Georgia CommonsHB 243: Stone Mountain Memorial Association; revise purpose
Last action February 6, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would rewrite the stated legal purpose of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, dropping its mission to maintain a Confederate memorial and replacing it with a mandate to educate the public about the mountain's natural and human history.
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 Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia law lists official purposes for the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, the state body that manages Stone Mountain Park. Currently one of those purposes is to maintain an appropriate and suitable memorial for the Confederacy. This bill would remove that language from Georgia's code (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-192.1) entirely. In its place, the bill adds a new purpose: educating the public about the natural history of the mountain and its environment, and about the history of human interaction with the mountain and its surroundings. The bill keeps the association's other two existing purposes, preserving the park's natural areas and providing public access to Stone Mountain, unchanged. The bill does not set an effective date beyond the standard process, and it repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Removes the Confederate memorial purpose from the Stone Mountain Memorial Association's legal mission statement in Georgia law.
- Adds a new stated purpose directing the association to educate the public about the mountain's natural history and environment.
- Adds a related purpose covering education about the history of human interaction with the mountain and its surroundings.
- Leaves unchanged the association's existing purposes of preserving natural areas and providing public access to Stone Mountain.
Who it affects
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which manages Stone Mountain Park, and by extension park visitors, historians, and Georgians interested in how the state presents the park's Confederate history and natural features.
Why it matters
Because the association's legal purpose shapes how it plans, funds, and presents the park, removing the Confederate memorial mandate and adding an educational focus could change exhibits, programming, or interpretive materials visitors encounter at Stone Mountain.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 12-3-192.1, the code section listing the association's purposes.
- The bill strikes the existing purpose 'To maintain an appropriate and suitable memorial for the Confederacy.'
- The bill inserts new purpose language directing education about the mountain's natural history and environment and the history of human interaction with it.
- Section 2 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.
From the bill
“To educate the public about the natural history of the mountain and its environment, and the history of human interaction with the mountain and its surroundings.”
“To maintain an appropriate and suitable memorial for the Confederacy”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
- Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
- Angela Moore (D, HD-091)
- Dar'shun Kendrick (D, HD-095)
- Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
- Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)
Topics
- Stone Mountain Park
- Confederate memorials
- state parks
- Georgia history education