NAHMIAS, Justice.
Aster Zeru Gebrekidan filed an application for discretionary appeal to challenge her conviction and fine for violating a City of Clarkston ordinance that prohibits certain retailers of packaged alcoholic beverages from allowing on their premises any form of electronic or mechanical game machine or coin-operated device that may be used for entertainment or amusement purposes. We granted Gebrekidan’s application to decide whether the State’s detailed statutory scheme regulating coin operated amusement machines (COAMs) and COAM businesses in Georgia, see OCGA §§ 16-12-35 and 50-27-70 to 50-27-104 (COAM Laws), preempts the City’s ordinance under the Uniformity Clause of the Georgia Constitution, see Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. Ill, Sec. VI, Par. IV (a). As explained below, we conclude that the State’s COAM Laws preempt the City’s ordinance at least insofar as the ordinance applies to COAMs as defined by the state statutes, and we therefore reverse Gebrekidan’s conviction and fine.
1. Gebrekidan operates a convenience store in Clarkston where she sells packaged beer, malt beverages, and wine for consumption off-premises and also offers COAMs for play pursuant to a state license granted pursuant to the COAM Laws. Chapter 3 of the City of
Clarkston Code of Ordinances (City Code), entitled “Alcoholic Beverages,” includes the following provision:
Sec. 3-57. — Machines operated for amusement purposes on retail premises.
No retail dealer in packaged beer, malt beverages or wine shall permit on his premises any slot machines or mechanical music boxes or pinball machines or any form of electronic or mechanical game machine or coin-operated device which might be used for entertainment or amusement purposes.
On June 5,2014, the City cited Gebrekidan for violating § 3-57 by “[operating coin-operated amusement machines in [a] retail store selling packaged beer, malt beverages or wine,” and she was ordered to appear in the Municipal Court of Clarkston to answer the charge. Gebrekidan filed a motion to dismiss the citation based on the Uniformity Clause, arguing that the COAM Laws preempt City Code § 3-57. On September 9,2014, the municipal court held a hearing and announced that it would deny the motion. Gebrekidan requested an immediate bench trial, waived the appearance of witnesses against her, and entered a stipulation with the prosecutor that she “offered coin-operated amusement machines for play and packaged alcohol for sale at the same location . . . [and] was licensed by the State of Georgia to operate coin-operated machines.” In a written order entered on September 15, 2014, the municipal court found Gebreki-dan guilty as charged and fined her $250. On the preemption issue, the court held that City Code § 3-57 “is a fair and reasonable ordinance under the City’s police powers that serves an important public interest, it does not conflict with general laws and accordingly, it is not preempted by State law.”
Gebrekidan obtained review by certiorari in the Superior Court of DeKalb County, raising only her preemption claim. After a hearing on January 12, 2015, the superior court entered an order affirming Gebrekidan’s conviction on February 6, 2015. The court held that § 3-57 is “primarily a regulation of alcohol rather than COAM[s]” due to its placement in the Alcoholic Beverages chapter of the City Code and because it prohibits all types of games and entertainment machines at packaged alcohol stores and not just COAMs as defined by the state law. The court recognized that “[t]he State law regulating COAM[s] is voluminous,” but ruled that § 3-57 is “a reasonable exercise of the City’s discretionary power to set rules for alcohol
sales . . . authorized by O.C.G.A. § 3-3-2.”
The court concluded that “City Code § 3-57 is not a local COAM regulatory system at all and does not duplicate any of the provisions of [the COAM Laws].” Gebrekidan filed a timely application for discretionary appeal, which this Court granted on April 2, 2015. The case was orally argued on September 15, 2015.
2. State statutes generally control over local ordinances on the same subject. See
City of Buford v. Georgia Power Co.,
276 Ga. 590, 590 (581 SE2d 16) (2003);
Franklin County v. Fieldale Farms Corp.,
270 Ga. 272, 273 (507 SE2d 460) (1998). This doctrine, known as state preemption, is rooted primarily in the Georgia Constitution’s Uniformity Clause, which now reads:
Laws of a general nature shall have uniform operation throughout this state and no local or special law shall be enacted in any case for which provision has been made by an existing general law, except that the General Assembly may by general law authorize local governments by local ordinance or resolution to exercise police powers which do not conflict with general laws.
Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. Ill, Sec. VI, Par. IV (a). See generally
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 273-275 (reviewing the historical development of the state preemption doctrine in Georgia).
