For Sportsmen, Relatively Quiet 2024 Legislative Session At Georgia Capitol

If only there was a new law that said you had to remove two existing unnecessary or overreaching laws before a new one could be passed…

That concept would certainly benefit gun owners. Every legislative session we see anti-gun legislation in the name of “common sense” and “safety.” Meanwhile, laws already on the books—like it being illegal to use a gun to rob someone—are barely enforced in some jurisdictions.

Fortunately, for the time being, Georgia’s legislature is still controlled by a majority of state representatives and state senators who value the Second Amendment.

And for sportsmen, we are fortunate to have great people in DNR and several conservation organizations like the Georgia Hunting and Fishing Federation (GHFF) and the Georgia Wildlife Federation who closely monitor what is happening at the state capitol during the legislation session.

GHFF’s Reggie Dickey described this legislative session as relatively quiet in terms of potential impacts on sportsmen.

“Crossover day is Thursday, Feb. 29, and it’s after that when we really need to watch and make sure something isn’t slipped in,” Reggie said.

In the Georgia legislature, a bill must be passed out of either the House or Senate by a certain date—crossover day. But the legislature works on a two-year cycle, so there are bills that crossed over last year, and language can be added to those bills, which is why we must keep a close eye on legislation toward the end of the session.

Legislative proposals of interest this session include:

House Bill 1018: Protect Privacy Of Gun & Ammo Purchases — HB 1018 would protect the privacy of Georgia gun owners and sportsmen from a new international standard that tracks credit card purchases of guns and ammo. HB 1018 prohibits a financial entity from using a firearms merchant category code to distinguish a firearms retailer from other retailers and prohibits persons or government entities from keeping registries of firearms or owners of firearms.    

House Bill 1173: Legalize Bowfishing For Catfish Statewide — Bowfishing has long been legal for catfish on the Savannah River reservoirs for any species, and it is legal statewide already for any catfish species except for flatheads and channel catfish. HB 1173 would legalize bowfishing for channel catfish and flathead statewide, along with other species already legal.

House Bill 244: HB 244 includes several DNR rules and regulations changes, including the legalization of electronic calls for hunting bobcat and fox, which are used commonly for hunting coyotes.

House Bill 130: Student Loan Repayment For Peace Officers — “This new legislation will help our new hires that have a High School Diploma obtain their college degrees or current employees further their college education,” said Col. Mike England, DNR Law Enforcement Division Director.

House Bill 927: Fluorescent Pink  — During gun season, a hunter must wear at least 500 square inches of “daylight fluorescent orange.” HB 927 would legalize “fluorescent pink material,” for those who prefer pink over orange.

Senate Bill 142: Dangerous Dog Bill  — GHFF was monitoring this bill, particularly language that could have declared someone’s dog dangerous just  for barking at someone walking by a fenced yard. “SB 142 has been cleaned up,” Reggie said. “They took that language out.”

For updates on legislation and to see the status of specific bills, go to www.legis.ga.gov.