Georgia CommonsSR 584: State-wide Water Management Plan; ratify amendments
Last action January 27, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred
A Senate resolution would ratify updates to Georgia's comprehensive state-wide water management plan, approving amendments the Water Council adopted in December 2025.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia's original comprehensive water management plan was developed by the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources, adopted by the Water Council in 2008, and ratified by the General Assembly that year. State law (O.C.G.A. § 12-5-525) requires the legislature to ratify the plan and any later amendments before they take effect. The Water Council reconvened in September 2025 to consider updates and adopted amendments to the plan on December 9, 2025. This resolution formally ratifies those amendments, giving the updated plan legal force and effect. It also states that if any part of the plan ever conflicts with a statute passed by the General Assembly, the statute wins. The resolution would take effect once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.
What the bill does
- Ratifies the amendments to the state-wide water management plan that the Water Council adopted on December 9, 2025.
- Gives the amended, nonstatutory plan legal force and effect once ratified.
- Establishes that any conflict between the plan and a current or future state statute is resolved in favor of the statute.
- Sets the resolution's effective date as the date the Governor signs it or it becomes law without signature.
- Repeals any prior laws or parts of laws that conflict with this resolution.
Who it affects
The Environmental Protection Division and the Water Council, which develop and maintain the plan; state agencies and local governments that manage water resources under the plan; and Georgia water users generally, since the plan guides state-wide water policy.
Why it matters
Without ratification, the Water Council's 2025 updates to the state's water management approach would not carry legal force. Approval means the amended plan becomes the operating framework state and local agencies use to manage Georgia's water resources going forward.
Key provisions
- Paragraph (1) ratifies the specific amendments adopted by the Water Council on December 9, 2025 and filed with the Environmental Protection Division's director.
- Paragraph (2) gives the amended nonstatutory plan force and effect once ratified.
- Paragraph (3) provides that any irreconcilable conflict between the plan and a statute is resolved in favor of the statute, whether the statute is current or enacted later.
- Paragraph (4) sets the effective date as approval by the Governor or becoming law without such approval.
- Paragraph (5) repeals conflicting laws and parts of laws.
From the bill
“That such amended nonstatutory plan shall have force and effect;”
“That in the event any provision of such amended nonstatutory plan irreconcilably conflicts with any current or future statute enacted by the General Assembly, then, to the extent of the conflict, the provisions of such statute shall control”
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
- Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
Topics
- water management
- environmental policy
- Georgia water resources
- state agencies