Under the first part of the Uniformity Clause, which carried forward language similar to that of previous Constitutions, the General Assembly may preempt local ordinances on the same subject as a general law either expressly or by implication. See
Fieldale
Farms,
270 Ga. at 275. In express preemption, the statutory text speaks to the need for statewide uniformity on the subject in question or to the lack of local authority to regulate the subject of the general law.
In implied preemption, the intent of the General Assembly to preempt local regulation on the same subject as the general law is inferred from the comprehensive nature of the statutory scheme.
In this context, the General Assembly speaks through its silence as well as its words; the broad scope and reticulated nature of the statutory scheme indicate that the legislature meant not only to preclude local regulation of the various particular matters to which the general law directly speaks, but also to leave unregulated by local law the matters left unregulated in the interstices of the general law.
The 1983 Constitution added an exception to the basic preemption rule with the “except” provision of the Uniformity Clause. See
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 274-275. Converse to express preemption, where the statute says that a subject addressed by a general law is
not
appropriate for local regulation, the “except” provision permits the General Assembly “by general law [to] authorize local governments by local ordinance or resolution to exercise police powers” on a subject provided for by general laws. Sometimes the general law will clearly give the local government the authority to enact the ordinance at issue. See, e.g.,
Old South Duck Tours v.
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
NAHMIAS, Justice.
Aster Zeru Gebrekidan filed an application for discretionary appeal to challenge her conviction and fine for violating a City of Clarkston ordinance that prohibits certain retailers of packaged alcoholic beverages from allowing on their premises any form of electronic or mechanical game machine or coin-operated device that may be used for entertainment or amusement purposes. We granted Gebrekidan’s application to decide whether the State’s detailed statutory scheme regulating coin operated amusement machines (COAMs) and COAM businesses in Georgia, see OCGA §§ 16-12-35 and 50-27-70 to 50-27-104 (COAM Laws), preempts the City’s ordinance under the Uniformity Clause of the Georgia Constitution, see Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. Ill, Sec. VI, Par. IV (a). As explained below, we conclude that the State’s COAM Laws preempt the City’s ordinance at least insofar as the ordinance applies to COAMs as defined by the state statutes, and we therefore reverse Gebrekidan’s conviction and fine.
1. Gebrekidan operates a convenience store in Clarkston where she sells packaged beer, malt beverages, and wine for consumption off-premises and also offers COAMs for play pursuant to a state license granted pursuant to the COAM Laws. Chapter 3 of the City of
Clarkston Code of Ordinances (City Code), entitled “Alcoholic Beverages,” includes the following provision:
Sec. 3-57. — Machines operated for amusement purposes on retail premises.
No retail dealer in packaged beer, malt beverages or wine shall permit on his premises any slot machines or mechanical music boxes or pinball machines or any form of electronic or mechanical game machine or coin-operated device which might be used for entertainment or amusement purposes.
On June 5,2014, the City cited Gebrekidan for violating § 3-57 by “[operating coin-operated amusement machines in [a] retail store selling packaged beer, malt beverages or wine,” and she was ordered to appear in the Municipal Court of Clarkston to answer the charge. Gebrekidan filed a motion to dismiss the citation based on the Uniformity Clause, arguing that the COAM Laws preempt City Code § 3-57. On September 9,2014, the municipal court held a hearing and announced that it would deny the motion. Gebrekidan requested an immediate bench trial, waived the appearance of witnesses against her, and entered a stipulation with the prosecutor that she “offered coin-operated amusement machines for play and packaged alcohol for sale at the same location . . . [and] was licensed by the State of Georgia to operate coin-operated machines.” In a written order entered on September 15, 2014, the municipal court found Gebreki-dan guilty as charged and fined her $250. On the preemption issue, the court held that City Code § 3-57 “is a fair and reasonable ordinance under the City’s police powers that serves an important public interest, it does not conflict with general laws and accordingly, it is not preempted by State law.”
Gebrekidan obtained review by certiorari in the Superior Court of DeKalb County, raising only her preemption claim. After a hearing on January 12, 2015, the superior court entered an order affirming Gebrekidan’s conviction on February 6, 2015. The court held that § 3-57 is “primarily a regulation of alcohol rather than COAM[s]” due to its placement in the Alcoholic Beverages chapter of the City Code and because it prohibits all types of games and entertainment machines at packaged alcohol stores and not just COAMs as defined by the state law. The court recognized that “[t]he State law regulating COAM[s] is voluminous,” but ruled that § 3-57 is “a reasonable exercise of the City’s discretionary power to set rules for alcohol
sales . . . authorized by O.C.G.A. § 3-3-2.”
