HB90: HB90 Revenue and taxation; increase maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property

Georgia law lets owners of farmland, timberland, and certain environmentally sensitive land get a lower, preferential property tax assessment if they agree to keep the land in a qualifying use through a covenant with the county. That benefit currently caps out at 2,000 acres per owner. House Bill 90 rewrites Georgia's conservation use property law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4) to raise that cap to 4,000 acres, including for family owned farm entities, environmentally sensitive property certified by the Department of Natural Resources, and the state's central registry that tracks these covenants. The change would not take effect automatically. It is written to become law on January 1, 2027, but only if Georgia voters ratify a companion constitutional amendment raising the same acreage limit at the November 2026 general election. If voters reject that amendment, this bill is automatically repealed on the same date and the 2,000 acre cap stays in place.

• Raises the acreage limit for bona fide conservation use property tax assessment from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres per owner under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4.
• Applies the same 4,000 acre limit to family owned farm entities, adjusting how each member's individual and combined acreage allocation is calculated.
• Raises the acreage cap for certified environmentally sensitive property (land kept in its natural state or protecting water quality) from 2,000 to 4,000 acres.
• Updates the state's central registry of conservation use property, maintained by the state revenue commissioner, to track compliance with the new 4,000 acre limit statewide.
• Makes the whole law contingent: it only takes effect January 1, 2027 if voters approve a related constitutional amendment in November 2026, and automatically repeals if they do not.

Owners of farmland, timberland, and DNR-certified environmentally sensitive property who use Georgia's conservation use covenant program, including family farming entities that hold land jointly, county tax assessors who administer the covenants, and the state revenue commissioner's office, which maintains the statewide registry.

Landowners with large farms or timber tracts could shelter up to twice as much acreage under the reduced conservation use tax assessment, lowering their property tax bills on that land. Because the change depends on a 2026 constitutional amendment vote, whether it happens is entirely in voters' hands.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4(a)(1) to raise the general conservation use acreage cap from 2,000 to 4,000 acres for farmland and timberland.
• Section 1 also revises the family owned farm entity allocation rule in division (a)(1)(A.1)(ii) so members can use the new 4,000 acre limit when allocating shares of jointly owned land.
• Section 1 revises subsection (a)(2) to raise the acreage cap to 4,000 acres for DNR-certified environmentally sensitive property.
• Section 1 revises subsection (b)(3) so no taxpayer can receive the tax benefit on more than 4,000 acres total, even across multiple properties.
• Section 1 revises subsection (e) to raise the 4,000 acre cap on the aggregate acreage a single owner can place under conservation use covenants.
• Section 1 revises subsection (r) directing the commissioner to update the statewide conservation use registry to enforce the new 4,000 acre limit.
• Section 2 makes the entire Act effective January 1, 2027 only if voters ratify a matching constitutional amendment in the November 2026 election, and repeals it automatically otherwise.

1. 2025-05-09Effective Date 2027-01-01
2. 2025-05-09Act 78
3. 2025-05-09House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-18Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-18Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-18Senate Engrossed (Senate)
8. 2025-03-13Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)Primary sponsor
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 20, 2025

   111 yea, 62 nay (1 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #56

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2025

   29 yea, 23 nay (1 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Hb 90, Hb 223, Hr 32: Senate Vote #236

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2025

   47 yea, 3 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #239

• property taxes
• conservation use property
• farmland taxation
• constitutional amendment