Comité Game, Fish & Parks de la Cámara de Representantes, 24 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

162 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:00:00

   You know, Georgia's one of the great states to do a lot of things, and we wanna make sure that Georgia stays that way. So in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

2. 0:00:08

   Amen. Thank you, Rep- Uh-oh.

3. 0:00:14

   Are we all right?

4. 0:00:16

   Should be good.

5. 0:00:17

   Okay. I know we're, we, we've got one quick measure, and I know, um, we want, uh, Representative Oliver, I hope she's joining us, and we hope she's feeling better. Um, we're gonna hear from her in a little bit on our next measure. But first off, we've got, uh, Representative Ridley has got... Are you number 15?

6. 0:00:34

   I think. Yes, sir.

7. 0:00:36

   Uh, just to catch everybody up, this is House Bill 1266 that we've already passed out, and it got recommitted, uh, back to our committee. So we're gonna do a, do a little, um, working on it. And Representative Ridley.

8. 0:00:51

   All right. Thank you. Uh, for first time ever, being recommitted's not a bad thing. Uh, all right. So, uh, House Bill 1266, and it dealt with, if you look on, uh, part 12, it dealt with, there was a little issue that was done about 40 years ago, uh, where you couldn't have bigger than a 9.9 horsepower motor in one section of the, uh, Ogeechee River. And so now that, that, uh, years later, motors have come along, they're four-stroke now, they're not two-stroke where you gotta run 'em so fast.

9. 0:01:22

   Um, so we've done away with that, but what we're gonna do is, is amend that section, uh, to include, um,

10. 0:01:33

    personal watercraft... Oh, so how was it we did that? Uh, yeah, personal watercrafts or jet skis, which will be... Uh, where the legislative council at? Uh, it'll be in section 52-7-8.2. I think that's the language that we gotta put in there to, uh, get that in there.

11. 0:01:58

    Uh, well, basically what we're gon- what we're gonna have is a committee, a committee sub.

12. 0:02:02

    That-

13. 0:02:02

    So basically, I think we need to, we need, we need a motion for a due pass, and then we can accept the language, uh, for the amendment. So what, what is the will of the committee?

14. 0:02:13

    Motion to pass.

15. 0:02:14

    Second. I've got a motion and I've got a second. Any other discussion?

16. 0:02:19

    No. Well, I'd like to make an amendment at the proper time.

17. 0:02:22

    Okay. Well-

18. 0:02:23

    Thank you

19. 0:02:23

    ... n- now, now is the time.

20. 0:02:24

    Okay. So, um, on line 12, um, this is kinda what I've, what I've got. Uh, with the exception of law enforcement crafts, no personal watercrafts shall operate on the Ogeechee R- uh, uh, Ogeechee River uh, the point where it crosses State Highway Number 119 and its point of origin. And then that would be section 52-7-8.2, describe personal watercraft.

21. 0:02:58

    As a reference to the, uh, the definition of a PWC, correct?

22. 0:03:02

    That's correct.

23. 0:03:02

    We need to, we need to get leg counsel.

24. 0:03:05

    Did you get all that down there?

25. 0:03:07

    Yeah.

26. 0:03:07

    What's the raffle to win early?

27. 0:03:09

    Little Lord help. I thought he gave it to him.

28. 0:03:13

    Okay, I have to.

29. 0:03:14

    Okay.

30. 0:03:14

    I'll get this afterwards.

31. 0:03:16

    Okay.

32. 0:03:17

    Yeah.

33. 0:03:18

    You're always my hero. I wanna be just like you when I grow up. I'm halfway there with the hair.

34. 0:03:24

    Okay. So, so does the committee... I will...

35. 0:03:32

    Let me give leg counsel a minute to kinda dissect that.

36. 0:03:43

    I understand what's going on. The committee understand what's going on.

37. 0:03:46

    Well, I, I will. I can kinda summarize it right quick, or, or would you like to summarize it? I-

38. 0:03:52

    Sure thing.

