Legislative Report - Bill Review
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In this Issue:
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Photo Credits: Office of Governor Brian Kemp |
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Wednesday, May 14th, marked the end of the Governor's Bill Review or Veto Period. After the conclusion of each legislative session, the Governor is given 40 calendar days to review each bill and decide whether or not it becomes law. The Governor has three options: to veto the bill, meaning it does not become law; sign the bill; or take no action, both of which would allow the bill to become law. With the end of the bill review period, the 2025 legislative session is officially over. We are grateful for the support of the General Assembly and Governor Kemp this year. Through their efforts, strong legislation was passed to better serve the farmers of Georgia. Below, you will find a summary of important bills that will become law and a final breakdown of important budget items we were following. |
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Authored by: Rep. Efstration (R-Dacula) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Watson (R-Moultrie) This bill proposes to double the maximum allowable acreage under a Conservation Use Value Assessment (CUVA) covenant, increasing the limit from 2,000 to 4,000 acres. If enacted, landowners may qualify for multiple covenants, provided the total enrolled acreage does not exceed 4,000 acres. A ballot question will appear during the 2026 election asking voters whether the acreage cap should be raised. If approved, HB 90 will go into effect.
Authored by: Rep. Blackmon (R-Bonaire) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Hufstetler (R-Rome) This comprehensive bill seeks to revise the statewide base year homestead exemption. It provides clarification on certain exemption provisions, extends opt-out deadlines, and revises provisions related to special sales and use taxes.
Authored by: Rep. Hong (R-Lawrenceville) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Hatchett (R-Cornelia) This bill aims to reduce the individual state income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% for taxable years beginning in January 2025. Beginning in 2026, the rate will automatically decrease by 0.10% annually until it reaches 4.99%.
Authored by: Rep. McDonald III (R-Cumming) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Echols (R-Gainesville) This bill creates a one-time tax credit for individual taxpayers who filed an income tax return in 2023 and 2024. Eligible taxpayers would receive a refund up to $250 for single, $375 for a head of household, and $500 for married filing jointly. The refunds will be automatically issued after filing the 2024 return and will not count as taxable income.
Authored by: Rep. McDonald III (R-Cumming) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Robertson (R-Cataula) This bill simply renames the Georgia Department of Public Safety's Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD) to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) division and updates language to include law enforcement responsibilities and provides terminology to explain how officers will be trained and what they enforce.
Authored by: Rep. Cannon (R-Moultrie) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Watson (R-Moultrie) This bill seeks to remove certain restrictions on leased properties that were previously disqualified from entering a CUVA covenant. To remain eligible, the leasing entity must be owned by a U.S. citizen, the primary land use must be agricultural, at least 80% of the entity's gross income must derive from bona fide conservation use, and one member must hold at least a 25% ownership stake in the property. It was amended to include a post-production film tax credit.
Authored by: Rep. Dickey (R-Musella) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Watson (R-Moultrie) This bill updates Georgia's laws relating to agricultural water withdrawal permits and metering. It returns the responsibility of metering permits to the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) in the case of an amendment, transfer or new permit, removes the requirement for farmers to install meters if EPD determines a meter is unnecessary, and authorizes EPD to undertake maintanience and new meter installation if needed.
Authored by: Rep. Meeks (R-Screven) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Goodman (R-Cogdell) This bill removes the sunset on the truck weights legislation passed in 2023. It will make the 10% weight variance on agriculture and forest products permanent, raising the gross vehicle weight to 88,000 pounds on non-interstate state highways.
Authored by: Rep. Huddleston (R-Roopville) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Brass (R-Newnan) This bill enhances the Veterinary Loan Repayment Program by allowing students or former students to apply for a loan repayment grant of up to $90,000 over three years, with a maximum of $30,000 per year. To qualify, the applicant must agree to practice food animal veterinary medicine in an approved county with a population of fewer than 50,000 people.
