---
title: HR 1747. House Study Committee on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems; create
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr1747
cite_as: HR 1747, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1747
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1747.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1747/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74165
date: 2026-03-19
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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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 132
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1747.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 1747
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-03-16
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Rick Townsend
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1747/2025
upstream_id: 2134548
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - coastal ecosystems
  - fishing industry
  - fish stocks
  - salt marsh conservation
  - legislative study committees
---

# HR 1747. House Study Committee on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems; create

## Text

House Resolution 1747
By: Representative Townsend of the 179th
A RESOLUTION
Creating the House Study Committee on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems; and
for other purposes.
WHEREAS, coastal Georgia is a unique part of this diverse state with a half million acres
of estuaries, 368,000 acres of salt marsh, over 3,400 miles of tidal shoreline, and 11 coastal
counties; and
WHEREAS, coastal Georgia supports a vibrant fishing industry; and
WHEREAS, recent fish stock assessments indicate that certain fish stocks in this state are
both overfished and experiencing overfishing; and
WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to study Georgia's salt-water ecosystems to evaluate
whether any action may be taken by the state to help rebuild fish stocks, protect spawning
adults, and ensure sustainability and good fishing opportunities in the future.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee
on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems.
(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of seven members of the
House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson
of the committee.
(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,
issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or
legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.
(4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee
may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or
convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and
accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.
(5) Allowances and funding.
(A) Members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code
Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
(B) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member
of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds
necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds
appropriated to the House of Representatives.
(6) Report.
(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that
include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the
same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for
proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)
of this paragraph.
(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of
abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.
A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with
the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the
House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu
thereof.
(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A House resolution would create a seven-member study committee to examine Georgia's coastal fish stocks and salt-water ecosystems, with the group set to disband by December 1, 2026.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's coast includes hundreds of thousands of acres of estuaries and salt marsh and supports a large fishing industry, but the resolution notes that some fish stocks are currently overfished. This resolution creates the House Study Committee on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems to look into the problem.
The Speaker of the House would appoint seven House members to the committee and name one as chairperson. The committee could hold meetings as needed, study the issues, and recommend legislation or other action. Members would get standard legislative allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five meeting days unless more are approved, paid from the House's existing budget. Any findings would have to be approved by a majority of a quorum and filed with the Clerk of the House before the committee is abolished on December 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Creates a new seven-member House Study Committee on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems.
- Directs the Speaker of the House to appoint all seven members and designate one as chairperson.
- Authorizes the committee to study coastal fish stock declines and recommend legislation or other state action.
- Sets standard legislative per diem allowances for members, capped at five days unless additional days are approved.
- Requires any approved findings or recommendations to be filed as a report with the Clerk of the House before the committee ends.
- Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026.

### Who it affects

Members of the Georgia House of Representatives appointed to the committee, coastal fishing communities and the commercial and recreational fishing industry in Georgia's 11 coastal counties, and state agencies that might act on any legislation the committee recommends.

### Why it matters

If fish stocks along Georgia's coast remain overfished, the state's fishing industry and coastal ecosystems could face long-term strain. This committee would give lawmakers a formal way to study the problem and propose fixes, though it creates no new rules or funding on its own.

### Key provisions

- Paragraph 1 creates the House Study Committee on Restoring Georgia's Salt-Water Ecosystems.
- Paragraph 2 sets the committee at seven House members appointed by the Speaker, who also names the chairperson.
- Paragraph 3 charges the committee with studying salt-water ecosystem conditions and recommending action or legislation.
- Paragraph 5 caps paid allowances at five meeting days unless more are authorized, funded from the House's existing appropriated funds.
- Paragraph 6 requires any report with legislative recommendations to be approved by majority vote of a quorum and filed with the Clerk of the House.
- Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-03-16)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-19)
- Sponsors: Rick Townsend
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74165

> The history, votes, and amendments (132 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1747.md?full=1