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Senate raises acreage limit for conservation-use tax assessment to 4,000 acres; companion constitutional amendment filed
Summary
The Georgia Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to increase the maximum acreage for preferential conservation-use tax assessments from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres and advanced the companion constitutional amendment resolution.
The Georgia Senate on Tuesday approved legislation (House Bill 90) that increases the maximum acreage that can qualify for the state's preferential conservation-use property tax assessment from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres. The Senate recorded a 47-3 vote in favor of the bill.
Senators said the change comes from recommendations by the Farmland Preservation Study Committee and is intended as an enabling measure to help family farms and working agricultural properties adapt to larger operational sizes without losing conservation-use tax treatment. The bill sponsor described family farms as having grown over time and said the adjustment matches that reality.
The Senate also considered House Resolution 32, the companion constitutional amendment required to permit the acreage increase under the state constitution. The floor record shows the resolution was reported favorably by the Finance Committee and advanced for adoption; the transcript flags a fiscal note attached to the resolution. The resolution moves the question of a constitutional amendment to the next procedural step (submission for ratification by voters), and the floor discussion identified it as the companion path to the enabling statute.
During questioning, a senator raised concerns about syndicated conservation easements and whether broader acreage limits could be used in tax-shelter schemes; the bill sponsor said the measure is a state tax-assessment tool and did not identify any new federal tax incentives or syndication changes. The sponsor told the Senate the 2,000-acre threshold dated from earlier decades and that family farms have outgrown that limit.
Votes recorded on the floor: HB 90 passed the Senate, yeas 47, nays 3. The transcript records committee reporting and favorable action on House Resolution 32; the floor record shows adoption/approval of the resolution but does not include a clear roll-call tally in the transcript for the final adoption separate from the committee report.
The bill and resolution were described on the floor as tools to preserve farmland and to align state tax rules with contemporary farm sizes; the Senate moved both measures forward for further processing.
