HB1415: HB1415 Stone Mountain Memorial Association; hold all real property obtained before January 1, 1971, in trust; require

Georgia law already restricted certain state authorities, including the Stone Mountain Memorial Association and the Jekyll Island State Park Authority, from selling real property except when land was needed for a public road right of way. This bill rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 50-16-3.1) to spell out separate rules for each authority. For Stone Mountain, it specifically targets real property the association acquired before January 1, 1971: that land must be held in trust for the benefit of Georgia citizens, and the association cannot sell it unless the sale is necessary for a public road right of way. The bill also updates the association's general powers (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-194) so that any sale of real property is subject to these new trust prohibitions, requires the association to keep an inventory of its real property, follow existing state recordkeeping rules for acquiring or selling property, and send any proceeds from a permitted sale back to the association for its official purposes.

• Requires the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to hold all real property it acquired before January 1, 1971, in trust for the benefit of Georgia citizens.
• Prohibits the association from selling that pre-1971 property except when the sale is necessary for a public road right of way.
• Amends the association's general property powers so any real property sale must comply with the new trust rules in O.C.G.A. § 50-16-3.1.
• Requires the association to maintain an inventory of its real property in line with existing state law (O.C.G.A. § 50-16-121).
• Requires that money from any permitted sale of real property be sent back to the association for purposes consistent with its authorizing law.
• Keeps the existing rule that the Jekyll Island State Park Authority cannot sell real property except for public road right of way, now stated as its own separate provision.

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which manages Stone Mountain Park and its surrounding land, and by extension Georgia residents who use or have an interest in that land as a public trust asset. The Jekyll Island State Park Authority is also referenced, since it shares the same statute governing state authority land sales.

The change creates a specific legal shield around land the association has held since before 1971, meaning that older park property cannot be sold off except for narrow road-related purposes. This affects how much flexibility the association has to sell or repurpose parts of Stone Mountain's land in the future.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 12-3-194(3) so the association's power to acquire, hold, lease, and dispose of property is subject to the sale prohibitions now in O.C.G.A. § 50-16-3.1(b).
• Section 1 adds requirements that the association keep a real property inventory, follow existing acquisition and sale recordkeeping rules, and remit sale proceeds back to the association.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 50-16-3.1 to separate the rules for the Jekyll Island State Park Authority and the Stone Mountain Memorial Association into distinct subsections.
• Section 2 specifies that only Stone Mountain property acquired before January 1, 1971, must be held in trust and cannot be sold except for a public road right of way.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 456
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-31Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-034)Primary sponsor
• Steven Sainz (R, HD-180)
• Reynaldo Martinez (R, HD-111)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   138 yea, 24 nay (4 not voting, 11 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #680

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   47 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #890

• Stone Mountain Park
• public land trust
• state property sales
• Stone Mountain Memorial Association
• Georgia land use law