SB 542 — Water Rights; the public trust doctrine; remove references
Last action — House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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3Passed Senate
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4Passed House
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.
Summary
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 8 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to water rights, so as to remove references to the public trust doctrine; to provide legislative findings relative to the public's right to use navigable streams; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Bill Text
We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.
Read SB 542 on the official Georgia source →Action History
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House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
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House Third Readers
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House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
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House Second Readers
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House First Readers
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Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute
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Senate Third Read
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Senate Read Second Time
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Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
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Senate Read and Referred
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Senate Hopper
Sponsors
- Sam Watson · Primary
- Steve Gooch · Primary
- John F. Kennedy · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →3 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 244 not signed on
Sponsors (3)
- Sam Watson Republican
- Steve Gooch Republican
- John F. Kennedy Republican
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (244)
244 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 244 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Whip count is in markup.
Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session.
Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this.
Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing
Votes
Passed
173 Yea
·
0 Nay
·
7 Other
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrat | 57 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Unaffiliated | 35 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Republican | 81 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 173 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| % of votes cast | 96% | 0% | 0% | 4% |
How each member voted (180)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| ANDERSON | — | Yea |
| ANULEWICZ | — | Yea |
| BEVERLY | — | Yea |
| BRUCE | — | Yea |
| CAMPBELL | — | Yea |
| CAMPBELL | — | Yea |
| CANNON | — | Yea |
| CANNON | — | Yea |
| CLARK | — | Yea |
| CLARK | — | Not Voting |
| COLLINS | — | Yea |
| DANIEL | — | Yea |
| FRAZIER | — | Yea |
| HOUSTON | — | Yea |
| JONES | — | Yea |
| JONES | — | Yea |
| JONES | — | Yea |
| KENNARD | — | Yea |
| KNIGHT | — | Yea |
| LOTT | — | Yea |
| MAINOR | — | Yea |
| MARIN | — | Yea |
| MOORE | — | Yea |
| MUGHAL | — | Yea |
| PIRKLE | — | Yea |
| RIDLEY | — | Yea |
| RIDLEY | — | Yea |
| SMITH | — | Yea |
| SMITH | — | Not Voting |
| SMITH | — | Yea |
| SMITH | — | Yea |
| VACANT | — | Not Voting |
| STONER | — | Yea |
| TAYLOR | — | Yea |
| TAYLOR | — | Yea |
| THOMAS | — | Yea |
| THOMAS | — | Yea |
| VANCE | — | Yea |
| Anne Allen Westbrook | Democrat | Yea |
| Betsy Holland | Democrat | Yea |
| Billy Mitchell | Democrat | Yea |
| Brian Prince | Democrat | Yea |
| Carl Gilliard | Democrat | Yea |
| Carolyn Hugley | Democrat | Yea |
| Dar'shun Kendrick | Democrat | Yea |
| David Sampson | Democrat | Yea |
| David Wilkerson | Democrat | Yea |
