(a) The land surveyor shall receive a fee to be fixed by the Secretary of State or his designated deputy or assistant. Such fee shall be based upon reasonable compensation for the work to be performed and the rates normally charged by land surveyors in the same geographical area as the disputed line. The fee shall be negotiated prior to the commencement of the survey. Prior to the commencement of the survey, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to notify the governing authorities of the counties affected of the fee which has been negotiated.

(b) For the purpose of assisting the Secretary of State in connection with his responsibilities and duties to fix and negotiate an appropriate fee for the services of the land surveyor in surveying, marking out, and defining the boundary line in dispute, the Secretary of State may appoint an advisory committee to be composed of three registered land surveyors. One of the members of the advisory committee shall be a county surveyor who shall be selected by the Secretary of State from a list of at least three county surveyors submitted to the Secretary of State by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia. The members of the advisory committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of State or for such terms as the Secretary of State shall provide. The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation for their services as such.

(c) The advisory committee shall review the proposals of the land surveyor appointed by the Governor and shall counsel and advise the Secretary of State as to the committee's recommendation concerning an appropriate fee for such services. The recommendations of the advisory committee to the Secretary of State in relation to such fee shall not be binding upon the Secretary of State but shall be used by the Secretary of State in assisting him in determining and fixing an appropriate fee.