---
title: HB 243. Stone Mountain Memorial Association; revise purpose
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb243
cite_as: HB 243, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb243
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb243.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb243/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69848
date: 2025-02-06
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.
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previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb242.md
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb243.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 243
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-04
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Billy Mitchell
- Mary Oliver
- Angela Moore
- Dar'shun Kendrick
- Scott Holcomb
- Karen Lupton
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB243/2025
upstream_id: 1955733
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- Stone Mountain Park
- Confederate memorials
- state parks
- Georgia history education
---
# HB 243. Stone Mountain Memorial Association; revise purpose
## Text
House Bill 243
By: Representatives Mitchell of the 88th, Oliver of the 84th, Moore of the 91st, Kendrick of
the 95th, Holcomb of the 101st, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend 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, so as to revise the purpose
of the association; 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
12-3-192.1, relating to the purpose of the association, as follows:
"12-3-192.1.
The purposes of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association shall include:
(1) To preserve the natural areas situated within the Stone Mountain Park area;
(2) To provide access to Stone Mountain for Georgia's citizens; and
(3) To maintain an appropriate and suitable memorial for the Confederacy 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."
SECTION 2.
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 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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-04)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-06)
- Sponsors: Billy Mitchell, Mary Oliver, Angela Moore, Dar'shun Kendrick, Scott Holcomb, Karen Lupton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69848
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb243.md?full=1