| Debbie Buckner | Democrat | Yea |
| Debra Bazemore | Democrat | Yea |
| Demetrius Douglas | Democrat | Yea |
| Dewey McClain | Democrat | Yea |
| Dexter Sharper | Democrat | Yea |
| Doreen Carter | Democrat | Yea |
| El-Mahdi Holly | Democrat | Yea |
| Eric Bell | Democrat | Not Voting |
| Esther Panitch | Democrat | Yea |
| Gabe Okoye | Democrat | Yea |
| Imani Barnes | Democrat | Yea |
| Inga Willis | Democrat | Yea |
| Karen Bennett | Democrat | Not Voting |
| Karen Lupton | Democrat | Yea |
| Karla Drenner | Democrat | Yea |
| Karlton Howard | Democrat | Yea |
| Kim Jackson | Democrat | Yea |
| Kim Jackson | Democrat | Yea |
| Kim Jackson | Democrat | Yea |
| Kim Schofield | Democrat | Yea |
| Kimberly Alexander | Democrat | Yea |
| Long Tran | Democrat | Yea |
| Lydia Glaize | Democrat | Yea |
| Lynn Heffner | Democrat | Yea |
| Marvin Lim | Democrat | Yea |
| Mary Oliver | Democrat | Yea |
| Michelle Au | Democrat | Yea |
| Miriam Paris | Democrat | Yea |
| Omari Crawford | Democrat | Yea |
| Patty Marie Stinson | Democrat | Yea |
| Phil Olaleye | Democrat | Yea |
| Regina Lewis-Ward | Democrat | Yea |
| Rhonda Burnough | Democrat | Yea |
| Ruwa Romman | Democrat | Yea |
| Saira Draper | Democrat | Yea |
| Sam Park | Democrat | Yea |
| Sandra Scott | Democrat | Not Voting |
| Scott Holcomb | Democrat | Yea |
| Segun Adeyina | Democrat | Yea |
| Sharon Henderson | Democrat | Yea |
| Shea Roberts | Democrat | Yea |
| Shelly Hutchinson | Democrat | Yea |
| Solomon Adesanya | Democrat | Yea |
| Spencer Frye | Democrat | Yea |
| Stacey Evans | Democrat | Yea |
| Stacey Evans | Democrat | Yea |
| Tanya Miller | Democrat | Yea |
| Terry Cummings | Democrat | Yea |
| Tremaine Reese | Democrat | Yea |
| Viola Davis | Democrat | Yea |
| Yasmin Neal | Democrat | Yea |
| Alan Powell | Republican | Yea |
| Beth Camp | Republican | Yea |
| Bethany Ballard | Republican | Yea |
| Bill Hitchens | Republican | Yea |
| Bill Werkheiser | Republican | Yea |
| Bill Yearta | Republican | Yea |
| Bo Hatchett | Republican | Yea |
| Brent Cox | Republican | Yea |
| Bruce Williamson | Republican | Yea |
| Buddy DeLoach | Republican | Yea |
| Butch Parrish | Republican | Yea |
| Carter Barrett | Republican | Yea |
| Charles Martin | Republican | Yea |
| Charlice Byrd | Republican | Yea |
| Chris Erwin | Republican | Yea |
| Chuck Efstration | Republican | Yea |
| Clint Crowe | Republican | Yea |
| Dale Washburn | Republican | Yea |
| Danny Mathis | Republican | Yea |
| David Huddleston | Republican | Yea |
| David Jenkins | Republican | Yea |
| Deborah Silcox | Republican | Yea |
| Derrick McCollum | Republican | Yea |
| Devan Seabaugh | Republican | Yea |
| Don Parsons | Republican | Yea |
| Eddie Lumsden | Republican | Yea |
| Emory Dunahoo | Republican | Yea |
| Gary Richardson | Republican | Yea |
| Gerald Greene | Republican | Yea |
| Ginny Ehrhart | Republican | Yea |
| Holt Persinger | Republican | Yea |
| Houston Gaines | Republican | Yea |
| James Burchett | Republican | Yea |
| Jesse Petrea | Republican | Yea |
| John Carson | Republican | Yea |
| John Corbett | Republican | Yea |
| John LaHood | Republican | Yea |
| Johnny Chastain | Republican | Yea |
| Joseph Gullett | Republican | Yea |
| Josh Bonner | Republican | Yea |
| Karen Mathiak | Republican | Yea |
| Kasey Carpenter | Republican | Yea |
| Katie Dempsey | Republican | Yea |
| Kimberly New | Republican | Yea |
| Lauren McDonald III | Republican | Yea |
| Lee Hawkins | Republican | Yea |
| Leesa Hagan | Republican | Yea |
| Lehman Franklin | Republican | Yea |
| Mandi Ballinger | Republican | Yea |
| Marcus Wiedower | Republican | Yea |
| Mark Newton | Republican | Yea |
| Martin Momtahan | Republican | Yea |
| Matt Barton | Republican | Yea |
| Matt Dubnik | Republican | Yea |
| Matt Reeves | Republican | Yea |
| Matthew Gambill | Republican | Yea |
| Max Burns | Republican | Not Voting |
| Mike Cameron | Republican | Yea |
| Mike Cheokas | Republican | Yea |
