HB528: HB528 Revenue and taxation; require certain high resource use facilities to provide disclosures regarding community impact and energy and water usage

Georgia currently has no law requiring facilities that use very large amounts of electricity, such as data centers or industrial plants, to disclose their energy and water use to the public. This bill would create such a requirement by adding a new section to Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-1-11). Any facility with a peak energy load of 30 megawatts or more would have to file a detailed disclosure report with the Department of Revenue covering its energy sources, water use and discharge, noise levels, property taxes paid, and expansion plans. Existing facilities would need to file by December 31, 2025 and every year after. Proposed facilities would need to file before signing a tax incentive contract or applying for a permit to build or operate. Reports would be posted publicly, and facilities that skip this requirement could not receive tax incentives.

• Creates a new legal category, 'high resource use facility,' for any facility with a peak energy load of 30 megawatts or more.
• Requires existing high resource use facilities to file an annual disclosure report with the Department of Revenue starting December 31, 2025.
• Requires planned or proposed facilities to file a disclosure report at least 30 days before signing a tax incentive contract or applying for a construction or operating permit.
• Requires each report to detail energy sources and usage, water use and discharge, noise levels, property taxes paid, and expansion plans.
• Bars any high resource use facility from receiving a state or local tax incentive if it fails to submit the required disclosure report.
• Makes disclosure reports public record by requiring the Department of Revenue to post them on its website, with no confidentiality protection.

Owners and operators of large energy-intensive facilities such as data centers, manufacturing plants, or other operations using 30 megawatts or more of power; state and local government agencies that grant tax incentives or permits; and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which must collect and publish the reports.

Communities near large power-hungry facilities would gain public access to information about how much energy and water those facilities use, where that energy comes from, and how much noise or wastewater they produce. Facility owners would face new paperwork and could lose tax incentives if they do not comply.

• Subsection (a) defines 'high resource use facility' as one with a peak energy load of 30 megawatts or greater, whether existing or planned.
• Subsection (b) requires existing facilities to submit a disclosure report by December 31, 2025, and annually thereafter.
• Subsection (c) requires planned facilities to file 30 days before signing a tax incentive contract or applying for a required government permit, whichever comes first.
• Subsection (d) lists required report contents: facility details, energy usage and sources, water usage and discharge, ad valorem (property) taxes paid, air quality permits, and noise levels within 0.25 miles.
• Subsection (f) requires government bodies to verify a disclosure report was filed before entering into any tax incentive contract with the facility.
• Subsection (h) makes disclosure reports fully public, with no confidentiality protection, and requires the Department of Revenue to post them online.
• Subsection (i) prohibits any high resource use facility from receiving a tax incentive if it fails to file the required disclosure report.

1. 2025-02-21House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-20House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-19House Hopper (House)

• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)Primary sponsor
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Vance Smith (R, HD-138)

• data centers
• energy usage disclosure
• water usage
• tax incentives
• community impact