ATLANTA – A state House committee has narrowly approved legislation guaranteeing Georgians the right to fish in navigable rivers and streams over the objections of representatives of recreational boating interests who complained the bill is overly restrictive.
House Bill 1172, which cleared the House Judiciary Committee Thursday by just one vote, is a follow-up to legislation the General Assembly passed on the last day of last year’s session.
Last year’s bill was introduced following a lawsuit a property owner along the Upper Flint River filed seeking to ban public fishing along his stretch of the river.
After Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill and it became law last July, some waterfront property owners expressed concerns that the measure included language codifying Georgia citizens’ right to use the state’s waterways under the “public trust doctrine.”
The new bill struck the reference to the public trust doctrine while maintaining the purpose of last year’s legislation, House Majority Whip James Burchett, R-Waycross, House Bill 1172’s chief sponsor, told committee members before Thursday’s vote.
“By common law, the citizens of this state have the inherent right of use for passage for hunting and fishing on navigable streams,” he said.
Burchett emphasized that the bill only applies to navigable streams.
But the measure’s opponents argued the current definition of “navigable streams” in state law dates back to the 19th century, a time when Georgia’s waterways were used to transport freight.
Joe Cook, coordinator of the Georgia River Network’s Paddle Georgia program, said that definition leaves out many streams across the state that are capable of floating a boat.
“Vast numbers of Georgia streams will fall under the category of non-navigable,” he said. “Many of our trips take place on rivers and streams that may not be deemed navigable. … There is a right of passage on all these streams that are not navigable.”
Suzanne Welander, author of a Georgia canoeing and kayaking guide book, said recreational paddling is a fast-growing activity in Georgia that generated $1.1 billion in revenue in 2022 and is responsible for 238,000 jobs.
“I’m concerned future generations might lose this ability to have those experiences,” she said.
Carol Reiser, past president of the Georgia Canoeing Association, said lawmakers in North Carolina and South Carolina have passed fishing rights legislation that guarantees public access to any river and stream that can float a boat, as long as the boaters don’t get out of the water and enter private property. She suggested recreational canoeists in Georgia would welcome a similar approach.
“We pass through,” Reiser said. “We don’t get out and party on people’s property.”
However, representatives of the Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Forestry Association, and the Georgia Agribusiness Council told the committee they support Burchett’s bill in its current form.
Committee Chairman Stan Gunter, R-Blairsville, who cast the deciding vote to approve the bill, suggested it could be subject to some changes as its moves through the House.
“This is just the first step,” Gunter said following the vote. “There’s more to go.”
House Bill 1172 now heads to the House Rules Committee to schedule a vote of the full House.
ATLANTA – Legislation that would double the amount of paid parental leave for state employees has cleared the Georgia House of Representatives.
House Bill 1010, which the House passed overwhelmingly 153-11 on Thursday, would allow state workers 240 hours, or six weeks, of paid parental leave following the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child in their home. A bill the General Assembly enacted three years ago authorized 120 hours of paid parental leave for state employees.
“We are taking another step so that these employees can spend even more time with their families after having or adopting a child,” House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said after the vote.
“Our state employees work tirelessly to serve our communities, and with this legislation, we have sent a clear message that we value and support our working families across this state.”
“This would provide a low-cost, high-value benefit to help recruit and retain employees and tangibly demonstrate our respect and support for them at a most significant and life-changing time in their lives,” added Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton, House Bill 1010’s chief sponsor.
“I’m not on trial,” Willis testified in federal court during an evidentiary hearing on a motion to disqualify her from the case, as she gestured toward a group of lawyers representing Trump and other defendants. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020.”
Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted last August on racketeering charges for allegedly taking part in a conspiracy to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over then-President Trump in Georgia in November 2020.
One of those co-defendants, Michael Roman, filed a motion last month claiming Willis was engaged in a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The motion, which Trump later joined, went on to allege that Willis benefited financially from the relationship through trips she and Wade took financed with Fulton County taxpayer money.
