---
title: SR 55. Bona Fide Conservation Use Property; maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation; increase -CA
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr55
cite_as: SR 55, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr55
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr55.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr55/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69573
date: 2025-01-29
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
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/sr54.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr56.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr55.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 55
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-01-28
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Carden Summers
- Matt Brass
- Russ Goodman
- Sam Watson
- Lee Anderson
- Ricky Williams
- Bo Hatchett
- Frank Ginn
- Blake Tillery
- Jason Anavitarte
- Randy Robertson
- Ben Watson
- John Albers
- Max Burns
- John Kennedy
- Drew Echols
- Shawn Still
- Billy Hickman
- Timothy Bearden
- Steve Gooch
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR55/2025
upstream_id: 1945136
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- property taxes
- conservation use property
- constitutional amendment
- agricultural land
- timber land
---
# SR 55. Bona Fide Conservation Use Property; maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation; increase -CA
## Text
Senate Resolution 55
By: Senators Summers of the 13th, Brass of the 6th, Goodman of the 8th, Watson of the 11th,
Anderson of the 24th and others
A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to increase the maximum acreage to
qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property; to provide for
related matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection;
and for other purposes.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III of the Constitution is amended by revising
subparagraph (e)(1) as follows:
"(e) The General Assembly shall provide by general law:
(1) For the definition and methods of assessment and taxation, such methods to include
a formula based on current use, annual productivity, and real property sales data, of: 'bona
fide conservation use property' to include bona fide agricultural and timber land not to
exceed 2,000 6,000 acres of a single owner; and 'bona fide residential transitional
property,' to include private single-family residential owner occupied property located in
transitional developing areas not to exceed five acres of any single owner. Such methods
of assessment and taxation shall be subject to the following conditions:
(A) A property owner desiring the benefit of such methods of assessment and
taxation shall be required to enter into a covenant to continue the property in bona fide
conservation use or bona fide residential transitional use; and
(B) A breach of such covenant within ten years shall result in a recapture of the tax
savings resulting from such methods of assessment and taxation and may result in other
appropriate penalties; and"
SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the
above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to increase the maximum
( ) NO acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use
property from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."
All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If
such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall
become a part of the Constitution of this state.
## 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 Senate resolution would ask voters to raise the maximum acreage that can qualify for the state's bona fide conservation use property tax break, from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres per owner.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's Constitution currently lets owners of agricultural and timber land get a special reduced property tax assessment, called bona fide conservation use, but only up to 2,000 acres per owner. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would raise that cap to 6,000 acres, letting larger landowners qualify more of their acreage for the tax break.
The measure does not change the other rules for the program: owners must still sign a ten-year covenant promising to keep the land in conservation or timber use, and breaking that covenant early still triggers repayment of the tax savings plus possible penalties. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it cannot take effect on its own. It must go to Georgia voters on a statewide ballot, who would decide yes or no on raising the acreage limit from 2,000 to 6,000.
### What it does
- Raises the maximum acreage eligible for the bona fide conservation use property tax assessment from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres per single owner.
- Leaves the five-acre cap for bona fide residential transitional property unchanged.
- Keeps the existing requirement that owners sign a ten-year covenant to maintain the conservation or timber use.
- Keeps the existing penalty rule requiring recapture of tax savings if the covenant is broken within ten years.
- Sends the proposed constitutional amendment to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection on a statewide ballot.
### Who it affects
Owners of agricultural and timber land in Georgia, particularly those with large landholdings between 2,000 and 6,000 acres, who could newly qualify more of their property for reduced tax assessment. County tax assessors and local governments that rely on property tax revenue are also affected.
### Why it matters
If voters approve this amendment, large agricultural and timber landowners could shelter significantly more acreage under the conservation use tax break, lowering their property tax bills. This could also affect the property tax revenue collected by counties where such large landholdings exist.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III(e)(1) of the Georgia Constitution, changing the acreage cap for bona fide conservation use property from 2,000 to 6,000 acres.
- Section 1 leaves intact the requirement that property owners enter a covenant to continue bona fide conservation or residential transitional use.
- Section 1 preserves the rule that breaching the covenant within ten years triggers recapture of tax savings and possible other penalties.
- Section 2 sets the ballot language asking voters whether to raise the acreage cap from 2,000 to 6,000 acres and directs submission for ratification under Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-28)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-01-29)
- Sponsors: Carden Summers, Matt Brass, Russ Goodman, Sam Watson, Lee Anderson, Ricky Williams, Bo Hatchett, Frank Ginn, Blake Tillery, Jason Anavitarte, Randy Robertson, Ben Watson, John Albers, Max Burns, John Kennedy, Drew Echols, Shawn Still, Billy Hickman, Timothy Bearden, Steve Gooch
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69573
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr55.md?full=1