Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB43: SB43 Bona Fide Conservation Use Property; the maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation; increase

Last action January 29, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would raise the acreage cap for the state's conservation use property tax break from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres, but only if voters approve a related constitutional amendment in November 2026.

In plain language

Georgia law lets landowners get a lower, preferential property tax assessment on land used for farming, timber production, or environmentally sensitive conservation, capped at 2,000 acres per person (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4). This bill would raise that cap to 6,000 acres across every part of the law that references the limit, including rules for family owned farm entities, environmentally sensitive land certified by the Department of Natural Resources, and the state's central registry of conservation use property. The change would not take effect on its own. Section 2 makes it contingent: it only becomes law on January 1, 2027 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 If voters reject that amendment, this bill is automatically repealed on that same date and never takes effect.

What the bill does

Raises the maximum acreage eligible for bona fide conservation use property tax assessment from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres per single owner.
Applies the same 6,000 acre cap to environmentally sensitive property certified by the Department of Natural Resources under the conservation use program.
Updates the family owned farm entity rules so a person's allocation calculations use the new 6,000 acre limit instead of 2,000 acres.
Directs the state's central registry of conservation use property, maintained using county tax assessor data, to enforce the new 6,000 acre limit statewide.
Makes the entire Act contingent on voter approval of a related constitutional amendment at the November 2026 election, with automatic repeal if voters reject it.

Who it affects

Farmers, timber producers, and other landowners who enroll property in Georgia's conservation use covenants, including family owned farm entities and owners of state-certified environmentally sensitive land; county boards of tax assessors and the state revenue commissioner, who administer the assessment and registry; and Georgia voters, who must approve a companion constitutional amendment.

Why it matters

Landowners with large farm, timber, or conservation tracts could shelter three times as much acreage under the reduced tax assessment, lowering their property tax bills on that land. Whether this happens depends entirely on a statewide vote in November 2026, not just legislative passage.

Key provisions

Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4 to replace every reference to a 2,000 acre cap with a 6,000 acre cap, covering farm and timber production land under subsection (a)(1).
Section 1 also raises the cap for environmentally sensitive property certified by the Department of Natural Resources under subsection (a)(2).
Section 1 revises the family owned farm entity allocation rules in subparagraph (A.1) so unused acreage calculations use the new 6,000 acre limit.
Section 1 updates subsection (e) to let a single owner enter multiple conservation covenants totaling up to 6,000 acres instead of 2,000.
Section 1 updates subsection (r), requiring the commissioner's statewide registry of conservation use property to enforce the 6,000 acre limitation.
Section 2 makes the Act effective January 1, 2027 only if voters ratify a corresponding constitutional amendment in the November 2026 general election, and repeals it automatically if they do not.

Status timeline

2025-01-29Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

property taxes
conservation use property
farmland taxation
constitutional amendment
land use