SR 1049: Senate Study Committee on Acquiring and Management of Lake Lanier; create

Lake Lanier is currently owned and operated entirely by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This resolution creates the Senate Study Committee on Acquiring and Management of Lake Lanier to look at whether Georgia could gain some form of ownership or management control over the lake, which supplies water to more than 3.5 million residents and supports about $5 billion a year in economic activity tied to recreation, real estate, and local businesses. The seven-member committee, appointed by the President of the Senate, would include Senate committee chairs, additional senators, a Department of Natural Resources employee, and a member of the public. It can hold meetings, study issues like water security, water quality, and disputes with Alabama and Florida over shared water resources, and recommend legislation. Legislative members get standard travel and expense allowances, and any report must be approved and filed before the committee is abolished on December 1, 2026.

• Creates the Senate Study Committee on Acquiring and Management of Lake Lanier to study state ownership and management options for the lake.
• Sets committee membership at seven people, including Senate committee chairs, two additional senators, a Department of Natural Resources employee, and a public member, all appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Authorizes the committee to hold meetings, study related issues, and recommend legislation or other action.
• Sets standard legislative expense allowances for senator members and daily expense allowances for non-legislator members under existing Georgia law (O.C.G.A. §§ 28-1-8 and 45-7-21).
• Requires any committee report with legislative recommendations to be approved by majority vote and filed with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee ends.
• Abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

Georgia senators appointed to the committee, the Department of Natural Resources, residents of metro Atlanta and other areas who rely on Lake Lanier for drinking water, and businesses and property owners connected to the lake's recreation and real estate economy.

If lawmakers eventually acted on the committee's findings, it could reshape who controls Lake Lanier's water storage, fees, and management, affecting drinking water costs, park operations, and Georgia's position in long-running water disputes with Alabama and Florida. For now, the resolution only sets up a study, not any actual change in ownership.

• Paragraph (1) creates the Senate Study Committee on Acquiring and Management of Lake Lanier.
• Paragraph (2) sets the committee's seven-member composition and gives the President of the Senate appointment and chairperson-selection authority.
• Paragraph (3) directs the committee to study conditions and issues related to Lake Lanier ownership and management and recommend legislation as needed.
• Paragraph (5) sets member compensation and expense reimbursement rules, capping allowances at five days unless additional days are authorized.
• Paragraph (6) requires a majority-vote-approved report to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee's abolishment, or meeting minutes if no report is approved.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-25Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Primary sponsor
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)

• Lake Lanier
• water rights
• state government studies
• natural resources management
• interstate water disputes