HR1767: HR1767 Herring, Robert McNeill (Neill); years of service at the Georgia General Assembly; commend

26 LC 112 3874 House Resolution 1767 By: Representatives Buckner of the 137 th, Hugley of the 141 st, Williams of the 168 th, Holcomb of the 101st, Greene of the 154th, and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring for his years of service at the1 Georgia General Assembly; and for other purposes.2 WHEREAS, Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring is a native Georgian wh o hails from Dalton,3 attended Emory at Oxford College, and graduated from Georgia State University; and4 WHEREAS, Neill Herring was invited to be a page at the Georgia General Assembly during5 his teenage years, which sparked a lifelong passion for lobbying; and6 WHEREAS, he has worked as a lobbyist at every session of the Georgia General Assembly7 since 1980, working tirelessly with both republicans and democrats for the last 47 years; and 8 WHEREAS, he has been a principal lobbyist for the Sierra Club since 1989 and has worked9 to represent a number of other Georgia public interest groups d uring his career, including10 Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the Georgia Water Coalition; and 11 WHEREAS, his accomplishments have included the defeat of major road projects such as12 the Georgia Outer Perimeter and Northern Arc; and13 H. R. 1767 - 1 - 26 LC 112 3874 WHEREAS, in 1994, Neill Herring worked with legislative leaders hip Larry Walker and14 Tom Murphy to pass HB 1443, which created the Office of State Administrative Hearings;15 and16 WHEREAS, he has been a tireless advocate for clean water in Georgia, recognizing it as a17 public resource and working successfully to defeat efforts to undermine Georgia's riparian18 rights system in 2003 (HB 237) and 2013 (SB 213); and19 WHEREAS, Neill Herring has pushed for and secured enhanced protections for Jekyll Island20 and other significant Georgia natural areas; and 21 WHEREAS, he has defeated a number of landfill and pipeline prop osals over the decades22 that would have impacted private property rights and worked to protect landowners from23 improper use of eminent domain by passing the Landowners Bill of Rights in 2006; and 24 WHEREAS, he worked to secure legislation to improve funding for MARTA in 2015 and25 advocated for better transit investments in Georgia; and 26 WHEREAS, he worked relentlessly to pass a referendum to adopt a constitutional27 amendment to dedicate Georgia's Hazardous and Solid Waste Trust Funds so that the General28 Assembly did not divert those monies into the General Fund, and this effort was successful29 in 2020 and 2021; and30 WHEREAS, one of his biggest legislative disappointments has been the failure to have "Tutti31 Frutti" by Little Richard designated as the official rock and roll song of Georgia.32 H. R. 1767 - 2 - 26 LC 112 3874 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that33 the members of this body recognize and commend Robert McNeill ( Neill) Herring for his34 efficient, effective, unselfish, and dedicated public service to the State of Georgia as well as35 extend the most sincere best wishes for continued health and happiness. 36 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized37 and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution ava ilable for distribution to38 Robert McNeill (Neill) Herring.39 H. R. 1767 - 3 -