Lawmakers pass resolution against joining boundary commission

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee lawmakers made it clear today that they don't want to participate in a boundary commission proposed by Georgia legislators to consider moving the state line. House members voted unanimously for a resolution that formally rejects any participation in such a commission.

Both chambers of the GOP-controlled Georgia Legislature last month passed a resolution that calls on their governor to establish a commission to try to rectify a 19th century survey that mistakenly placed Georgia's northern line just short of the Tennessee River.

Some Tennessee lawmakers had initially made light of the issue. But they now feel it's time to get serious about the matter. The resolution reads in part:

``This General Assembly realizes that the Tennessee-Georgia boundary has been well established for nearly 200 years, and that there is no valid reason for Tennessee to revisit this issue.''

Short of a legal challenge, both states and Congress would have to agree on any border change, which drought-stricken Georgia seeks to get access to the Tennessee River.