--- title: HB 166. State holidays; fourth Friday in November as National Sugarcane Syrup Day; designate collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb166 cite_as: HB 166, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb166 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb166.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb166/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69643 date: 2025-02-03 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/hb165.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb167.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb166.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 166 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-29 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Lehman Franklin - John Corbett - Leesa Hagan - Debbie Buckner - Vance Smith - Bill Yearta text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB166/2025 upstream_id: 1947659 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - state holidays - sugarcane syrup - Georgia agriculture - farm traditions --- # HB 166. State holidays; fourth Friday in November as National Sugarcane Syrup Day; designate ## Text House Bill 166 By: Representatives Franklin of the 160th, Corbett of the 174th, Hagan of the 156th, Buckner of the 137th, Smith of the 138th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 4 of Title 1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to holidays and observances, so as to designate the fourth Friday in November of each year as "National Sugarcane Syrup Day" in Georgia; to provide legislative findings and declarations; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that: (1) Making sugarcane syrup has been a part of family farm tradition for generations, particularly in Georgia; (2) The increase in production costs, competition from artificial syrups, and the decreasing number of farmers who still make sugarcane syrup, however, has led some to refer to the making of sugarcane syrup as a dying art; (3) Establishing a "National Sugarcane Syrup Day" in Georgia would help to preserve the art of making sugarcane syrup by honoring those who continue with this long-standing family farm tradition and by raising public awareness of the differences between natural sugarcane syrup and artificial syrups; (4) Designating the fourth Friday in November of each year, the day after Thanksgiving, as "National Sugarcane Syrup Day" is particularly fitting, as it is not only a time when families gather and celebrate together, but also a time when some say sugarcane is at its sweetest in Georgia; and (5) It is, therefore, abundantly fitting and proper that the State of Georgia appropriately recognize and honor the family farm tradition of making sugarcane syrup by designating the fourth Friday in November of each year as "National Sugarcane Syrup Day" in Georgia. SECTION 2. Chapter 4 of Title 1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to holidays and observances, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "1-4-27. The fourth Friday in November of each year is designated as 'National Sugarcane Syrup Day' in Georgia." 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. A Georgia House bill would officially designate the fourth Friday in November, the day after Thanksgiving, as 'National Sugarcane Syrup Day' in the state to honor traditional sugarcane syrup making. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently has no official day recognizing sugarcane syrup making, a farming tradition the bill's findings describe as fading due to rising costs and competition from artificial syrups. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's holidays and observances law to fix that. The bill adds a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 1-4-27, designating the fourth Friday in November each year, the day after Thanksgiving, as 'National Sugarcane Syrup Day' in Georgia. The bill includes legislative findings explaining the reasoning: sugarcane syrup making is a longstanding family farm tradition, it faces economic pressure, and late November is when Georgia sugarcane is said to be at its sweetest. The designation does not create a paid state holiday or close government offices; it is a symbolic recognition. The bill repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 1-4-27) to Georgia law designating the fourth Friday in November as 'National Sugarcane Syrup Day'. - Includes legislative findings framing sugarcane syrup making as a family farm tradition facing decline from costs and artificial syrup competition. - Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new designation. - Does not establish a paid state holiday, close government offices, or create any funding, program, or enforcement mechanism. ### Who it affects Georgia farmers and families involved in traditional sugarcane syrup production, and more broadly any Georgian interested in the symbolic recognition, since the bill creates no regulatory requirements or funding affecting businesses, agencies, or the public. ### Why it matters The bill would give sugarcane syrup making formal state recognition on a specific day each year, which could raise public awareness of the tradition and the difference between natural and artificial syrups, though it carries no funding, mandates, or legal obligations. ### Key provisions - Section 1 lays out legislative findings describing sugarcane syrup making as a fading family farm tradition worth preserving and publicizing. - Section 2 adds new Code section 1-4-27, designating the fourth Friday in November each year as 'National Sugarcane Syrup Day' in Georgia. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision with no substantive effect here. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-29) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-03) - Sponsors: Lehman Franklin, John Corbett, Leesa Hagan, Debbie Buckner, Vance Smith, Bill Yearta - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69643 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb166.md?full=1