GA HR1113

Authorizes the State of Georgia, acting through the State Properties Commission, to grant 26 nonexclusive easements for construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of utilities, roads, and other facilities on state-owned property across 20 Georgia counties and Hamilton County, Tennessee.

Grantees include Georgia Power Company (most frequent, with 13 easements), Georgia DOT, Tennessee DOT, Tennessee Valley Authority, Marietta Power and Water, Trenton Telephone Company, Atlanta Gas Light Company, Georgia Transmission Corporation, Walton EMC, Little Ocmulgee EMC, City of Covington, Hart County, Telesystem, Heron Mill Apartments LLC, and ASF Georgia Holdings I LLC.

Easements cover a wide range of state-owned properties, including technical colleges (Technical College System of Georgia), state parks (Dept. of Natural Resources), military readiness centers (Dept. of Defense), the Dept. of Public Safety Headquarters, the Georgia World Congress Center, correctional facilities, the Kia Plant and Rivian Site (Dept. of Economic Development), and the Western and Atlantic Railroad.

Purposes include underground and overhead electrical distribution and transmission lines, fiber optic cable installation, sanitary sewer lines, gas distribution lines, road widening and bridge construction, communication tower relocation (TVA), and ingress/egress access.

Consideration varies: many easements serving a public purpose are set at $10.00; others require fair market value, not less than $650.00; one (Cobb County/Marietta Power and Water) is set at $13,799.00; and the TVA easement includes $10.00 plus three tower spots at 90 feet for state use, one equipment bay, and donation of a TVA-owned building to the state.

Custodial agencies that approved the easements include the Technical College System of Georgia, Dept. of Natural Resources, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Public Safety, Dept. of Economic Development, Dept. of Corrections, and the State Properties Commission itself.

All easements are nonexclusive, convey no title to grantees, restrict use to the stated purpose only, and permit removal of vegetation only as reasonably necessary for facility construction and maintenance.

The State Properties Commission retains authority to require relocation or removal of grantee facilities at the grantee's sole cost if they interfere with state use, unless the Commission determines the relocation is for Georgia's sole benefit; the Commission may grant a substantially equivalent easement on an alternate site.

Grantees must obtain all other required governmental permits, comply with applicable state and federal environmental statutes, and record the easement in the appropriate Superior Court, forwarding a copy to the Commission.

Authorization for each easement grant expires 3 years after the resolution's effective date, which is upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without such approval.