The court concluded that “City Code § 3-57 is not a local COAM regulatory system at all and does not duplicate any of the provisions of [the COAM Laws].” Gebrekidan filed a timely application for discretionary appeal, which this Court granted on April 2, 2015. The case was orally argued on September 15, 2015.
2. State statutes generally control over local ordinances on the same subject. See
City of Buford v. Georgia Power Co.,
276 Ga. 590, 590 (581 SE2d 16) (2003);
Franklin County v. Fieldale Farms Corp.,
270 Ga. 272, 273 (507 SE2d 460) (1998). This doctrine, known as state preemption, is rooted primarily in the Georgia Constitution’s Uniformity Clause, which now reads:
Laws of a general nature shall have uniform operation throughout this state and no local or special law shall be enacted in any case for which provision has been made by an existing general law, except that the General Assembly may by general law authorize local governments by local ordinance or resolution to exercise police powers which do not conflict with general laws.
Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. Ill, Sec. VI, Par. IV (a). See generally
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 273-275 (reviewing the historical development of the state preemption doctrine in Georgia).
Under the first part of the Uniformity Clause, which carried forward language similar to that of previous Constitutions, the General Assembly may preempt local ordinances on the same subject as a general law either expressly or by implication. See
Fieldale
Farms,
270 Ga. at 275. In express preemption, the statutory text speaks to the need for statewide uniformity on the subject in question or to the lack of local authority to regulate the subject of the general law.
In implied preemption, the intent of the General Assembly to preempt local regulation on the same subject as the general law is inferred from the comprehensive nature of the statutory scheme.
In this context, the General Assembly speaks through its silence as well as its words; the broad scope and reticulated nature of the statutory scheme indicate that the legislature meant not only to preclude local regulation of the various particular matters to which the general law directly speaks, but also to leave unregulated by local law the matters left unregulated in the interstices of the general law.
The 1983 Constitution added an exception to the basic preemption rule with the “except” provision of the Uniformity Clause. See
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 274-275. Converse to express preemption, where the statute says that a subject addressed by a general law is
not
appropriate for local regulation, the “except” provision permits the General Assembly “by general law [to] authorize local governments by local ordinance or resolution to exercise police powers” on a subject provided for by general laws. Sometimes the general law will clearly give the local government the authority to enact the ordinance at issue. See, e.g.,
Old South Duck Tours v. Mayor and Aldermen of City of Savannah,
272 Ga. 869, 871 (535 SE2d 751) (2000). Where a comprehensive general law authorizes local regulation only on particular matters, however, local ordinances that regulate matters outside the scope of that specific authorization do not come under the “except”
provision and remain impliedly preempted. See
S.W.A.N. Consulting,
274 Ga. at 279 (“By expressly authorizing additional local regulation of the private detective and security business in [the] limited instance [of street patrol service], the [comprehensive general law] impliedly preempts the City’s regulation of [private security] services in its adult entertainment establishments.”);
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 277 (“By explicitly granting this narrow power to local governments [to assess reasonable monitoring fees and to seek an injunction if the fees were not paid], the statute by implication precludes counties from exercising broader powers.”).
There is also a significant limitation on the General Assembly’s power to authorize local regulation under the “except” provision of the Uniformity Clause: the local ordinance still cannot “conflict with general laws.” See
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 275 (“The [Uniformity Clause’s] second provision provides for an exception to the general rule of preemption when general law authorizes the local government to act
and
the local ordinance does not conflict with general law.” (emphasis added)). See also
Pawnmart, Inc. v. Gwinnett County,
279 Ga. 19, 20 (608 SE2d 639) (2005) (“[T]he Ordinance, because it also regulates Georgia’s pawnbrokers, is preempted unless it is (1) authorized by general laws, and (2) does not conflict with them.”). Such a conflict obviously exists where a local ordinance directly contradicts a general law in relevant part, see, e.g.,
Hill v. Tschannen,
264 Ga. App. 288, 290-291 (590 SE2d 133) (2003) (physical precedent only), but it also may arise where the local ordinance impairs or detracts from the general law’s operation, rather than augmenting and strengthening it. See
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 275. See also
Willis v. City of Atlanta,
285 Ga. 775, 777 (684 SE2d 271) (2009);
Rabun County v. Georgia Transmission Corp.,
276 Ga. 81, 87 (575 SE2d 474) (2003). Compare
Grovenstein v. Effingham County,
262 Ga. 45, 46-47 (414 SE2d 207) (1992) (finding no conflict where a state statute prohibiting the furnishing of alcohol to persons under age 21 was augmented by the local ordinance at issue, which prohibited the same conduct under more specific circumstances by banning retail beer and wine licensees from selling to persons under age 21 and providing for revocation of their licenses for violations).
