---
title: O.C.G.A. § 12-6A-5. Establishment of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.
collection: code
id: 12-6A-5
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 12-6A-5 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A-5
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A-5.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A-5/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t12-(v10)-2021-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=67595359_0#page=778
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A-4.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A-6.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: Effective July 1, 2022.
in_force: true
other_versions:
  - version: Effective until July 1, 2022.
    in_force: false
    md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/12-6A-5.md?version=until+July+1%2C+2022
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES / OUTDOOR STEWARDSHIP
---

# O.C.G.A. § 12-6A-5. Establishment of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.

(a) There is established the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund as a separate fund in the state treasury. Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this Code section, the General Assembly shall appropriate to the trust fund 40 percent of all moneys received by the state from the sales and use tax collected by establishments classified under the 2007 North American Industry Classification Code 451110, sporting goods stores, in the most recently completed fiscal year.

(b) Such funds shall not lapse to the general fund. Such funds shall be used to support the protection and conservation of land and shall be used to supplement, not supplant, department resources.

(c)(1) In the event that, in any current fiscal year, the most recently completed fiscal year’s total moneys received from the levy of a sales and use tax fall at least 1 percent below the total moneys received from the levy of the tax in the year prior to the most recently completed fiscal year, then the amount that the General Assembly shall appropriate to the trust fund for the following fiscal year shall be reduced by 20 percent.

(2) In the event that, in a fiscal year following the fiscal year of an initial trust fund appropriation reduction pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the most recently completed fiscal year’s total moneys received from the levy of a sales and use tax fall at least 1 percent below the total moneys received from the levy of the tax in the year prior to the most recently completed fiscal year, then the amount that the General Assembly shall appropriate to the trust fund for the following fiscal year shall be reduced by 50 percent.

(d) In any current fiscal year following a year for which the amount appropriated to the trust fund is reduced in accordance with subsection (c) of this Code section, the same percentage reduction shall continue unless the total moneys received from the levy of the sales and use tax in the most recently completed fiscal year equal or exceed the total moneys received from the levy of the sales and use tax in the most recent fiscal year in which no reduction in the amount appropriated to the trust fund occurred pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this Code section.

## History

Code 1981, § 12-6A-5, enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 541, § 1/HB 332; Ga. L. 2021, p. 761, § 1/HB 511.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2021, p. 761, § 23/HB511, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘In accordance with the requirements of Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(r) of the Constitution of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two thirds’ majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and the amount of the funds dedicated by this Act do not equal or exceed 1 percent of the previous fiscal year’s state revenues subject to appropriations.’’

## Delayed Effective Date

Code Section 12-6A-5 is set out twice in this Code. This version is effective July 1, 2022. For version effective until July 1, 2022, see the preceding version.

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted ‘‘most recently completed fiscal’’ for ‘‘immediately preceding’’ throughout this Code section; substituted ‘‘General Assembly shall appropriate’’ for ‘‘state treasurer shall credit’’near the middle of the second sentence of subsection (a); substituted the present provisions of paragraph (c)(1) for the former provisions, which read: ‘‘In the event that, in any current year, the immediately preceding year’s total moneys received from the levy of a sales and use tax fall at least 1 percent below the total moneys received from the levy of the tax in the year prior to the immediately preceding year, then the amount that the state treasurer shall credit to the trust fund during the current year shall be reduced by 20 percent of the trust fund credit, which amount shall instead be paid into the state general fund.’’; substituted the present provisions of paragraph (c)(2) for the former provisions, which read: ‘‘In the event that, in a year following the year of an initial trust fund credit reduction pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the immediately preceding year’s total moneys received from the levy of a sales and use tax fall at least 1 percent below the total moneys received from the levy of the tax in the year prior to the immediately preceding year, then the amount that the state treasurer shall credit to the trust fund during the current year shall be reduced by 50 percent of the trust fund credit, which amount shall instead be paid into the state general fund.’’; and, in subsection (d), inserted ‘‘fiscal’’ near the beginning and near the end, substituted ‘‘appropriated’’ for ‘‘paid’’ twice, and substituted ‘‘reduction shall continue’’ for ‘‘shall be paid into the state general fund as in the immediately preceding year’’ in the middle.