--- title: HR 32. General Assembly; increase maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property - CA collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr32 cite_as: HR 32, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr32 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr32.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr32/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69433 date: 2025-05-14 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr31.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr33.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1431 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr32.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 32 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 sponsors: - Chuck Efstration - Robert Dickey - Leesa Hagan - Debbie Buckner - Sam Watson text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR32/2025 upstream_id: 1925923 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - property taxes - conservation use - farmland - constitutional amendment - ballot measure --- # HR 32. General Assembly; increase maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property - CA ## Text 25 LC 44 3014S/AP House Resolution 32 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Efstration of the 104 th, Dickey of the 134 th, Hagan of the 156 th, and Buckner of the 137th A RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to increase th e maximum acreage to1 qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property; to provide for2 related matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection;3 and for other purposes.4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III of the Constitution is am ended by revising7 subparagraph (e)(1) as follows:8 "(e) The General Assembly shall provide by general law:9 (1) For the definition and methods of assessment and taxation, such methods to include10 a formula based on current use, annual productivity, and real property sales data, of: 'bona11 fide conservation use property' to include bona fide agricultur al and timber land not to12 exceed 2,000 4,000 acres of a single owner; and 'bona fide residential transitional13 property,' to include private single-family residential owner occupied property located in14 transitional developing areas not to exceed five acres of any single owner. Such methods15 of assessment and taxation shall be subject to the following conditions:16 H. R. 32 - 1 - 25 LC 44 3014S/AP (A) A property owner desiring the benefit of such methods of a ssessment and17 taxation shall be required to enter into a covenant to continue the property in bona fide18 conservation use or bona fide residential transitional use; and19 (B) A breach of such covenant within ten years shall result in a recapture of the tax20 savings resulting from such methods of assessment and taxation and may result in other21 appropriate penalties;"22 SECTION 2.23 The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be publi shed and submitted as24 provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the25 above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:26 "( ) YES27 ( ) NO 28 29 30 Shall the Constitution of Georgia, for the purpose of protectin g family farmland, be amended so as to increase the maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres?" All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."31 All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If32 such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall33 become a part of the Constitution of this state.34 H. R. 32 - 2 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution would ask voters to amend the state constitution to double the maximum acreage that qualifies for conservation-use property tax breaks, from 2,000 to 4,000 acres per owner. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's constitution currently lets landowners get a special property tax assessment, called bona fide conservation use, on farmland and timber land up to 2,000 acres per owner. This resolution proposes raising that cap to 4,000 acres. The conservation use program lets qualifying land be taxed based on its current use and productivity rather than its full market value, as long as the owner signs a covenant to keep the land in that use. Because this is a constitutional change, it cannot take effect on its own. The resolution sends the question to Georgia voters as a ballot measure asking whether to raise the acreage limit to protect family farmland. If voters approve it, the higher 4,000-acre cap becomes part of the state constitution. ### What it does - Proposes a constitutional amendment raising the maximum acreage for bona fide conservation use property tax assessment from 2,000 to 4,000 acres per owner. - Leaves unchanged the five-acre cap for bona fide residential transitional property and the existing rules requiring a covenant to keep the land in qualifying use. - Keeps the existing penalty structure, requiring recapture of tax savings if an owner breaches the covenant within ten years. - Sends the proposed amendment to Georgia voters as a ballot question for ratification or rejection. ### Who it affects Large landowners who farm or manage timber land, since more of their acreage could qualify for reduced property tax assessments; county tax assessors and local governments that collect property taxes; and Georgia voters, who will decide the measure at the ballot box. ### Why it matters If voters approve the amendment, owners of large farms and timber tracts could get reduced property tax assessments on up to 4,000 acres instead of 2,000, potentially lowering their tax bills while affecting the property tax base local governments rely on for revenue. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(e)(1) of the Georgia Constitution to raise the conservation use acreage cap from 2,000 to 4,000 acres per single owner. - Section 1 retains the requirement that a property owner sign a covenant to continue the land in bona fide conservation use or residential transitional use. - Section 1 retains the rule that breaching the covenant within ten years results in recapture of tax savings and possible additional penalties. - Section 2 sets the ballot language asking voters whether to raise the acreage limit from 2,000 to 4,000 acres to protect family farmland, and directs how the amendment is submitted for ratification. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Chuck Efstration, Robert Dickey, Leesa Hagan, Debbie Buckner, Sam Watson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69433 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,431 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr32.md?full=1