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House committee approves tax-credit plan to revive Georgia’s forestry market
Summary
A committee substitute to House Bill 276 won committee approval after lawmakers endorsed a transferable income-tax credit to fund woody‑biomass energy plants and incentives for data centers to use behind‑the‑meter biomass generation, aiming to restore markets for harvested wood.
A House committee voted to advance a substitute to House Bill 276 on a voice vote after supporters said the measure would revive Georgia’s struggling forestry industry by using transferable tax credits to spur construction of woody‑biomass energy facilities.
House Majority Whip Whit Burchat, who presented the measure, told the committee the sector is "in crisis," describing local loggers laying off workers because plants have closed and there is nowhere to take harvested wood. "It takes him $25,000 a week to be able to make payroll," Burchat said as he framed the bill as a market solution.
The substitute would create a transferable income‑tax credit described in the bill text as $200,000,000 to encourage private investment in woody‑biomass energy facilities. Burchat said the credit is intended to bridge a financing gap: "A commercial lender…
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