Georgia legislators approved a similar resolution last year, but a commission appointed to take action on the border didn’t make much headway.

Morris said it’s important to continue pushing the issue, and he hopes it gains traction this year. Access to the Tennessee River could help provide for Georgia’s ever-increasing demand for more drinking water.

“My hope is that we can continue dealing with these issues while water is not at a crisis level,” said Morris, a Republican from Cumming. “It’s vital to our community, for our state.”

The resolution calls for three representatives and three senators to be appointed to a boundary line commission that would contact elected officials in Tennessee and North Carolina. If those states don’t negotiate, the border commission could recommend other, undefined steps to reclaim the land.