Georgia CommonsHB 563: Motor vehicles; authorize licensed physical therapists to certify an individual is disabled for purposes of obtaining special vehicle decals
Last action March 27, 2026 · Senate Read Second Time
Despite its title about physical therapists and disability decals, the substitute bill text actually creates a new Georgia income tax credit for large woody biomass power generators, capped at $200 million total.
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 LegiScan holds.
In plain language
The header for this bill describes authorizing physical therapists to certify disability for special vehicle decals, but the substitute text supplied here does something entirely different. It adds a new section to Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.38) creating an income tax credit for taxpayers who buy, install, and prepare power generators that run on woody biomass, defined as wood residuals like land-clearing debris, urban wood waste, and pellets, but not wood from national forests. To qualify, a generator must have at least 50 megawatts of capacity and have run at least half the time in the prior tax year. The credit is $500,000 per megawatt, claimable for up to five years, with a statewide cap of $200 million and a claim deadline of December 31, 2036. Unused credits can carry forward ten years and be transferred once to another Georgia taxpayer under specific notification rules, and taxpayers must reimburse the state for related audits.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Georgia income tax credit for taxpayers who install large woody biomass power generators, set at $500,000 per megawatt of capacity for up to five years.
- Caps the total statewide amount of this tax credit at $200 million and requires all credits to be claimed by December 31, 2036.
- Allows unused credits to carry forward for ten years and to be sold or transferred one time to a single other Georgia taxpayer, with written notice to the Department of Revenue.
- Requires taxpayers claiming the credit to certify compliance on their state tax return and to reimburse the department for audits tied to the credit.
- Authorizes the state revenue commissioner to write rules to administer the new credit program.
- Limits eligible generators to those with at least 50 megawatts of capacity that operated at 50 percent capacity or more in the prior year, running on wood residue rather than national forest wood.
Who it affects
Owners and operators of large biomass power generation equipment, Georgia corporate and individual income taxpayers who might buy or receive transferred credits, and the Georgia Department of Revenue, which will certify, audit, and administer the new credit program.
Why it matters
If enacted, businesses that build qualifying wood-waste power generators in Georgia could offset up to $200 million in state income taxes over time, potentially encouraging biomass energy investment, while the state treasury would see reduced tax collections from participating taxpayers.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.38, defining 'power generator' as equipment of at least 50 megawatts capacity running on woody biomass at 50 percent utilization or more.
- The credit amount is set at $500,000 per megawatt of capacity, claimable for a maximum of five taxable years, per subsection (b).
- The total statewide credit pool is capped at $200 million, and all credits must be claimed by December 31, 2036, per subsections (b) and (d).
- Credits exceeding a taxpayer's tax liability can carry forward for ten years, but not past the 2036 cutoff, per subsection (d)(2).
- Subsection (e) permits a one-time transfer or sale of unused credits to a single other Georgia taxpayer, with detailed notification requirements to the Department of Revenue.
- Subsection (f) requires taxpayers to reimburse the department for department-initiated audits related to the credit and lets the commissioner recapture wrongly claimed credits.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“A taxpayer shall be allowed tax credits for expenditures made for the purchase, installation, and readying of a power generator and related components against the tax imposed by Code Section 48-7-20 in an amount of $500,000.00 per megawatt of capacity for a maximum of five taxable years.”
“The aggregate amount of tax credits allowed pursuant to this Code section shall not exceed $200 million.”
Status timeline
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (10 actions)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Karen Bennett (D, HD-094)
- Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
- John Corbett (R, HD-174)
- Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
- Anissa Jones (D, HD-143)
- Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
Votes
- House voteMarch 4, 2025
168 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 8 absent)
Topics
- tax credits
- biomass energy
- state revenue
- energy policy