction Report

If a public official or public employee (or any business in which he/she or any family member hold a substantial interest) engages in business transactions with the State of Georgia, that public official or employee may be required to file a State Business Transaction Report to disclose all business transactions with the State of Georgia and any agency of the State occurring during the previous calendar year. The State Business Transaction Report should be filed on or before January 31 of each year that the public employee or public officer engages in qualifying transactions.