39. 0:03:52

    Okay. Basically, basically what's going on in the bill is we're striking the language, um, that, that currently sits in the bill, and we're replacing, uh, we're taking the limit off of the motors and basically just putting in the, the personal watercraft as being banned in that stretch of the river. So basically, there's no restriction on motor size, and a personal watercraft is now restricted in that zone.

40. 0:04:26

    Does anybody have any... Are y'all clear on that?

41. 0:04:28

    Mm-hmm. Yes, sir.

42. 0:04:31

    Any questions? Uh, number eight, Representative McClain.

43. 0:04:36

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, I always, you know, since DNR is here, I just wanted to make sure that, you know, th- that we stay, uh, with something they like. I know that I see that the chairman is, is, is on this bill, as well as a lot of the members, but I just wanted to make sure that DNR was, was, was, was happy.

44. 0:04:55

    Yes, sir. A- and I would like to make another comment. Would, would the department like to make a comment, or... Okay. Um, they have been communicated with. And I can just tell you this, there is no... If this measure passes, then there will be no restrictions on public rivers as far as motor size anywhere in the state. This was the only little stretch in public rivers in the whole state of Georgia that had a motor restriction, so now everything will be uniform and there will be no motor restrictions on our public rivers.

45. 0:05:27

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

46. 0:05:28

    Yes, sir. Uh, any other, any other questions, concerns? Well, what is the will of the committee? Okay. Ready to adopt the amendment. Do I have a motion?

47. 0:05:43

    I mo- Make a motion.

48. 0:05:45

    Yeah.

49. 0:05:46

    Motion to amend.

50. 0:05:47

    Motion. You got a, you got a motion. You got a second. All in favor? Say I.

51. 0:05:55

    I.

52. 0:05:55

    Any opposed? All right, so now we need a, a motion-

53. 0:06:00

    Motion

54. 0:06:00

    ... to adopt the bill as amended.

55. 0:06:02

    Second.

56. 0:06:02

    All right. So what is the will of the committee?

57. 0:06:05

    Motion.

58. 0:06:06

    Got a motion. Second. Got a second Any other discussion? All in favor say aye.

59. 0:06:13

    Aye.

60. 0:06:13

    Any oppose? Measure passes. Thank you, Mr. Ridley.

61. 0:06:22

    Good on that? Okay.

62. 0:06:25

    Stand to the side.

63. 0:06:28

    Leader Seat Ball.

64. 0:06:32

    The floor is yours, my friend. Let me turn...

65. 0:06:39

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee.

66. 0:06:45

    Gonna be presenting House Bill 1415 on behalf of Governor Kemp today. I've got, uh, Jesse Martin with me, uh, from the governor's office to help answer any questions you might have. I'm gonna be working off LC65-0069 EC.

67. 0:07:06

    This bill is about protecting Stone... We're ready?

68. 0:07:11

    Ready.

69. 0:07:11

    This bill's about protecting Stone Mountain Park while ensuring responsible stewardship of the state-owned property. And I'll first give you a little history. Uh, Stone Mountain Memorial Association was created to assemble and preserve the, the land that became Stone Mountain Park between 1959 and 1970. The association acquired the property that forms the original park footprint that we know today. This legislation will fully preserve and protect that original footprint exactly as it was intended.

70. 0:07:43

    Over the decades, the association also acquired additional properties outside the original park footprint. Some of those parcels were purchased, uh, for specific projects. For example, the Olympics had some related needs, employee benefit or anticipated development that, that ultimately did not move forward. And while these properties were acquired for legitimate purposes at the time, not all of them are essential to the park's core mission today. At the same time, Stone Mountain Park faces more than $40 million in deferred maintenance cost.

71. 0:08:20

    And in that context, it is appropriate to ensure the association has the tools to responsibly manage non-core properties while maintaining full protection for the park itself. This bill accomplishes three things. First, it preserves and protects the original Stone Mountain Park footprint assembled between 1959 and nine- and 1970. Second, it provides flexibility for the responsible management of non-core properties acquired in later decades. And third, it strengthens transparency and accountability by bringing the association's real property transactions under the review and approval of the State Properties Commission, aligning the association with the standard state practices.