3. We will now apply these preemption principles to the general laws and local ordinance at issue in this case.
(a) We first address whether City Code § 3-57 is preempted under the analysis directed by the first part of the Uniformity Clause. As Gebrekidan acknowledges, the State’s COAM Laws do not contain express statutory language preempting local ordinances on the subject of COAMs or COAM businesses. The superior court recognized, however, that the statutory scheme regulating the COAM industry is
“voluminous,” and we conclude that the court erred in holding that this comprehensive general law did not preempt the local ordinance by implication.
OCGA § 16-12-35 creates an exception to Georgia’s criminal laws against gambling for certain coin operated games and other devices designed and manufactured for bona fide amusement purposes only, which are comprehensively regulated by the remainder of the COAM Laws in OCGA §§ 50-27-70 to 50-27-104. The COAM Laws include findings by the General Assembly that “the ability to operate a bona fide coin operated amusement machine business in this state constitutes a privilege and not a right,” that the State needs “to prevent the unregulated operation of the bona fide coin operated amusement machine business,” and that
the bona fide coin operated amusement machine business can be conducted in a manner to safeguard the fiscal soundness of the state, enhance public welfare, and support the need to educate Georgia’s children through the HOPE scholarship program and pre-kindergarten funding authorized by . . . the Constitution.
OCGA § 50-27-70 (a).
The statutory scheme, which is now administered by the Géorgia Lottery Corporation (GLC), is extensive.
The COAM Laws define “bona fide coin operated amusement machines” both by way of general requirements and by giving numerous examples of machines that fall within the general definition. See OCGA § 50-27-70 (b) (2) (A).
The
statutes establish two classes of COAMs; require “master” licenses for COAM manufacturers, distributors, and owners and “location” licenses for owners and operators of businesses (like Gebrekidan’s) where COAMs are available for play by the public; and impose annual licensing and permitting fees. See OCGA §§ 50-27-70 (b) (3), (4), 50-27-71, 50-27-78. The COAM Laws limit the percentage of a location owner’s income that may be derived from COAMs and the number of COAMs in a single location; regulate the terms of contracts between COAM owners and COAM lessees; and require owners and operators to report revenues and awards, with COAMs being electronically connected to the GLC, thereby allowing the State to easily monitor and collect a tax that starts at 5% of revenues and increases to 10% over time. See OCGA §§ 50-27-84, 50-27-102. It is a crime to misuse COAMs, such as by paying cash for successful plays, and there are numerous penalties for violating other provisions of the complex statutory scheme, such as provisions requiring the filing of reports. See OCGA §§ 16-12-35, 50-27-85. The GLC is authorized to provide for enforcement, see OCGA § 50-27-81, and several provisions of the COAM Laws give the GLC rulemaking authority, which has been exercised. See Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Chapters 560-2-18 (Coin Operated Amusement Machines) and 560-2-19 (COAM Administrative Hearings).
In sum, the COAM Laws, the text of which (aside from annotations) fills more than 35 pages of the Georgia Code, establish by general laws precisely the sort of comprehensive statutory scheme regulating a subject — COAMs and COAM businesses — on a statewide basis that we have previously found gives rise to implied preemption of local ordinances on the same subject. See, e.g.,
S. W.A.N. Consulting,
274 Ga. at 277-279 (discussing implied preemption under the Georgia Private Detective and Security Agencies Act);
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 275-278 (discussing implied preemption under the Georgia Water Quality Control Act).
The City contends, however, that City Code § 3-57 is not a local ordinance on the same subject as the COAM Laws, arguing that § 3-57 regulates alcohol and not COAMs and is “primarily aimed at preventing loitering and illegal public consumption of packaged alcoholic beverages.” The superior court seemed to agree, concluding that “City Code § 3-57 is not a local COAM regulatory system at all
and does not duplicate any of the provisions of [the COAM Laws].” But in the preemption context, it is not the reason for or purpose behind the enactment of a local ordinance that controls. The proper focus is on the subject and operation of the general and local laws. City Code § 3-57 regulates packaged alcohol dealers, but it does so by prohibiting them from engaging in the COAM business — the same subject provided for by the COAM Laws. The superior court found persuasive the City’s argument that § 3-57 prohibits
all
electronic and mechanical game machines at packaged alcohol stores, not only COAMs as defined in the COAM Laws. In fact, that argument is a concession that § 3-57 regulates COAMs, even if it may also regulate other game machines. The only game machines at issue in this case are the ones that Gebrekidan operates in her business pursuant to a state license granted under the COAM Laws, which the City does not dispute are COAMs as defined by state law.
