SR1049: SR1049 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 into whether Georgia could take on some form of ownership or management of the lake. The committee would have seven members appointed by the President of the Senate, including chairs or members of the Natural Resources and Environment, Public Safety, and State Institutions and Property committees, two more senators, a Department of Natural Resources employee, and one member of the public. The committee can hold meetings, study the issue, and recommend legislation. Legislative members get standard travel allowances, and other members can get reimbursed for expenses. The committee must file any report before it is abolished on December 1, 2026.

• Creates a seven member Senate Study Committee on Acquiring and Management of Lake Lanier, appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Directs the committee to study ways Georgia could acquire or manage Lake Lanier, currently controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Allows the committee to hold meetings, gather information, and recommend legislation or other action based on its findings.
• Sets travel and expense allowances for legislative and non-legislative committee members, funded through the Senate's budget or members' home agencies.
• Requires any committee report with legislative recommendations to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee ends.
• Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026, whether or not it has filed a report.

Members of the Georgia Senate appointed to the committee, the Department of Natural Resources, and by extension residents around metro Atlanta and the more than 3.5 million Georgians who rely on Lake Lanier for water, along with businesses tied to the lake's recreation and real estate economy.

If the study leads to future legislation, it could change who controls Lake Lanier's water supply, recreation fees, and water quality management, which currently rests with a federal agency. For now, the resolution only sets up a committee to study options and does not transfer any authority.

• Paragraph (1) creates the Senate Study Committee on Acquiring and Management of Lake Lanier.
• Paragraph (2) sets the committee's membership at seven, including Senate committee chairs, two additional senators, a Department of Natural Resources employee, and one public member, all appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Paragraph (3) charges the committee with studying issues related to acquiring and managing Lake Lanier and recommending action or legislation.
• Paragraph (5) sets allowances: legislative members receive standard Senate travel pay (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8), other state officials get expense reimbursement, and public members get a daily allowance capped at five days unless extended.
• Paragraph (6) requires committee approval by majority vote before any report with legislative recommendations can be filed with the Secretary of the Senate.
• 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 supply
• state government study committees
• natural resources
• water rights