---
type: "Bill"
title: "Watercraft; use of certain motors on vessels being operated on the Ogeechee River; repeal a provision"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 52 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding registration, operation, and sale of watercraft, so as to repeal a provision relative to the use of certain motors on vessels being operated on the Ogeechee River; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2025_26"
identifier: "HB 1266"
citation: "Georgia HB 1266 (2025_26)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["WATERS", "PORTS", "AND WATERCRAFT"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jason Ridley", "Steven Meeks", "Trey Rhodes"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 16
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2026-02-10"
last_action: "2026-05-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a371e877-cf13-4af5-b206-21b0044a6703"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "fc92e4f6d64d160902a8f667079252ef82f4325e3375f4da6d0ba100e1f31573"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 1266 (2025_26) — Watercraft; use of certain motors on vessels being operated on the Ogeechee River; repeal a provision

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 52 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding registration, operation, and sale of watercraft, so as to repeal a provision relative to the use of certain motors on vessels being operated on the Ogeechee River; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 1266/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/247673.pdf)
2. **LC 47 4108S/hcs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/245092.pdf)
3. **LC 47 4108S/hs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/243956.pdf)
4. **LC 60 0277/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/242154.pdf)

## Votes

- Senate Vote #813 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **47–1** (pass) · upper
- House Vote #617 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **164–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jason Ridley — primary (person)
- Steven Meeks — primary (person)
- Trey Rhodes — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-02-10** House Hopper `introduction`
- **2026-02-11** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2026-02-12** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2026-02-12** House Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-02-17** House Withdrawn, Recommitted `referral-committee, withdrawal`
- **2026-02-25** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-04** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2026-03-04** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2026-03-06** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-18** Senate Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-19** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2026-03-25** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2026-03-25** Senate Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2026-04-06** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-05-11** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2026-05-11** Act 451 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a371e877-cf13-4af5-b206-21b0044a6703`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).