HB115: HB115 Natural Resources, Department of; certain notice upon registration of a vessel; provide

Georgia law already lets authorities remove and eventually dispose of boats abandoned on public waters or public property, but the bill's sponsors say the current process for notifying owners and holding them accountable needed updating. HB 115 amends Chapter 7 of Title 52 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to require that vessel registration applications warn owners about criminal consequences for failing to remove an abandoned vessel. It creates a new 'unattended vessel check' process so officers or Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff must check unattended boats for injured people or safety hazards and mark them with a check card. The bill also rewrites the notice and removal procedures in Code Sections 52-7-71, 52-7-72, and 52-7-72.1, spelling out timelines for notifying owners, querying stolen-vessel databases, and revoking registrations. It creates a new misdemeanor, and later felony, for registered owners who do not retrieve their vessel within 30 days of notice, with an exception during declared natural disasters, and it lets DNR seek restitution for removal, storage, and disposal costs.

• Requires vessel registration applications to include a written warning about criminal penalties for failing to remove an abandoned vessel from public waters or property.
• Creates a new legal duty for law enforcement or DNR staff to perform 'unattended vessel checks' on unattended boats and attach a check card once completed.
• Makes it a misdemeanor for anyone other than law enforcement or DNR staff to attach a fake unattended vessel check card to a boat.
• Revises the notice and removal procedures for abandoned vessels, including timelines for checking stolen-vessel databases and notifying owners by certified mail or advertisement.
• Creates a new misdemeanor of a 'high and aggravated nature' (fine up to $5,000 or up to 12 months in jail) for a registered owner who fails to retrieve an abandoned vessel within 30 days of notice, escalating to a felony (fine up to $50,000 or up to 5 years in prison) for repeat offenses.
• Allows courts to order convicted owners to pay restitution to DNR for the costs of removing, storing, and disposing of the abandoned vessel.

The bill affects boat owners who register vessels in Georgia, DNR staff and the commissioner, local law enforcement agencies and peace officers, county governments that may need to publish abandoned-vessel notices, and the Georgia Crime Information Center, which tracks stolen vessel reports.

Boat owners who leave vessels abandoned on public waters or property could now face jail time, steep fines, or a felony record for repeat violations, not just fees or lien foreclosure. Registration paperwork will flag this risk upfront, and new check procedures aim to catch stranded or stolen boats faster.

• Section 1 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. § 52-7-5 requiring registration applications to state the criminal consequences for failing to remove an abandoned vessel.
• Section 2 adds a definition of 'public waters' to O.C.G.A. § 52-7-70, excluding privately owned ponds or lakes not open to the public.
• Section 3 creates new O.C.G.A. § 52-7-70.1, requiring unattended vessel checks and making it a misdemeanor to falsely attach a check card.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 52-7-71's removal and storage procedures, including notification timelines to DNR and law enforcement about stolen vessels.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 52-7-72 to set 72-hour notification duties for officers who find unattended vessels and require stolen-vessel database checks within 24 hours.
• Section 6 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 52-7-72.1 to create escalating criminal penalties: a high and aggravated misdemeanor (up to $5,000 fine or 12 months) for a first offense and a felony (up to $50,000 fine or 5 years) for repeat offenses, with a natural disaster exception and DNR restitution authority.
• Section 7 updates the lien foreclosure procedure in O.C.G.A. § 52-7-74 to reference the revised notice requirements in Section 4.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 434
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-10Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-10Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-02-24Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
8. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)

• Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Lehman Franklin (R, HD-160)
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
• Buddy DeLoach (R, HD-167)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 26, 2025

   164 yea, 0 nay (9 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #80

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 10, 2026

   51 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #704

• abandoned boats
• boat registration
• Department of Natural Resources
• boating law
• criminal penalties