08 LC
25 5125
Senate
Bill 428
By:
Senators Chapman of the 3rd, Unterman of the 45th, Harp of the 29th, Staton of
the 18th, Hudgens of the 47th and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 1 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 12 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to the Jekyll Island—State Park Authority, so
as to define certain terms; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
1 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Jekyll Island—State Park Authority, is amended
by revising Code Section 12-3-231, relating to definitions, as
follows:
"12-3-231.
As
used in this part, the term:
(.1)
'Active use areas' means areas used for outdoor recreation.
(1)
'Authority' means the Jekyll Island—State Park Authority created by this
part.
(1.1)
'Average income' means the state-wide average wages of workers for all
industries, as most recently determined and reported by the Georgia Department
of Labor.
(1.2)
'Beach' has the meaning provided by Code Section 12-5-232.
(2)
'Bonds' or 'revenue bonds' means any bonds issued by the authority under this
part, including refunding bonds.
(3)
'Cost of the project' means the cost of construction; the cost of all lands,
properties, rights, easements, and franchises acquired; the cost of all
machinery and equipment; financing charges; interest prior to and during
construction and for one year after completion of construction; cost of
engineering; architectural and legal expenses, cost of plans and specifications,
and other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or
practicability of the project; administrative expense; and such other expenses
as may be necessary or incident to the financing authorized by this part, the
construction of any project, the placing of the same in operation, and the
condemnation of property necessary for such construction and operation. Any
obligation or expense incurred for any of the foregoing purposes shall be
regarded as a part of the cost of the project and may be paid or reimbursed as
such out of the proceeds of revenue bonds issued under this part for such
project.
(3.1)
'Develop' means to expend money so as to make land suitable for commercial,
residential, recreational, industrial, agricultural, institutional, or
transportation purposes.
(3.2)
'Development' means the act, process, or result of developing.
(3.3)
'Environmentally sensitive' means dunes, marshlands, maritime forests,
significant foraging and nesting sites for birds, sea turtle nesting sites, and
any habitats as certified by the department as containing species that have been
listed as either endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended. Such term shall also include any additional areas that
the authority deems to be environmentally significant and in need of
protection.
(3.4)
'Facility' means something that is built, installed, or established to serve a
particular purpose.
(3.5)
'Free and open' means without any fee for entry, use, or exit; essentially
unimproved and designated and reserved exclusively for enjoyment by the general
public; and readily accessible to the general public by means of pedestrian-only
public rights of way that lead directly from public roads or public parking
areas.
(3.6)
'Historically sensitive areas' means the Jekyll Island Club National Historic
Landmark District. Such term shall also include any additional areas that the
authority deems to be historically or archeologically significant and in need of
preservation.
(3.7)
'Improve' means to increase the value of land by making it more useful for
humans, including but not limited to cultivation or the addition of
facilities.
(3.8)
'Lowest rates reasonable and possible' means that:
(A)
The annual average daily rate, not including taxes, charged for at least 70
percent of all rooms in all new hotels and motels on the island that are offered
for rent to the general public does not exceed the annual average daily rate,
not including taxes, charged for a lodge room of the same occupancy among all
the following state parks and lodges in the state park system constituted by
Code Section 12-3-31: Amicalola Falls, George T. Bagby, Little Ocmulgee, Red Top
Mountain, and Unicoi. As used in this subparagraph, the term 'all new hotels
and motels' means all hotels and motels constructed on or after the effective
date of this paragraph, including but not limited to any hotels or motels
constructed to replace hotels or motels that existed previously on the same
site; and
(B)
Park user fees, if any, do not exceed the highest fees charged for similar uses
at state parks in the state park system constituted by Code Section
12-3-31.
(4)
'Master plan' means that document to be created under the auspices of and
adopted by the authority of Jekyll Island and as it may be amended from time to
time pursuant to Code Section 12-3-243.1.
(5)
'Park' means present and future parks, parkways, park and recreational resources
and facilities of the state or any department, agency, or institution of the
state, and any such facility constituting part of the State Parks System and
shall specifically include Jekyll Island State Park.
(6)
'Project' means any subdivision, hotel, cottage, apartment house, public
building, school, utility, dock, facility, watercourse, airport, bridge, golf
course, tennis court, or other resort recreational facility. This term also
means one or a combination of two or more of the following: buildings and
facilities, and all other structures, electric, gas, steam, water, and sewerage
utilities and facilities of every kind and character deemed by the authority to
be necessary or convenient for the efficient operation of any department, board,
commission, authority, or agency of the State of Georgia.
(7)
'Self-supporting' means to make financially independent by generating sufficient
income as to cover the costs of
operation."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.