Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 306: Bona Fide Conservation Use Property; impending expiration to be sent via certified mail; require notices
Last action May 6, 2026 · Effective Date
A Georgia Senate bill would change how counties notify landowners before their conservation-use property tax covenants expire, add a path to fix lapsed covenants caused by mail problems, and let owners combine multiple land covenants into one.
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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia's conservation use property tax program lets landowners get a lower property tax assessment in exchange for a 10-year promise (a covenant) to keep land in a qualifying use, such as farming, forestry, or wildlife habitat. This bill updates that program (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4). It adds carbon sequestration, storing carbon in soil or trees under a recognized registry, as an allowed secondary use of the land. It requires county tax assessors to send expiration notices by certified mail if a taxpayer asks, and by email if the taxpayer provides an address and requests it, instead of only regular mail. The bill also lets landowners whose covenant lapsed in the two years before July 1, 2025 get it reinstated if they can show, with a sworn statement from their mail carrier, that their mailbox was broken or unavailable when the notice should have arrived. It allows a single owner to merge several existing covenants into one new 10-year covenant, and gives new owners of forest land conservation property 180 days to switch covenant types. Separately, it changes a low-income housing tax credit cap (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.6) from a total cap to a yearly cap of $100 million for 2026 through 2028. Most provisions apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2027.
What the bill does
- Adds carbon sequestration under a recognized carbon registry as an allowed secondary use for land already qualifying as bona fide conservation use property.
- Requires county tax assessors to send covenant expiration notices by certified mail if the taxpayer requests it, and by email if the taxpayer provides an address and asks for it.
- Creates a one-time fix letting owners whose covenant lapsed in the two years before July 1, 2025 get it reinstated if a mail carrier confirms their mailbox was inoperable, with refunds for excess taxes paid and no added fees or interest.
- Lets a landowner with several separate conservation-use covenants combine them into a single new 10-year covenant instead of managing them separately.
- Gives a new owner of forest land conservation property 180 days after buying it to switch the property into a different covenant type without breaching it.
- Changes the qualified low-income building tax credit from one combined $100 million cap covering 2026 through 2028 to a $100 million cap for each of those three years separately.
Who it affects
Owners of land under conservation use or forest land conservation covenants, county boards of tax assessors and tax commissioners who administer these programs, landowners whose covenants recently lapsed due to mail delivery problems, and developers or investors who use the qualified low-income housing tax credit.
Why it matters
Landowners who lost their reduced property tax assessment because a notice never reached them could get that status and any overpaid taxes back. Owners with multiple land parcels could simplify paperwork under one covenant, and the housing tax credit change could roughly triple available credits, from $100 million total to $100 million per year through 2028.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4 to let conservation use property also serve a secondary carbon sequestration purpose under a state or approved carbon registry.
- Section 1 requires certified mail notice of covenant expiration if requested by the taxpayer, plus email notice if an address is provided and requested.
- Section 1 creates new subsection (d.1), reinstating covenants that expired in the two years before July 1, 2025 if a mail carrier's sworn statement shows the mailbox was inoperable, with refunds and no extra fees or interest.
- Section 1 adds new subsection (e.1) allowing a single owner to combine multiple valid covenants into one new 10-year covenant, but only if all parcels are combined and none are delinquent on taxes.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.7 to give a new owner of forest land conservation property 180 days after acquiring it to switch covenant types without it counting as a breach.
- Section 3 changes the qualified low-income building tax credit cap in O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.6 from one aggregate $100 million limit to $100 million awarded in each of tax years 2026, 2027, and 2028.
- Section 4 sets the effective date as the Governor's signature or the bill becoming law without signature, with Sections 1 and 2 applying to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2027.
From the bill
“Such property may, in addition, have as a secondary use carbon sequestration in accordance with the Georgia Carbon Sequestration Registry or a carbon sequestration program”
“the county board of tax assessors shall send such written notification by certified mail, if requested by the taxpayer”
“the county board of tax commissioners shall refund to the owner any amount of taxes paid in excess of such amount, and no other costs, fees, or interest shall be imposed on such owner in relation to such appeal”
Discussed in meetings (13)
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.
Senate Finance Committee, February 23, 2026
From 1:07:08 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair briefly took up SB 306, saying the committee had passed it the previous year but it had not been called for a floor vote before time ran out. In response to a question about a substitute, the chair said the drafting number appeared to have changed but the language remained the same. No explanation of the bill’s provisions or vote followed before adjournment.
Senate Rules Committee, March 3, 2026
From 0:19:33 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 306 as requiring certified mail after 10 years in connection with a conservation easement. The brief presentation did not explain the notice requirement further, and no substantive questions followed. Members selected it for the calendar as part of the approved slate.
