Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 547: Revenue and taxation; bona fide conservation use property; permit combination of multiple covenants into a single, new, ten-year covenant
Last action March 25, 2026 · Senate Read Second Time
House Bill 547 would let Georgia landowners combine multiple conservation-use property tax covenants into one new ten-year covenant, and would allow carbon sequestration as a secondary use on that land.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia landowners who enroll property in a conservation use covenant get a preferential, lower property tax assessment (under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4) in exchange for keeping the land in a qualifying use, like farming or forestry, for ten years. This bill changes that program in a few ways. It expands the definition of conservation use to say that land can also be used secondarily for carbon sequestration, meaning storing carbon in soil or vegetation under a recognized registry or program, without losing its preferential status. The bill also lets an owner who has several parcels under separate, valid covenants combine them all into one new ten-year covenant, as long as none of the property is removed from coverage and the owner still meets all the usual eligibility rules. Owners must file a new property tax return to start this process, and parcels with delinquent taxes cannot be combined. A separate section gives new owners of forest land conservation property 180 days after acquiring it to switch covenant types. The changes would apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2027.
What the bill does
- Adds carbon sequestration as an allowed secondary use of bona fide conservation use property, alongside existing conservation and forestry purposes.
- Allows a single owner with multiple parcels under separate conservation use covenants to merge them into one new ten-year covenant without it counting as a breach of the old covenants.
- Requires an owner combining covenants to first file a real property tax return with the county board of tax assessors by the normal filing deadline.
- Bars parcels with delinquent taxes from being combined into a new covenant.
- Gives new owners of forest land conservation use property 180 days after acquiring the land to switch it to a different qualifying covenant without triggering a breach.
- Sets the changes to apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
Who it affects
Landowners enrolled in Georgia's conservation use or forest land conservation use property tax programs, especially those with multiple parcels under separate covenants, county boards of tax assessors who process the new combination filings, and buyers who newly acquire forest land conservation property.
Why it matters
Landowners with several separate covenants would gain a simpler way to consolidate their conservation tax breaks into one covenant instead of tracking multiple expiration dates, and could also add carbon credit activity to qualifying land. County tax offices would need to process a new type of filing and verify delinquent taxes before allowing combinations.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4(a)(1)(F) to allow carbon sequestration as a secondary use under the Georgia Carbon Sequestration Registry or another carbon sequestration program.
- Section 1 adds new subsection (e.1) letting a single owner combine multiple parcels under separate valid covenants into one new ten-year covenant, provided all parcels would otherwise qualify for renewal.
- Section 1 clarifies the combination process cannot be used to remove property from coverage, change qualifying property requirements, or change qualifying use requirements.
- Section 1 requires the owner to file a real property tax return with the board of tax assessors by the normal deadline before combining covenants, and bars parcels with delinquent taxes from combination.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.7(f) to give an owner who newly acquires forest land conservation property 180 days to switch it into a covenant under that Code section.
- Section 3 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature or becoming law without signature, applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
From the bill
“A single owner, as described in subparagraph (a)(1)(C) of this Code section, who has multiple parcels of bona fide conservation use property that are collectively subject to more than one valid covenant under this Code section may combine such parcels and covenants in whole under a single, new, ten-year covenant”
“Parcels on which delinquent taxes are owed shall not be eligible to be combined”
Discussed in meetings (7)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Ways & Means Committee, March 3, 2026
From 0:19:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 547 as combining three changes to conservation-use property tax agreements. The sponsor said it would clarify that timber carbon credits are allowed, let landowners combine parcels under separate ten-year agreements onto one timeline, and provide 180 days to complete a conversion from conservation-use treatment to forest-land protection treatment without breaching the agreement. The sponsor said these changes would keep the program focused on conservation and simplify tracking for landowners and tax assessors. A committee member asked whether combining agreements would mean paying only one fee. The sponsor answered that each parcel would still carry its fee, so local governments would not lose that revenue. A do-pass motion received voice support, with no opposition heard, and the chair moved on without announcing a count.
House Rules Committee, March 4, 2026
From 1:06:49 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2014
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 547 would simplify local administration and tracking of property enrolled in conservation-use tax treatment. The sponsor argued that reducing paperwork would help both assessors and landowners. No questions or decision followed.
House Rules Committee, March 5, 2026
From 0:46:27 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2014
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 547 on the floor calendar without opposition. There was no presentation or substantive discussion.
House floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, PM, part 1)
From 0:42:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2108
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described three changes intended to keep land in agriculture and conservation: clarifying carbon-credit language for timber, allowing one owner's conservation-use parcels to share a single 10-year agreement timeline, and providing a grace period when converting conservation-use property to Forest Land Protection Act status. The sponsor said aligning timelines would simplify tracking for landowners and county assessors, while the grace period would prevent penalties before owners could complete paperwork. Asked whether parcels must be adjacent, the sponsor said they could be anywhere within the same county. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill 169-2.
Senate Finance Committee, March 23, 2026
From 0:23:19 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute with three changes to conservation-use property tax rules. The sponsor said it would clarify language on timber carbon credits, allow landowners to put multiple conservation-use agreements on the same timeline, and provide a 180-day grace period when converting land to the forest land protection program. The sponsor said aligning agreements would simplify tracking for landowners and assessors, while the grace period would prevent penalties when conservation-related paperwork was not ready at closing. The sponsor reported no objections from ACCG or assessors. In response to the chair, the sponsor confirmed that the bill would have no state fiscal impact. The committee approved it unanimously.
Status timeline
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
Show full history (9 actions)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Chas Cannon (R, HD-172)
- Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
- John Corbett (R, HD-174)
- Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)
- David Huddleston (R, HD-72)
- Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2026
169 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 4 excused)
Topics
- property taxes
- conservation use covenants
- carbon sequestration
- farmland and forestry taxation