Georgia House Bill 748, "Coastal Marshlands Restoration Act of 2021"

Mon, 6 Dec 2021 13:54:25 GMT

The convoluted way the law in Georgia has evolved regarding the ownership of and rights in lands along the coast over which the tide ebbs and flows has created a perplexing dilemma as to whether the title to a given area beyond the mean high tide mark of tidal waters is vested in the state or is in private ownership. Except in the rare situations in which a judicial decision has been rendered, the location of the boundary between private ownership and public ownership is usually very ambiguous. Surveyors working in coastal Georgia generally follow the descriptions given in the parties’ deeds, but the deeds by themselves are not dispositive. Because of rapidly increasing population pressures along the coast, controversies are now frequent and litigation between the state and private individuals on the issue has become almost non-stop. The prevailing procedure for settling matters with law suits (usually quiet title actions) is cumbersome and expensive, and the state attorney general’s office often drags its feet in responding to such actions which causes much additional unnecessary expense for both private property owners and the taxpayers.

There is no simple formula that can be devised that will fix all the problems. Georgia House Bill 748, "Coastal Marshlands Restoration Act of 2021," is to be introduced in the next session of the legislature. Its purpose is to eliminate some of the entanglements that currently exist and hopefully reduce, to some extent, the need for litigation. The current draft of the bill is at https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/60428 and is summarized as follows:

“A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to coastal waters, beaches, and sand dunes, so as to enact the "Coastal Marshlands Restoration Act of 2021"; to provide for legislative findings and intent; to provide for definitions; to provide for in rem proceedings; to provide for presentation of abstracts to the Attorney General; to provide for service of process and filing of pleadings; to provide for special masters and trial by jury; to provide for restriction of properties for conservation purposes; to provide for rebuttable presumptions; to provide for decrees and recording of same; to provide for joinder; to provide for compensation; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.”