72. 0:09:03

    This is a preservation first, transparency focused bill that protects the park, it strengthens oversight, and promotes responsible stewardship of public assets. So that is the bill, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

73. 0:09:25

    Thank you, Mr. Leader.

74. 0:09:30

    All right, we've got a few questions here. Whose number? So Representative Ridley.

75. 0:09:36

    Uh, at the proper time I'd like to make a motion.

76. 0:09:41

    Hold, hold on one second.

77. 0:09:43

    No, I think we need to do it right now.

78. 0:09:44

    Hold, hold on one second.

79. 0:09:45

    Okay.

80. 0:09:45

    We have a few more questions. Hold on. Representative McClain?

81. 0:09:51

    Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I guess, um, I was looking at lines 27 through 29 when you were, uh, you were saying, "Association shall maintain an inventory of its real property in compliance with the, the code section," and also, uh, "Any property acquired or sold by the association shall be subject to the requirement of the code section." So could you kinda tell me about that code section?

82. 0:10:20

    I'm gonna phone a friend on that one.

83. 0:10:23

    Okay. So currently, this is gonna maybe shock people, I hope. Yeah, it will. There I am the only person who has every deed of Stone Mountain Park right now, and because I have spent months digging them up through historical records, through clerks offices, through state properties. They're not all housed in one place. If you are currently subject to state properties, um, commission rules, honestly almost every state agency is, except for typically authorities and associations, it is all in their BLIP, um, their BLIP database.

84. 0:10:56

    And so it's all taken care of. However, a lot of the properties that were acquired from 1988 to current are not in that BLIP database, and they're just on the Superior Court Clerk's website, but they're not in there. And so this would just require us to have a full inventory of all the property owned by the state, um, i- on behalf of Stone Mountain Park, and then they would have to maintain that database. They would ma- have to maintain those records by giving them over to state properties.

85. 0:11:24

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I, I should've went down the C2s. So you said upon the sale of the, uh, the real property, the funds from, uh, such sales should be remitted to the association?

86. 0:11:36

    Yes. So currently, if they sold land right now, it would stay within the association. The hope for this is that some of this, the money that has been, uh, that we'll, we will receive from the sale of these properties will be able to go into a lot of that deferred maintenance at the park, and then we won't have to put state appropriations or bond money towards it. And so, um, there are a few properties, I'll go ahead and address this 'cause I'm sure it'll be asked. There are a few properties in downtown Stone Mountain, um, that were donated. They're all less than, like, a fraction of an acre- Um, and they were donated, uh, for an extension of the Stone Mountain Railroad.

87. 0:12:16

    They're just empty parking lots currently. No one can build on them because that's state-owned land, and no one's gonna build on state-owned land 'cause we can only lease it for 50 years or less. And so while those were donated to the association, by remitting the funds back to the association for the preservation of the park, we believe that it accomplishes the goal of what those donors did.

88. 0:12:40

    Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

89. 0:12:44

    Okay. Let's see. And, and just to be clear, I, I just kinda wanted to ask this question to make, make sure 'cause a few of us had been talking about this. This would have no effect on any of our other state authorities or state parks like Jekyll Island or-

90. 0:13:02

    None

91. 0:13:03

    ... it would not affect any of that, correct?

92. 0:13:05

    None at all.

93. 0:13:05

    Okay.

94. 0:13:05

    The one code section that has Jekyll Island included in it is a, it's a carve-out for Jekyll Island, Stone Mountain. They can buy property. They cannot sell it. We just had to strike the agency definition and then rewrite Jekyll Island's exemption. They are n- they are still not allowed to sell property, and that's where you'll see that. It, it is just rewritten. But no longer under the state authority is, that defined as Stone Mountain Memorial Association and Jekyll Island. It is Jekyll Island, s- you know, Authority and Stone Mountain Memorial Association.

95. 0:13:37

    And all of the land that was purchased prior to January 1, 1971, the last acquisition of the actual park premises was done, uh, in July of 1970. All of that is preserved and protected and cannot be sold at all.

96. 0:13:53

    Okay. Thank you.

97. 0:13:53

    Unless, I guess, y'all wanted to convene one day and change it, but I don't think anyone's gonna wanna do that.

