The Georgia House of Representatives has approved a bill allowing property owners to restrict access to small waterways in the state.

The House of Representatives approved a controversial measure that, according to opponents, will limit the public's ability to navigate Georgia's small waterways by boat and kayak. The proposal, sponsored by Republican James Burchett from Waycross, aims to clarify a law passed in the previous session after landowners along the Flint River successfully claimed in court that they have the right to control access to fishing on their property.

Burchett, who is the leading assistant in the House of Representatives, claims that his bill does not affect people's right to access water by boat and does not change access rules; however, kayaking enthusiasts see it differently. Opponents of the bill are urging lawmakers to be more cautious. "There will always be some degree of pain when implementing such measures," Burchett said on Monday. "But I tell you, we have rewritten this bill 15 times already, trying to please everyone. But in the end, we are balancing between land ownership rights and fishing and mobility rights. That's what we're doing here."

Recently, a similar proposal was discussed in the Senate committee. The House of Representatives' proposal is the result of a research committee that studied a complex issue last year, related to centuries of judicial decisions and property records, which depends on the definition of floatability established during the Civil War.

Conflicts on Georgia's rivers are increasing as some landowners along the banks attempt to restrict access to fishing in some of the state's most popular fishing spots. Some of these clashes are becoming violent. Burchett also introduced a separate bill last week that defines which waterways are navigable - and therefore open to the public - and which are non-navigable and require property owners' permission for access.

The main proposal by Burchetta was approved by the chamber with a vote of 107 to 60 on Monday, which did not split lawmakers along party lines. The proposal barely passed the committee earlier this month, with the committee chair's vote determining the outcome. David Jenkins, whose district includes the Flint River, was one of the Republicans who voted against the bill, stating that they are going too far. He noted that last year's law has been in effect for several months now without any issues. He believes that lawmakers should allow the courts to resolve this matter.

“We risk passing a law that changes the laws currently in dispute,” Jenkins said. “This law also restricts the use of navigable waterways in an unprecedented way, unlike anything in the state’s history. It divides what the public can do on navigable waterways based on whether the property owner owns the riverbed or not. This requires a group engaged in boating and fishing to have knowledge of property boundaries, which they cannot ascertain while floating down the river.”

The bill is now being sent to the Senate. The last day of the legislative session is March 28.