Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 115: Natural Resources, Department of; certain notice upon registration of a vessel; provide
Last action July 1, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 115 rewrites Georgia's abandoned vessel laws, requiring boat owners to be warned at registration that failing to retrieve an abandoned boat can be a crime, and creating new criminal penalties, notice procedures, and restitution rules for the Department of Natural Resources.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law already lets law enforcement remove abandoned boats from public waters and public property, but the process for notifying owners and penalizing them was limited. This bill rewrites large parts of that system under Title 52, Chapter 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. It requires the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to tell people at the time they register a vessel that failing to remove an abandoned boat can lead to criminal charges. It creates a new 'unattended vessel check' that officers must perform on unattended boats, with a check card attached to the vessel. It rewrites the notice and removal procedures for abandoned vessels, including new rules for advertising unclaimed vessels and revoking registrations. It creates a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or 12 months in jail, for a registered owner who does not remove an abandoned vessel within 30 days of notice, with felony penalties of up to $50,000 or five years for repeat offenses. That 30 day window does not apply for 36 months after the Governor declares a natural disaster affecting the vessel's location. Courts may also order restitution to DNR for removal, storage, and disposal costs.
What the bill does
- Requires vessel registration applications to include a statement warning owners of criminal penalties for failing to remove an abandoned vessel from public waters or property.
- Creates a new 'unattended vessel check' process that law enforcement or DNR-authorized individuals must perform on unattended boats, with a check card attached to the vessel.
- Makes it a misdemeanor for anyone other than law enforcement or a DNR-authorized person to attach a fake unattended vessel check card.
- Creates a new criminal offense for a registered owner who fails to remove an abandoned vessel within 30 days of notice, with a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature (up to $5,000 fine or 12 months jail) for a first offense and a felony (up to $50,000 fine or five years) for repeat offenses.
- Exempts owners from the 30 day removal deadline for 36 months after the Governor declares a natural disaster affecting the vessel's location.
- Authorizes courts to order restitution to the Department of Natural Resources for the cost of removing, storing, and disposing of an abandoned vessel.
Who it affects
Georgia boat owners who register vessels with the Department of Natural Resources, law enforcement officers and DNR-authorized personnel who inspect and remove unattended or abandoned boats, people who remove or store vessels for the state, and county courts that handle related appeals and prosecutions.
Why it matters
Boat owners now face clearer, harsher consequences, including possible jail time and fines up to $50,000, if they leave a boat abandoned on public waters or property after being notified. The bill also gives officers a formal process for checking unattended boats and gives DNR new tools, like restitution, to recover cleanup costs.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. § 52-7-5 requiring vessel registration forms to warn applicants about criminal consequences for failing to remove an abandoned vessel.
- Section 3 creates a new Code section, 52-7-70.1, establishing the 'unattended vessel check' procedure and making it a misdemeanor to attach a fake check card.
- Section 4 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 52-7-71's notice and removal procedures, including new rules on notifying the DNR, advertising for unknown owners, and revoking vessel or motor vehicle registrations for unpaid removal and storage fees.
- Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 52-7-72 to replace 'peace officer' with 'law enforcement officer' and tie removal authority to the new unattended vessel check card system.
- Section 6 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 52-7-72.1 to require DNR notice to owners before a vessel is deemed abandoned, and creates the new misdemeanor and felony penalties for failing to remove an abandoned vessel, plus a 36-month exception after a gubernatorial disaster declaration and a restitution provision for DNR's removal and storage costs.
- Section 7 updates the lien foreclosure procedure in O.C.G.A. § 52-7-74 to reference the revised notice requirements in Section 52-7-71.
From the bill
“Any vessel owner that has registered such vessel with the Department of Natural Resources that fails to remove such vessel from public waters or public property within 30 days receipt of the notice issued pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $5,000.00 or by confinement for a term not to exceed 12 months, or both”
“Upon a second or subsequent offense for failure to remove an abandoned vessel from public waters or public property, a vessel owner that has registered such vessel with the Department of Natural Resources shall be guilty of a felony”
“The application for registration of vessels pursuant to this Code section shall include a statement informing the applicant of the criminal consequences for failure to remove an abandoned vessel from public waters of this state or public property”
Discussed in meetings (3)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Committee, February 23, 2026
From 0:40:28 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: With the sponsor absent, the chair presented HB 115 as a measure to help clean up abandoned vessels along Georgia’s coast. The chair said the committee had approved it the previous year, but it had not passed by the end of the session. A committee member asked how the proposal would address vessels that are not registered. The chair acknowledged that not all vessels are registered, said officials would track those they could, and suggested funding would likely be needed to remove unregistered vessels. The committee approved the bill by a show of hands, with no vote count stated.
Senate Rules Committee, March 9, 2026
From 0:12:14 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would create a legal framework to stop vessels from being abandoned in marshes and other waterways. The sponsor estimated that Georgia had about 159 to 160 abandoned or derelict vessels along the coast and about 38 in lakes statewide. Members asked no substantive questions. The committee later unanimously included the bill on the next day's calendar.
Senate floor session, March 10, 2026 (legislative day 30)
From 4:34:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 115 would address abandoned vessels by allowing the Department of Natural Resources to board and inspect them, identify owners and arrange removal. The sponsor said owners would have 30 days to remove a vessel and otherwise would have to pay removal costs. The clerk's reading also described registration notices and recovery of storage and disposal costs. The sponsor said there were 159 abandoned vessels along Georgia's coast and described pollution and boating hazards from vessels left in waterways and marshes. According to the sponsor, the proposal had been developed over about four years with agencies and law enforcement. Senators exchanged humorous questions about a fictional stranded vessel, but raised no substantive objections. The Senate passed the bill, 51-0.
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 434
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
Show full history (19 actions)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)
- 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-1)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 26, 2025
164 yea, 0 nay (9 not voting, 7 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 10, 2026
51 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 3 excused)
Topics
- abandoned boats
- boat registration
- Department of Natural Resources
- public waterways
- criminal penalties