Senate · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 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.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

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 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”
This is the bill's core clarification of how the tax exemption test should be applied to carriers.

“nor shall such term be determined solely by mileage, the location of terminals, dispatch facilities, maintenance operations, or any other similar administrative factor”
This bars tax officials from relying only on these specific factors to decide if a carrier qualifies for the exemption.

Discussed in meetings (3)

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 31, 2026
From 0:20:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter offered a substitute replacing all existing language with clarification of sales tax exemptions for interstate motor carriers, including trucks and repair parts. The presenter said ambiguity had complicated compliance and that the Department of Revenue supported the language. A department representative confirmed that it would put internal approval policy into law. One member repeatedly asked what evidence the department would use if the listed factors were not required. The representative said the listed factors were used to determine eligibility, but did not give specific examples. The presenter illustrated how a truck could serve destinations across state lines while traveling most miles within Georgia. Another member explained that the language did not require a majority of miles outside Georgia, and the questioning member acknowledged that the factors were not entirely excluded. A further member asked whether Georgia trucking businesses could count miles cumulatively toward the deduction, and the presenter agreed. In response to a fiscal-impact question, the presenter said there would be none because the proposal clarified existing law. The committee passed the substitute by voice vote; no vote count was stated.
House Rules Committee, April 2, 2026
From 1:07:59 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed SB 52 on the floor calendar under the structured rule without stated opposition. No presentation or substantive discussion was shown.
House floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, PM, part 2)
From 3:33:28 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 4728
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter explained that SB 52 no longer concerned Hurricane Helene timber-tax relief because that issue had been addressed in earlier legislation. Instead, the House's replacement version clarified an existing tax exemption for interstate-commerce transportation. The presenter said it identified eligible transportation types and resolved language that had confused taxpayers in the industry. The presenter reported support from the Georgia Department of Revenue and Georgia Truckers Association. A member asked where to find the version under consideration, and the presenter supplied its document number. The House adopted the committee's replacement version and passed the bill, 172 to 2.

Status timeline

2026-04-02House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
2026-04-02House Third Readers (House)
2026-03-31House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2025-02-20House Second Readers (House)
2025-02-19House First Readers (House)
2025-02-18Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
2025-02-18Senate Third Read (Senate)
2025-02-18Senate Engrossed (Senate)

Show full history (12 actions)

2025-02-12Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2025-02-11Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
2025-01-29Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

Votes

PassedSenate voteFebruary 18, 2025
31 yea, 20 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)
MOTION TO ENGROSS: Senate Vote #57
PassedSenate voteFebruary 18, 2025
53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 3 excused)
PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #58
PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026
172 yea, 2 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)
PASSAGE: House Vote #872

Topics

sales tax exemption
trucking industry
interstate commerce
Georgia tax law
freight carriers

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb52.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp