HB 528: Revenue and taxation; require certain high resource use facilities to provide disclosures regarding community impact and energy and water usage

Georgia currently has no state law requiring big power-hungry facilities, such as data centers, to disclose how much energy and water they use or how they affect surrounding communities. House Bill 528 would create that requirement by adding a new section to Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. Chapter 1 of Title 48). Any facility with a peak energy load of 30 megawatts or more, called a 'high resource use facility,' would have to file a detailed disclosure report with the Georgia Department of Revenue every year by December 31, starting in 2025. Planned or proposed facilities would have to file 30 days before signing a tax incentive contract or applying for a construction or operating permit. Reports must cover energy sources and usage, water consumption and discharge, property taxes paid, air quality permits, and noise levels. The reports would be public, not confidential, and posted on the department's website. Facilities that skip this disclosure would be barred from receiving any tax incentives.

• Creates a new requirement for facilities using 30 megawatts or more of peak energy to file annual public disclosure reports with the state.
• Requires proposed or planned high-use facilities to file a disclosure report 30 days before signing a tax incentive contract or applying for a construction or operating permit.
• Mandates that reports include detailed energy source data, water usage and discharge amounts, property tax history, air permits, and noise levels near the facility.
• Bars any high resource use facility from receiving a tax incentive if it fails to submit the required disclosure report.
• Requires the Department of Revenue to publish every disclosure report on its public website with no confidentiality protection.

This bill affects owners and operators of large energy-intensive facilities such as data centers, factories, or other operations with peak energy loads of 30 megawatts or more, along with state and local agencies that grant tax incentives, permits, or licenses to such facilities, and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which would collect and publish the reports.

Communities near large data centers or industrial facilities would gain public access to information about how much energy and water these operations consume, what pollution or noise they generate, and how much they pay in property taxes, potentially informing local debates over tax breaks and permits for such projects.

• New Code Section 48-1-11(a) defines 'high resource use facility' as one with a peak energy load of 30 megawatts or greater, and defines 'disclosure report' and 'tax incentive.'
• Subsection (b) requires existing high resource use facilities to file disclosure reports annually by December 31, starting December 31, 2025.
• Subsection (c) requires proposed or planned facilities to file a report at least 30 days before receiving a tax incentive or applying for a required permit.
• 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 a tax incentive contract with the facility.
• Subsection (h) makes the reports public record, requiring the Department of Revenue to post them on its website.
• Subsection (i) blocks any tax incentive for a facility whose owner or operator fails to submit 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