A committee of the Georgian Parliament passed a bill on fishermen's rights

ATLANTA - A State House committee narrowly approved a bill that guarantees Georgia residents the right to fish in navigable rivers and streams, despite objections from representatives of recreational boat owners' interests who complain the bill's excessive restrictions.House Bill 1172, which passed the state House Judiciary Committee Thursday with just one vote of victory, is a continuation of legislation passed by the General Assembly on the last day of last year's session. Last year's bill was introduced following a lawsuit by a property owner along the Flint River who sought to ban public fishing on his stretch of the river.After Governor Brian Kemp signed the bill into law and it became law last July, some waterfront property owners expressed concerns that the law contained provisions that enshrined the right of Georgia citizens to use state waters under the "public trust doctrine." The new bill notes that the reference to the public trust doctrine has been removed while preserving the intent of last year's legislation, said State Rep. James Burchett, the chief sponsor of House Bill 1172, before the committee vote Thursday.

"Under common law, the citizens of this state have an inherent right to use navigable rivers for hunting and fishing," he said. Burchett emphasized that the bill only applies to navigable rivers.However, opponents of the measure