--- title: HR 1793. Georgia Department of Natural Resources; establish regulations for placement of lifeguards on Georgia's public beaches during times of high occupancy; urge collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1793 cite_as: HR 1793, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1793 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1793.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1793/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74272 date: 2026-03-23 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1792.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1794.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 179 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1793.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1793 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-19 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Bryce Berry - Ron Stephens - Anissa Jones - Steven Sainz - Inga Willis text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1793/2025 upstream_id: 2136405 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - beach safety - lifeguards - Georgia Department of Natural Resources - public beaches - tourism safety --- # HR 1793. Georgia Department of Natural Resources; establish regulations for placement of lifeguards on Georgia's public beaches during times of high occupancy; urge ## Text House Resolution 1793 By: Representatives Berry of the 56th, Stephens of the 164th, Jones of the 143rd, Sainz of the 180th, and Willis of the 55th A RESOLUTION Urging the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to establish regulations for placement of lifeguards on Georgia's public beaches during times of high occupancy; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Georgia's public beaches attract millions of visitors each year and are vital to the state's economic development; and WHEREAS, during peak season, Georgia's public beaches can become crowded which presents increased safety risks for beach visitors and lifeguards; and WHEREAS, it is important for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to take the lead in protecting visitors to public beaches in this state; and WHEREAS, establishing a regulation requiring a lifeguard to be positioned every 150 yards on each public beach during periods of high occupancy will decrease safety risks and tragic outcomes; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body hereby urge the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to establish regulations for placement of lifeguards on Georgia's public beaches during times of high occupancy. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the public, and the press. ## 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 urges the Department of Natural Resources to create rules requiring lifeguards on public beaches during crowded, high-occupancy periods. ### Plain-language summary This resolution does not change Georgia law itself. Instead, it formally urges the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to write new regulations covering lifeguard placement on the state's public beaches when they are heavily used. The resolution points to a specific idea: requiring a lifeguard stationed roughly every 150 yards on public beaches during periods of high occupancy, arguing this would reduce safety risks and prevent tragic outcomes. It also directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the Department of Natural Resources, the public, and the press. Because it is a resolution rather than a bill, it carries no legal requirement; the Department of Natural Resources would decide on its own whether to adopt any such rules. ### What it does - Urges the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to establish regulations on lifeguard placement for public beaches during high-occupancy times. - Cites a specific benchmark of one lifeguard positioned every 150 yards on each public beach during crowded periods. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the Department of Natural Resources, the public, and the press. - Does not itself create any binding legal requirement, since it is a resolution expressing the House's position rather than a change to Georgia statute. ### Who it affects The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which would decide whether to act on the request; beachgoers at Georgia's public beaches; and lifeguards who work those beaches during busy periods, particularly along the coast. ### Why it matters If the Department of Natural Resources follows through, Georgia's public beaches could see more consistently staffed lifeguard coverage during crowded times, potentially reducing drowning and other safety risks. Because it is only a resolution, no lifeguard staffing changes are legally required unless the department separately adopts regulations. ### Key provisions - The resolution states that Georgia's public beaches attract millions of visitors and face increased safety risks during crowded peak periods. - It formally resolves that the House urges the Department of Natural Resources to establish lifeguard placement regulations during high-occupancy times. - It references a specific spacing standard of one lifeguard every 150 yards as the kind of regulation being urged. - It directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies to the Department of Natural Resources, the public, and the press. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-03-19) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-23) - Sponsors: Bryce Berry, Ron Stephens, Anissa Jones, Steven Sainz, Inga Willis - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74272 > The history, votes, and amendments (179 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1793.md?full=1