HB 547: Revenue and taxation; bona fide conservation use property; permit combination of multiple covenants into a single, new, ten-year covenant

Georgia landowners who enroll property in a conservation use covenant get a preferential, lower property tax assessment (under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4) in exchange for keeping the land in a qualifying use, like farming or forestry, for ten years. This bill changes that program in a few ways. It expands the definition of conservation use to say that land can also be used secondarily for carbon sequestration, meaning storing carbon in soil or vegetation under a recognized registry or program, without losing its preferential status. The bill also lets an owner who has several parcels under separate, valid covenants combine them all into one new ten-year covenant, as long as none of the property is removed from coverage and the owner still meets all the usual eligibility rules. Owners must file a new property tax return to start this process, and parcels with delinquent taxes cannot be combined. A separate section gives new owners of forest land conservation property 180 days after acquiring it to switch covenant types. The changes would apply to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2027.

• Adds carbon sequestration as an allowed secondary use of bona fide conservation use property, alongside existing conservation and forestry purposes.
• Allows a single owner with multiple parcels under separate conservation use covenants to merge them into one new ten-year covenant without it counting as a breach of the old covenants.
• Requires an owner combining covenants to first file a real property tax return with the county board of tax assessors by the normal filing deadline.
• Bars parcels with delinquent taxes from being combined into a new covenant.
• Gives new owners of forest land conservation use property 180 days after acquiring the land to switch it to a different qualifying covenant without triggering a breach.
• Sets the changes to apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.

Landowners enrolled in Georgia's conservation use or forest land conservation use property tax programs, especially those with multiple parcels under separate covenants, county boards of tax assessors who process the new combination filings, and buyers who newly acquire forest land conservation property.

Landowners with several separate covenants would gain a simpler way to consolidate their conservation tax breaks into one covenant instead of tracking multiple expiration dates, and could also add carbon credit activity to qualifying land. County tax offices would need to process a new type of filing and verify delinquent taxes before allowing combinations.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4(a)(1)(F) to allow carbon sequestration as a secondary use under the Georgia Carbon Sequestration Registry or another carbon sequestration program.
• Section 1 adds new subsection (e.1) letting a single owner combine multiple parcels under separate valid covenants into one new ten-year covenant, provided all parcels would otherwise qualify for renewal.
• Section 1 clarifies the combination process cannot be used to remove property from coverage, change qualifying property requirements, or change qualifying use requirements.
• Section 1 requires the owner to file a real property tax return with the board of tax assessors by the normal deadline before combining covenants, and bars parcels with delinquent taxes from combination.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.7(f) to give an owner who newly acquires forest land conservation property 180 days to switch it into a covenant under that Code section.
• Section 3 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature or becoming law without signature, applicable to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senado)
2. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senado)
3. 2026-03-09Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
4. 2026-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-03-06House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-02-24House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2025-02-21House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)

• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)Patrocinador principal
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)
• Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)
• David Huddleston (R, HD-072)
• Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes6 de marzo de 2026

   169 a favor, 2 en contra (2 sin votar, 4 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #659

• property taxes
• conservation use covenants
• carbon sequestration
• farmland and forestry taxation