Georgia CommonsSB 52: "Timberlands Recovery, Exemption, and Earnings Stability (TREES) Act"; enact
Last action April 2, 2026 · House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
A Senate bill (SB 52) would clarify how Georgia decides which trucks, trains, planes, and boats qualify for a state sales tax exemption because they cross state lines carrying freight or passengers.
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
Georgia law already exempts certain aircraft, watercraft, railroad equipment, and motor vehicles from state sales and use tax if they are 'used principally to cross the borders of this state' while carrying passengers or cargo for common and contract carriers. This bill amends that existing exemption in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 to add a definition explaining how that phrase should be interpreted. Under the new language, whether a vehicle qualifies would depend on the overall nature of a carrier's interstate operations, not on whether most of a truck's actual miles were driven outside Georgia. The bill specifically says the test cannot be based solely on mileage, or on where a carrier's terminals, dispatch centers, or maintenance shops are located. The rest of the exemption, including the rule that carriers still pay state fuel tax, remains unchanged. The bill repeals conflicting laws and does not state a delayed effective date.
What the bill does
- Adds a new definition to Georgia's sales and use tax exemption for interstate carriers (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3), clarifying what counts as a vehicle 'used principally to cross the borders' of Georgia.
- Specifies that this determination is based on a carrier's overall interstate operations rather than requiring that most driven miles occur outside Georgia.
- Bars tax officials from basing the exemption determination solely on mileage or on the location of terminals, dispatch facilities, or maintenance operations.
- Leaves in place the existing rule that carriers still owe state tax on fuel purchased or delivered in Georgia despite the vehicle exemption.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.
Who it affects
Trucking, rail, air, and water freight and passenger carriers that operate across Georgia's borders, along with the Georgia Department of Revenue, which administers the sales and use tax exemption and would apply this new definition when reviewing carriers' tax filings.
Why it matters
Carriers whose vehicles spend a lot of time driving inside Georgia, but who still operate as part of a broader interstate business, could keep or gain access to the sales tax exemption on their vehicles under a clearer standard, rather than losing it based on a strict mileage count.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises paragraph (33) of O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3, the sales and use tax exemption for common and contract carrier vehicles crossing Georgia's borders.
- Adds new text defining 'used principally to cross the borders of this state' by reference to the carrier's overall interstate operations.
- States the definition cannot be based solely on mileage traveled, or on the location of terminals, dispatch facilities, maintenance operations, or similar administrative factors.
- Keeps unchanged the existing subparagraph (B) requiring carriers to pay state fuel tax on fuel purchased or delivered in Georgia, regardless of the exemption.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.
From the bill
“the term 'used principally to cross the borders of this state' shall be determined based on the overall nature of a carrier's interstate operations and shall not be construed to require that a majority of the miles traveled by a motor vehicle occur outside this state”
“nor shall such term be determined solely by mileage, the location of terminals, dispatch facilities, maintenance operations, or any other similar administrative factor”
Status timeline
- 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)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Engrossed (Senate)
Show full history (12 actions)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
- John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
- Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
- Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
- Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
- Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
- Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Max Burns (R, SD-023)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
- Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
- Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
- Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
- RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
- Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
- Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
- David Lucas (D, SD-026)
- Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
- Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
- Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
- Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
- Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
- Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
- Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
- Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
- Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
- Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)
Votes
- Senate voteFebruary 18, 2025
31 yea, 20 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)
- Senate voteFebruary 18, 2025
53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)
- House voteApril 2, 2026
172 yea, 2 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- sales tax exemption
- trucking industry
- interstate commerce
- Georgia tax law
- freight carriers