SB306: SB306 Bona Fide Conservation Use Property; impending expiration to be sent via certified mail; require notices

Georgia's conservation use property tax program (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4) lets landowners get a lower property tax assessment if they agree to keep land in a qualifying use, such as farming or forestry, for a ten-year covenant period. Currently county tax assessors must notify owners by first-class mail before a covenant expires. This bill lets owners request that notice by certified mail or email instead, and it expands the definition of qualifying conservation use to include carbon sequestration as a secondary use alongside existing forestry or farming activity. The bill also creates a temporary fix for owners whose covenants lapsed in the two years before July 1, 2025 because a mail carrier could not deliver the expiration notice, letting those covenants be reinstated and any excess taxes refunded without extra fees. It allows a single owner with several covenants to combine them into one new ten-year covenant, and it caps the low-income housing tax credit under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.6 at $100 million per year for 2026 through 2028. Most provisions apply starting with tax years on or after January 1, 2027.

• Expands the legal definition of bona fide conservation use property to include carbon sequestration as a secondary use alongside forestry or farming.
• Requires county tax assessors to send certified mail notice of an expiring conservation use covenant if the taxpayer requests it, and to send an email notice if the taxpayer provides an email address.
• Lets certain lapsed covenants from 2023-2025 be reinstated and refunds excess taxes when a mail carrier affidavit shows the expiration notice could not be delivered, without added fees or interest.
• Allows a landowner with multiple conservation use covenants on different parcels to combine them into a single new ten-year covenant.
• Adds a one-time option for property to move between forest land conservation use and standard conservation use assessment after a change in ownership.
• Sets a $100 million annual cap on newly awarded low-income housing tax credits for tax years 2026 through 2028.

Landowners enrolled in Georgia's conservation use or forest land conservation use property tax programs, county boards of tax assessors and tax commissioners who administer covenants and notices, landowners participating in carbon sequestration programs, and developers or investors relying on the state's low-income housing tax credit.

Landowners who miss a mailed expiration notice can currently lose their reduced tax assessment and face higher property taxes; this bill gives them a certified mail or email option and a path to fix past mail delivery failures. It also caps growth in a major housing tax credit and recognizes carbon sequestration as part of conservation land use.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4 to add carbon sequestration as a permitted secondary use of bona fide conservation use property.
• Section 1 requires certified mail notice of covenant expiration if requested, plus optional email notice, at least 60 days before expiration.
• Section 1 (subsection (d.1)) allows reinstatement of covenants that lapsed in the two years before July 1, 2025 due to undeliverable mail, with refunds of excess taxes and no added fees or interest.
• Section 1 (subsection (e.1)) permits a single owner to combine multiple existing covenants into one new ten-year covenant, but bars removing property from coverage or changing eligibility rules.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.7 to allow a one-time change between forest land conservation use and current use assessment tied to ownership changes.
• Section 3 caps newly awarded low-income housing tax credits under O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.6 at $100 million per year for 2026 through 2028.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as the Governor's signature, with Sections 1 and 2 applying to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-05-06Effective Date 2026-05-06
2. 2026-05-06Act 431
3. 2026-05-06Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-25House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-25House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)Primary sponsor
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

   31 yea, 22 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Sb 306, Sb 465, Sb 498, Sr 668: Senate Vote #615

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #636

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2026

   158 yea, 9 nay (3 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #758

4. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   52 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #963

• property taxes
• conservation land
• carbon sequestration
• low-income housing tax credit
• land use covenants