Authored by: Rep. Burchett (R-Waycross) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Goodman (R-Cogdell) This bill provides tax relief for farmers and rural communities affected by Hurricane Helene through four provisions. First, it provides a grant to counties affected by Hurricane Helene equal to the previous three-year average of timber severance collected as long as they reimburse any severance tax paid during Q4 of 2024 or 2025. Second, it exempts federal disaster relief payments for agricultural losses due to Hurricane Helene, and it exempts crop insurance payments received for damages related to Hurricane Helene in 2025, from state income tax. Third, it creates a reforestation tax credit for eligible losses of trees used to produce wood or food up to $550 per acre. Fourth, it expands the Georgia Agriculture Tax Exemption program to include building materials used to repair poultry houses, livestock barns, or greenhouses until the end of 2025.
Authored by: Rep. Hagan (R-Lyons) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Watson (R-Moultrie) This bill codifies a cottage food program in Georgia. It allows for the sale of non-potentially hazardous food or nonalcoholic beverages intended for human consumption prepared in a residential property under certain conditions.
Authored by: Rep. Dickey (R-Musella) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Watson (R-Moultrie) This bill intends to transfer the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation to the Department of Agriculture from the University System of Georgia.
Authored by: Rep. Lumsden (R-Armuchee) Sponsored in Senate by: Sen. Walker III (R-Perry) This bill provides the ability to deduct contributions to a catastrophe savings account from taxable income. A catastrophe savings account is any regular savings account or money market account that qualifies to pay for disaster repairs.
Authored by: Sen. Kennedy (R-Macon) Sponsored in House by: Rep. Burchett (R-Waycross) This bill includes the majority of Governor Kemp's comprehensive tort reform proposal. The package is designed to reduce nuclear jury verdicts that inflate insurance premiums and threaten small businesses and farmers. Key provisions include updated regulations on how damages are calculated and the option to split certain trials into two phases. The bill also addresses premises liability by clarifying when a landowner or business can be held responsible for crimes committed by third parties on their property. Additional reforms include allowing seatbelt use or non-use to be admitted as evidence and increasing transparency in medical billing for damage award calculations. All in all, this bill will help lower the cost of business for Georgians and level the playing field during civil litigation.
Authored by: Sen. Kennedy (R-Macon) Sponsored in House by: Rep. Burchett (R-Waycross) This bill is the second of Governor Kemp's tort reform package that addresses a single issue surrounding third-party litigation funding.
Authored by: Sen. Anivitarte (R-Dallas) Sponsored in House by: Rep. Jasperse (R-Jasper) This bill allows licensed practicing veterinarians to provide consultations using telecommunications, such as video and phone calls. For a vet to be able to provide telemedicine, the veterinarian must be licensed in Georgia and meet all requirements provided in this bill.
Authored by: Sen. Watson (R-Moultrie) Sponsored in House by: Rep. Meeks (R-Ambrose) This bill protects chemical manufacturers from being sued if their products comply with the labeling requirements established under FIFRA by the United States EPA. If the product meets these federal standards, legal action cannot be brought against the manufacturer based on the product's labeling or lack thereof. |
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On May 9th, Governor Kemp signed HB 68 by Speaker Jon Burns, the 2026 Fiscal Year budget. The budget includes investments in capital projects, programs, and personnel that support the agriculture industry. We appreciate Governor Kemp and the General Assembly for their continued support of agriculture through the budget. The Governor utilized his power to redirect spending on two items of interest, additional technicians for agriculture research at the University of Georgia and funding to support camp affiliated staff at the FFA Foundation. Regarding the technicians at UGA, Governor Kemp stated the University should have the flexibility to determine specific job titles and assignments. The Board of Regents will retain the funding and decide at their discretion the best use for the funds. Regarding the camp affiliated staff under the Department of Education, the Governor instructed for the additional state funding be withheld since it would be used to support non-state employees at the FFA Foundation. He expressed that state funding should be utilized to enhance agriculture education programs statewide, not pay for non-state employees.
Department of Agriculture
Department of Education (Agricultural Education)
State Forestry Commission
Department of Natural Resources
Board of Regents
Department of Revenue
Capital Projects
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To stay updated on all the bills GFB is tracking, check out our newly updated bill tracker under the Action Center on the Georgia Farm Bureau website. There you will be able to find all the bills that we are following, a summary of the bill, the bill sponsors, and the most recent action. Click the button below to be redirected to our bill tracker. |
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Thank you for taking an active role in staying up-to-date and informed on the developments at our State Capitol. If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out to any of our Public Policy Department Staff and we will be happy to assist you.
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