---
title: HB 1415. Stone Mountain Memorial Association; hold all real property obtained before January 1, 1971, in trust; require
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1415
cite_as: HB 1415, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1415
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1415.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1415/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73469
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
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/hb1414.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1416.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 951
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1415.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1415
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
  - Devan Seabaugh
  - Steven Sainz
  - Reynaldo Martinez
  - Mary Oliver
  - Billy Mitchell
  - Alan Powell
  - Drew Echols
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1415/2025
upstream_id: 2121446
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Stone Mountain Park
  - state land management
  - public trust land
  - Georgia parks and recreation
---

# HB 1415. Stone Mountain Memorial Association; hold all real property obtained before January 1, 1971, in trust; require

## Text

House Bill 1415 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Seabaugh of the 34th, Sainz of the 180th, Martinez of the 111th, Hong of
the 103rd, Mitchell of the 88th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 3 of Title 12 and Article 1 of Chapter 16 of Title 50
of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Stone Mountain Memorial
Association and public property of state generally, respectively, so as to require such
association to hold all real property obtained before January 1, 1971, in trust; to prohibit such
association from selling such real property; to provide for an exception; to provide for
requirements for the exceptional sale of real property by such association; to provide for
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.
Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 3 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, is amended by revising Code Section
12-3-194, relating to powers of association generally, as follows:
"12-3-194.
The association shall have, in addition to any other powers conferred in this part, the
following powers:
(1) To have a seal and alter it at its pleasure;
(2) To acquire Stone Mountain and such surrounding area as the association may deem
necessary for the proper development, management, preservation, and protection of Stone
Mountain, by purchase from the owner or owners thereof, and to pay therefor such price
as may be agreed upon;
(3) To acquire, by purchase, lease, or otherwise, and to hold, lease, and dispose of, in any
manner, real and personal property of every kind and character for its corporate
purposes,; <del>provided, however, that as provided</del> <ins>subject to the prohibitions set forth</ins> in
subsection (b) of Code Section 50-16-3.1, <del>no real property may be sold unless necessary
for a public road right of way</del> <ins>and provided that:
(A) The association shall maintain an inventory of its real property in compliance with
Code Section 50-16-121;
(B) Any real property acquired or sold by the association shall be subject to the
requirements of Code Section 50-16-122; and
(C) Upon the sale of any real property, the funds from such sale shall be remitted to the
association for purposes consistent with the provisions of this part;
</ins> (4) To appoint such additional officers, who need not be members of the association, as
the association deems advisable, and to employ such experts, agents, and employees as
may be in its judgment necessary to carry on properly the business of the association; to
fix the compensation for such officers, experts, agents, and employees and to promote
and discharge same; provided, however, that all legal services for the association except
legal services in validating and approving bonds authorized by this part shall be rendered
by the Attorney General and his staff and no fee shall be paid to any attorney or law firm
for legal services within or outside the State of Georgia, except for validating and
approving such bonds. The association shall have authority to pay such federal fees,
stamps, and all licenses, together with any court costs that may be incurred by virtue of
the powers granted by this part;
(5) To make such contracts and agreements as the legitimate and necessary purposes of
this part shall require and to make all other contracts and agreements as may be necessary
or convenient in the management of the affairs of the association or in the operation of
the project, including, but not limited to, any lease of the project or any part thereof, and
any contract with respect to the use of the property or any part thereof for concessions,
services, or accommodations to be offered to the public within the project area. Any and
all persons, firms, and corporations, including any public officer or agency, are
authorized to enter into contracts, leases, or agreements with the association upon such
terms and for such purposes as may be deemed advisable;
(6) To construct, reconstruct, lay out, repair, develop, improve, maintain, equip, manage,
and operate the project as defined in Code Section 12-3-191, the cost of any such action
to be paid in whole or in part from the proceeds of revenue bonds of the association;
provided, however, that:
(A) The association shall not undertake any such activity having a projected cost of
over $1 million unless it has first evaluated the feasibility of involving private persons
or entities in the development, construction, operation, and management of the project,
including the proposed activities, and has filed a copy of such evaluation with the
Office of Planning and Budget and with the Recreational Authorities Overview
Committee; and
(B) Except as contained in the master plan as it existed on January 1, 1995, no
development shall occur within the bounds of the natural district. The venues for the
1996 Summer Olympic Games for archery and for the velodrome shall be removed at
the completion of the Olympic Games and the grounds returned to an undeveloped
state. After the removal of such construction, only construction contained in the master
plan as it existed on January 1, 1995, may take place in the natural district except as the
master plan may be amended in accordance with Code Section 12-3-194.2;
(7) To borrow money for any of its corporate purposes and to issue bonds and other
evidence of indebtedness for such purposes as provided in this part;
(8) To pledge to the payment of its bonds any property or revenues derived therefrom;
(9) To establish rates, tolls, fees, and charges for its facilities and services, including fees
or charges for access to the memorial, and to alter such rates and charges, and to collect
and enforce collection of the same; provided, however, that the association shall be a
nonprofit organization, and such rates, tolls, fees, and charges shall be only sufficient to
produce funds necessary to construct, reconstruct, develop, improve, equip, manage, and
operate the project and to pay the principal of and the interest on obligations of the
association and expenses in connection therewith and to create reserves therefrom for the
purpose of adding to, extending, improving, and equipping the project;
(10) To exercise any power which may be granted or authorized to be granted to private
corporations, not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this state nor with the other
provisions of this part;
(11) To prescribe rules and regulations for the operation of the project, should the
association deem such rules and regulations necessary;
(12) To do and perform all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers
conferred upon the association;
(13) To make reasonable regulations for the installation, construction, maintenance,
repair, renewal, removal, and relocation of pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, poles,
towers, tracts, and other equipment and appliances of any public utility in, on, along,
over, or under the project or any part thereof; and
(14) To sell, upon obtaining a license from the Department of Revenue, alcoholic
beverages, as defined in Title 3, at any motel, hotel, restaurant, coliseum area, or
convention center of the association and at any group or meeting function closed to the
general public and for which services are provided by contract with the association within
or upon property or facilities owned, operated, used, or controlled by the Stone Mountain
Memorial Association, but no licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages in unbroken
packages for carry-out purposes shall be issued."
SECTION 2.
Article 1 of Chapter 16 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
public property of state generally, is amended by revising Code Section 50-16-3.1, relating
to state authorities prohibited from selling real property and exceptions, as follows:
"50-16-3.1.
<del>(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'state authority' means:
(1) The Jekyll Island—State Park Authority provided for in Part 1 of Article 7 of Chapter
3 of Title 12; or
(2) The Stone Mountain Memorial Association provided for in Part 4 of Article 6 of
Chapter 3 of Title 12.
(b) The provisions of any other laws of this state to the contrary notwithstanding, no state
authority shall be authorized to sell real property; provided, however, this prohibition shall
not apply to the sale or other disposition of real property by a state authority when such real
property is necessary for a public road right of way.
</del> <ins>(a) Notwithstanding any other laws of this state to the contrary, the Jekyll Island—State
Park Authority provided for in Part 1 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 12 shall not be
authorized to sell real property; provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to
the sale or other disposition of real property by such authority when the sale of the real
property is necessary for a public road right of way.
(b) Notwithstanding any other laws of this state to the contrary, the Stone Mountain
Memorial Association provided for in Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 3 of Title 12 shall not
be authorized to sell real property acquired by such association prior to January 1, 1971,
and such property shall be held in trust for the benefit of the citizens of this state; provided,
however, that this prohibition shall not apply to the sale or other disposition of such real
</ins>
<ins>property by such association when the sale of the real property is necessary for a public
road right of way."
</ins> 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.