98. 0:13:59

    Okay. Thank you, Enya. Um-

99. 0:14:03

    Chairman.

100. 0:14:04

     Chairman Petrea.

101. 0:14:05

     Yeah. Thank you, Chairman. Yeah, I have a quick question related to the, this line of questioning. So, and I apologize for coming in late. We pushed all our meetings back, and I've been running. So, um, these properties we're, we're not even discussing those that were before 1970, I think you said, but those after that fact. These are largely not contiguous with the park. Is that accurate or not?

102. 0:14:29

     Okay.

103. 0:14:29

     Or are they at all contiguous with the park?

104. 0:14:31

     Some of them are not contiguous at all. Two of them are residential homes in a neighborhood that's off property-

105. 0:14:36

     Okay

106. 0:14:37

     ... um, which the state is not really in the interest of owning, um-

107. 0:14:40

     Right

108. 0:14:41

     ... housing people. Um, a few of them are in downtown Stone Mountain. There are a few properties around the perimeter of the park. They're like, they back up to a neighborhood. We're not interested in selling them.

109. 0:14:52

     Okay.

110. 0:14:52

     It was just too hard to kinda define it that way because a lot of them were bought in like 2003. One, a property that is of interest being sold is the old DeKalb Airport. There is a fence between it and the park. No one can actually access it publicly, I guess, unless they jump over the fence, but it does, I guess it does touch the park. But there is a fence there. I mean, it's the old airport. That was purchased for the 1996 Olympics to be used as parking for the tennis arena. That is not in the park at all, that, it's now a Costco.

111. 0:15:25

     Um, it was torn down and it's turned into a Costco. So that, uh, it's a big piece of property that we have had people interested in for development. You know, by selling these we would then be able to ... All these properties are tax-exempt since they're owned by the state, so DeKalb County could then collect on that. And then we would hope that they'd be revenue generating in the future and then, you know, we create jobs and, and economic development. Anyway, so.

112. 0:15:48

     D- so just one follow-up, Chairman, if I could.

113. 0:15:50

     Sure.

114. 0:15:51

     So n- nothing, we're, nothing in this measure is gonna encumber the people of Georgia enjoying Stone Mountain Park and all of the, all of the park that is accessible and available to the people today?

115. 0:16:05

     Yes. Anything that's not the fence-

116. 0:16:05

     None of that changes. Thank you

117. 0:16:07

     ... is ... Yes. Well, it might back up to it. There's a fence around it, so.

118. 0:16:13

     Yes, that's right. And just to be clear so the committee knows, this is going back I think it's 1,609 acres. Is that about right?

119. 0:16:20

     Okay.

120. 0:16:20

     Yeah.

121. 0:16:20

     So that is what the park always has been. So you'll see online and through a lot of digging and research that I found in how I had to learn how, I guess, old deeds are done, um, the park is actually only like 1,690 something square feet. Online it says 3,200 square feet, and that is from an old deed from 1959, '58 or '59. Not the actual deed. That was done as a land survey, and I have like the original survey and all of this that ultimately outlines the park in 1970.

122. 0:16:53

     The 3,200, and I have a full like historic thing on it, but they use that as it could be more or less, 3,200 more or less. Well, it's significantly less. Um, but the park has never been 3,200 acres. Um, that was just used. It was never, that was not from a survey, and that was from just an, a different deed that defined the park for the Confederate Memorial. So that number is out there, but that is not, like I can show all the deeds. That number is not it 'cause I've been trying to do the math to figure out where they acquired all of this additional land, and it's not.

123. 0:17:27

     And it's actually, then I went back and asked for the record, and it's, it's just like an approximation.

124. 0:17:33

     Okay. Thank you.

125. 0:17:35

     So, Chairman.

126. 0:17:35

     So-

127. 0:17:36

     Could we follow on that? What is the current limit of

128. 0:17:41

     1,600 acres.

129. 0:17:43

     16. I, for a minute.

130. 0:17:44

     It's like-

131. 0:17:45

     Yeah.

132. 0:17:45

     It's like 1,692 acres.

