| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 62 0080 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Bill 466 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Cameron of the 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | st |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Williams of the 168 |
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| 6 | 6 | | th |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Stephens of the 164 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Petrea |
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| 10 | 10 | | of the 166 |
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| 11 | 11 | | th |
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| 12 | 12 | | , and Reeves of the 99 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 16 | 16 | | AN ACT |
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| 17 | 17 | | To amend Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, |
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| 18 | 18 | | 1 |
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| 19 | 19 | | relating to other state symbols, so as to designate the marsh tacky horse as the official2 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Georgia heritage horse breed; to provide legislative findings and declarations; to provide for3 |
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| 21 | 21 | | related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 |
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| 22 | 22 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1.6 |
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| 24 | 24 | | The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:7 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) The presence of the marsh tacky horse in Georgia can be traced back to the 1500s;8 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) The marsh tacky horse has been used by every culture and class of people that9 |
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| 27 | 27 | | encountered it, including Indigenous nations, like the Seminoles, the Creek, the10 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Cherokee; European settlers; and the Maroon and11 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Gullah communities;12 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion utilized marsh tacky horses to navigate13 |
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| 31 | 31 | | through rough, swampy terrain during guerilla campaigns against the British;14 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (4) The marsh tacky horse was the predominant stock horse in the southeastern United15 |
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| 33 | 33 | | States up to the 1930s;16 |
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| 34 | 34 | | H. B. 466 |
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| 35 | 35 | | - 1 - 25 LC 62 0080 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (5) During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl eras, larger cattle were brought in from |
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| 37 | 37 | | 17 |
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| 38 | 38 | | the West requiring larger horses causing the marsh tacky horse to fall out of use;18 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (6) The marsh tacky horse is listed as "critical" under the endangered categories by the19 |
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| 40 | 40 | | Livestock Conservancy;20 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (7) There are less than 2,000 marsh tacky horses in existence;21 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (8) Despite the number of marsh tacky horses remaining, they are still used in hunting22 |
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| 43 | 43 | | wild game and herding cattle; and23 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (9) Establishing the marsh tacky horse as the official Georgia heritage horse breed is24 |
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| 45 | 45 | | necessary to fully recognize the importance of the breed and its contributions to Georgia25 |
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| 46 | 46 | | history.26 |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 2.27 |
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| 48 | 48 | | Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to other28 |
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| 49 | 49 | | state symbols, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:29 |
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| 50 | 50 | | "50-3-94. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 30 |
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| 52 | 52 | | The marsh tacky horse is designated as the official Georgia heritage horse breed."31 |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3.32 |
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| 54 | 54 | | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.33 |
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| 55 | 55 | | H. B. 466 |
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| 56 | 56 | | - 2 - |
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