---
title: HB 1066. Nuisances; immunity from public and private nuisance claims; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1066
cite_as: HB 1066, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1066
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1066.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1066/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72517
date: 2026-02-12
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1065.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1067.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 305
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1066.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1066
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-28
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Will Wade
- Alan Powell
- Karen Mathiak
- Tyler Smith
- Josh Bonner
- Rob Clifton
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1066/2025
upstream_id: 2100334
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- nuisance law
- motorsports racing
- property rights
- rural counties
- land use
---
# HB 1066. Nuisances; immunity from public and private nuisance claims; provide
## Text
The House Committee on Governmental Affairs offers the following substitute to HB 1066:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 1 of Title 41 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding nuisances, so as to provide immunity from public and private
nuisance claims relating to racing operations; to provide for immunity for nuisance claims
based on changed conditions; to permit nuisance claims for changed conditions relating to
changes in the historic racing operations; to provide for definitions; to provide for an
effective date and applicability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 1 of Title 41 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions regarding nuisances, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"41-1-11.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Area of the racing facility' means:
(A) A five-mile radius around the perimeter of a racing facility in a rural county; or
(B) A three-mile radius around the perimeter of a racing facility in any other county.
(2) 'Racing facility' means a designated area or facility where competitive vehicle and
motorsport races are conducted. Such term shall include the track, spectator areas,
garages, and any associated grounds, buildings, or appurtenances contiguous to such
facilities used for racing operations.
(3) 'Racing operations' means the lawful, permitted, or historically established use of a
permanent or seasonal racing facility for organized, sanctioned, or scheduled motor
vehicle racing activities, including competitive or exhibition events, and all acts,
conditions, and effects that are reasonably inherent, necessary, or incidental to such use,
and shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) Practice, testing, qualifying, and racing events;
(B) Operation of race vehicles on track, in pit areas, staging lanes, and paddocks;
(C) Vehicle inspection, maintenance, repair, fueling, and safety operations conducted
at a racing facility;
(D) Use of lighting, sound systems, timing and scoring equipment, generators, and
related infrastructure;
(E) Presence and movement of participants, officials, employees, vendors, emergency
personnel, and spectators; or
(F) Noise, vibration, dust, traffic, lighting, fumes, and emissions customarily associated
with racing facilities and events;
provided, however, that racing operations shall not include all-terrain vehicle racing or
exhibition; recreational off-road or trail riding; unorganized, unsanctioned, or casual
vehicle operation not associated with a motorsports event; or motor vehicle use occurring
outside the boundaries or scheduled activities of a racing facility.
(4) 'Rural county' means a county having a population of less than 50,000 according to
the United States decennial census of 2020 or any future such census.
(b) No property owner shall bring a nuisance claim, either public or private, against a
racing facility that was built before such property owner purchased real property or built
new construction within the area of the racing facility when such claim is related to or
arises from racing operations.
(c) No racing facility shall become a nuisance, either public or private, solely as a result
of changed conditions related to racing operations in or around the area of the racing
facility if the racing facility has been in operation for at least one year since the date on
which it commenced operation as a racing facility when such claim is related to or arises
from racing operations.
(d) The immunity provided by this Code section shall not apply to claims based solely on
a material change to the historic racing operations of a racing facility."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and shall apply to all nuisance actions filed
on or after such date.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
HB 1066 would shield existing motorsports racetracks in Georgia from public and private nuisance lawsuits filed by nearby property owners over noise, dust, lights, and similar effects of racing operations.
### Plain-language summary
Currently, Georgia property owners can sue a nearby business, including a racetrack, for nuisance if noise, dust, traffic, or other conditions interfere with the use of their land. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's nuisance law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 1 of Title 41) that protects racing facilities from those lawsuits under certain conditions.
If someone buys property or builds new construction near a racetrack that already existed, they could not later sue over routine racing noise, lights, dust, traffic, or similar effects. A racetrack also could not be found a nuisance just because surrounding conditions changed, as long as it has operated for at least one year. The protection covers a 5-mile radius around tracks in rural counties (under 50,000 people) and a 3-mile radius elsewhere. The immunity would not apply if the track itself materially changes its historic operations. The law would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply to nuisance lawsuits filed on or after that date.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia Code section (O.C.G.A. § 41-1-11) giving racing facilities immunity from public and private nuisance lawsuits tied to normal racing operations.
- Bars nuisance claims from property owners who bought land or built new construction near an already-existing racetrack, within a defined distance.
- Sets that distance at a 5-mile radius around tracks in rural counties (population under 50,000) and 3 miles around tracks in all other counties.
- Protects a racetrack from being called a nuisance solely due to changed surrounding conditions, once it has operated for at least one year.
- Carves out an exception: the immunity does not apply if the racetrack itself makes a material change to its historic operations.
- Sets the law to take effect July 1, 2026, applying only to nuisance lawsuits filed on or after that date.
### Who it affects
Owners and operators of motorsports racing facilities in Georgia, nearby property owners and homeowners who might otherwise sue over noise, dust, lights, or traffic, and Georgia courts that hear nuisance lawsuits involving racetracks.
### Why it matters
People who move near an established racetrack, or build new homes there, would lose the ability to sue over the noise, dust, lighting, and traffic that come with normal race events, as long as the track hasn't changed its historic operations and has run for at least a year.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 41-1-11, defining 'racing facility,' 'racing operations,' 'area of the racing facility,' and 'rural county' for purposes of the immunity.
- Subsection (b) bars nuisance claims from property owners who purchased or built near a pre-existing racetrack within its defined radius.
- Subsection (c) protects a racetrack from nuisance liability based on changed surrounding conditions once it has operated for at least one year.
- Subsection (d) states the immunity does not cover claims based solely on a material change to the track's historic racing operations.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying to nuisance actions filed on or after that date.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-28)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-02-12)
- Sponsors: Will Wade, Alan Powell, Karen Mathiak, Tyler Smith, Josh Bonner, Rob Clifton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72517
> The history, votes, and amendments (305 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1066.md?full=1