133. 0:17:47

     Yeah.

134. 0:17:47

     So I mean, just-

135. 0:17:48

     Well, going back to the original between '59 and '70, when they acquired all that, it's the original park, and everything else after that that has been donated or purchased is what we're, we're hemorrhaging on. Um, it's a maintenance issue, it's a safety issue, it's a personnel issue. It's a-

136. 0:18:09

     A liability as well

137. 0:18:10

     ... all, all of those, all of the above. So, um, just wanted to make sure everybody's clear on that. Any other thoughts or discussion? 'Cause I think, um, Representative Oliver, is she online with us right now? I think she wanted to make a few comments. She is not online. Okay. Um, well, she, we had made, she had called in and wanted to make some, make some... Well, we, we wish her well and hope she gets better soon, and we can catch up with her at a later date.

138. 0:18:44

     Um, no more questions. All right. What is the will of the committee? I've got a motion do pass, and I've got a second. Any other thoughts for discussion? All in favor say aye.

139. 0:18:58

     Aye.

140. 0:18:58

     Any opposed?

141. 0:19:02

     One.

142. 0:19:03

     Is it one, Mike?

143. 0:19:04

     Yeah.

144. 0:19:05

     One moment.

145. 0:19:07

     One moment. Did you get that for the record?

146. 0:19:09

     Yes.

147. 0:19:09

     Okay. Our motion passes.

148. 0:19:11

     All right.

149. 0:19:11

     Thank you, Mr. Leader.

150. 0:19:12

     Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, committee. 16, I would've thought it'd been bigger but such a-

151. 0:19:18

     Yeah, I would too

152. 0:19:20

     ... I'm curious to know what it really was there. That's a lot away.

153. 0:19:24

     Chairman Petrea, do you wanna just share a few thoughts on your, on your bill?

154. 0:19:29

     Sure.

155. 0:19:30

     Hey, look, look, if y'all can, if you can stay, fine. If you gotta go, fine. Chairman Petrea wants five or 10 minutes to talk about a measure, and, uh, we're just gonna discuss it, so.

156. 0:19:43

     Get on out of here. I don't want you here.

157. 0:19:46

     All right. Chairman Petrea, the floor is yours for about five, five-

158. 0:19:50

     Yeah, I don't really need the, um... Actually, I don't have the measure with me, my, my friend running back and forth, but there's, uh, it's bi- House Bill 919, I believe. What I wanna do is call your attention, uh, I'll s- I'll have, uh, my admin send it to all of you. I have a measure that, uh, we're gonna press on, uh, more fully next year that would simply take our GOSA, uh, currently, as you know, with Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, we're taking 40% of the proceeds on that, those sales for outdoor sporting goods, and that is going to Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act for, uh, for, uh, the Ge- the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act for land preservation and a multitude of other things related to land preservation.

159. 0:20:36

     Uh, I'm interested in raising that. It began, the provision currently when you see the bill, removes the penalties. We lost about $7 million last year, uh, due to the way we set GOSA up, and we built it. It has penalties, uh, built in when the, uh, when your, when your, uh, proceeds decline. And so we lost $7 million in GOSA. That was a lot of opportunity we had to do good things in Georgia. My position is this, we're, we're the, we're growing exponentially like never before, and Georgia's changing like never before, and we need to start balancing our growth and economic development with land preservation.

160. 0:21:16

     If we don't do more of that, I mean, in my parts of the, in, in my community, uh, people are pushing back. They want us to be number one place in the country to do business, but they also want us to be the number one place in the country to, uh, enjoy life and have a, and raise a family, and this relates to that. So I hope y'all will think about that, whether it's removing the penalties or increasing the 40%. We have the ability by constitutional amendment to raise it to 80, 80%. We're doing 40. Anything we do would give us more money to do, to do more land preservation and more, uh, beneficial thing, whether it's parks, whether it's trails, a lot of stuff we can do, and I look forward to talking about that more fully next year.

161. 0:21:59

     Thank you, Chairman. That's all I need to say.

162. 0:22:01

     Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Anybody else have anything, uh, for the good of the order? If not, meeting adjourned.