SB190: SB190 Parks, Historic Areas, Memorials, and Recreation; certain fee waivers for active duty members of the military, veterans, and family members; provide

Current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-9.1) gives certified disabled veterans a 25 percent discount on fees at state parks, historic sites, and recreational areas run by the Department of Natural Resources. This bill rewrites that law. It removes the narrower 'disabled veteran' category and instead defines 'veteran' as any former service member honorably discharged, and adds a new category called 'Gold Star family member,' meaning a parent, child, spouse, brother, or sister of someone who died in the line of duty in the armed forces. Under the rewritten law, any veteran or Gold Star family member who is certified by the commissioner of veterans service would receive a full waiver of park and recreation fees, rather than the current 25 percent discount. The waiver would cover overnight lodging such as cabins and campsites for the certified person and anyone staying with them, but would not apply to group facility rentals. The Department of Natural Resources would have to write rules for verifying eligibility and issuing passes.

• Replaces the existing 'disabled veteran' fee discount with a broader benefit available to any honorably discharged veteran.
• Creates a new eligible group, 'Gold Star family member,' covering immediate relatives of a service member who died in the line of duty.
• Increases the benefit from a 25 percent fee discount to a full waiver of fees at state parks, historic sites, and recreational areas.
• Requires the commissioner of veterans service to certify eligible veterans and Gold Star family members and issue proof of certification.
• Keeps the rule that the fee waiver does not apply to rentals of group facilities or accommodations.
• Directs the Department of Natural Resources to write rules and regulations for verifying eligibility and issuing passes.

Georgia veterans, Gold Star family members (parents, children, spouses, siblings of service members killed in the line of duty), the commissioner of veterans service, and the Department of Natural Resources, which runs the state's parks, historic sites, and recreational areas affected by the fee change.

Veterans and Gold Star families visiting Georgia state parks, historic sites, or recreation areas would no longer pay entrance, cabin, campsite, or golf course fees at all, instead of getting a partial discount, while the state agencies involved take on new certification and rulemaking duties.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 12-3-9.1, replacing the 'disabled veteran' definition with a general 'veteran' definition covering any honorably discharged former service member.
• Adds a definition of 'Gold Star family member' as an immediate family member (parent, child, spouse, brother, or sister) of a service member who died in the line of duty.
• Changes the benefit in subsection (c) from a 25 percent fee discount to a full waiver of fees at state parks, historic sites, and recreational areas.
• Requires certification of eligible veterans and Gold Star family members through the commissioner of veterans service before the waiver applies.
• Preserves the limit that the waiver applies to overnight accommodations used by the certified person but not to group facility or accommodation rentals.
• Directs the Department of Natural Resources to set rules for verifying eligibility, issuing passes, and running the program.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-06Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
5. 2026-03-06Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
6. 2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
7. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)

• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)Primary sponsor
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   50 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #687

• veterans benefits
• state parks
• Gold Star families
• Department of Natural Resources fees