Nor does it matter, in the analysis under the first part of the Uniformity Clause, that the local ordinance does not duplicate any specific provision of the COAM Laws. As explained above, where the state statutory scheme is as comprehensive as the COAM Laws, we presume that the General Assembly meant to occupy the entire field of regulation on the subject, and thus that the gaps the legislature left were intended to be unregulated matters rather than spaces for local governments to fill by local regulation. Thus, contrary to the City’s claim, § 3-57 is not an ordinance that only incidentally affects COAMs and COAM businesses. The direct effect of § 3-57 is to ban COAMs from businesses in the City of Clarkston where the State of Georgia allows them. For these reasons, we conclude that the COAM Laws preempt City Code § 3-57 by implication.
(b) We must still determine, however, whether City Code § 3-57 can survive preemption by the COAM Laws under the “except” provision of the Uniformity Clause. As outlined previously, in this analysis “the [ordinance, because it also regulates [COAMs and COAM businesses], is preempted unless it is (1) authorized by general laws, and (2) does not conflict with them.”
Pawnmart,
279 Ga. at 20.
We need not reach the conflict question, because the City cannot clear the first hurdle of this test, as it has not shown that general laws authorize City Code § 3-57. The City asserts that the necessary authorization can be found in § 1.03 (w) of the City’s charter
and in
OCGA § 3-3-2 (a).
The charter was enacted by the General Assembly, and § 1.03 (w) grants broad police powers to the city council, but the charter is a local law, not a general law. See
Borders v. City of Atlanta,
298 Ga. 188, 192 (779 SE2d 279) (2015). Thus, the charter cannot provide the authorization of local regulation “by general law” that is required by the “except” provision of the Uniformity Clause. See
Little v. City of Lawrenceville,
272 Ga. 340, 341 (528 SE2d 515) (2000) (“Powers which the legislature sets out in city charters ‘are subject to limitations and preemptions imposed by general law.’ ” (citation omitted)).
Conversely, OCGA § 3-3-2 (a) is a general law, but it does not authorize City Code § 3-57. That ordinance does not address the “granting or refusal, suspension, or revocation” of City licenses to manufacture, distribute, or sell alcoholic beverages, OCGA § 3-3-2 (a); it simply makes it illegal for certain alcoholic beverage dealers in Clarkston to permit COAMs on their premises that state law allows. This conclusion is bolstered by the fact that the COAM Laws authorize local governments to adopt and enforce ordinances regulating COAM businesses in 11 specific respects, but not in the way that City Code § 3-57 attempts to regulate them. See OCGA § 50-27-86.
Two
provisions authorize local ordinances suspending or revoking alcohol and other licenses granted by the local government, but only as a penalty for conviction of the COAM location owner or operator for violating certain parts of the COAM Laws or for violation of an ordinance enacted pursuant to OCGA § 50-27-86. See OCGA § 50-27-86 (4), (5). Another provision allows local governments to impose location restric
tions on COAMs that are no more restrictive than the local location restrictions applicable to the sale of alcoholic beverages. See OCGA § 50-27-86 (8).
Decided March 21, 2016.
Wimberly Lawson Steckel Schneider & Stine, Les A. Schneider, Paul Oliver, Jonathan D. Gaul,
for appellant.
Wilson, Morton & Downs, Stephen G. Quinn,
for appellee.
Rusi C. Patel; Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield, Joshua B. Belinfante; The Jaffer Law Firm, David Jaffer,
amici curiae.
Thus, in enacting the comprehensive COAM Laws, the General Assembly considered their interaction with local alcohol regulations, but the legislature did not authorize local governments to flatly prohibit alcoholic beverage licensees from allowing COAMs on their premises or to penalize such businesses for doing so. For these reasons, insofar as City Code § 3-57 directly regulates COAMs as defined by the COAM Laws, we conclude that the local ordinance is not authorized by general law, and thus the ordinance is not saved from preemption by the COAM Laws under the “except” provision of the Uniformity Clause. See
S. W.A.N. Consulting,
274 Ga. at 279;
Fieldale Farms,
270 Ga. at 277. Compare
Grovenstein,
262 Ga. at 46-47. We therefore reverse the contrary judgment of the superior court.
Judgment reversed.
All the Justices concur.