08 SR822/AP
Senate
Resolution 822
By:
Senators Shafer of the 48th, Mullis of the 53rd, Reed of the 35th, Pearson of
the 51st, Smith of the 52nd and others
AS
PASSED
A
RESOLUTION
Correcting
the Georgia-Tennessee and Georgia-North Carolina boundaries; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
the northern border of the State of Georgia and the southern border of the State
of Tennessee and North Carolina lies at the 35th parallel, north of the
southernmost bank of the Tennessee River; and
WHEREAS,
a flawed survey conducted in 1818 and never accepted by the State of Georgia
erroneously marks the 35th parallel south of its actual location;
and
WHEREAS,
over a long period of years, from time to time, the legislatures of both states
have undertaken to authorize the appointment of committees and many other
measures for the purposes of resolving the issues associated with the wrongly
surveyed and erroneously marked border; and
WHEREAS,
by an Act of the General Assembly of North Carolina, approved in 1881 (N.C. Gen.
Stat. 141-1 to 6 (1964)), the General Assembly of North Carolina authorized the
Governor of North Carolina to appoint commissioners and a surveyor from North
Carolina to act with the commissioners and surveyors appointed or to be
appointed by any of the states contiguous to North Carolina to resurvey and mark
the boundary lines between these states; and
WHEREAS,
no official record of any such commissioners and surveyors as provided for in
said Act exists; and
WHEREAS,
by an Act of the Tennessee General Assembly, approved October 30, 1819, which
attempted to ratify the flawed 1818 survey, provided "that this act shall take
effect and be in force so soon as the state of Georgia shall have passed a law
similar in its provisions." Since Georgia has never passed such a law,
Tennessee´s own ratification is ineffective; and
WHEREAS,
by an Act of the General Assembly of Georgia, approved October 15, 1887
(Ga. L. 1886-87, p. 105), the General Assembly of Georgia directed the
Governor to communicate with the Governor of Tennessee for the purpose of having
a joint survey and settlement of the disputed boundary question and authorized
the appointment of a committee to meet with an assembly committee representing
the State of Tennessee, whose duty it would be to survey, establish, and
proclaim the true boundary line; and
WHEREAS,
by an Act approved April 8, 1889 (H.B. 749), the General Assembly of the State
of Tennessee made a similar legislative finding and enacted a similar
authorization expressing "grave doubts" as to the location of the state line
between Georgia and Tennessee; and
WHEREAS,
in July of 1891, Governor William J. Northern of Georgia wrote Governor J. P.
Buchanan of Tennessee enclosing a copy of Georgia´s 1887 Act and drawing
attention to the fact that it was in the interest of the citizens of both states
that the Governors cooperate in definitively determining the boundary;
and
WHEREAS,
after receiving no reply, Governor Northern again wrote Governor Buchanan of
Tennessee in December of 1891, to no avail; and
WHEREAS,
after a third letter, to which there was no response, Governor Northern
appointed three Georgia commissioners, who were not met with like commissioners,
as prescribed by the 1889 Tennessee Act; and
WHEREAS,
by a resolution approved December 21, 1897 (1897 Ga. L., p. 595), the Georgia
General Assembly reiterated "great uncertainty concerning the true northern
boundary of this State," and appointed W. A. Wimbish to make a study of all
documents and reports dealing with the boundary matter; and
WHEREAS,
by a resolution approved December 20, 1898 (Ga. L. 1898, p. 402), the Georgia
General Assembly approved the creation of a "joint tribunal" to consist of three
judges or commissioners each from the States of Georgia, Tennessee, and North
Carolina for the purposes of resolving the border dispute; and
WHEREAS,
neither Tennessee nor North Carolina cooperated in the tribunal;
and
WHEREAS,
on April 15, 1905 (S.B. 513), the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation
similar to that of 1889, again expressing "grave doubts" as to the
Georgia-Tennessee boundary; and
WHEREAS,
by a resolution approved August 17, 1906 (Ga. L. 1906, p. 1160), the Georgia
General Assembly passed another resolution disputing the location of the line
between the two states which authorized the Governor of Georgia to confer with
the Governor of Tennessee; and
WHEREAS,
by a resolution approved August 19, 1916 (Ga. L. 1916, 1042), the Georgia
General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a resurvey of the eastern end
of the Georgia-Tennessee boundary; and
WHEREAS,
on August 16, 1922 (Ga. L. 1922, p. 1139), the Georgia General Assembly passed a
similar resolution calling for the resurvey of the western end of the
Georgia-Tennessee boundary; and
WHEREAS,
by a resolution approved March 6, 1941 (Ga. L. 1941, p. 1850), the General
Assembly directed the Governor of Georgia to communicate with the Governor of
