Thompson v. Hornsby

221 S.E.2d 192, 235 Ga. 561, 1975 Ga. LEXIS 931
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedOctober 28, 1975
Docket30294
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 221 S.E.2d 192 (Thompson v. Hornsby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson v. Hornsby, 221 S.E.2d 192, 235 Ga. 561, 1975 Ga. LEXIS 931 (Ga. 1975).

Opinion

Jordan, Justice.

This appeal is from the grant of a mandamus absolute.

Marion A. Hornsby, Jr., and William Lee Roberts and others, as Trustees and Secretary of the Fulton County General Employees Pension Fund, filed a petition for mandamus against Jerri Thompson and others, as members of the Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund of the City of Atlanta.

It was alleged that: On and before April 14, 1975, Hornsby was employed by the City of Atlanta as a policeman and was a participant in, and made contributions to, the City of Atlanta Policemen’s Pension Fund. On that date he became employed by Fulton County as a policeman and became a participant in the Fulton County General Employees Pension Fund. He has made demand on the defendants to certify the total number of years of service accrued to his credit and to transfer all funds contributed by him, together with all employer matching funds, to the Fulton County General Employees Funds. Under Ga. L. 1972, pp. 3277-3279, the defendants are under a duty to perform the acts demanded, and have failed and refused to perform these duties. It was prayed that the defendants be required to make the certification and transfer demanded.

The defendants filed their response and a motion to dismiss. The parties entered into a stipulation of facts. The trial judge, after making findings of fact and conclusions of law, denied the motion to dismiss and granted the mandamus absolute. The enumeration of [562]*562errors complains of the denial of the motion to dismiss, certain findings of fact and conclusions of law, and the grant of the mandamus absolute.

1. A number of the enumerated errors pertain to the motion to dismiss the petition for mandamus. The Civil Practice Act is applicable to mandamus actions (Harrison v. Weiner, 226 Ga. 93 (5) (172 SE2d 840) (1970)), and a petition for mandamus will not be dismissed if it states a claim on which relief may be granted. The rulings which will be hereafter made as to whether the relief demanded by the appellees should be granted will determine whether a claim is set out in the petition for mandamus.

2. It is contended by the appellants that the County of Fulton has no authority to establish a police department and employ Hornsby as a policeman.

An Amendment to Art. XI of the Constitution (proposed by Ga. L. 1951, pp. 828-831) authorized the General Assembly "to determine and prescribe by general, local or special laws all the powers, responsibilities and limitations of Fulton County and the commissioners of roads and revenues or other governing authority thereof . . . outside of the incorporated areas within its boundaries in respect to police protection,...”

By Ga. L. 1951, pp. 591-596 (Code Ch. 23-14), pertaining to county police, was amended by adding certain sections applicable to counties in which there is located all or the greater part of the population of a city with a population of 300,000 or more. This Act provided that the city shall furnish police services for the unincorporated area of the county, at the expense of the county. Section 12 of the Act provided that, after the end of the year in which the county is required to contract for police services, the county shall not maintain, operate, or continue in existence any county police department, except as authorized by the Act.

In 1972 a constitutional amendment was proposed and ratified (Ga. L. 1972, pp. 1552-1554; Code Ann. § 2-7901a) which provides: "In addition to and supplementary of any powers now conferred upon and possessed by any county, municipality, or any combination thereof, any county, any municipality and any combination of any such political subdivisions may [563]*563exercise the following powers and provide the following services: (1) Police and fire protection.”

This amendment contains the following proviso: "Provided, however, that no city or county may exercise any such powers or provide any such service herein listed inside the boundaries of any other local governments except by contract with the city or county affected unless otherwise provided by any local or special law and no existing local or special laws or provisions of this Constitution is intended to be hereby repealed.”

The trial judge held that the 1972 constitutional amendment was clearly meant to be cumulative of any pre-existing powers and that it contravened the provision of Ga. L. 1951, pp. 591-596, taking away the power of Fulton County to maintain a police department. He further held that the saving clause in the proviso, referring to existing local or special laws, could not preserve the 1951 Act (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 591-596), which was a general law (Barge v. Camp, 209 Ga. 38 (3) (70 SE2d 360) (1952)), and that this saving clause was intended to save powers and authorities granted previously, but not intended to save limiting provisions of other general laws.

The appellants urge that the 1972 constitutional amendment preserved the 1951 local constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 828-831) which gave the General Assembly authority to pass the 1951 Act (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 591-596) taking away Fulton County’s right to operate a police department, and that this enabling Act was thereby preserved.

The 1951 local constitutional amendment was not self-executing. The preservation of this amendment by the 1972 constitutional amendment would not prevent the repeal of the limiting provision of the 1951 Act (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 591-596) by the 1972 amendment.

The 1972 constitutional amendment clearly intends to give each county the power to provide police protection "[i]n addition to and supplementary of’ any power now possessed by the county, and contravenes the part of the 1951 Act which prohibits Fulton County from operating a police department. Compare DeKalb County v. Allstate Beer, Inc., 229 Ga. 483 (3) (192 SE2d 342) (1972).

[564]*564The trial judge correctly held that Fulton County under the 1972 constitutional amendment has the power to operate a police department.

3. The General Assembly in 1972 (Ga. L. 1972, pp. 3277-3279) passed an Act applicable to counties having a population in excess of 600,000 and the largest city located in whole or in part in such county, which provides in § 2: "Whenever any City employee shall become a County employee or whenever any County employee shall become a City employee, such employee may transfer from the Pension Fund of his former employer to the Pension Fund of his new employer credit for all years of service which may have accrued to him while in the service of his former employer upon compliance with the provisions of this Act.” It is provided in § 3 that any employee wishing to obtain the benefits of the Act shall file a written statement to such effect with the secretaries of both the city and county pension fund, and thereupon it is the duty of the secretary of the pension fund of the former employer to certify to the secretary of the pension fund of the new employer the total number of years of service accrued to the credit of such employee. Such secretary shall also transfer all funds contributed by said employee, together with all employer matching fund contributions.

It is argued by the appellants that the 1972 Act above cited is not in pari materia with the 1933 Act (Ga. L. 1933, p. 213 et seq.), as amended, providing for pensions for policemen in cities of prescribed population, and cannot be construed together.

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Bluebook (online)
221 S.E.2d 192, 235 Ga. 561, 1975 Ga. LEXIS 931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-hornsby-ga-1975.