--- title: HR 71. Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway; Baldwin County; dedicate collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr71 cite_as: HR 71, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr71 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr71.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr71/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69585 date: 2025-01-30 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/hr70.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr72.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr71.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 71 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-01-28 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Floyd Griffin text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR71/2025 upstream_id: 1945187 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - highway dedication - Baldwin County - Georgia sports history - memorial resolution --- # HR 71. Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway; Baldwin County; dedicate ## Text House Resolution 71 By: Representative Griffin of the 149th A RESOLUTION Honoring the life and memory of Ms. Latasha R. Butts and dedicating a road in her memory; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the State of Georgia lost one of its finest citizens with the passing of Ms. Latasha R. Butts on October 21, 2024; and WHEREAS, a native of Milledgeville, Georgia, Ms. Butts was a basketball star at the University of Tennessee with four regular season Southeastern Conference Championship wins before being drafted to the WNBA in 2004 by the Minnesota Lynx; and WHEREAS, during her season in the WNBA, Ms. Butts played in 30 games and helped the franchise achieve a record 18 victories and a playoff appearance; and WHEREAS, after a year with the WNBA, Ms. Butts returned to the University of Tennessee as a graduate assistant and later played basketball overseas in Portugal and Israel, as well as with the WNBA's Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets; and WHEREAS, she coached for three seasons at UCLA, eight seasons at LSU, and four seasons at Georgia Tech; and WHEREAS, Ms. Butts was serving as the head coach of the Georgetown University basketball team at the time of her passing; and WHEREAS, she was highly regarded in the basketball community and was known as a coach who expected excellence and cared deeply for her players; and WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized by dedicating a road in her memory. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the portion of State Route 49 from the Milledgeville Bypass SR 29/US 441 to the Macon Bibb County line in Baldwin County is dedicated as the Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway. 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 family of Ms. Latasha R. Butts and to the Department of Transportation. ## 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 would honor the late basketball player and coach Latasha R. Butts by naming a stretch of State Route 49 in Baldwin County after her. ### Plain-language summary This resolution recognizes Latasha R. Butts, a Milledgeville native and basketball standout who played in the WNBA, coached at UCLA, LSU, and Georgia Tech, and was head coach at Georgetown University when she died in October 2024. The resolution recounts her career and states that it is fitting to honor her with a highway dedication. The operative part of the resolution designates the section of State Route 49 running from the Milledgeville Bypass (SR 29/US 441) to the Macon Bibb County line in Baldwin County as the Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway. It directs the Georgia Department of Transportation to erect and maintain signs marking the dedication, and directs the Clerk of the House to send copies of the resolution to her family and to the Department of Transportation. ### What it does - Names the stretch of State Route 49 between the Milledgeville Bypass and the Macon Bibb County line the Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway. - Directs the Georgia Department of Transportation to put up and maintain signs marking the dedicated highway segment. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to send copies of the resolution to Butts's family and to the Department of Transportation. ### Who it affects The resolution most directly affects the Georgia Department of Transportation, which must install and maintain signage, and residents and drivers in Baldwin County along the designated stretch of State Route 49. It also formally honors Latasha R. Butts's family. ### Why it matters The resolution has no regulatory or financial effect beyond signage; its significance is symbolic, giving permanent public recognition to a Georgia athlete and coach along a specific highway segment that Baldwin County residents and travelers will now see marked with her name. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses detail Butts's basketball career at the University of Tennessee, in the WNBA, overseas, and as a coach at UCLA, LSU, Georgia Tech, and Georgetown. - The resolving clause designates the portion of State Route 49 from the Milledgeville Bypass SR 29/US 441 to the Macon Bibb County line as the Latasha R. Butts Memorial Highway. - A further resolved clause authorizes and directs the Department of Transportation to erect and maintain appropriate signs for the dedication. - A final clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to Butts's family and the Department of Transportation. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-28) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-30) - Sponsors: Floyd Griffin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69585 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr71.md?full=1