| Mitchell Horner | Republican | Yea |
| Mitchell Scoggins | Republican | Yea |
| Noel Williams, Jr. | Republican | Yea |
| Reynaldo Martinez | Republican | Yea |
| Rick Jasperse | Republican | Yea |
| Rick Townsend | Republican | Yea |
| Rick Williams | Republican | Yea |
| Rick Williams | Republican | Yea |
| Rob Leverett | Republican | Yea |
| Robert Dickey | Republican | Yea |
| Ron Stephens | Republican | Yea |
| Scott Hilton | Republican | Yea |
| Sharon Cooper | Republican | Yea |
| Shaw Blackmon | Republican | Yea |
| Soo Hong | Republican | Yea |
| Stan Gunter | Republican | Yea |
| Steve Tarvin | Republican | Yea |
| Steven Meeks | Republican | Yea |
| Steven Sainz | Republican | Yea |
| Tim Fleming | Republican | Yea |
| Trey Kelley | Republican | Yea |
| Trey Rhodes | Republican | Yea |
| Will Wade | Republican | Yea |
Passed
51 Yea
·
0 Nay
·
5 Other
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 27 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unaffiliated | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Democrat | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 51 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| % of votes cast | 91% | 0% | 0% | 9% |
How each member voted (56)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| ANDERSON | — | Yea |
| ANDERSON | — | Not Voting |
| BUTLER | — | Yea |
| JONES | — | Yea |
| MOORE | — | Yea |
| SEAY | — | Yea |
| TATE | — | Not Voting |
| WATSON | — | Yea |
| WATSON | — | Yea |
| ISLAM PARKES | — | Yea |
| David Lucas | Democrat | Yea |
| Derek Mallow | Democrat | Yea |
| Donzella James | Democrat | Yea |
| Ed Harbison | Democrat | Yea |
| Elena Parent | Democrat | Yea |
| Freddie Powell Sims | Democrat | Yea |
| Gail Davenport | Democrat | Yea |
| Harold Jones II | Democrat | Not Voting |
| Jason Esteves | Democrat | Yea |
| Josh McLaurin | Democrat | Yea |
| Kim Jackson | Democrat | Yea |
| Michael 'Doc' Rhett | Democrat | Yea |
| Nan Orrock | Democrat | Yea |
| Nikki Merritt | Democrat | Yea |
| Sally Harrell | Democrat | Yea |
| Sheikh Rahman | Democrat | Yea |
| Sonya Halpern | Democrat | Yea |
| Bill Cowsert | Republican | Yea |
| Billy Hickman | Republican | Yea |
| Blake Tillery | Republican | Yea |
| Bo Hatchett | Republican | Yea |
| Brandon Beach | Republican | Not Voting |
| Brian Strickland | Republican | Yea |
| Carden Summers | Republican | Yea |
| Chuck Hufstetler | Republican | Yea |
| Chuck Payne | Republican | Yea |
| Clint Dixon | Republican | Yea |
| Drew Echols | Republican | Yea |
| Ed Setzler | Republican | Yea |
| Frank Ginn | Republican | Yea |
| Greg Dolezal | Republican | Yea |
| Jason Anavitarte | Republican | Yea |
| John Albers | Republican | Yea |
| John F. Kennedy | Republican | Yea |
| Kay Kirkpatrick | Republican | Yea |
| Larry Walker, III | Republican | Yea |
| Marty Harbin | Republican | Not Voting |
| Matt Brass | Republican | Yea |
| Max Burns | Republican | Yea |
| Mike Hodges | Republican | Yea |
| Randy Robertson | Republican | Yea |
| Rick Williams | Republican | Yea |
| Russ Goodman | Republican | Yea |
| Shawn Still | Republican | Yea |
| Steve Gooch | Republican | Yea |
| Timothy Bearden | Republican | Yea |
Subjects
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Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 542 do?
- A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 8 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to water rights, so as to remove references to the public trust doctrine; to provide legislative findings relative to the public's right to use navigable streams; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
- Who sponsors SB 542?
- SB 542 is sponsored by Sam Watson (Republican), Steve Gooch (Republican), and John F. Kennedy (Republican).
- What is the current status of SB 542?
- This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
- Where can I track SB 542?
- Track SB 542 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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