HR 1051: Property; granting of non-exclusive easements of certain state owned property; authorize

The State of Georgia owns land used for prisons, technical colleges, wildlife areas, and other public purposes across many counties. Utility companies, local governments, and state agencies like the Georgia Department of Transportation often need to run power lines, gas lines, roads, or driveways across small portions of that land. This resolution authorizes the State Properties Commission, acting for the State of Georgia, to grant 25 separate non-exclusive easements to specific companies and governments, covering land in Baldwin, Bartow, Bulloch, Camden, Catoosa, Chatham, Chattooga, Clayton, Colquitt, DeKalb, Emanuel, Glynn, Habersham, Hall, Laurens, Long, McDuffie, Morgan, Muscogee, Oconee, Paulding, Peach, Talbot, Tift, and Walton Counties in Georgia, plus Hamilton County, Tennessee. Each easement is limited to a specific purpose, such as installing underground gas or electric lines, building a road, or providing driveway access. The state keeps ownership of the land, can require relocation of facilities if they interfere with state use, and sets a fair payment (from $10 for public-purpose projects up to tens of thousands of dollars for road projects). Each grant expires three years after the resolution takes effect if not used. The resolution takes effect once signed by the Governor or otherwise becoming law.

• Authorizes the State Properties Commission to grant 25 separate non-exclusive easements on state land to named companies, cities, counties, and state agencies.
• Limits each easement to a specific stated purpose, like underground gas lines, electrical lines, road widening, or driveway access, and bars use for anything else.
• Sets payment amounts for each easement, ranging from a nominal $10 for public-purpose projects to $83,700 for a Paulding County road project.
• Requires each grantee to record its easement in the relevant superior court and gives the state the right to reclaim facilities if the easement is abandoned.
• Sets a three-year deadline after the resolution's effective date for each authorized easement to actually be granted.
• Requires easement holders to relocate facilities at their own expense if the state needs the land back, unless the state agrees otherwise.

Utility companies and electric cooperatives (such as Georgia Power, Excelsior Electric, and Flint Electric), cities and counties like Kingsland, Moultrie, Summerville, and Chatham County, the Georgia and Tennessee Departments of Transportation, private landowners like Marathon Realty and HIC Altama, and the state agencies that manage the affected properties, including prisons, technical colleges, and wildlife areas.

These easements let utility upgrades, road projects, and access improvements move forward on land the state controls, affecting infrastructure near prisons, colleges, parks, and a farmers market. Without this authorization, companies and governments could not legally build or maintain facilities on that state-owned property.

• Article I (Sections 1-13) grants Southern Natural Gas Company a natural gas pipeline easement at Central State Hospital in Baldwin County for at least $650.
• Article II (Sections 14-26) grants the Georgia Department of Transportation a road easement over the Western and Atlantic Railroad in Bartow County for $23,700.
• Article XII (Sections 144-156) grants HIC Altama, LLC a stormwater easement at the Altama Plantation Wildlife Management Area in Glynn County, requiring gopher tortoise surveys and relocation as needed.
• Article XXI (Sections 261-273) grants the Georgia Department of Transportation an easement in Paulding County for a road widening project for $83,700, including separate permanent and temporary easement costs.
• Article XXV (Sections 313-325) grants the Tennessee Department of Transportation an easement covering about 116 acres in Hamilton County, Tennessee for road improvement projects.
• Section 326 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the resolution or it otherwise becomes law without signature.
• Every article requires the grantee to remove or relocate facilities at its own cost if the state needs the land, unless the state agrees to cover the cost.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 502
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-25House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-20Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-20Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)Primary sponsor
• Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-031)
• Arlene Beckles (D, HD-096)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
• Robert Flournoy (D, HD-074)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 10, 2026

   164 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 6 absent)

   Adopt: House Vote #493

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 20, 2026

   46 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 6 absent)

   Adoption By Substitute: Senate Vote #765

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2026

   163 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 8 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #756

• state property easements
• utility infrastructure
• road construction projects
• state land management
• Georgia General Assembly resolutions