Senate approves governor-backed hurricane relief bill with timber tax credit and sales-tax relief for farm rebuilding

The Georgia Senate on Tuesday passed House Bill 223, a multi-part hurricane relief package the chamber described as the governor's disaster-relief bill. The measure passed the Senate by substitute and cleared the floor by a 50-1 vote.

The sponsor told the Senate the bill contains four main components: (1) suspension of the timber severance tax and a grant program for FEMA-declared disaster counties (the "Trees Act" language carried over from earlier legislation), (2) an income-tax exemption for certain USDA disaster and crop-loss payments, (3) a temporary reforestation tax credit for landowners whose timber was devastated by Hurricane Helene, and (4) a temporary sales-tax exemption under the Georgia Agricultural Tax Exemption (GATE) program for materials used to repair or rebuild damaged agricultural structures, including poultry houses.

During floor remarks the senator presenting the bill provided implementation details and caps: a $200 million aggregate cap for the reforestation tax-credit program and a per-acre cap of $550; the sponsor said the package brings total state hurricane relief to about $1.2 billion and noted that farmers lost roughly 500 poultry houses in the storm and that about 37% of the state's timberland sustained damage. The senator also described the credit's transferability rules and the Department of Revenue and Georgia Forestry Commission's expected roles in administering the program.

Supporters framed the bill as targeted relief for farmers, foresters, and rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene. Debate on the floor was supportive and limited; no floor amendments were adopted during the Senate's consideration. The Senate approved the committee substitute and then passed the bill on third reading with a 50-1 recorded vote.

Vote: House Bill 223 (as substituted) passed the Senate, yeas 50, nays 1.