These appeals involve a long-running boundary line dispute between Monroe County and Bibb County, which has culminated in a superior court order directing Secretary of State Brian Kemp to accept a line identified by a State-appointed land surveyor as the true boundary line separating the two counties. This Court granted the applications for discretionary appeal filed separately by Bibb County and Secretary Kemp to address the propriety of the relief granted below. We now hold that, while mandamus may lie to require the Secretary of State to comply with his statutory obligations with regard to county boundary line disputes, see OCGA §§ 36-3-20 et seq., the superior court lacked the authority to require Secretary Kemp to accept a particular line as the true boundary line. Specifically, while mandamus is authorized to compel the Secretary to consider the relevant law and evidence, to determine the true boundary line between the counties, and to record the survey and plat reflecting that boundary line, mandamus is not authorized to dictate where the boundary line is to be located. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
In 2005, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed land surveyor Terry Scarborough to identify the boundary between the counties, pursuant to a statutory process for settling boundary disputes first established in the 1880s. See OCGA §§ 36-3-20 et seq.; Ga. L. 1887, p. 106-107. In April 2008, after receiving formal authorization to proceed from the Secretary of State “the Secretary”, Scarborough conducted his survey work and submitted his final survey and plat to the Secretary on March 27, 2009, delineating what he concluded was the true boundary line separating Monroe County and Bibb County. Bibb County filed exceptions to the final survey with the Secretary, disputing Scarborough’s conclusion as to the location of the northernmost terminating point of the boundary line. Monroe County responded, defending the survey, whereupon the Secretary referred the matter to the Office of State Administrative Hearings for appointment of a Special Assistant Administrative Law Judge “SAALJ” to hear evidence and make a recommendation. After a three-day evidentiary hearing in February and March 2011, the SAALJ recommended accepting the survey. The Secretary then held oral argument and conducted a site visit to the area along the Ocmulgee River encompassing both the terminating point identified in the Scarborough survey and the alternative terminating point argued for by Bibb County. On August 23, 2011, the Secretary issued a final determination, rejecting the Scarborough survey, thus leaving the boundary line undetermined.
