Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: Introduced Bipartisan · 4 R · 2 D cosponsors

HB 561 — Okefenokee Protection Act; enact

Last action — House Second Readers

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced February 20, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 34% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 6 sponsors

    1 primary, 5 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (4 R · 2 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to surface mining, so as to prohibit the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Natural Resources Department from issuing, modifying, or renewing any permit or accepting any bond to conduct surface mining operations on Trail Ridge for future permit applications and amendments; to provide a definition; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. House Second Readers

  2. House First Readers

  3. House Hopper

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 5 co-sponsors · 241 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (5)

Not signed on (241)

241 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 241 →

"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

Subjects

environment
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 561 do?
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to surface mining, so as to prohibit the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Natural Resources Department from issuing, modifying, or renewing any permit or accepting any bond to conduct surface mining operations on Trail Ridge for future permit applications and amendments; to provide a definition; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Who sponsors HB 561?
HB 561 is sponsored by Carolyn Hugley (Democrat), Debbie Buckner (Democrat), Gerald Greene (Republican), Steven Sainz (Republican), Ron Stephens (Republican), and Darlene Taylor (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 561?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced February 20, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 561?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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