House Bill 1415 would require the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to hold in trust all real property it acquired before January 1, 1971, and bar the association from selling that land except for public road right of way.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law already limited state authorities from selling real property, but this bill narrows and strengthens that rule specifically for the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. It separates the association's rules from those covering the Jekyll Island-State Park Authority, which had shared the same code section.
Under the bill, any real property the association acquired before January 1, 1971 must be held in trust for the benefit of Georgia's citizens and cannot be sold, with the only exception being land needed for a public road right of way. The bill also requires the association to keep an inventory of its real property, follow existing state rules on acquiring and selling property, and send any proceeds from an allowed sale back to the association for uses consistent with its purpose. These changes take effect once the law is enacted.

### What it does

- Requires the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to hold all real property it obtained before January 1, 1971 in trust for the benefit of Georgia citizens.
- Prohibits the association from selling any of that pre-1971 real property except when the sale is necessary for a public road right of way.
- Separates the Stone Mountain Memorial Association's property rules from the Jekyll Island-State Park Authority's, which previously shared the same code section.
- Requires the association to maintain a real property inventory under Georgia's public property law (O.C.G.A. § 50-16-121).
- Requires that any real property the association acquires or sells follow the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 50-16-122.
- Directs that proceeds from any permitted sale of real property be returned to the association for purposes tied to its official mission.

### Who it affects

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which manages Stone Mountain Park, and Georgia citizens who benefit from the land being held in trust. The Jekyll Island-State Park Authority is also affected since its rules are now written separately from the association's.

### Why it matters

The bill would make it harder for the association to sell historic Stone Mountain land acquired before 1971, locking most of that property into public trust status except for road projects. This limits future changes in how that land could be used or transferred, regardless of future association decisions.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 12-3-194 so the association's power to sell real property is now explicitly limited by the new trust and sale prohibition in O.C.G.A. § 50-16-3.1.
- Section 1 adds a requirement that the association maintain a real property inventory under O.C.G.A. § 50-16-121 and follow acquisition and sale rules under O.C.G.A. § 50-16-122.
- Section 1 requires that proceeds from any permitted sale be remitted back to the association for purposes consistent with its statutory mission.
- Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 50-16-3.1 to separate the Jekyll Island-State Park Authority (subsection (a)) from the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (subsection (b)).
- Section 2 creates a specific rule for the Stone Mountain Memorial Association: real property acquired before January 1, 1971 cannot be sold and must be held in trust for the benefit of Georgia's citizens, except for public road right of way sales.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Devan Seabaugh, Steven Sainz, Reynaldo Martinez, Mary Oliver, Billy Mitchell, Alan Powell, Drew Echols
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73469

> The history, votes, and amendments (951 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1415.md?full=1