--- title: HB 493. State symbols; pineywoods cattle as official Georgia heritage cattle breed; designate collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb493 cite_as: HB 493, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb493 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb493.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb493/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70417 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb492.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb494.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 235 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb493.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 493 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-18 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Jutt Howard - David Huddleston - Jason Ridley - Danny Mathis - Jaclyn Ford - Martin Momtahan text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB493/2025 upstream_id: 1974232 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - state symbols - heritage cattle - Georgia agriculture history - livestock conservation --- # HB 493. State symbols; pineywoods cattle as official Georgia heritage cattle breed; designate ## Text 25 LC 62 0092 House Bill 493 By: Representatives Howard of the 71st, Huddleston of the 72nd, Ridley of the 6th, Mathis of the 133rd, Ford of the 170th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to other state symbols, so as to designate pineywoods cattle as the official Georgia2 heritage cattle breed; to provide for legislative findings and declarations; to provide for3 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:7 (1) Pineywoods cattle have been in Georgia and the Southeast since the 1500s and were8 a staple part of everyday work life and a key component to the economic landscape of9 what would become this state;10 (2) Pineywoods cattle herds were raised by not only European s ettlers but also by the11 Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chocktaw, and Chickasaw;12 (3) Over time, pineywoods cattle became adapted to the Southeast, resulting in the breed13 becoming heat tolerant, resilient, resistant to parasites and d iseases, and able to be14 productive on marginal foliage;15 H. B. 493 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0092 (4) Pineywoods cattle were extremely self sufficient, living l argely independent of16 cattlemen and being driven to a new area only by necessity;17 (5) The breed was used for pulling timber from forests, plowin g fields, and hauling18 goods to market in addition to beef and dairy production;19 (6) Beginning in the 1950s, larger breeds became favored for t he purpose of gaining20 weight on grain, and survival characteristics and disease resistance were bred out of the21 larger breeds;22 (7) Only a few families continue to keep purebred pineywoods cattle herds, creating a23 few distinct strains. The Georgia strains include Holt, Purvis, Albany, and Popple;24 (8) The Livestock Conservancy currently lists the breed and related strains as threatened,25 with fewer than 1,000 annual registrations in the United States;26 (9) Pineywoods cattle are being utilized in holistic grazing initiatives to recover native27 species due the breed's adaptability to the climate and challen ging terrain of the28 Southeast; and29 (10) Establishing pineywoods cattle as the official Georgia he ritage cattle breed is30 necessary to fully recognize the importance of the breed and its contributions to Georgia31 history.32 SECTION 2.33 Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to other34 state symbols, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:35 "50-3-94.36 Pineywoods cattle are designated as the official Georgia heritage cattle breed."37 SECTION 3.38 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.39 H. B. 493 - 2 - ## 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 name pineywoods cattle, a heat-tolerant heritage breed raised in the state since the 1500s, as Georgia's official heritage cattle breed. ### Plain-language summary This bill adds a new symbolic designation to Georgia law. It amends the part of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A. Title 50) that lists official state symbols, adding pineywoods cattle as the official Georgia heritage cattle breed. The bill opens with a long list of legislative findings explaining why: pineywoods cattle have been raised in Georgia and the Southeast since the 1500s by European settlers and Native American tribes including the Cherokee and Creek, the breed became naturally heat tolerant and disease resistant, and it was used for farm labor, beef, and dairy. The findings note the breed is now listed as threatened, with only a few Georgia family strains (Holt, Purvis, Albany, and Popple) remaining. The bill creates a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 50-3-94, stating simply that pineywoods cattle are the official Georgia heritage cattle breed, and repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Adds a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 50-3-94, designating pineywoods cattle as the official Georgia heritage cattle breed. - States legislative findings describing the history, traits, and current threatened status of the pineywoods cattle breed in Georgia. - Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new designation. ### Who it affects The designation mainly affects the small number of Georgia families and ranchers who raise purebred pineywoods cattle strains, along with heritage livestock conservation groups. It does not impose new duties, costs, or regulations on the general public or businesses. ### Why it matters The bill gives official state recognition to a historic, now-threatened cattle breed with deep roots in Georgia and Southeastern Native American and settler history. It carries symbolic weight for heritage preservation but does not change any regulations, funding, or enforcement. ### Key provisions - Section 1 lists ten legislative findings on the history, adaptability, and threatened status of pineywoods cattle in Georgia. - Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 50-3-94, stating that pineywoods cattle are the official Georgia heritage cattle breed. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision with no substantive effect here. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-18) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Jutt Howard, David Huddleston, Jason Ridley, Danny Mathis, Jaclyn Ford, Martin Momtahan - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70417 > The history, votes, and amendments (235 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb493.md?full=1