It is true that Georgia is not part of the reciprocal agreement that most states are members of called the Drivers License Compact (DLC). While California is not part of a second reciprocal agreement called the Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) that most other states, including GA, are members of.

With the DLC, serious offenses and minor moving violations will be sent to a driver’s home state and action will be taken as if the violation occurred in the driver’s home state. If you are convicted of a traffic offense in another state, the information on that offense will be sent to your home state's DMV and depending upon your home state's statutes the offense may be put onto the driving record and assessed points.

The NRVC is an agreement among states to suspend drivers for failure to pay traffic citations issued by other member states. Under this compact, the issuing state will send a notice of non-compliance to the driver’s home state. The home state will suspend the driver’s privileges until the terms of the citation have been complied with.

The NRVC, which Georgia is part of but California is not, has several benefits for drivers. One important one is that it allows drivers to be released on personal recognizance, and does not require them to appear before a judge or post a bond at the time citations are issued.

Since California licensed drivers do not have the benefits of the NRVC it would appear what Georgia required of your friend is legal. It appears that they require this to be assured the ticket will be taken care of since if the person leaves the state there is not the reciprocal agreement with CA to make them pay the ticket or suspend their license for not doing so.

The court listed on the citation or the Department of Motor Vehicles for Georgia should be able to explain more about this situation if your friend wants to learn more about Georgia laws that affect out of state drivers.