Willis filed a response to Roman’s motion earlier this month, acknowledging the romantic relationship but arguing it does not constitute grounds for disqualifying her from the case.
A key point in contention during Thursday’s daylong hearing was when the relationship started. Robin Yeartie, a former friend of Willis who worked as an executive assistance to the district attorney, testified Thursday that Willis and Wade began dating in 2019 shortly after meeting at a conference.
But under cross-examination, Yeartie revealed that she had a falling out with Willis in March of 2022 that led to Yeartie resigning from the district attorney’s office.
“A situation happened that wasn’t my fault,” Yeartie said. “I was either going to resign or be let go.”
Both Willis and Wade, who also testified on Thursday, said their romantic relationship started much later, in early 2022 after Wade was hired in late 2021.
Both were asked extensively about several trips they took together to Belize, on a cruise to the Bahamas, and to California’s Napa Valley. Wade said he paid for all of the trips except the trip to Belize – which Willis paid for as a birthday gift to Wade – but that she always reimbursed him with cash to cover her portion of the expenses.
“She is a proud, independent woman,” Wade said. “She’s going to pay her way.”
“I don’t need any man to foot my bills,” Willis added later when it was her turn on the witness stand.
Lawyers representing Roman, Trump, and several other defendants were openly skeptical that Willis repaid Wade with cash for her portion of their trips without either having records to back up their testimony. But Willis said she always has kept cash around on the advice of her father.
Willis also defended her decision not to tell any of the members of her prosecution team that she was involved in a romantic relationship with Wade.
“I am extremely private,” she said. “I didn’t tell my business to the world.”
Willis said her romantic relationship with Wade ended last summer, although the two remain good friends.
While Willis was required to testify at Thursday’s hearing in response to a subpoena, she said she was anxious to tell her side of the story.
“I’m not a hostile witness,” she said. “I very much want to be here.”
The hearing before U.S. District Judge Scott McAfee will continue Friday.
ATLANTA – Legislation aimed at limiting local property tax increases overwhelmingly cleared the Georgia Senate Thursday.
Under Senate Bill 349, which passed 42-7, local governments would be prohibited from raising residential property assessments more than 3% annually.
The measure also changes provisions relating to public notices of a local government’s intention to increase property taxes, changes the process for appealing a tax assessor’s valuation of a residential property, and alters the process for settlement conferences regarding valuations.
“Our goal has always been to keep costs low for Georgia families,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the state Senate and made property tax relief a priority for this year’s legislative session. “This bill will make the taxation process both less confusing and less expensive for Georgia taxpayers.”
The bill now moves to the state House of Representatives.
ATLANTA – Longtime state Rep. Butch Parrish will take the reins as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, House Speaker Jon Burns announced Thursday.
Parrish, R-Swainsboro, succeeds the late Rep. Richard Smith, R-Columbus, who died suddenly last month at the age of 78 while fighting the flu.
Parrish is currently serving his 20th term in the Georgia House of Representatives. He represents House District 158, which includes Candler, Emanuel and Treutlen counties, along with portions of Bulloch County.
Parrish chairs the House Special Committee on Health Care, which Burns created last year to coordinate the work several standing committees have been doing to improve the quality of health care in Georgia.
“Chairman Parrish has done an exceptional job representing his district, fighting for our rural communities, and championing policies that lift up every Georgia family – including most recently with his work to improve health care across our state,” said Burns, R-Newington. “I am confident that Chairman Parrish will serve the Georgia House and the people of our great state extremely well in this new role.”
The Rules Committee acts as the House’s “traffic cop,” deciding which bills make it to the House floor for a vote.
“Throughout my time in the House, I have strived to bring an open mind, focus on the facts, and deliver results for my constituents and the people of Georgia,” Parrish said. “That’s what I intend to continue to do as Rules chairman.”
