HB454: HB454 Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund Act; enact

Georgia currently has no dedicated state fund for preserving battlefield land. This bill creates the Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund within the state treasury, filled with legislative appropriations (state funding), grants, gifts, and other contributions earmarked for battlefield preservation. The Department of Natural Resources would run a matching grant program using this money. Nonprofit preservation organizations and state agencies could apply for grants to buy battlefield land outright or acquire permanent protective interests, such as conservation easements (legal restrictions limiting future development), at sites listed in specific federal Civil War or Revolutionary War/War of 1812 battlefield reports. Applicants must match every dollar from the fund with at least a dollar of their own, and grants cannot exceed 50 percent of the appraised value. Any acquisition must include a perpetual conservation easement, and the department can use up to 5 percent of the fund for administration each year.

• Establishes the Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund in the state treasury, funded by legislative appropriations, grants, gifts, and donations for battlefield preservation.
• Creates a matching grant program run by the Department of Natural Resources for nonprofit organizations and state agencies to buy battlefield land or protective interests in it.
• Limits eligible sites to battlefields listed in specific national Civil War or Revolutionary War/War of 1812 preservation reports.
• Requires grant recipients to match at least a dollar of their own money for every dollar from the fund, and caps grants at 50 percent of the property's appraised value.
• Requires any property acquired with fund money to be permanently protected by a conservation easement restricting future use or development.
• Directs the department to report annual fund spending to state budget offices by January 1 each year.

Nonprofit land preservation organizations, state agencies involved in historic or natural resource conservation, the Department of Natural Resources, the state treasurer's office, and landowners near or at listed Georgia battlefields who may sell land or easements to these groups.

The bill gives Georgia a dedicated funding source and formal process for permanently protecting historic battlefield land from development, requiring private matching money so state funds are leveraged rather than covering full purchase costs, and locking in protection through permanent conservation easements.

• Section 1 adds Article 13 to Chapter 3 of Title 12 of the O.C.G.A., creating the fund and naming it the 'Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund Act' (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-710).
• O.C.G.A. § 12-3-712 establishes the trust fund itself, specifies its funding sources, and requires the department to report annual spending to state budget offices by January 1.
• O.C.G.A. § 12-3-713 creates the grant program, limits eligible battlefields to those listed in named federal Civil War and Revolutionary War/War of 1812 reports, requires dollar-for-dollar matching contributions, caps grants at 50 percent of appraised value, and allows up to 5 percent of the fund for administrative costs.
• O.C.G.A. § 12-3-714 directs the department to set application guidelines and weigh factors like battlefield significance, threats to the site, and an applicant's financial and management capacity.
• O.C.G.A. § 12-3-715 requires any acquisition to include a perpetual conservation easement and allows later transfer of protected land to state or federal conservation systems.

1. 2025-05-12Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-12Act 116
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-08House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-31Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
8. 2025-03-25Senate Recommitted (Senate)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Primary sponsor
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)
• Jason Ridley (R, HD-006)
• Gary Richardson (R, HD-125)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2025

   157 yea, 14 nay (4 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #138

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   47 yea, 0 nay (9 not voting, 0 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #388

• battlefield preservation
• historic preservation
• state grants
• conservation easements
• Department of Natural Resources