Tennessee for the purpose of having a joint survey and settlement of the
disputed question and further resolved that a standing committee of the House of
Representatives be created to meet with a similar committee of the State of
Tennessee to establish, survey, and proclaim the true boundary line between
Georgia and Tennessee; and
WHEREAS,
by a resolution approved March 27, 1947 (Ga. L. 1947, p. 1728), the General
Assembly appointed a commission to negotiate with the proper authorities of the
State of Tennessee and to agree upon and to fix a definite boundary line, and,
in the failure of the commission to reach a settlement, the General Assembly
authorized and directed the Attorney General of the State of Georgia to
institute suit in the federal courts for purposes of accurately determining the
boundary line between Georgia and Tennessee;
and
WHEREAS, by a resolution approved March 6, 1971 (Ga. L. 1971, p. 2374), the General Assembly directed the Governor of Georgia to communicate with the Governors of North Carolina and Tennessee for the purpose of having joint surveys and settlements of the disputed boundary questions and further resolved that a Georgia-North Carolina and Georgia-Tennessee Boundary Line Commission be created to meet with similar commissions of the legislatures of the states of North Carolina and Tennessee to establish, survey, and proclaim the true boundary lines between Georgia and North Carolina and between Georgia and Tennessee, and to take such further or other action or pursue such remedy or remedies as the joint Commission of the Georgia General Assembly, by a majority vote, deems proper to establish the definite and true boundary lines between Georgia and North Carolina and Georgia and Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, by a resolution approved March 6, 1971 (Ga. L. 1971, p. 2374), the General Assembly directed the Governor of Georgia to communicate with the Governors of North Carolina and Tennessee for the purpose of having joint surveys and settlements of the disputed boundary questions and further resolved that a Georgia-North Carolina and Georgia-Tennessee Boundary Line Commission be created to meet with similar commissions of the legislatures of the states of North Carolina and Tennessee to establish, survey, and proclaim the true boundary lines between Georgia and North Carolina and between Georgia and Tennessee, and to take such further or other action or pursue such remedy or remedies as the joint Commission of the Georgia General Assembly, by a majority vote, deems proper to establish the definite and true boundary lines between Georgia and North Carolina and Georgia and Tennessee; and
WHEREAS,
by suggestion of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the
Chairman of the Tennessee Public Service Commission and the Chairman of the
Georgia Public Service Commission agreed in 1974 to reserve resolution of the
general boundary issue until a later date (15 FERC, p. 61240), the resolution of
which has never been reached; and
WHEREAS,
notwithstanding these authorizations and directions, the boundary lines have
never been accurately resurveyed and marked and remain in doubt;
and
WHEREAS,
it is to the public interest and welfare that accurate and exact lines between
the said states be established and proclaimed.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the Governor
of Georgia has the full support of the General Assembly and is hereby strongly
urged to initiate negotiations with the Governors of Tennessee and North
Carolina for the purpose of correcting the flawed 1818 survey erroneously
marking the 35th parallel south of its actual location and to officially
recognize the State of Georgia´s northern border with the States of
Tennessee and North Carolina as the precise 35th parallel as was intended when
both states were created. The Governor of Georgia shall have the authority to
negotiate settlement of the issue for the State of Georgia which shall be
binding upon the State with the approval of such agreement by the General
Assembly.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that should the Governor of Georgia´s negotiations with
the Governors of Tennessee and North Carolina fail to come to any resolution to
the issue of the disputed boundary between the two states, then the Attorney
General of Georgia is authorized to take the appropriate legal action to correct
Georgia's northern border at the 35th parallel. Such legal action by the
Attorney General of Georgia includes, but is not limited to, initiating suit in
the United States Supreme Court against either or both of the States of
Tennessee and North Carolina for final settlement of this boundary
issue.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the clear and express intent of the General
Assembly to correct, establish, survey, and proclaim the northern border of the
State of Georgia and the southern border of the States of Tennessee and North
Carolina at the true 35th parallel.