Senate floor session, March 4, 2026 (legislative day 27)
From 1:56:35 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Engrossed)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate first included SB 306 in a four-measure motion to prevent floor amendments, approved 31-22. Later, the sponsor said the bill would require certified-mail notices when conservation-use property agreements approach expiration. The sponsor said these agreements generally last 10 years and reported knowing of approximately 75 cases involving undelivered notices. The sponsor said an owner who did not receive the certified notice in time to appeal would receive an automatic one-year extension. No substantive questions or opposing speeches followed. The Senate adopted the committee substitute and passed it 49-0.
House Ways & Means Committee, March 19, 2026
From 0:22:40 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter explained that the substitute combined previously House-passed language with changes to notices for expiring conservation-use property tax agreements. The presenter said taxpayers could request certified mail or email in addition to standard first-class mail. In response to a committee member, the presenter confirmed that providing an email address would require an additional email notice. The presenter described a constituent whose destroyed mailbox prevented receipt of an expiration notice, resulting in a breach and substantially higher property taxes. The presenter said a narrowly tailored provision would allow that constituent or similarly situated taxpayers to seek a county refund by providing a sworn affidavit showing that notice was not received. One member supported the additional email notice. A second member welcomed the affidavit provision and described a constituent who had trouble receiving mail during Hurricane Helene. After a motion and second, the chair declared the bill passed by voice vote. No vote count was announced.
House Rules Committee, March 23, 2026
From 0:23:09 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 3028
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 306 would let taxpayers request certified-mail or email notices, in addition to standard notices, concerning conservation-use property covenants approaching the end of their 10-year terms. The sponsor described the change as helping taxpayers continue those covenants. No questions or calendar decision followed.
House Rules Committee, March 25, 2026
From 0:36:49 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: A member presented substitute LC443555S for SB 306, saying the low-income housing industry requested clearer language about tax credits. The presenter said the substitute would replace language about credits being allowed with language about credits being initially awarded and clarify treatment for each taxable year. In response to questions, the presenter explained that the Department of Community Affairs awards credits spanning 10 years and said the substitute would not change the caps. Another member asked whether the language permitted $100 million annually, or up to $1 billion over 10 years, and questioned whether removing language about an aggregate annual amount represented a substantial change. The presenter said those amounts could be awarded but might not all take effect because projects sometimes are not built or do not meet federal leasing requirements. The presenter maintained that annual awards reflected the original intent. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote, with opposition heard and no count stated. Later, the committee placed the substituted bill on the day's calendar without objection.
House floor session, March 25, 2026 (legislative day 37, PM)
From 0:54:26 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 3141
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter described the Rules Committee substitute as combining conservation-use property provisions with language from HB 547 and a low-income housing tax credit clarification from HB 1199. The presenter said owners could receive notices of expiring conservation-use agreements by certified mail or email, in addition to ordinary mail. The presenter also said certain taxpayers could obtain refunds by submitting sworn statements that they had not received expiration notices. The presenter did not detail the provisions drawn from HB 547. On housing tax credits, the presenter said industry feedback indicated recently passed wording could jeopardize existing projects and projects under construction. The presenter said the clarification preserved the House's intent to limit the program without that result. No questions were asked. The House adopted the Rules Committee substitute and passed the bill, 158-0.
Senate floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, part 2)
From 2:36:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 306 would let taxpayers request certified-mail or email notices, in addition to standard first-class mail, when conservation-use property agreements were about to expire. The sponsor said some agreements had expired without owners knowing. The sponsor also described language recognizing carbon sequestration as a qualifying conservation use and correcting affordable-housing tax-credit language that, according to the sponsor, threatened existing projects. The clerk read additional provisions allowing certain agreements to be reinstated or combined and addressing property transfers. The Senate agreed to the House substitute, 52–0.
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 26, 2026 (legislative day 25), 0:26:57
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 3, 2026 (legislative day 26), 0:37:40
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, AM), 0:52:05
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 9, 2026 (legislative day 29), 1:09:32
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 20, 2026 (legislative day 35), 0:51:07
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 431
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
Show full history (17 actions)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Engrossed (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
- Chas Cannon (R, HD-172)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 4, 2026
31 yea, 22 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 4, 2026
49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 3 excused)
- House voteMarch 25, 2026
158 yea, 9 nay (3 not voting, 6 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2026
52 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)
Topics
- property taxes
- conservation easements
- farmland tax breaks
- carbon sequestration
- low-income housing tax credit