--- title: HR 1767. Herring, Robert McNeill (Neill); years of service at the Georgia General Assembly; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1767 cite_as: HR 1767, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1767 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1767.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1767/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74230 date: 2026-03-18 status: passed 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1766.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1768.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1767.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1767 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-18 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Debbie Buckner - Carolyn Hugley - Al Williams - Scott Holcomb - Gerald Greene - Ron Stephens text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1767/2025 upstream_id: 2135900 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - legislative honor - lobbying - Georgia General Assembly - environmental advocacy --- # HR 1767. Herring, Robert McNeill (Neill); years of service at the Georgia General Assembly; commend ## Text House Resolution 1767 By: Representatives Buckner of the 137th, Hugley of the 141st, Williams of the 168th, Holcomb of the 101st, Greene of the 154th, and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring for his years of service at the Georgia General Assembly; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring is a native Georgian who hails from Dalton, attended Emory at Oxford College, and graduated from Georgia State University; and WHEREAS, Neill Herring was invited to be a page at the Georgia General Assembly during his teenage years, which sparked a lifelong passion for lobbying; and WHEREAS, he has worked as a lobbyist at every session of the Georgia General Assembly since 1980, working tirelessly with both republicans and democrats for the last 47 years; and WHEREAS, he has been a principal lobbyist for the Sierra Club since 1989 and has worked to represent a number of other Georgia public interest groups during his career, including Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the Georgia Water Coalition; and WHEREAS, his accomplishments have included the defeat of major road projects such as the Georgia Outer Perimeter and Northern Arc; and WHEREAS, in 1994, Neill Herring worked with legislative leadership Larry Walker and Tom Murphy to pass HB 1443, which created the Office of State Administrative Hearings; and WHEREAS, he has been a tireless advocate for clean water in Georgia, recognizing it as a public resource and working successfully to defeat efforts to undermine Georgia's riparian rights system in 2003 (HB 237) and 2013 (SB 213); and WHEREAS, Neill Herring has pushed for and secured enhanced protections for Jekyll Island and other significant Georgia natural areas; and WHEREAS, he has defeated a number of landfill and pipeline proposals over the decades that would have impacted private property rights and worked to protect landowners from improper use of eminent domain by passing the Landowners Bill of Rights in 2006; and WHEREAS, he worked to secure legislation to improve funding for MARTA in 2015 and advocated for better transit investments in Georgia; and WHEREAS, he worked relentlessly to pass a referendum to adopt a constitutional amendment to dedicate Georgia's Hazardous and Solid Waste Trust Funds so that the General Assembly did not divert those monies into the General Fund, and this effort was successful in 2020 and 2021; and WHEREAS, one of his biggest legislative disappointments has been the failure to have "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard designated as the official rock and roll song of Georgia. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize and commend Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring for his efficient, effective, unselfish, and dedicated public service to the State of Georgia as well as extend the most sincere best wishes for continued health and happiness. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring. ## 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 Georgia House resolution commends longtime Statehouse lobbyist Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring for 47 years of advocacy work at the Georgia General Assembly. ### Plain-language summary This resolution is a ceremonial honor from the Georgia House of Representatives. It does not change any Georgia law. Instead, it recognizes Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring, a lobbyist who has worked at every session of the Georgia General Assembly since 1980, for his career representing public interest groups such as the Sierra Club, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and the Georgia Water Coalition. The resolution recounts his role in defeating major road projects, helping pass the 1994 law creating the Office of State Administrative Hearings, defending Georgia's riparian water rights system, securing protections for Jekyll Island, passing the 2006 Landowners Bill of Rights, improving MARTA funding in 2015, and helping dedicate Georgia's Hazardous and Solid Waste Trust Funds. The House formally commends him and directs the Clerk of the House to prepare a copy of the resolution for him. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and commends Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring for his service as a lobbyist at the Georgia General Assembly since 1980. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to Herring. - Creates no new law, funding, or penalty; it is a ceremonial statement of the House's appreciation. - Lists specific legislative efforts Herring worked on, including the 1994 Office of State Administrative Hearings law and the 2006 Landowners Bill of Rights. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names and honors one individual, lobbyist Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring. It does not impose duties or create rights for any broader group of Georgians, businesses, or agencies beyond directing the Clerk of the House to distribute a copy of the resolution. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or financial effect and changes nothing about how Georgia is governed. Its significance is symbolic, marking public recognition by the state legislature of one lobbyist's decades of advocacy work on environmental, transit, and property rights issues. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses recount Herring's biography and career highlights, including his work since 1980 and his role with the Sierra Club since 1989. - The resolved clause formally commends Herring for his public service and extends best wishes for his health and happiness. - A further resolved clause directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make a copy of the resolution available to Herring. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-18) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-03-18) - Sponsors: Debbie Buckner, Carolyn Hugley, Al Williams, Scott Holcomb, Gerald Greene, Ron Stephens - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74230 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1767.md?full=1